GearFlogger

Mountain Hardwear Nitrous jacket

What ever happened to muscle cars with nitrous systems? Mad Max is going to be very disappointed when he comes back to find out they've gone out of style. Luckily he'll have access to Mountain Hardwear's Nitrous jacket, which can help him go fast in other ways.

The Nitrous is a beauty of a piece, but the sizing may keep some from falling in love. Weighing in at a mere 10.5oz for a medium, the Nitrous is seriously minimalist, with just the two flapped handwarmer pockets and a zipped chest pocket (no cord port but no biggie). It does have a hem drawcord and a full length zipper flap, which is well designed enough that a microfleece strip protects your gullet from the dreaded zipper chafe even without a garage.

The cuffs have elastic, but not much, maybe an inch of give or so, and for most people they should be about right. It would be nice if they had rip and stick adjustments. The sizing issue is in the pits; at 5'10" and 175 pounds with a 40" chest, so I'm usually a dead-on medium (39 to 41 inch chest accordign to MH's sizing chart), but medium in the Nitrous is tight around the lats, under the arms. So try this one on before you buy or at least order a size up unless you're on the skinny side. If it fits you'll be ecstatic; it's well built, warm and the colors are awesome. Stuff sack included or just stuff into its own pocket.

$220.00 at Moosejaw

Outdoor Research Alibi women's jacket

OK, so here's the deal: occasionally somebody tries to do something different with a new jacket design. It almost invariably fails miserably, and it is universally and deservedly mocked. But once in a great while, that somebody actually succeeds in building a better mousetrap. Today, that better mousetrap is the Outdoor Research Alibi jacket.

We got ahold of the women's version, and here's the skinny: it's a hybrid shell with waterproof hood, shoulders and outside sleeves. There are four pockets with water-resistant zippers: one high outside left chest, one high inside right chest with cord port, and two lower outer hand warmer pockets. Shock cord adjustments include hood opening, back of the hood and left and right hem, plus rip and stick cuffs on the sleeves. All this stuff works great. Next: three very cool innovations.

First, not only is the hood helmet compatible, but there is a balaclava style inner hood that stows in its own pocket where you don't even notice it for weeks (oops). It fits under your helmet for wicking and warmth while the normal hood goes over. Beautiful. Second, the cuffs have little flip-out inner cuffs with thumb holes that keep your sleeves inside your gloves. Gorgeous. Finally - and here's where the Alibi gets freaky - there are side zips that go from the armpit all the way down to the hem, fully opening the sides of the jacket. Worried about flapping? Not to fear, each side has a snap to keep the hemline intact.

It's beautiful man. This is serious venting, plus - wait for it - when the SheFlogger is seven weeks months pregnant she has no problem with sizing or venting. She loves it! I'm a hero! Really, the Alibi would be a top-line shell anyway, but with the trick features that actually work well it's ground breaking. Save this item until you are deep, deep in the doghouse, and use it to worm your way back into her good graces. Note that it fits just a tad large, although it doesn't look it because it's contoured. Awesome piece of gear, and on sale now at Altrec!

$158.99 (on sale from $249.95) at Altrec

PowerSox APF socks

Asymmetric socks? Whaaaaa? It's true! PowerSox, a Gold Toe brand, definitely knows socks. And one day they woke up with what my drill sergeant used to call a case of the ass. Why are both socks the same shape? Why? It doesn't make sense! No more, this ass-cased person shouted to the wind.

Anyway, I'm sure it happened something like that. In the end we have APF: anatomical performance fit. A left sock for your left foot, a right sock... you get the idea. They are insanely comfortable and available in three different cuts: quarter, low and no-show (low pictured here).

The 90% polyester, 9% nylon and 1% spandex is a great mix for comfort, durability and wicking performance. The cushioning, cut and flat seams are the next best thing to running barefoot. And yes, Virginia, they did mark the socks L and R. Now if they would just mark the size so I don't get mine mixed up with the SheFlogger's...

$11.99 a pair at PowerSox

Princeton Tec Swerve rear bike light

Be seen. This is the advice I have for you. Especially if you're a crazy winter biker in the City with No Sidewalks (that would be Anchorage, Alaska in the winter when snow is plowed onto all horizontal surfaces).

A tail light for your bike can save your bacon, and Princeton Tec has a great one. The Swerve is waterproof, crazy bright, and has mounting options for your seatpost, seatstay, handlebar, fork, basically anywhere you want to clip it. The mounting mechanism is basically a solid rubber thingy that you can easily move around or even between bikes quickly.

