Custom White Oakley Jawbones

I recently discovered Oakley Jawbone Sunglasses. This series features full rims and frames with the added ability to swap out lenses on the fly using a hinged “jaw” lower rim element. For me these glasses seemed like a great solution for road biking and mountain biking that would allow for both day and night riding and anti fogging with the option for vented lenses.

I prefer full frames to rimless ones and like the styling of the Jawbone but appreciate the vented lens option and the ability to carry along a set of clear lenses for night riding and hiking. The jaw system isn’t just a gimmick either, sure it allows you to swap in different colored frame elements and logos, vented, non vented, polarized, and clear lenses… and that’s all very nice. Beyond style though, the frames are designed in such a way that lenses are not flexed at all when they are locked in. This system provides the best viewing experience by eliminating light bending and glare in the lenses. That’s perfect and maybe essential if you’re cruising down the tarmac at 50mph. That’s a big part of why many bicyclers prefer rimless sunglasses.

Jawbones are available at REI or other online retailers for ~$200 in black and a few other basic colors but for a bit extra (about $50 with shipping plus 1.5 to 2 weeks of wait time) you can get them in custom colors from the Oakley website. This is perfect for sports teams that want to color coordinate or if you want to match your coat, helmet or other clothing accessory. I had never used the Oakley online custom order system so I decided to give it a try with the Jawbone and everything worked out great!

Now, before you jump right into designing your own custom pair it’s worth noting that Oakley also offers Special Edition and Limited Edition glasses for Livestrong, and a few professional athletes with elaborate coloring and design beyond the customization system. Like I said, worth checking out but ultimately I chose to make my own. Using the online system I created a white pair of Oakley Jawbone sunglasses using the following options:

• Frame Color: Matte White
• Jaw: Matte White
• Thru Bolt: Pearl
• Lens 1 color: Black Iridium Vented
• Lens 2 color: Clear Vented
• Icons: Gunmetal
• Ear Socks: Slate

Jawbone (and most other Oakleys) also come with a free fitted black soft vault with room for the glasses and two additional pairs of lenses as well as a soft microfiber cloth with a built in lens pocket that can also be used for cleaning and storage. In conclusion, the Jawbones are great glasses, I’m very happy with the weight, function and style they offer.

cotton sleeping bag liner

I recently spent a month on a ranch near San Antonio, TX and slept every night in a sleeping bag. While the experience wasn’t quite camping, it was similar in many ways. My days were full of intense physical activities ranging from plowing to painting and construction. I wasn’t showering regularly because the water system on the ranch was being renovated and I wasn’t always changing clothes either.

With so much time being spent in a dirty space and with my own personal hygiene set a step below the norm, I didn’t want my bed to turn into an ant farm and I didn’t want to ruin my sleeping bag. Now enter the Cocoon Mummy Liner made of 100% soft, easy to clean cotton. This tapered sleeping bag liner is extremely light weight and fits inside your normal sleeping bag to separate your grime from your nice bag.

For just $30 this liner can significantly reduce the need to wash your sleeping bag which will greatly extend its life. It also adds insulation and comfort with the label suggesting a 2.9 to 5.3 Fahrenheit improvement! If it’s an especially warm night (which I encountered a couple times) you can just use the liner as your bag and sleep on top of your regular sleeping bag for padding.

Cocoons can be bought at REI and other equivalent stores and come in a number of different materials such as silk, silk cotton, silk cotton seacell, Egyptian cotton, coolmax, cotton flannel and just regular old cotton (which is what I used). Check them out at www.cocoonusa.com or www.cocoon.at.

3 Pack of 3 fl oz GoToobs

Part of hiking, or taking any adventure for that matter, is traveling. You can’t climb the volcanic landscape of Hawaii without a plane trip (unless you’re lucky enough to live there already!) and with new safety regulations governing liquids and gels, packing can be a drag. On the one hand there are smaller sized shampoos, tooth pastes and soaps available but that’s not what I use on a regular basis at home and I feel like it’s kind of wasteful (both in terms of packaging and trips to the store) to buy extra stuff just for a trip.

