GearFlogger

Sitka Gear Flash 20 pack

Sitka Gear likes to push the envelope with their designs, and their Flash 20 technical daypack has a few tricks in its bag. The Flash is designed for hunting but photographers and other gearheads will like it too. It comes dressed for success in Gore Optifade, a camouflage pattern specifically designed to fool animal vision.

The 3lb 7oz pack is rated at 2,000ci, enough for an ultralight overnight or a day trip with room for small to medium game. The silent and waterproof StealthTex fabric is stretchy so you can really stuff it in. The Flash is a top loader (no floating lid) with pockets galore: the main compartment has a smaller zipped hydration pouch pocket with clip, as well as a smaller MRE-sized mesh zipped pocket. There are two fleece-lined pockets, a small one on top and a large one on the back, perfect for lenses and scopes.

Also on the back are two more pockets, one large sized, open at the top with a buckle closure and one smaller with a side facing zipper.  All the zipper pulls are sausage-finger and glove compatible, with stay-open rubber half-rings. Finally there are two quart-bottle-sized open mesh bottle-pockets on the sides and two zipped compact-camera-sized pockets on the waist belt. For strap-on gear the two side compression straps and two rear straps give you plenty of options.

The removable aluminum frame and stiff framesheet do a great job of supporting the load, and the Flash carries better the more you load it. There's plenty of air on your back thanks to the curve of the frame, and in a pinch you could stash some of your load there. There are adjustments galore: the sternum strap has a good bit of vertical travel, and the waist belt is trick: the adjustment webbing routes through a cool little redirector that allows you to pull them forward to snug it up. This is a much more natural motion than pulling back and once you get used to it you resent packs that don't have it. One nitpick in an otherwise great pack: it's one size fits most and the limiting factor is the shoulder straps, which could use about six more inches of travel to fit longer torsos.

$219.99 at Amazon

REI Comfort LTG chair

Low to ground. If that doesn't describe my fat ass, I don't know what does. LTG, baby, and now I have a place to park it. REI has all our asses covered with the Comfort LTG chair, a supremely comfortable camp chair that also stands up to the inevitable Jack Daniels-fueled hijinks that will ensue because that's how your friends roll.

The LTG is a classic folding chair design that has a perfect angle to either put your feet up if you have a log handy, or to leave them down. The lumbar pillow slides up and down the back so you can get it just perfectly behind the sore spot in your back.

The only downside is the weight and space. OK, that's two downs. At six pounds you're not going to want to carry the LTG to high camp, although the weight is put to good use as it's rated to 250 pounds, which is enough to hold both my ample cheeks, even after a gluttonous evening. Second down: it only folds once so it doesn't compact down like some transformer chairs. Yet for car camping or carrying to the park or hooking on a stroller it's perfect. Here at the GearCave the LTG seems to live inside until it's called upon to perform in the field. It's that comfortable. And at the moment, it's that cheap, on sale at REI.

$24.09 (on sale from $34.50) at REI

Sierra Designs, Terramar, Clif support tornado relief

It's not always about the gear; sometimes it's about what the people who make the gear choose to do. Sierra Designs, Terramar, Clif and other companies teamed up to help our fellow Americans hit by the recent tornadoes in Missouri and Alabama:

"On August 10, a tractor-trailer loaded with outdoor gear from Sierra Designs, Terramar, and other sponsors such as Clif Bar, Manzella, Sierra Trading Post, Outdoor Research, Sole, Chacos, Merrell, and FRS stopped in Joplin, MO, delivering much needed apparel, footwear, and nutrition products to the local United Way for distribution.  The next evening, the same truck pulled into Tuscaloosa, AL to drop off the rest of the gear at the Temporary Emergency Management Services center."

Good on ya!

Full press release

Princeton Tec Push front bike light

Biking at night seems like an accident waiting to happen, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. If you're one of those hardy souls who relies on your bike as your primary means of transportation, or if you're just one of those winter biking nuts, chances are you're out in the soup and the more light the better. Remember the GearFlogger motto: safety third!

Princeton Tec has a nifty package for you: the Push is a dual purpose front bike light that acts as a safety light while providing illumination. The rear button activates three modes for the main : bright, not so bright and flashing. In all three white-light modes there is also a flashing red light aperature on each side that provides effective left and right marker action.

The Maxbright LED is rated at 100 lumens, which in practice on hi-bright mode is enough to illuminate a solid 50 feet ahead at trail speed, and over 100 feet if you're stationary. That's enough to pick your line, and given that most night riding is done at a more sedentary pace you'll have no problem when Push comes to shove. Three AAA batteries give you 4 hours at max bright, 14 hours on lo-bright and over 60 hours on blink.