Two Maxbright LEDs provide both solid and blinky modes with the flip of a toggle that's easy to operate by feel alone. You can forgo the mounting assembly and just clip it to your seatbag if you want, just make sure it's level to get the best visibility. Drivers will have no problem seeing you anywhere in your 180 degree rear sector. The advertised 70 hours burn time on two AAA's is roughly accurate. The Princeton Tec Swerve is handlebars-down the best tail light out there.

$25.00 at REI

iMainGo X portable speaker system

OK, you love your music and you can't imagine spending even a single night without a soundtrack to your life. Or maybe you just want the occasional tuneage to drown out your tent-mate's snoring (you know who you are!). You have been served: the improbably named iMainGo X portable speaker system is soon to be your best friend.

Most portable speakers are like normal speakers, but smaller. Specifically they are hard little angled things, but not the iMainGo X. it's a soft-sided little unit, kind of like some sunglass cases. Slip your iPhone or other MP3 player inside, connect the standard 3.5mm headphone out dongle, flip the switch and you're good to go.

The iMainGo X sounds terrific. It puts out great sound while protecting your player, and not only that it provides not one but two headphone jacks, one of which can be used to daisy-chain multiple units for bigger sound. There's even a mic-in jack, so feel free to bring a guitar and get your front-man freak on. The lithium ion battery lasts about ten hours, just remember to turn off the master power switch inside (not just the external power switch) to prevent battery drain if you won't be using it for a while. Highly recommended.

$69.95 at Amazon

Black Diamond Express ice screw

What do you call it when your favorite ice screw is updated, making you feel compelled to go out and replace your entire rack at $56.95 a pop? Doubly screwed comes to mind, in this case by the Black Diamond Express, the screw formerly known as the Turbo Express. Turbo is now exclusively the name of the non-speed handle version.

So what's different? Hanger, handle and teeth. The hanger is stainless steel without the formerly black finish, so it shouldn't melt out as fast in the sun. It also has two clip in points; be aware the smaller one just barely accepts small lockers like the Vaporlock and Mini Pearabiner. The handle is wider on the outside for a more secure grip. The teeth are more aggressive and supposedly bite faster with less fracturing of the ice.

Finally the screw itself is lighter, presumably from the reduced hanger weight. A 16cm weighs in at 5.2oz compared to the old model at 5.5oz. Not too significant: 17 of the old screws weigh as much as 18 of the new ones, to put it in perspective. BD's web site also notes that "all sizes of screws are now CE-certified," although their own comparison table still lists the shorty 10cm without the CE logo.

$57.95 to $58.95 at REI

Petzl Tibloc Ascender

This is the kind of thing I buy on impulse. It's small, shiny and relatively inexpensive. I don't really care what it does. Well, OK, in this case I bought it for a very specific use: to use instead of a prussik on the headwall fixed line on Denali's West Buttress.

It didn't work well for that purpose for the simple reason that the fixed lines are large diameter (>12mm) ropes that made the Tibloc difficult to move. Its documentation clearly states it should be used be used on ropes from 8 to 11mm, so this was operator error.

It does work well as a rope clamp for pulley setups. For a lightweight ascender rig on small to medium ropes it's hard to beat, saving up to half a pound each over larger handle-style ascenders.

$29.95 at REI

Black Diamond GridLock belay carabiner

Our suggested name for this product was the RoadRage, but still... GridLock is not bad. Black Diamond's newest screwgate biner is 2.6oz of hot-forged, I-beamed shiny-shiny made especially for the belay slave in your life. Biner makers are really pushing the envelope these days in an attempt to innovate and differentiate, so here you are.

The GridLock's innovation is the funky gate, which makes the biner look like a figure 8 when closed. At the halfway open point you can slide your harness belay loop all the way into the small basket, put your belay device - BD hopes you'll use their new ATC Guide - keeper cable in the large basket, and when you close the gate everything is locked into its proper place. The idea is the carabiner can't turn 90 degrees and get cross-loaded, so the load stays on the strong axis as God and Yvon Chouinard intended.

Is cross-loading really that big of a problem? We dunno, but hey, a little extra margin of safety is always welcome. Speaking of safety, one small detail: the edges on the bottom of the gate where your belay loop would rub against it are kind of sharp, but under load it moves away from your body anyway.

Funny note: we were comparing the GridLock to an old BD Pearbiner, and the moving sleeve that locks the gate looks like it hasn't changed in the last fifteen years or more. I guess it's like what they used to say about the door on the Porsche 911 not changing for decades: if it works...

$19.95 at REI