Thankfully there are plenty of options available in the container department of stores like REI that make it easy to drizzle a bit of your regular products into a more appropriately sized bottle. It’s a simple concept that might sound a bit messy but a lot of progress has been made in these products and the results are quite good. My favorite option among travel sized liquid containers is the GoToob and it’s not hard to see why! This product oozes quality (see what I did there?) it feels great, looks great and packs in three wonderful options that competitors don’t; a leak proof squirt valve, a suction cup, and an identification ring. They also come in a few different sizes and colors so you can more easily differentiate between your supplies on the go.

Below you can see some of the color and size options for the GoToobs, these are the 2 fl oz (55 ml) and 1.25 fl oz (37 ml) containers but Humangear also makes them in a 3 fl oz (88 ml) size which is right at the size limit for carry on luggage. If you look closely at the plastic ring where the cap attaches you can see an opening where the color of the tube shows through. There are different labels etched into the top rim of the tube and the twist piece allows you to “label” the contents of each individual GoToob. Labels include Lotion, Soap, Sun, Shamp., Cond., …. It’s a very creative feature and helpful if you’re traveling with friends who might mistake soap for shaving cream or hair removal product for shampoo… Yikes! I found that the different colors alone, and the fact that the bottles are semi-transparent, helped a lot in the quick identification of contents. The 2oz bottles have a built in suction cup which helps a lot if you’re in a cramped or dirty environment and don’t want to be setting items on the floor. The suction cup works very well! The final and best feature of all GoToobs is their squirt valve. It’s the same design that many new ketchup bottles employ, it holds back liquid quite well but when you squeeze the tube it lets out short bursts of directed contents.

2oz GoToobs with suction and smaller 1.25oz tubes

Check out the video review below and be sure to explore other products made by Humangear, they have a knack for taking simple solutions and making them great! From what I understand it is also a family run operation and everyone who works there is very friendly… which doesn’t hurt :)

injinji tetrasoks performance with coolmax

As I was exploring the radical new design of Vibram’s FiveFinger toe shoes, I stumbled across injinji and the tetrasok which mimmicks the foot-surrounding design but still works with my existing shoes (as well as my FiveFingers). I decided to buy a pair and and give them the complete tour in my work dress shoes, biking shoes, hiking boots and casual skate shoes. What I learned is that toe socks are a bit tricky to get on and off, they drastically change the way shoes feel and perform and they cool my feet off much better than a traditional sock. They don’t however, change the way I walk like FiveFingers do.

I tried the Performance model of injinji socks first which are made with CoolMax and are designed to wick away moisture and help with odor control. These socks are recommended for running, walking, cycling, and general cross training. In terms of thickness they are medium with three ply fabric, and can work well with Vibram’s FiveFinger toe shoes. Alternatively, injinji makes an even thinner “Liner” model of toe socks that would probably be best for the FiveFingers because they’re only two ply. Moving up to the thicker injinji socks, the Outdoor model is made of marino wool (known for being the finest and softest kind of wool) which are great for warm or cold environments as they insulate very well. The Outdoor socks aren’t as good at wicking or drying out but offer a bit more padding. Wool wicks moisture to a middle layer instead of completely wicking it away to the exterior of the fabric, this means they don’t completely dry out as quickly as the Performance or Liner models.

As I dug around and explored the world of shoes and socks with toes, I learned that injinji and Vibram are actually two seperate companies. I wasn’t sure at first because injinji’s tetrasoks are prominently featured on the Vibram FiveFinger website. I actually had to call injinji to confirm this distinction but their customer service is world class amazing outstanding! Two rings and a lovely sounding english speaking woman picks up and chats with me for 10 minutes about socks. Rock on injinji…

Toe socks have been around for years, mostly in the form of cuddly cute warm looking things for girls (and I guess guys who like pink cuddly things?) The funny and ironic thing about “snuggly warm toe socks” is that by separating the toes, no matter what fabric is being used, you cool your feet down because the radient heat from neighboring toes is shut out and moisture wicking properties of fabric on the increased surface area dissipates your body heat. But hey… they are cute!

