GearFlogger

Colter Co. Stayin' Alive Survival Bandana

Got your do-rag on? If not it's time to channel your inner Zorro and protect that hairdo with a stylin' bandana from Colter Co. And if you're wearing a bandana, it should be a survival bandana dammit! And if it's a survival bandana, it might as well be one called Stayin' Alive.

Colter makes a nice bandana, no doubt. Their Stayin' Alive print on their reflective survival bandana makes it a little more useful. It's hunter safety orange to start with, so if you really do find your and your -do in harm's way, it makes a good signal panel. The silver ink is reflective, maximizing your chances of being seen at a distance, especially at night. The printing is high quality and should survive quite a few washes.

The printing on the bandana reminds you to stop, think, observe, and plan, all good ideas. More specifically the four quadrants of the bandana have tips on securing shelter, water, fire, and food. It's all good stuff, printed on a 22 inch square piece of 100 percent cotton. It's a little pricey for what is essentially a square of cotton, but the safety orange, reflectivity, and good advice are worth a few extra bucks. We only wish they made one in a 40 inch square size, that way it could be used to fashion a nice sling too.

$13.55 at Amazon

Merrell Freewheel 2 Shoe

Merrell has been making shoes a long time, and we've been right there with them. We have a pair of their original slip-on leather clogs that just hit twenty years old, and the sole is just finally starting to separate. That's after two decades of serious abuse, and never bothering to perform even the most basic of maintenance. So we were psyched to try out a new pair of Merrell Freewheel 2 shoes, and... well, it's a mixed bag, so read on.

We were looking for a shoe that could walk all day and would pair equally well with shorts or slacks. Seduced by the sexy pictures on their website, we took a chance and ordered up a pair of Freewheels in kangaroo brown. They showed up a few days later - without the advertised free shipping, because we always get screwed on that here in Alaska - and we eagerly popped open the shoebox. That's when buyer's remorse set in: we saw immediately that the glueline attaching the feather edge of the upper to the sole - the transition between the brown leather and the beige rubber in the picture - was spotty. In plain english, it looked like crap.

The glueline was bad on both the left and right shoes, in different ways. It took what was otherwise a handsome shoe and made it look like it was about to fall apart. Initial bad impression aside, we did try on the shoe indoors for a day and to be fair, it is really light and comfortable to walk in. We have no doubt it would have been a great traveling companion, if the sole stayed attached, but we just couldn't hang with such spotty quality on a $100 shoe. So, back to Merrell it goes.

We should note the Freewheel 2 is designed to be a flat pedal shoe, and while we didn't get any bike time in on it, we're hoping in the future Merrell fixes the quality issue so we can try again.

$105.00 at Merrell

Randy Newberg Knives by Gerber

Nothing puts a knife through its paces like field dressing game. You put in the legwork, you got your animal, and now its time for the really hard stuff- and the bigger the animal, the bigger the task. It's been a while, but in the past we've dressed animals as large as moose and caped Dall sheep using basic drop point knives, and it was a chore, no two ways about it. As our son gets old enough to want to try hunting, we began to look for a knife made for harvesting and found two standouts, both by Gerber.

As the ad copy says, Randy Newberg has harvested more game than us - or anyone we know - so when Gerber puts out a knife with Newberg's name on it, we figure a better mouse trap has just been invented. In this case there are two knives, the DTS and the EBS, the latter being more of a knife system. You can use either for both the open cavity and the gutless method of processing your game. We've never tried gutless, and the method certainly has its pros and cons, but its interesting either way to see Randy work it through to conclusion.

The DTS is a single knife solution with two blades: a large 3.75" main blade with a mild recurve profile, secured by a stout axis lock, and a small black-anodized serrated Wharncliffe-like tendon tool. The tendon tool is designed for the rough work of dorsal hiding and joint separation, while the extra-thick profile of the main blade will harvest all the meat you wanna eat. The body of the knife is designed for ambidextrous use and different hold styles, with solid rubberized grip zones and reflective labels in case you drop it in the dark. The DTS is clearly a workhorse of a knife, designed to take a beating, and it will do everything you need it to on pretty much any hunting expedition.

On a more specialized bent, the EBS is more appropriately labeled a knife system. The handle comes clipped into a really sweet little case design that also holds three task-specific blades: a longer backstrap blade, a medium general task blade and a shorter serrated and recurved breakdown blade. The case holds the blades quietly and securely for easy transport. The skeletonized handle has tacky grip zones and features a quick-release system for changing out blades that is both easy to use and reliably solid in use.

We're really looking forward to putting both these knives into action and will update as we go. Whether you're looking for a capable about-camp knife that can easily get your game processed when the time comes, or a more specialized tool for frequent use and/or large animals, Gerber has a solution with their Randy Newberg knives. Now we just need to justify a new hunting rifle to the Sheflogger...

DTS $65.00 at Gerber
EBS $65.00 at Gerber

Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle

There's nothing quite like a good guide book to get one excited about heading off on an adventure. One area that we've nosed around over the years but never fully explored is the Four Corners area around the common - and unique! - border of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Along comes Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle, by Daniel Pierce and Joel Anderson.

The Grand Circle doesn't have a single definition. In this book it's defined as being mostly in Utah plus the Grand Canyon in Arizona. If you visit The Grand Circle Association - a great source of travel tips for the area - you'll find a much larger diameter to their circle. Any way you draw it the Grand Circle has more cool places per square mile than just about anywhere, and IGEGC is a great way to get excited about visiting.

The book's centerpiece is its artwork, all of which is done in retro travel poster style with saturated colors and grand vistas. And the art is gorgeous, a feast for the eyes and the imagination, making it easy to pick up and hard to put down. All of the posters featured, and a lot more, are available in various formats on the ADG website as well.

The layout of the book starts with maps, itineraries and history, then moves on to detailed treatments of eight areas: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Capitol Reef, Moab, Blanding/Bluff, Glen Canyon, and the North Rim Grand Canyon. Throughout are interesting side trips exploring activities like horseback riding, fossil hunting and offroading, as well as features like hoodoos, rock art and slot canyons. Bottom line: if the Grand Circle isn't on your bucket list, add it now, and pick up a copy of Illustrated Guide to Exploring the Grand Circle to start dreaming.

$29.95 at Anderson Design Group