Leatherman has a couple of new multi-tools out that you may have seen, the Skeletool (ST)and Skeletool CX (STCX). They are billed as the multi-tools for today’s outdoor enthusiasts that want to save weight. It looks to me that they made a tool and then tried to find a market for it, but found the wrong market.
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My love for Merino wool should be readily apparent to anyone that has even glanced at this site. It fights funk, regulates temperatures extremely well, handles moisture relatively well, and is nice and comfy. The big, hulking, monstrous downside is that it is usually incredibly expensive compared to a similar item in another material. Take, for instance, the Icebreaker Conquest Hoody that I have been wearing for the last nine days straight (don’t worry, I bathe in between wearings). It retails for $165. Oy! I didn’t pay even close to that, but it is still hard to recommend something at that price point when I expect that most people would be paying full retail.
Along comes Costco to the rescue with their four pack of Merino blend socks. I have seen them before and have read numerous glowing reviews, but I finally picked up a pack about a month ago. I have washed and worn them several times to make sure that I could give an accurate assessment. In short, they are worth every penny and are exactly the same as socks several times more expensive, and even nicer than some.
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Looks like the first CREE (that I have heard of, at least) has popped up on the American big box retailer market. For the uninitiated, the CREE LED is much brighter than the standard high-powered LED (Luxeon) you see in a retailer’s flashlight section, while retaining the same or better battery life. The Luxeons would generally have an output of around 50-60 lumens (measure of brightness) while this light does 150 lumens. Newer CREE LEDs are more in the range of 220 lumens, and still climbing.
Enough with the super nerdy stuff and on to the slightly nerdy stuff. The light is at Lowes and is a 2C Task Force (their house brand) flashlight with a CREE in it. It is the same shape as their old 2C Luxeon, which was the same as the Harbor Freight 2C Luxeon, both generally well liked flashlights. For those of you who are afraid of sending Paypal funds to random websites in China for your CREE fix, this is a good option.
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Marmot goodness went up last night. I had no idea, but there was Gore Pro Shell, Performance Shell, and Soft Shell stuff in there. It was all I could do to keep from claiming some of it for myself. We have about 30 bins full of Marmot that we received today that will be going up over the next couple of weeks. There are some great items, as well as some truly hideous Precips. I mean, these have never been a good idea, at any point in time. You’ll see what I mean when they get listed. We are hoping that someone will want them just as a joke.
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I get a lot of questions from you guys and other people about what The Gear Revival is or will be auctioning, so I am going to do a weekly post about what is up there and will be up there for the coming weeks.
Sunday and Monday night saw the entire Fall 2007 line of Cloudveil go live. I pimp them a lot, but that is because the Cloudveil stuff is awesome. I am converting into a big fan of their designs, and they use some great fabrics (I love anyone who uses the Schoeller stuff). Their workmanship is top-notch too. OK, OK, the entire line except what I took for myself went live. 
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The credit goes to Cat on this one, but REI has a 2-pack of Cutter Picaridin Pump Sprays for $.83. If you have never used this stuff, I highly recommend it. I have completely stopped using DEET in favor of this. It does not stink, is not oily, will not melt plastic, and you do not feel like you need a long shower after wearing it all day. It does not repel for as long as DEET according to independent tests, but I can live with that in favor of the other things it has going for it.
In my completely unprofessional experience, Picaridin worked when DEET and lemon eucalyptus did not, but the bugs in the area probably were just not used to it yet. I swear the ticks on the GA coast can bathe in DEET with no issues.
I already ordered 20 (yes, seriously), so you guys have at it.
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) went on his own little survival mission on NBC’s “The Office” last night. His boss snubbed him by not inviting him to a camping retreat that all other branch managers were invited to, and instead invited Toby the branch HR Manager, who Michael hates. Michael announces that camping is supposed to be about being alone in the wilderness (or maybe with one other guy) and decides to spend a day or more roughing it in the woods. He explains that he had been watching Survivorman and was inspired by Les Stroud. He takes only what a person would have on them in an emergency situation, which was, of course, a large fixed blade, an entire roll of duct tape, a video camera, and a bag of what looked to me like roasted soy beans.
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Looks like Bear is back. The new voice overs that I am guessing Discovery mandated should keep the ridiculousness in check, so I am hoping to learn some new stuff or at least be entertained. The first new one is about his attempt to fly over Everest. Set your Tivos!
I ate dehydrated backpacker meals for several meals in a row for the first time on my BNR trip. I had always just carried the extra weight to avoid eating them, but figured food was an easy way to save me a bit of pain. Not that it mattered since we ended up canoing the whole way, but I figured I’d stick with them for the five people that read this site.
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After I got back from BNR, I had one whole day to prepare for my next trip, to the Smokies. This one wasn’t quite roughing it though, since my girl and I stayed in a cabin on top of a mountain with a couple of friends. The cabin was pretty crappy, so I guess it was at least slightly rough. Note to cabin builders: Put insulation in the floors between first and second story bedrooms so you don’t have to hear each other breathing, let alone anything else. It did have a hot tub though, which is always awesome.
We got in on Thursday and after checking in to the cabin, we wandered around Gatlinburg and procured the essential fudge and jerky. A trip to the Smokies is nothing without fudge and jerky. The trip from the cabin in Townsend to Gatlinburg went through Pigeon Forge, so our friends finally understood what we meant when we called Pigeon Forge the “butthole of the southeast.” Gatlinburg looks like Monaco in comparison. We also ate at a mediocre Brewery type restaurant and noticed that Gatlinburg’s restaurants are at least 50% staffed by eastern Europeans. Maybe someone can help me understand why Gatlinburg is the place to go for immigrating Czechs.
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