One of the biggest benefits of the injinji toe socks to me is their ability to cool the foot down. This affect is very noticeable, especially when shoes are removed at the end of a long walk or hike. A whoosh of coolness tingles each toe in a way I’ve never quite felt before.

So how do you care for injinji tetrasok toe socks? Well, for the most part washing them is much like any other CoolMax or wool product. You can machine wash them on warm but don’t use bleach and don’t iron or dry clean them either. The package says to line dry but I just set them out on my bed while the rest of my laundry is in the dryer. They dry fast enough here in Northern California where it’s not too humid. You should avoid drying them with heat in a machine dryer because they can shrink a little bit… This has happened with nearly all of my other synthetic socks at one time or another and unfortunately also happened to my injinjis this past weekend :( My Wigwam and Teko socks shrunk a ton when I put them in the dryer as well. Even though these socks have shrunk, they do stretch out again and it really isn’t the end of the world… they just feel tighter. When comparing my FiveFinger shoes to injinji Tetrasoks one noticeable difference is that my longer toes are completely surrounded by the socks whereas the shoes are more rigid and thus not completely independent feeling. In this sense injinji toe finger socks feel better than toe shoes to me.

Toe socks add an interesting snug feel to shoes but are even more fun without shoes. I found them to be very comfortable, almost unnoticable after a bit of wearing. They wick well and allow your toes to wiggle around and feel “fun”. When I’m typing at the computer or watching a flick I tend to wrap my toes around things like the legs of my desk. Maybe it’s a nervous habbit or something left over from when I was a babby and used to suck on my toes? Even before purchasing toesocks I would squish my toes around table legs and such but would have to stretch the fabric of my regular socks in order to get things between my big and pointer toes. Toe socks eliminated this sock-stretching annoyance and made it super easy. In many ways these toe socks seem to activate my entire foot.

Depending on what shoes you wear the injinji toe socks the experience can be good or bad. Loose shoes feel even looser and the slick synthetic fabric used on the Performance line only increases the feeling of separation and slide. I guess this would happen with normal synthetic socks too but the feeling of openness is increased since toes can wiggle around easier with the tetrasoks. Sure, you can crank your toes down and “grab” the insole with these socks, but somehow they just separate you foot from the shoe more than a traditional sock. This feeling is less present when using a snug shoe or hiking boot that is fit correctly, it was really only noticeable in my dressy shoes and my skate shoes which are relaxed fit. Over time, if you wear injinji socks regularly with your shoes, the sole imprint in the shoe will adjust to your toes and the sloshy feeling will goe away. This is only a minor gripe and is offset by the extra padding and snugness in the toe area that tetrasocks offer. Just note that the synthetic material of the performance line is slippery than cotton socks you might otherwise be using for dress or skate shoes.

So how do the injinji socks in a regular shoe compare to wearing FiveFingers? If you’re hoping to mimmic the feeling of FiveFingers (and save a bit of cash) by purchasing just toe socks, unfortunately it’s not going to take you there. I find that FiveFinger toe shoes completely change the way I walk, the pad of my foot hits first and then coushions down to support my body weight. I also tend to jump and skip around more because my feet are so light and I can feel so much more. Walking becomes more bouncy and fun withe FiveFingers. This may be due to the decreased thickness and complete flexibility they provide vs. a regular shoe with lots of heel padding and no way to “prime” my toes for impact (due to stiff upper and footbed sole). When I’m just wearing toe socks by comparison, in a regular shoe, my heel still hits the ground first and I rely on the support of the shoe to determine how I step. Regular shoes = heel first, toe shoes = toe/footbed first, toe socks + regular shoes = heel first. This isn’t a bad thing, you wouldn’t want to backpack or hike long distances with toe shoes unless you have extremely strong feet and that’s precisely because your footbed can’t support that kind of strain. Our feet just weren’t meant to support 50+ pound packs over long distances and thus, stiffer hiking boots were made to transition that weight to the stronger muscles of our legs which are better equipped. I talk more about hiking boot fit and stiffness here. The good news in all of this that toesocks do provide a better grip in your shoe, hiking boot or not, and they are still the only sock that will really work with toe shoes!

