The Rapid 35 is really a pack designed for winter, but can do so much more. At 35 liters this is a great size for quick overnighters during the summer or for the times that you might need a little more gear during winter snowshoeing. The people at High Peak USA have put some serious thought into this pack.
Fall is coming to an end but we didn’t want to leave out our climbing gear guide this fall. There are a lot of great new products to help you reach new heights as well as other to help you stay at the top of your game this winter. Winter is almost here and it will be time to pull out the ice climbing gear. So browse through this guide and find you some new gear, after all Christmas is almost here as well.
It is now getting closer to crunch time. With only a few days left finding that perfect gift will take all the help you can get. We still have three more guides to go and they are going to be jammed packed with great ideas for dad. This guide is full of gifts that will cost you under $75 and will hopefully inspire dad to get in the outdoors and play. As always we love to hear from you and let us know what you are doing for your dad this Father’s Day.
Maybe I’m just a cranky, old-school guy, a non-conforming Libertarian. Don’t know what category to place me, but I rarely endorse a certain brand of outdoor gear. I get asked to do so often – to recommend a tent or backpack, a jacket, harness, or rope. I always resist, because gear is so personal it seems. What works for me may not work for someone else. The stuff I use is all over the board: cheap stuff, quality gear, long-term, short-lived. My favorite camp-cup was a lime-green plastic cheapo I’d had since childhood – it lasted 15 years.
We at Open Air Life had a great time at the Summer OR show in Salt Lake. As I was trolling around the show with my two children, my article topic just came to me. Everyone would stop me and tell me all about their new kid friendly outdoor gear, or the mother must haves for us, so it was a no-brainer, “Mommy Must Haves” (Outdoor gear for both mothers and children who LOVE the outdoors.)
I focused on finding any gear that was geared toward a mother or a child to use in the outdoors. (Meaning the mountains, the beach, or even just the backyard.) Some of the products I am lucky enough to gear-test, others I just thought would be a great idea and want to pass the information on to other mothers who want to have a great time with their children in the outdoors.
This morning I woke up thinking, “what should I do today.” The first thing that I thought of was to go up climbing, so we gathered the gear and headed out. As we headed across town I saw the dark clouds forming directly over the mountains we were heading towards, but we continued towards the blackening sky. As we came to the bottom of the canyon it was drizzling rain. As we continued up the canyon it just got worse. We decided to try a new route that we had never been to and, knowing that we might not get to climb, we thought at least we could go and check out the route. We threw on our rain jackets and headed up the trail. This is where my son comes into the picture.
He is just over two years old and loves (love being an understatement) the outdoors. The rain and water did not slow him down a bit. The only thing that was bothering him on the trail was the hood on his jacket. Once I removed that he was just fine, his hat was soaked, but at least he was happy.
After looking for the route we came back to the car with feet and pants soaked. I have always understood the importance of performance gear for myself but it can be hard to find good gear for children. The market is growing and I am happy to see this growth as I have two kids and plan on taking them outside as often as I can. This morning though as I was dressing my boy for today’s adventure I put on some socks we got a couple of years ago from a starter company. The companies name is Roonwear. They make clothing for active children and their tag line is “…because kids sweat too.” He has worn these socks before and I really didn’t think much about the socks when I put them on him this morning, they just matched. But I was very impressed when we got home and his feet were dry. Pants sopping wet but socks and feet dry. I know now each time we go out hiking the first pair of socks that I will put on him, are the socks from Roonwear.
I know there are other companies that make clothing and gear for kids who love the outdoors and I encourage anyone who has children to find and support some of these companies. As I said in the title “children need the outdoors” and to make them happier and in turn us parents happier, we need people making performance gear for children. Please comment if you know of any other companies who make great gear and clothing for children.
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