GearFlogger

MSR Front Range Tarp Shelter

Sometimes, all you need is a tarp. And a trekking pole, or a stick or something to prop it up, of course. And some stakes, rocks or more sticks to guy it out. But you get the idea, simplicity!

Tarps are desirable because they're easy to pack, light on the back and quick to pitch. Not having a floor can also be a good thing, because aside from the weight and space savings sometimes you want to be able to walk into and out of a shelter without worrying about turning the floor into a colander with your crampons.

The MSR Front Range is a great medium-size tarp that can sleep four in a pinch, can be pitched with a single trekking pole, and can be opened up halfway or completely on one side to function as a great wind shelter that is easily accessible by multiple people at the same time. For about two pounds you get a 5'4" peak interior height and an eight-foot square footprint, which is some seriously usable space. MSR doesn't skimp on the included accessories, either: it comes with straps for lashing skis and trekking poles to hit the magic five foot height required to fully pitch the tarp, as well as seam sealer, six nice aluminum stakes and extra guy line.

You can get an optional footprint and even a bathtub-floored inner bug tent for summer use, which gives you a lot of options. If you don't use trekking poles - and you should carry at least one just for twisted ankle service - MSR will sell you an ultralight collapsible pole to do the job. If you're using it on snow and have ice axes (why isn't it called a snow axe, really?), screws, pickets, etc. you will have enough gear to pitch the Front Range without needing anything extra. If you haven't tried a tarp, the MSR Front Range is a great place to start, and probably end.

$279.95 at MSR

Salt Life Laguna Sunglasses

Italy is hip, we've all know that since 1953 when Gregory Peck chased Audrey Hepburn all over Rome in Roman Holiday and the movie won an Academy Award for costume. It also introduced the Vespa motor scooter to Americans, and the affection for both movie and scooter resulted in the 1946 Vespa from the movie - the oldest in existence - selling for close to $200K.

Salt Life is an ocean-inspired brand that knows style and cut its teeth on eyewear, and so it's no surprise their sunglasses are made in Italy. We've been sporting the Laguna shades in shiny gunmetal and loving their aviator style and subdued colors. The Lagunas are very light thanks to minimalist use of materials - no heavy temples or beefy frame here. These are perfect when you're not on the glacier and just need a pair of shades to not go blind, thanks to our baby blues.

The Lagunas are great for medium faces, but note if you have a very narrow nose they may ride a little lower than you'd like due to the wide pads, which alas are not adjustable. Otherwise if you're going to be wearing sunglasses all day and have the florins to spare, check out the Lagunas. The solid metal construction, tough 100% UV-proof polycarbonate lenses and comfy nosepads won't weigh you down.

$199.99 at Salt Life

Kahtoola INSTA Gaiter Low

You want gaiters, we got gaiters. With apologies to Molly Hatchet, we're living in gaiter country. The latest resident is Kahtoola's INSTA gaiter low, which they bill as their lightest and most breathable gaiter. How does it measure up? Pretty well we think. We switched from boots to low-top trail runners/hikers a long time ago and have never looked back. Having a set of gaiters that pair up well with that footwear choice is great, so kudos to Kahtoola on this one.

But you want the deets, so more specifically, the INSTA gaiter measures up to just above the ankle. It is definitely low profile, but not too low. Basically you unzip the gaiter, wrap around your ankle - nice, no pulling on over muddy boots - zip it back up, cinch the ankle cord and connect the instep strap underneath the sole. It's a nicely executed and simple design that makes the whole process of gaitering and ungaitering quick and painless.

The stretch-woven nylon is lightweight and breathable. A pair weighs under 2oz and disappears in your pack in the included stuff sack. The TPU instep strap is tough and easy to snap into place, as long as you do it in the right direction: slide the hole over the bottom of the lug first then just press the top into place. Do not try to engage the top of the lug first, or pull down in that direction because that could tear the lug out of the fabric backing. If you're fighting it you're doing it wrong, because done right it's very quick and painless. Didn't we already say that though?