Final verdict? injinji toe socks are a bit expensive when compared with Target brand cotton socks for everyday use. They take longer to put on and take off because of the toe compartments and they can shrink. This is offset by the fun feeling, moisture wicking and heat dissipation properties along with toe independence, increased grip and ability to grab things with your toes easier. Try a pair :)

Exofficio boxers hanging out to dry

The package says 17 countries. 6 weeks. And one pair of underwear. That’s quite a statement! And for $25 a pair that’s just what you’d come to expect… I first heard about these Exo briefs from a friend who said they were great for flying because they’re cool and light. Like many other synthetic garments such as socks and yoga wear, these underwear are made of mostly Nylon (94%) with the remainder as Lycra and spandex.

So what is this “Nylon” and why is it so great for underpants? Wikipedia describes Nylon as “a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known as polyamides . . . first produced on February 28, 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont.” Indeed, Nylon is in many things these days and was designed with the intent of replacing silk during WWII as it became scarce. Nylon is in your toothbrush bristles, rope, and even some screws and industrial parts! If that doesn’t sound like it’d be very comfortable surrounding your more sensitive bits don’t worry, these briefs are actually very soft and non-abrasive. They feel a lot like silk and are a bit slippery and hard when compared to cotton but wear very well.

Exofficio underwear are designed to be quick drying, odor resistant, lightweight, breathable and moisture wicking. The package says “Seasoned travelers save room by packing just one or two pairs of underwear” and that goes for hikers too! When you sweat in these things, a special coating helps to pull the moisture away from your skin and ventilate your “area” which is especially useful in humid environments. Furthermore, an Aegis antimicrobial shield helps to keep them smelling good after hours of use (which is important when you’re dealing with synthetic materials). It’s worth noting that Aegis is designed to be environmentally friendly, working its magic without leaching chemicals into the environment.

So to break it down so far, these underwear wick away moisture and stay cool, they are lightweight and comfortable to wear traveling or during physical activity. This is all well and good but the real benefit to me is their capacity for extremely fast drying. Let’s say you’re on that long hike/camping trip and you’ve only got a pair or two to save space and weight. At some point when the underwear do start to get a little foul smelling and overused, you simply wash them off in a stream or with a bit of extra water, ring them out, and hang them up on a tree or in your tent for an hour or two. This short easy process revitalizes the briefs and puts you back in the game. I’ve used this strategy several times on camping trips where in the past I might have just worn cotton boxers, and the results are phenomenal. The wicking properties keep my lower back and buttocks cool when I’m wearing a heavy pack and hiking for hours on end and the quick rinse strategy at basecamp works like a charm! On one occasion, while hiking the Mendocion Waterfall Loop in Northern California, I actually fell into a stream with these on and they dried out completely by the time we reached camp and set up our tents!

The one caveat here is that Nylon can melt very easily. Never ever try to dry them by setting them near the fire or even using a conventional electric tumble dryer set to warm or hot. Here is a quick “how to” guide for caring for synthetic nylon clothing and underwear like these Exofficio briefs and panties:

• machine wash on cold using a gentle cycle setting
• do not use bleach or fabric softener
• tumble dry on low, don’t iron (if you do, be very careful and only use the lowest settings)

In conclusion, I’d say these are a great choice for active wear and traveling underwear. I own a couple of pairs of silk underwear and they tend to be hotter and similarly expensive. The moisture wicking and ventilation properties of the Exo briefs are great and the quick drying feature is well aligned with hikers and backpackers, just take care in washing them.

