Michael Lanza

Gear Review: La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX Mountaineering Boots

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La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX mountaineering boots.
La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX mountaineering boots.

Mountaineering Boots
La Sportiva Trango Cube GTX
$390, 3 lbs. 3 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: men’s Euro 37-48/US 5-14
backcountry.com

Traditional mountaineering boots are heavy, and we’ve all heard the maxim that every pound of weight on your feet is like five pounds on your back. That’s taxing when you’re climbing a big mountain—and that’s why I picked the Trango Cube GTX for a four-day, April snow climb of the Mountaineers Route on California’s Mount Whitney. On it, and other classic mountaineering routes in the western U.S. and elsewhere, you hike more than you “climb”—meaning that you’re striding normally (albeit often on snow) more than you’re employing French technique or kicking steps for ascending steeper snow in crampons. Due to their heft and stiffness, many mountaineering boots aren’t all that comfortable to walk in. But that’s exactly the kind of adventure where this boot shines.

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Big Agnes Storm King 0 sleeping bag.

Review: Big Agnes Storm King 0 Sleeping Bag

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Winter Sleeping Bag
Big Agnes Storm King 0
$380, 3 lbs. 9 oz. (regular)
Sizes: regular and long ($400)
moosejaw.com

When is a mummy-style bag too constricting? I’ve used ultralight, three-season bags that felt a little too coffin-like. But in winter—or wintry conditions, such as you encounter when mountaineering in spring and summer—there are more practical reasons to use a bag with extra space, and you get it with the Storm King 0. Beyond its dimensions, the Storm King’s water-resistant down feathers, fairly unique “system” design that requires sliding an air mattress into a sleeve on the bag’s bottom side, and its relatively affordable price for this category of bags merits a close look.

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Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm

Review: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm Air Mattress

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Insulated Air Mattress
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm
$230, 15 oz. (regular)
Sizes: regular (20x72x2.5 ins., tapered), large (25x77x2.5 ins., tapered), Max (25×77.2.5 ins., rectangular)
backcountry.com

When sleeping outdoors at any time of year, you have two simple objectives: comfort and warmth. We tend to associate the former with our choice of air mattress or pad and the latter with our choice of sleeping bag. But the air mat is actually the key to both goals, because dollar for dollar, your money achieves more warmth from an air mat or pad that adequately insulates your body from the cold ground (which can rapidly drain heat from you) than from your bag. In the NeoAir XTherm—which I tested on numerous trips, including several nights sleeping on snow—you get an all-season air mat with more insulation, pound for pound, than any competitor.

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Rock climbing at Castle Rocks State Park, Idaho.

Gear Review: A Complete Rock Climbing Kit For Climbers With a Real Life

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By Michael Lanza

In the interest of full disclosure, as a climber, I’m no one. I climb trad and sport rock routes up to 5.10 and I like moderates. I do the kind of mountaineering where people generally survive. My partners are family and friends, none of whom are sponsored (although my son has climbed 5.9 in sneakers), and my only first ascents were accidental and not recommendable. If you’re looking for a reviewer with a five-continent climbing resume and a home that has bumper stickers, I’m not that dude.

But in a sense, I’m everyone—or I’m like most recreational climbers. For climbers like me, here are my gear recommendations—based on 25 years (and counting) as a rock climber and nearly as long as a mountaineer (and 20 years as a gear reviewer)—for what you need to hit the crags and the mountains to have fun, be safe, and go back to work on Monday with some pretty good stories that will never get into any magazine.

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Gear Review: Exped SynMat Hyperlite Duo Air Mattress

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My wife, Penny, inflating the Exped SynMat Hyperlite Duo air mattress.
My wife, Penny, inflating the Exped SynMat Hyperlite Duo air mattress.

Insulated Air Mattress
Exped SynMat Hyperlite Duo
$279, 1 lb. 12 oz. (with stuff sack)
One size
moosejaw.com

Let’s face it: Side-by-side air mats in a tent have a way of taking the love out of camping, because when curled up with your partner, one or both of you tend to slip into the gap between the mats. Not any more with the SynMat Hyperlite Duo. My wife and I shared it happily for three nights on a mid-July rafting and kayaking trip on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument, and were surprised at how much more comfortable it is even than we expected.

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