GearFlogger

REI Quarter Dome T2 Plus tent

REI makes some great tents, and the award-winning Quarter Dome series features some stellar designs. New to the lineup is the T2 Plus, an extended size version of the two person T2 that is 10 inches longer, 3 inches wider and 1 inch taller for a grand total of 5.6 extra square feet of living area. It may not sound like much, but when you're cramming in extra gear, people or pets, or if you just want a little more room to move, it's noticable.

The T2 Plus is mostly mesh for a great view and ventilation, and at 4lb 13oz fully packed it's no bag of bricks on your back. It has a bathtub floor and a small area of fabric overhead. The pole system is one of the fancy new arrangements where the intersections have these little hubs so the whole thing deploys as a single unit. Just match the color-coded poles to the webbing and you're good to go; we set it up fast and easy first try following the instructions printed on the tent bag. The way the entries are set up the walls are almost vertical for extra headroom.

The interior space is very livable, with pockets in each corner and large identical doors on either side that store in their own pockets. The vestibule is a tad larger too, also handy for gear, pets and in-laws. Very cool: you can pitch both the tent and the fly stand-alone, use the latter for an ultralight shelter. Everything is included: 8 stakes, pole repair tube and guylines with tighteners. The Quarter Dome T2 Plus is clearly designed for backpackers by backpackers, and with the extra room the Plus model is sure to be a big hit.

$299.00 at REI

Seirus Neofleece Headband

Seirusly though, folks: headbands rock.  The 'do can flow free in the wind as god meant it to. Also, they let the head breathe, so they're great for high-output aerobic activities like cross-country skiing or, for the truly disturbed, cold weather running.

Seirus makes the Neofleece, a heavy-duty headband for those who want their noggin bare in medium to extreme cold. The Neofleece headband is a four layer dip of neoprene and some other insulation inside soft fleece. There's an extra layer over the ears proper, so unlike some headbands the ears really do stay warm.

Inexpensive and does the job, black only and one size fits most for men or women.

$13.00 at REI

Samsung Reclaim phone with Sprint service

Cell phones may not seem like backcountry gear at first blush, but the reality is that we all carry them for both convenience and safety when in out in the sticks. Heck, you can even get cell signal on the summit of Denali if the wind is right. If you're going to carry, the Samsung Reclaim with Sprint service is worth a look for it's green credentials.

Green is more than skin deep for the pack-of-cards-sized Reclaim. It starts with the packaging, including a fact sheet made from a piece of paper you can plant to grow wildflowers. OK, maybe that's skin deep, but the fact that Sprint is ranked #20 on the EPA's Green Power Partnership Fortune 500 list is significant, and so is $2 of every purchase going to the Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program. The phone itself is made from 40% corn-based bio-plastic free of the more noxious chemicals. The 2.6 inch 320x240 screen is bright and sharp, displaying mostly helpful green tips like, "unplug your charger when not in use." Don't worry, you can turn off the guilt once you've internalized it.

The phone is well-equipped as a smartphone, with a fairly intuitive interface, EVDO high-speed data connectivity, streaming media, decent 2MP camera/camcorder, Sprint Mobile Email and the now-usual array of GPS and digital music functionality with standard headphone jack, which is to say more features than you can shake a stick at. Some of this stuff asks you to register, which dissuaded us from using it. There are also plenty of opportunities to integrate it with social networking features like MySpace and Facebook if you're so inclined. There's even a postage-paid mailer to recycle your old phone. They save a bit of paper by only including a quick-start guide, and you can download the full manual.

95% of our use is as a phone, and voice quality was good to great. If you're big on texting the keyboard is just OK; it could use more tactile separation between keys. The included charger uses a micro USB connector - not a mini - and you'll need to buy a cable of that type if you don't already own one to connect to a computer. A 512MB Micro SD card is included, along with a normal SD card adapter (nice!). All in all it's a pretty good deal, and encouraging to see a green-focused phone that treats the environment a lot better than most electronic gadgets.

$0.01 (normally $199.98) with a new service plan at Amazon

Outdoor Research Banff Bodysuit

Holy catwoman! Make no mistake, the Banff bodysuit from Outdoor Research confers superhero powers, just like the men's version, the Saturn Suit. It just doesn't get much better than Polartec Power Stretch 150 over every square inch of your body.

The Banff does the Saturn one better with full sleeves, complete with thumb loops. The back, sleeves and cuffs from the ankle down are made not from Power Stretch but from Motion Fleece, a thinner and even stretchier fabric with the same sheer facing. The sheerness is the goodness, because if you're using it as an inner layer it really reduces friction between layers for more freedom of movement. Its application on the sleeves and cuffs make it easier to slide on jackets and boots too, with no bunching.

The chest zipper has a neck guard to prevent vampire bites, and there's a rainbow style crotch zipper to answer nature's call. Front-to-rear rainbow zips are the way to go, revealing much less dainty flesh to the outside elements. Flat seams and overall excellent quality complete this awesome outfit, and the weight is light and right at an even pound. Comes in any color you want, as long as it's black. If you're deep in the doghouse, the Banff will distract the SheFlogger long enough for you to get out. Until the next incident, of course. See you then.

$198.95 at Altrec

REI Schwag Pockets

A tent is like a garage. It's a place for your stuff. And stuff has to be organized, lest you roll your lardy posterior on top of your sunglasses. Tents come with all sorts of pockets these days, but it's always possible to use a couple more. Hence: REI Schwag Pockets.