$39.95 at Kahtoola

Watershed Westwater Backpack Drybag

Sometimes what you need in life is a ginormous waterproof bag. And sometimes you need that bag to be ridiculously stout, as in military grade. That is the point at which you seek out a Watershed drybag.

Watershed makes drybags that are used by people who make their living in and around the water. Professional water guides, search and rescue and US special operations forces all trust in these made-in-the-USA bags when their lives and livelihoods depend on it. They've tested their bags to 100m deep, so chances are they're going to meet your mission profile. For all you operators out there, you can even order your bag with an inflate/purge valve if you're going to be swimming with it.

The Westwater backpack drybag is the load hauler of drybags with a 65 liter capacity. We've gone up Denali with a smaller pack, so when someone tells you you can't take it with you, show them the Westwater. It makes carrying that monster load to your raft or boat easy, with padded removable shoulder straps - sternum strap included - and a basic wide webbing hip belt. One touch we really appreciate is the grab handle, because you're always moving your load around and when you do it almost always starts from the ground, so a top handle just makes it easier.

The Westwater features Watershed's super-cool and super-effective ZipDry seal. Zip it shut like a freezer bag, and just use the attached loops to fold it into an S-curve to pull apart so you can stuff yet more gear inside. It's bombproof, like the rest of the bag, which uses top of the line hardwear and construction. Once you're all in, use the side compressions straps if you've got any room left to compress, buckle the top for giggles and you're good to go. Seriously, go anywhere. The Westwater will still be watertight when you get there.

$188.00 at Watershed

Royal Robbins Shadowquilt Jacket

OK, it's still summer and still hot as snot - that would be 98 degrees, we think? - all over, so maybe it's a little early to be thinking about insulation layers. Here in Alaska, however, the saying is, "if you don't like the weather, just wait 20 minutes." A recent 90-minute hike in the Chugach had us starting in cool weather, stripping off everything when the sun came out, then putting it all back on and then some when cold, wet mist rolled in and the wind picked up near the summit.

For lightweight warmth we appreciated the Royal Robbins Shadowquilt jacket, a quilted, hoodless design that works equally well about town or on a wind-blown mountain saddle, while wondering if you would be convicted for murdering a close relative who just ate the last chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. Not that we ever had such an urge, or that if we did we would ever act on it, but everyone has a breaking point...

The Shadowquilt has two zipped hand pockets and a horizontally-zipped chest pocket, as well as a full-length zipper flap and stretch panels down the sides. It's a little heavy for pure backcountry use, but it's designed more for about-town mountain lifestyle and for that and similar activities it works quite well. The Shadowquilt will keep you warm while you have your early-morning cup of coffee at the campground, can fill in to deal with inclement weather on an impromptu hike, and travels well to boot. If you're looking for a business-casual companion jacket with the ability to get a little frisky, check out the Shadowquilt.

$140.00 at Royal Robbins

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 9th Edition

If you could only have one book on mountaineering, it's an easy choice: Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (2017) has been the go-to reference for generations of aspiring and practicing mountaineers since 1960. It has its own Wikipedia page,and the organization that started the book is even older: the Seattle Mountaineers date their founding to 1906, so they are well into their second century. Tl;dr is, they know their stuff, and you can too! Just RTFM...

MFH is the bible for mountaineers, a fitting companion to the famous quote by John Muir: "I'd rather be in the mountains thinking of god, than in church thinking about the mountains." And if you're going to spend quality time in the mountains, it pays to know your way around. The 9th edition makes a few small changes, perhaps the most important one being a separate chapter for avalanche safety, something that has gotten a lot more attention in the past decade, and where methods of risk mitigation are evolving.

Other than that, it's the same six section format from prior editions:

1. outdoor fundamentals
2. climbing fundamentals
3. rock climbing
4. snow, ice and alpine climbing
5. leadership, safety and rescue
6. the mountain environment

You really can't go wrong with any of the Mountaineers Books, but MFH should be your first and longest relationship. For different takes on the same subjects, we recommend The Mountaineering Handbook by Craig Connally (2004), and Glacier Mountaineering (2009) by the always excellent writer/illustrator team of Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland. Both are anchor titles on our Backcountry Bookshelf.