The mount is very well designed, with a quick-release tab to remove the light cylinder, and since it's self-contained you can then use it as a flashlight. The clamp should fit any handlebar setup, and there's even a few degrees of left/right pivot with adjustable tension. Rugged and water resistant construction tops off a nice design, and at 4.3oz it's light on the handlebars.

$49.00 at REI

Jetboil Flash stove

Jetboil shook up the stove world a few years back with its revolutionary namesake stove. The little one-pound stove always knew it wanted its own handle, so after working as a runner, sucking on a 40 down at the corner and yelling "five-oh" it finally proved itself and was awarded a street name: the Flash!

The original Jetboil was a great design, and the Flash wisely keeps all that worked and makes some small but real improvements. If only all products evolved this way! The 1L cup with integrated heat exchanger is pretty much the same, but the neoprene insulator has been updated with a fancy little three-stripe thingie that turns orange when the contents are about to boil. At first it seemed kind of gimmicky, but it was cool to be ten feet away from the Flash and be able to see at a glance when it actually needed attention. More useful is the little tab for holding utensils.

There's nothing gimmicky about the performance. The Flash still cranks up hot water in no time at above-freezing temps. Even down towards single digits Fahrenheit it did a respectable job, bringing water to a boil in about five minutes (Jetboil makes another stove for colder temps). The reliable push-button ignitor is new and improved, as is the burner, and best of all the temperature control knob now has a flip-out wire bail that can be used easily with gloves on. The bottom plastic cup removes easier as well, and the stove base, fuel canister and very cool new included folding tripod base all conveniently stow inside the cup with room to spare. The tripod has notches for two sizes of canister and provides a very stable base; you can pick the whole thing up while it's burning and move it easily. Bottom line: a fantastic three-season canister stove.

$99.95 at REI

Teva Zilch sandals

And now for something completely ridiculous: the Teva Zilch sandal. When it showed up we thought, no way, it's too minimalist, it will be too uncomfortable and will fall apart.

Well, no, no and no. The Zilch is the awesomest. It fits like a glove, feels like it has way more cushioning than it possibly could have, and it deals with everything from water to pavement just fine.

We've not been a big fan of toe loops before, having tried some popular models and not liked them, but for some reason the Zilch just fits. The toe loop has a bit of elasticity so that we just forgot it was there. Sizing seems right to us too, as does strap placement. OK, perhaps they could move the rear heel strap just a smidge forward, but that hasn't stopped the Zilch from becoming our go-to sandal for just about everything this summer.

$55.93 (on sale from $80.00) at REI

REI Hobitat 6 tent

Big. Ass. Tent. There is absolutely nothing hobbit-sized about the REI Hobitat 6 tent, except perhaps that at just over 20 pounds it weighs as much as a hobbit. A small one, anyway, but hey, aren't they all small?

The redsesigned for 2011 Hobitat 6 is intended for car camping or basecamp use, and with that in mind it's a stellar design. Even the duffel it comes in is well thought out, with two carrying handle straps long enough to put your arms through backpack style. The three poles and 8 stakes come in their own stuff sacks, and a pole repair tube and 4 guylines with tighteners are included.

The instructions for setting up are simple and printed right on the duffel. A highly motivated individual could set it up, but it goes best with two people, who should be able to set it up in ten minutes the second time. The hoop poles are loooong and the ridge pole ginormous, and they make for a solid three pole setup once clipped in. The fly goes on tight, with velcro pockets slipping on over the ends of the ridge pole. The sides can be easily rolled up to expose the mesh panels on the tent in good weather. In not-so-good weather the seam sealing easily keeps out the moderate rain we experienced. The awnings built into the fly are the perfect size for keeping the drips out, and it's very pleasant to lie in the tent in a light rain with the doors open.

Livability is excellent, with a 6 foot ceiling and 8x10 floor for just over 80 square feet of living area. That's bigger than some Tokyo apartments. Six adults would fill it up, but any lesser number of occupants leaves a bundle of space. The mesh on top gives a nice view on clear nights, and the doors are a clever design that can be opened to one side or the other, or completely opened for a pavilion-style setup. Inner zippers expose a mesh door, and the whole thing can be stuffed overhead in a pocket. There are four medium sized pockets in the corners, and plenty of hang loops.

You want accessories? REI has got 'em, with a footprint, a vestibule and an aptly-named garage. Although we tested only the footprint, the garage in particular looks intriguing since you could easily store bikes or other large items inside. Overall the Hobitat 6 is a great design for those trips where you need or desire to bring the kitchen sink.

$319.00 at REI