These things have become indispensable tentmates. Their plastic hooks are just big enough to fit around most tentpoles so you can place them where they're most convenient. They're sized to fit a quart bottle, which means cameras, goggles, sunglasses, headlamps and all manner of other necessities fit easily and are kept handy and safe. They're mesh on one side so you can see the contents. And the cream on top: they've got a wire stiffener around the opening to keep it open for easy one-handed access.

It gets better: they're cheap, they come in a two-pack so you don't have to fight - and get your butt kicked by - the SheFlogger, and they weigh a single ounce for the pair. Just leave them in your tent when you roll it up. The REI Schwag Pockets are a dead-simple piece of gear that simply couldn't be better. Great stocking stuffer.

$8.50 at REI

Merrell Winterlude 6 women's boots

OK, I'll give it up: cool name for a cool - but dry, warm kind of cool - women's boot from Merrell. The Winterlude 6 is a waterproof winter boot that makes snow days into sporting days.

The Winterlude helps you stay light on your feet at 2.5lb for a pair. The molded thermoplastic urethane and leather uppers are notched for snowshoe straps,and the EVA midsoles, Ortholite footbeds and Air Cushion heel pockets ensure easy striding in hard conditions. The insides have a special anti-skank treating, and the padded tongue and collar spread the lace pressure evenly.

The Winterlude is serious about toasting your tootsies, with Polartec 200 insulation over 200g of PrimaLoft insulation. To top it off, the Active Heat insoles feature some kind of magic silver lining to prevent conductive heat loss to the cold, cold ground. What's it all add up to? A -25F comfort rating that will ring true for most women. Add a pair of gaiters for deep snow and you're good to go.

$110.00 at REI

Primus EtaPower Pots

We always thought Primus was the only band ever to get its own ID3 genre tag. Yeah, they're that strange. Turns out there's another Primus in town covering the not-so-heavy metal scene. They're primarily into aluminum, with a titanium coating.

Primus the gear company is known for its stoves and cookware. We tested the EtaPower aluminum pots with titanium nonstick coating. They have a flux ring around the bottom to transfer heat more efficiently to the pot, speeding up boiling times and distributing heat more evenly through the pot contents. Sounds great; does it work?

Kind of. The pots boil marginally faster than other aluminum models. They do seem to distribute heat more evenly, important for non-water contents like soup. They're definitely tough thanks to the coating and solid build. They weigh a bit more than advertised: 9.4oz for the 2.1L pot, plus another 3.5oz for the lid and 1.6oz for the sturdy little pot grabber. That's a total of 14.5oz for the 2.1L, 12.6oz for the 1.7L. All in all it's a solid if weighty package, but you're paying a premium for only marginally better performance, and you're not even getting a fry pan lid.

$50.00 at REI

Stanley HID Spotlight

Set your phasers on blind, gentlemen. And if you're wearing a red shirt, put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye. Even the Stanley HID spotlight can't save you now.

Sometimes you just need to put a big freakin' light on the scene. For search and rescue work, scouting routes or whatever, the Stanley spotlight does the job. At 4.5lb it's not exactly fast and light, but it has to be big to hold a 12v rechargeable battery and a 35w high intensity discharge lamp. It goes for about an hour on a full charge, more if you use the optional dim mode.

On top is a three LED light array for area use, and a padded lanyard is included, as are both wall and cigarette lighter adapters. The HID spotlight is heavy-duty tool for throwing serious light out. If you live or work in the big wide open, it's hard to beat the value.

$69.99 at Amazon

The Mountaineering Handbook

There's old school and then there's Connally's school. As in Craig Connally, author of The Mountaineering Handbook: Modern Tools and Techniques That Will Take You to the Top. This book is the perfect balance to Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. Between the two you'll get both sides of the story, and really they agree more often than not. Both books are inaugural members of GearFlogger's Backcountry Bookshelf.

Connally doesn't hesitate to heap scorn on gear and techniques that don't in his opinion measure up. He has little use for things like the figure eight knot (he prefers the Yosemite bowline), snow flukes ("aren't worth their weight on the pack") and high-tech fibers ("nylon is proving pretty hard to beat"). What sets his book apart from all the opinion out there is his dedication to evidence. Exhaustive discussions of fall forces, materials technology and other evidence are everywhere.

It's hard to overstate the amount of information in this book; you'll just have to read it - and re-read it - yourself. It's the book I go back to the most to review his tricks for tying various knots, opinions on fast and light methods, and prescriptions for training. Connally brings an engineer's mind to topics that are long overdue for such dissection, and if you don't always agree you still won't be disappointed with the passion he brings to mountaineering.

$12.89 at Amazon.com

Platypus 1 Gallon Water Tank

Ah, the platypus. Waddling along at the very pinnacle of evolution, sharing that exalted summit with the likes of Brangelina and Moose's Tooth Fairweather IPA. Also, taking up space in "the pig" as we fondly named our expedition sled that glided along behind us effortlessly on the Kahiltna. Of course, we also called the pig many other names that rhymed with pucker. Always with love in our hearts, though. We love the pig.

And we do love the Platy. Here's the 411: fly into Kahiltna Base Camp and you're immediately sharing space with a few hundred of your closest friends. Assuming your closest friends are foul-assed climbers polluting every piece of meltable snow in sight. Anyway, you need water, so you either have to pack it in or find some clean snow. We're here to argue for packing it in.

The beauty of the Platypus one gallon water tank is that you can pull it in the pig up to camp two, and then you don't have to melt snow. One gallon is four quarts/liters, enough for two people to cook and fill their bottles for day two on the mountain. The tank itself only weighs three ounces, and is easily cached or carried if you're through-hiking. The zipper closure holds tight, the handle is perfectly located for pouring, and not only do you save the time and effort to melt snow but you save a bit of fuel as well.

$22.95 at REI