$28.90 at Amazon

Thermapen ONE Instant Read Thermometer

When you start using a grill to cook your meat, you quickly run into the question of doneness. At that point someone will tell you that thing about how if you press on different parts of your hand the resistance is the same as different grades of doneness; the soft web between thumb and index finger feels like rare, or whatever. You will then quickly realize this is absolutely unreliable and frustrating and go get yourself an instant read thermometer, at which point you will discover Thermapen.

Thermapen is a company that clearly is passionate about their products, which include a wide array of thermometers, alarms, temperature control fans, etc. You can see it from the moment you open the package, which includes a booklet called Temperature at Home, mostly product descriptions but also a lot of good tips on how to properly calibrate your thermometer to tips on cooking chocolate, seafood, steaks and more. There is even a thing about cooking sugar which we didn't even know was a thing, but is very cool.

Anyway, back to the gear, in this case the Thermapen ONE, which is their newest and bestest instant read thermometer. The first thing you need from your thermometer is accuracy, which the ONE provides to within half a degree. A-ha, you say, anyone can say that, but how do we know? We know because Thermapen is crazy about quality control, and the ONE's measurement standards are subject to a process certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the same governmental organization that certifies mission-critical things like ballistic armor and stock trade times. The second thing you want is a fast read so you don't have to hold your tender little hand over a hot grill, and the ONE is the fastest with sub-one second reads. It also helps that the probe can read at any angle, which is handy on a crowded grill.

The Thermapen ONE doesn't stop there; it has a large, rotating display with adaptive backlight for easy reading, it turns itself on when you pick it up and has a silver ion coating for antimicrobial protection. It's even IP67 rated for dust and water because you might, you know, drop it in water... not that we did, but someone we know might have. But now we know we can wash it in the sink without worry! So the takeaway is this: buy once, cry once, get a Thermapen ONE and you're good to grill.

$105.00 at Thermapen

Sharkbanz 2 Shark Deterrent Band

There is really only one question you need to answer: did you see Jaws as a child? If the answer is yes, then you will want to get yourself a Sharkbanz shark deterrent band. It's that or a bigger boat.

Now we are fully aware that sharks, like bears or any other apex predator, deserve respect and protection for their place in the food chain, we just want to make sure that we are not actually part of that food chain. And yes, we are also aware that shark attacks are exceedingly rare, to wit: "The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File investigated 129 alleged shark-human interactions worldwide in 2020. ISAF confirmed 57 unprovoked shark bites on humans and 39 provoked bites." In that same year there were three deaths by shark bite: one each in California, Hawaii and Maine.

So, good to go right? Except we still want a little more peace of mind thanks to Mr. Peter Benchley. Luckily Sharkbanz has a product so simple even we can use it. The Sharkbanz 2 is a watch-like device that you put on your ankle or wrist. It emits a magnetic field that sharks do not like, as backed up by independent research, that includes a seriously cool video of a test dummy all chummed up in the middle of a bunch of hungry bull sharks - one of the most aggressive sharks and the one responsible for perhaps most attacks on people. There is some fine print about Great Whites being a special case as they are ambush predators that attack at high speed from a distance, but hey, when it comes to shark protection we'll take a little something rather than a whole lot of nothing.

We wore a couple of Sharkbanz 2's in Hawaii recently while swimming and snorkeling offshore, and we can report we had zero - that's right, zero! - shark attacks. OK, this might be because there were no attack-y sharks about, but we can definitely report that the Sharkbanz gave us a nice bump in the peace-of-mind department, a major perk for ocean-paranoid individuals like certain family members who shall remain unnamed. The band wears easily and comfortably, has no moving parts or batteries, and has a stout build that should last pretty much forever. And here's a bonus pro tip: do NOT throw away the case it comes in, it is magnetically shielded to protect things like cell phones and credit cards.

$84.00 at Sharkbanz