PSPgo System in open position

The PSPgo is a remake of the original PlayStation Portable which came in three versions, the launch PSP 1000, slightly slimmer PSP 2000, and the most recent PSP 3000 which came with a brighter screen and built in microphone. The newest “go” comes with all that and more… and less in some ways. While the PSPgo has a slightly smaller screen than any of the previous three iterations, it benefits from a more compact size, sliding face, and internal 16GB memory. All of this adds up to an extremely portable console that is lightweight, convenient and perfect for travel.

This is a great “big kid” gaming system that both men and women are sure to enjoy. Timed with the release of the PSPgo, Sony has updated their online PlayStation Store which is very similar to iTunes in the way it syndicates movies, music, tv shows and games. If you think back, you may remember Sony buying out MGM and adding hundreds of movies to their already extensive catalog. All of that is at your fingertips with the PSPgo in the most environmentally friendly format possible, digital download! Purchasing digital media is straightforward and can be done from your PC or the PSP itself which comes stock with wireless and blue tooth so you can tether it to your phone and other devices. What’s more, it comes pre-installed with Skype so you can actually use the PSPgo to make cheap calls right from the get go.

Sure, the PSPgo is extremely portable, easy to use and fun to play… but we do have our gripes. First off, it costs $250 and doesn’t include any full games (although that is sure to change in the coming months and years). And second, it takes a long time to download new games and system updates and many of them are overpriced considering they are all digital. Third, if you do pick one up be sure to plug it in right away because there are software updates and the system won’t let you install them (and ultimately begin downloading and playing games) until the battery is charged… Nobody likes waiting two hours to play with their brand new toys! Other than that the system is a hikers dream (as long as that hiker enjoys games, movies and music).

When compared with iPods, iPhones, Zunes and other portable devices I find the game titles on the PSPgo to be way more deep and engaging which is a no-brainer since this is first and foremost a gaming device. When compared to a Nintendo DS however, the system has fewer titles but more graphics and processing power, not to mention movies, games and TV shows. Games like Rock Band really shine on this system, it’s easy to pick up, fun to play, and not too geeky. Other games like LocoRoco 2 are similar to Mario or other platformers, in this title you tilt the world and control a roley-poley type creature who bounces along and can split up into tinier parts to filter through tight spaces.

If you’re looking for a new MP3 player that can also do movies and games then check out the PSPgo and watch our short video review below. Other favorite games include MotorStorm, Patapon 2 and God of War.

Tap Guard inserted into Nalgene Bottle

The Tap Guard is a great idea that is poorly executed. When I first saw this product I bought it on the spot and then told all of my friends about it. For the first few days I was so impressed by the idea of a portable gravity/suction powered personal water filter that I didn’t notice its flaws. Essentially, the Tap Guard is a splash guard with a built in holder for a carbon pouch. As you drink from your bottle water is pushed through the carbon and chlorine, iodine and other bad tasting potentially harmful elements are removed… that’s not to say all bad elements are removed, and this would not filter river water. This is more of a designer filter, but none the less at $15 it’s still better than nothing.

So what went wrong with the Tap Guard? Firstly, the product easily falls into the drinking reservoir. As I mentioned in my CamelBak Better Bottle Review earlier, I like to toss my bottles around and spin them, even drop them occasionally. Whenever this happens the Tap Guard plops right into the drink and I have to empty it out, get my dirty hands all over the opening and fish out the Tap Guard to reinsert it. This could have been avoided if the Tap Guard was built into a solid plastic screw-on lid. Secondly, carbon sand from the filter pouches tends to leak out and inevitably find its way into your bottle and mouth. I’m not a huge fan of drinking sand, and despite trying several pouches, even buying replacement pouches and following the “soak and wait” instructions for priming them I always seemed to run into trouble.

