Icebreaker Zone: You will have to work long and hard to make it stink
It’s still National Cycling Jacket Month here at Gear Gals but this Gear Gal had to take a break from jackets and focus on the quiet conqueror of a thousand cycling jacket tests: The Icebreaker Zone...
View ArticleThe Gear Gals Zagat-like rating on the CLIF Bar Athlete Series
CLIF Bar. Who can resist Coconut Chocolate Chip? Their seasonal flavors, Hot Chocolate, Iced Gingerbread and Spiced Pumpkin Pie, are a filling, fragrant bouquet of comfort foods untainted by Monsanto....
View ArticleFrom Tribe Adventure to the Warbonnet Double-layer Blackbird: Hammocks to...
Hammocks are lightweight, easy to set up, cheaper than most tents. They suspend you safely above the ground walked by scorpions, tarantulas, snakes and Gila monsters. They range from ingeniously...
View ArticleNau Allee: No goose died for its down in this down jacket
There’s a review of the Nau Allee ($300) jacket in this post but first I have to go someplace none of ever want to. The down in our jackets and sleeping bags comes about as a byproduct of the food...
View ArticleCairn subscription box review
A subscription box is monthly box of products that you sign up and is built around a theme. Cairn markets their boxes as a “Your Monthly Box of Outdoor Discovery!” It sure is. A year subscription costs...
View ArticleGore ELEMENT WINDSTOPPER® Soft Shell Hoody
As the end of National Cycling Jacket month at the Gear Gals draws to a close, so, too does the milder weather. The Gore ELEMENT WINDSTOPPER® Soft Shell hoody ($199.99) is a cold-weather cycling...
View ArticlePatagonia Fiona Parka
Feeling ogre-ish about the falling mercury? Slip into the Patagonia Fiona Parka for a respite. I love it for snowy days; the length keeps the snow off my poor beleagered quads. Long and tailored to...
View ArticleDare 2B Amenity Jacket
Dare2B, a UK line of technical, performance-oriented pieces with an attractive price-point has crossed the pond and I was able to get my hands on the Dare 2B Amenity ($140) jacket. And you thought the...
View ArticlePearl Izumi ELITE WxB Jacket
Today we’re raising in exaltation the Pearl Izumi ELITE WxB Jacket ($150). It’s a highly visible (you can be seen from Neptune) and waterproof cycling jacket with fully sealed and taped seams for...
View ArticleCamelBak Palos Hydration Pack
The debate between hydration pack vs no hydration pack is a debate that riders will debate to the death. The haters like their water bottle cages and sweat-free backs. The non-haters like to mitigate...
View ArticleKari Traa Rose baselayer
December is National Baselayer Month at Gear Gals! Kidding. But the Kari Traa Rose ($100) has nearly everything I need in a 100 percent merino wool baselayer: Soft, breathable and naturally...
View ArticleYour Stocking Stuffers NOW
Oops, is it a holiday or something? Things seem a tad…busy out there. If you’re sane, the last thing you feel like doing is chilling in line at the store for 90 minutes before battling back through...
View ArticlePearl Izumi ELITE AmFIB cycle tight
The Pearl Izumi ELITE AmFIB cycle tight ($145) is the genetic mutation of the classic thermal cycling tight that has been cross-pollinated with soft-shell fabric in the butt and front of legs. The end...
View ArticleIbex El Fito Cycling Capri
Wool has increasingly become my #1 choice for cycling apparel because of its natural moisture-wicking, temperature-regulating and anti-microbial properties. Like the Ibex El Fito ($145) cycling...
View ArticlePatagonia Down Sweater Jacket Hoody
I find it endlessly amusing that Patagonia now has to call the Down Sweater the Down Sweater Jacket. The “Sweater” part must have confused people. Let me assure you that this is a down jacket – not a...
View ArticleMerrell Fluorecein Shell 8 Waterproof boots
The Merrell Fluorecein Shell 8 Waterproof boots ($140) have proved to be stellar for me this winter. Let it be known that I’ve seen my share of holy fails with the Merrell brood. The All Out Charge...
View ArticleDeuter Helion 80
The Deuter Helion 80 ($289) is a cavernous, big-gear hauling wheeled Sherpa for travel on land, air and sea. How I used it: Air travel for a four-day ski trip: Packed ski boots, ski pants, gloves,...
View ArticlePatagonia Untracked Pants and Jacket
The search for a do-it-all jacket/pants combo is over. Patagonia has hit it out of the park with the Untracked series. I love them for resort and backcountry skiing, the fit is great, and the features...
View ArticleMountain Hardwear Straight Chuter
The Mountain Hardwear Straight Chuter ($450) is a ski jacket for the true blowhards, those who eschew a resort’s black runs as too tranquil. Avalanches be damned, they head for the backcountry via heli...
View ArticleGear Gals Gift Guide for Him (Valentine’s Edition!)
Don’t blame the Gear Gals for Valentine’s Day. Blame the ancient Romans and their festival of Lupercalia. For the Romans it was a celebration of fertility (<<lame). For us, it’s mostly about...
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