Gear Review: Big Agnes Hole in the Wall Jacket

Big Agnes Hole in the Wall Jacket
Big Agnes Hole in the Wall Jacket

Down Jacket
Big Agnes Hole in the Wall Jacket
$220, 14 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
bigagnes.com

When I unzipped my sleeping bag after a night spent under the stars at nearly 11,000 feet by Columbine Lake in Sequoia National Park in August, I wasn’t thinking about what’s inside the new Hole in the Wall Jacket. Cocooned warmly inside my bag, I had been hammered by strong gusts all night; and with that cold wind still blowing when I woke up, I didn’t want to get out of it. But I pulled on this fat puffy and all but forgot about the wind—reminding me that sometimes the characteristics that make for a good puffy jacket are what you can’t see.

Read on

Review: Gregory Targhee 45L Snow Pack

Gregory Targhee 45L
Gregory Targhee 45L

Backcountry Skiing/Riding Pack
Gregory Targhee 45L
$199, 4 lbs. (medium)
Sizes: S-L in 45L/2,746 c.i. and 32L/1,953 c.i. versions (fit torsos from 16-22 inches); one size in 26L/1,587 c.i. and 18L/1,098 c.i. versions
backcountry.com

For a multi-day backcountry skiing, riding, or snowshoeing trip to a hut or yurt, you need a pack with a split personality: It has to be big enough to fit all the food and gear you need for at least four days, yet morph into a smaller pack when you fill it only partially for day tours. The new Targhee 45L assumed both personalities convincingly on a four-day, backcountry skiing trip to the Baldy Knoll yurt in Wyoming’s Tetons, thanks to superior stability and a highly versatile design.

Read on

Last Day to Win a Ribz Front Pack

My giveaway of a Ribz Front Pack ends at midnight tonight. The Ribz has become a standard piece of gear on my backpacking trips because it keeps my DSLR, a second lens, and small items like a map, snacks, and gloves in a readily accessible place: right in front of me. Now you have a chance to get one of these …

Read on

Gear Review: Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket

Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket
Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket

Fleece Jacket
Black Diamond Coefficient Jacket
$139, 11 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL
blackdiamondequipment.com

Keeping your body from overheating or getting cold while active is a challenge in shoulder seasons, or anytime you encounter fast-changing weather and temperatures from the 20s to the 50s Fahrenheit. The key is clothing that provides just enough warmth without making you perspire too much, and that moves moisture out quickly when sweating becomes unavoidable. On numerous spring and fall days of hiking and rock climbing in Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park, and dayhiking in July in Mount Rainier National Park, the Coefficient Jacket hit that ideal balance that kept me from cycling between hot and chilled.

Read on

Ask Me: Expensive Waterproof-Breathable Jacket Vs. Inexpensive, Which Do You Recommend?

Westcomb Focus LT Hoody
Westcomb Focus LT Hoody

Michael,

Westcomb Focus LT Hoody vs. Montbell Versalite for $150? Just wondering.

Tim
(submitted as a comment to my review of the Westcomb Focus LT Hoody rain jacket)

Hi Tim,

Good question. I have not tested the Versalite, though I have reviewed the MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket, which is basically a step up in quality from the Versalite because it uses Gore-Tex. MontBell and many other outdoor-apparel brands have their own proprietary waterproof-breathable technology; the Versalite uses “Super Hydro Breeze,” while other companies give their proprietary waterproof-breathable technology their own name. Basically, these are all simple coatings applied to the fabric. Coatings are less expensive than Gore-Tex or eVent (which are both membranes, not coatings), and frankly, less breathable and durable.

Read on