Category: product endorsements

Posted on

Survivorman is back – Survive This

… When Les Stroud announced his retirement from “Survivorman” last year, wilderness-TV fans shed some tears, but we all hoped he’d be back. We’re happy to report the time has come: Les Stroud returns to Canadian TV this week with “Survive This,” in which eight teenagers with varying levels of outdoor skill are thrust into the Northern Ontario woods to survive with no tools outside of their clothes. …

Daily Dirt – SURVIVORMAN RETURNS—THIS TIME, FOR THE KIDS

teenagers

I’ve got some teenagers I want to nominate for next year’s series.

YTV – Survive This

=== related

The Pulse blog’s Steve Howe will be watching any TV show related to wilderness safety. Check his recent post: EASTER VANISHINGS AND RESURRECTIONS – A quick survey of the missing, the found, and the lucky

Posted on

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress

The highly touted Therm-a-Rest NeoAir is now available.

Backpacker 2009 Editors’ Choice Winner: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir review on YouTube.

I just added this item to my Amazon.com Shopping Basket for the coming season. Details on Amazon.

For now I’ll abandon my heavier Exped air mattresses. Both I’ve bought have leaked from the valve insertions.

Posted on

Mountain Travel Sobek – half price

Outside reports:

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Mountain Travel Sobek is doling out 40 free adventures. Travelers who book a trip by Apr. 17 can bring a friend for free. Destinations include: Machu Picchu, Morocco, the Swiss Alps, and more.

40 Free Trips

40-free-trips

home page – Mountain Travel Sobek

There are some good deals out there for guided hikes. Shop around.

Leave a comment if you’ve seen any good value deals on treks.

Posted on

Trail Life: Lightweight Backpacking

“Ray Jardine revisits and rethinks his classic ultralight backpacking text…”

Overview

Ray Jardine, arguably the founding father of ultralight backpacking as we know it, wrote a book entitled Beyond Backpacking and, within its pages, presented to a backpacking community with weary backs and knees tips and techniques by which they could lighten their loads and travel easier. The book was a sellout success, and copies nowadays (if you can find one at all) fetch dozens if not hundreds of dollars on eBay and Craigslist.

Jardine is back with a revised and revamped book in which he revisits many of the principles in Beyond Backpacking and touches on new information as well. His latest installment is entitled Trail Life: Ray Jardine’s Lightweight Backpacking; 25,000 Miles of Trail-Tested Know-How.

With chapter titles such as Packweight, Equipment, Wilderness Skills, Trail Biology, and Long Distance Hiking, one can begin to see Jardine has a diversity of knowledge to impart to his readership. Jardine continues to preach some of the tenets of ultralight backpacking such as tarp vs. tent and lightweight shoes vs. boots. …

Backpacking Light

adventurelore_traillife_md

Amazon – Trail Life: Ray Jardine’s Lightweight Backpacking

Posted on

bring on the Queen of Pain

It was just announced that World 24 hour Mountain Bike Champion Rebecca Rusch and Furnace 508 Champion Michael Emde will compete at Adventure Sports Week 2009.

“We’re thrilled to have stars the caliber of Rebecca and Michael racing with us,” said organizer Dave Adlard.

Rebecca, nicknamed “the Queen of Pain,” will be competing in multiple events, including the Mad Dash 8 hour mountain bike ride, the “It’s Only a Fleshwound” orienteering event, and the Crux and the Crucible Adventure race.

RebeccaRusch.com - <a href="http://www.rebeccarusch.com/gallery.htm">more photos</a>
RebeccaRusch.com - more photos

Michael Emde, the defending champion of the Furnace 508 bike race will also be riding in the Mad Dash. The Furnace 508 is widely acclaimed as the world’s toughest single day event, as the racers ride 508 miles through Death Valley in the summer, with over 30,000 feet of elevation.

<a href="http://www.emdesports.com/profiles/profile_michael_emde.htm">Emde Sports</a>
Emde Sports

Adventure Sports Week is a 10 day long festival of 24 outdoor races, contests, clinics and social events taking place at Farragut State Park, 30 miles north of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, June 5—14, 2009.

official website – Adventure Sports Week

Posted on

10 Days, 24 Races, 1 Big Party!

The latest update on my Adventure Racing Team’s BIG event for 2009.

Adventure Sports Week is a 10 day long festival of 24 outdoor races, contests, clinics and social events taking place at Farragut State Park, 30 miles north of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, June 5—14, 2009.

The motto of this year’s event is “10 Days, 24 Races, 1 Big Party!” and the organizers and the surrounding communities are working hard to make that a reality. …

Atop Chilco Mountain, Idaho
Atop Chilco Mountain, Idaho

larger original – flickr

Local hospitality is only one of the things racers should expect at ASW 2009:

“We’re actually pretty pleased with how the many races are shaping up,” said event director Dave Adlard. “The
courses have all been set, and we’ve had marvelous response from celebrity and pro athletes including Ian Adamson, Mike Kloser, Rebecca Rusch, Robyn Benincasa and even Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes. I think between the festive atmosphere, great awards and gear and the amazing scenery, this is going to be one of the highlight events on the national racing calendar.”

Adventure Sports Week was also recognized in the recent National Geographic “Adventure” Magazine as one of the
top racing events in the US.

Online registration is now open at www.adventuresportsweek.com for all races.

Posted on

hiker Brian Frankle of ULA

Tom Mangan— I’ve heard that name before … somewhere — published an article on hiking guru Brian Frankle of ULA-Equipment.

Frankle’s ULA-Equipment essentially goes out of business every fall, when he shuts down his garage-based backpack factory in Logan, Utah, and hits the trail, typically for weeks or months along little-known routes like Utah’s Hayduke Trail or Idaho’s Centennial Trail.

Then it’s back to the sewing machines.

“Basically, from the day that I reopen in November until all the way to the day that I close, it’s full-on,” Frankle says. “I’m in here 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Sounds like a crazy workload, but Frankle’s grown into it over the decade since he completed the Pacific Crest Trail in 1999. He started ULA-Equipment in 2001 to bridge a gap: commercially built backpacks were too heavy, and ultra-light packs were too bare-bones.

brian-idaho-375-485

Trailspace – Gear Maker Profile: Brian Frankle of ULA-Equipment

(via Two-Heel Drive) … and Facebook

I am looking for a new multi-day hiking pack this season. My beloved Granite Gear Virga is getting “holey” and is somewhat underfeatured to carry my preferred gear list.