Primus EtaPower MF Stove: Base Camp Powerhouse
The Primus EtaPower MF stove’s most striking attribute was how quickly it boiled water. In 0 degree C weather it had 1.5 liters of water boiling in about three minutes.
La Sportiva Trango Extreme Evo Light: Warmth and Stability
Preparing for an ice climbing trip is like preparing for war. The enemy: screaming barfies, brittle ice and–worst of all–warming your partner’s freezing toes on your stomach. So when packing for a day of climbing in the Canadian Rockies, I was glad to know my feet would be well taken care of in the Trango Extreme Evo Light boots. I have owned the La Sportiva Trango boots, the little sister boot without a toe-bail notch, for a while. They are super comfortable, but a bit soft for long sections of ice. So for the artillery, I chose the Trango Extremes.
Lowe Alpine Summit Attack 30 Hyperlite: A Solid Little Pack
In my decade-long quest to find the perfect little pack, one that has all the right features and none of the bells and whistles, this one comes as close as it gets. The Lowe Alpine Summit Attack 30 Hyperlite is the only pack I’ve owned that’s been spared the knife and trimming that my other packs have been subjected to. It may not be the beefiest, but as long as it lasts, it’ll be comfortably on my back.
DMM Shadow Quickdraws: Hot-Forged Goodness
With a huge rack in my pack and a bunch of loose ‘biners and runners for alpine draws, I sometimes overlook a fundamental piece of climbing gear: the standard quickdraw. New for spring 2008 DMM is introducing the Shadow Quickdraw. The Shadow is a desirable piece of gear for the discerning climber who wants full-sized carabiners yet appreciates that ultimate combination: light weight and super strong.
CiloGear Dyneema(R) 45 Pack: Lighten Your Load
Winter mountaineering: some people love it. But rarely do I picture the clear summit days with perfect cramponing and one-swing ice. Instead I think of the long and cold nights, my sleeping bag stuffed with everything I don’t want to freeze. I consider days at a stretch in the tent, arguing over a magazine before tearing it in half, broken only by endless sessions of postholing. With these grudges in mind, I’ve been known to obsess over weight (hence the magazine instead of a book). When I received the new CiloGear Dyneema(R) 45 mountaineering pack to test, I knew immediately that it would lighten my load.
Marmot Snazette: Snazzy Functionality
Functional enough to withstand three weeks of high-altitude desert and mountain exploration, yet snazzy enough to sit down to tea with the King of Mustang, the Marmot Women’s Snazette performed royally on a recent trip across the Himalaya.
PMI Spire 10.2mm Rope: Dry to the Core
Several years ago I humped a 92-pound pack full of the cheapest, heaviest climbing gear in the world uphill for several days in Wyoming’s Wind River Range. We’re talking old school: full-gate oval biners on everything; 11mm ropes; old, rigid-stem Friends; big hexes; everything horrid you can imagine. I seriously debated purchasing either a large dog or a small burro for my next expedition.
Rab Latok Alpine Jacket: Expectations Bested
When I picked up Rab’s Latok Alpine jacket for the first time I was skeptical. The Latok was lighter than any of the performance hard shells I’d worn previously, and the bright orange eVent label on the sleeve made me wary. Adding to my incredulity, I had never heard of Rab. Learning to love the Latok took a good deal of research and a bit of a brand-name leap of faith, but–after a fall and winter season of epic approaches, climbs, bootpacks, hailstorms and vertigo-inducing white-outs–I’ve found I like the Latok; I like it a lot.
Cilao OZ 22 Race Harness: Built for Fast and Light
Every summer in Chamonix, among the 350+ mountain guides working in the valley, there seems to be one piece of gear that becomes eminently popular, and by the end of the season most guides have it. This year it was the Cilao OZ 22 Race harness, which weighs in at an insanely light 3.5 ounces. Easily recognizable by its bright green color, you would constantly see it traversing the range, from glacier slogs across the Valle Blanche to the higher elevations of Mont Blanc.
Lowa Cristallo X Pro Gore-Tex Boots: Technical Prowess and Comfort
I’ve always been skeptical of Gore-Tex footwear, and it’s almost guaranteed that I’ll have cold feet regardless of the temperature (unless I’m clunking around in double boots), so I was curious to see how the Lowa Cristallo X Pro Gore-Tex boots would perform climbing and scratching around the Canadian Rockies.