What’s the verdict? Despite being so very affordable I have discontinued using my Tap Guard, I gave it to a friend and I haven’t seen him using it. Buy a pitcher filter instead and filter more out of your water while avoiding the carbon sand. If you are always out and about and don’t have room for a pitcher or sink attachment then this might be good for you, it does help when filling up at drinking fountains and other public oasis’.

capCAP Splash Guard + Lid Combo

The capCAP is designed to completely replace the lid of your wide mouth water bottle and provide a few additional benefits. Firstly, you won’t lose any of the features you already enjoy (like an attachment loop or solid non leaking seal, or extra vertical space) more importantly, you’ll gain a manageable more drinkable spout that will hold back extra water much the way a standard splash guard would.

capCAP fits Nalgene 1L bottles, Nalgene OTG, all CamelBak models, the Nalgene SS and Guyot SS, Cyclone and Stansport, and works very very well in my experience! Having tried rubberized splash guards, which tend to fall into the reservoir eventuall and get dirty after prolonged drinking, I think humangear has taken the right approach with a full on replacement lid. The design is solid and won’t leak on you, it also feels great in your hands because it’s coated with soft colored rubber, and the tiny top cap is super easy to unscrew but won’t randomly come undone.

As simple as this product is, it just works well. Great job humangear! This is something I would recommend to anyone trying to get by with an old-school splash guard. It will cost you just under $6 and since it’s 100% BPA-free, and 100% Polycarbonate-free you won’t have to worry about chemicals.

• Opening size: 63mm
• Weight: 1.4 oz. (40g)
• Dishwasher-safe (top rack)

CamelBak Better Bottle with straw and valve, classic colors.

CamelBak is well known for their light packs and inserts that put a drinking reservoir onto your back with a straw and bite valve for easy access. In recent years the company has expanded their offering to include plastic bottles much like those made popular by Nalgene. The Better Bottle is their standard .75L wide mouth product that comes with either a screw on top or straw plus bite valve combo.

Aside from the great selection of colors and designs offered on the Better Bottle I was first attracted to it by it’s overall shape. Nalgene bottles have always had a wider diameter and were thus clunkier looking and harder to use in bottle holders for me. As a proud owner of a traditional CamelBak backpack, I thought the bite valve on the bottles was a pretty neat idea. Now that I’ve purchased more than five of these bottles and tried them out on the trail and in my day to day life I can say they’re great!

All new CamelBak bottles are BPA free and just as strong and sturdy as ever. They don’t leak and the caps hold up very well. Between the cap only option and the straw+bite valve I prefer the cap only with the addition of a splash guard, but the straw isn’t too bad, it really doesn’t fall off too often and is often superior do use while driving so you don’t have to tip the bottle up into your field of vision. I love tossing my bottles around and this particular model is great for spinning because of it’s long semetrical-ish shape and easy to grip width/diameter. Some of the newest designs come in metal, have smaller diameter bottom sections for use in cup holders and are built at the 1L size. One metal design is even insulated much like a thermos for use with coffee and other hot beverages.

PS. I know in the video review below I called it a “super bottle” but that’s just a mistake, it’s called the “Better Bottle”.

Classic Tilley Adventure Hat

Since 1980 Alex Tilley has been making some of the worlds best hats for hiking, sailing and other outdoor sports. Tilley Endurables officially started selling from Toronto Canada in 1983, and ever since their hats have been revered the world over. These hats don’t shrink when they get wet, they won’t blow off easily and they float in case they do end up in the drink.

I’ve owned my Tilley hat for over four years now and it looks practically new! I’ve never washed it and it’s been folded, rolled, and stuffed on more than one camping trip. What’s even greater is that Tilley backs all of their hats with a lifetime warranty and free replacement if it is lost. I know I’ve gotten my $70 use out and if something ever did happen I’d just buy another one but it’s great having that kind of backing and guarantee.

As shown in the video review below, the Tilley Outdoor Adventure hat is light tan in color, comes with a chin and back of head lace for securing and features a soft velvet liner that functions like a sweatband and won’t irritate your skin. Inside there is a pocket for securing the lace and for those who like it Aussie-style the lace can be flipped out to hold up the sides of the hat. I can’t say enough about this hat. Sure, it’s expensive… definitely more than the other contenders, but it looks great and it lasts.