GearFlogger

GSI Dualist cook system

The clever little hobbitses at GSI are up to their tricksy ways again. They make many small (and some large) useful items related mostly to eating and drinking outdoors. Their solutions range from ultralight to basecamp, but all benefit from highly thoughtful design.

The award-winning GSI Dualist (also comes as a Soloist) cook set is a lovable little setup that will allow you and a partner to do the mostest with the leastest. For 20oz on your back you get two bowls, two mugs (basically an insulated nesting bowl), two sippy lids, and a pot with a lid. But wait; that's not all, the whole thing stores inside a Sink Sack that can haul water, wash dishes and hydrate Fido.

The details really set this set apart. The Lexan pot lid has steam/strainer holes and the pot handle folds over the top to lock everything in.The sippy lids on the mugs protect both adults and kids from spillage, and the bowls and mugs are color-coded so you don't mix up your oatmeal with your chipped beef. You can even store a 220g fuel canister and ultralight stoves inside, and/or cookware, spices, etc. The Dualist is fairly tough, and it cleans up nicely. The only thing we would add is a handle strap for the Sink Sack to make carrying water easier, but that's really a minor quibble with our new favorite cookware.

$49.95 at REI

Mountain Hardwear Offwidth women's jacket

Attention, men behaving badly (yes, this means you): this item has a get-out-of-the-doghouse rating of five out of five. It's a svelte, 18oz soft shell with just a bit of stretch, and it comes in a SheFlogger-friendly style that is equally at home at a Nordic half-marathon or a Nordstrom half-yearly.

Make no mistake, the Offwidth is first and foremost a backcountry performance soft shell constructed from Mountain Hardwear's latest concoction, TufSstretch: 58% nylon, 31% polyester and 11% elastane, which is an extract made from ground-up elves. The zip handwarmer pockets are placed high to accomodate a harness, and there's a shoulder pocket as well with a nicely concealed zipper. The tailored fit not only looks nice but layers efficiently. Underarm gussets allow flexibility on the pitch, and the Velcro wrist tabs and collar and hem drawcords keep the nasties out.

On the move this shell breathes wonderfully, which along with its streetsmart good looks make it suitable for a very wide range of conditions. It was not easy to pry this one off the SheFlogger long enough to write a review, yet despite almost daily use it still looks off-the-rack new. All this for less than the cost of a written apology, dinner and flowers. A very minor quibble: the hand pockets are not sewn to the shell on the inside, so don't try to store items between the pocket and the shell like you might in some jackets.

$99.00 at Mountain Gear

Patagonia Rash Guard

Despite its name the Patagonia Rash Guard won't clear up that 'thing' you picked up in Buenos Aires. What it will do is prevent you from becoming an accidental organ donor by leaving half your epidermis on the water, ground or wherever it is you're abrading yourself.

Great for surfing, kayaking, backpacking, Brazilian jiu-jitsu or any sport where you want to minimize the chafe, the silky-smooth Patagonia Rash Guard slides on easily thanks to just the right blend of earth-friendly 84% recycled polyester and 16% spandex. The second-skin fit will help you get your superhero on as you charge off on your next epic.

The mock turtleneck design is available in short and long sleeves and even as a hoodie, so you can choose your degree of 30+UPF sun protection. Patagonia's usual attention to high quality details in their clothing shows: the flat seams make the whole piece feel like a single piece of material, and the front hem has a loop that will secure it to your board shorts. Very cool. Especially when you're very hot.

$55.00 at Backcountry

Patagonia Minimalist II Board Shorts

If you're the kind of guy who just doesn't get the whole baggy shorts that go down to your calves scene, Patagonia's Minimalist II board shorts are for you. It doesn't hurt the planet that they're made of 100% recycled polyester either.

The Minimalist II has a close fit and a short 8" inseam that let you swim efficiently, and the ultra thin material lets them disappear in your bag as well as dry in a heartbeat. The single zippered side pocket has a grommet for draining and a cool little shock cord loop for securing your keys.

The shorts have a flat fly with three buttons and a two-hole tie. In a really nice touch you can secure compatible tops like the Patagonia Rash Guard to the upper button using the top's hem loop. These very lightweight and comfortable shorts won't let you down; be sure to order a size bigger than your honest waist - quit suckin' it in, man - as they run a tad small.

$55.00 at Moosejaw

Novara Slider bottle cage

There are a few small things that cost very little yet make a profound improvement in your life. One of these is the humble bottle cage. Bottle cages are simple things, not really any features to compare, so what do you look for? That would be price.

The Novara Slider bottle cage is five bucks. This is a conundrum only if you're clutching your last Lincoln and trying to decide, bottle cage or pint of good beer? That's tricky, and we want to avoid conundrums or any other strange word we don't really understand the meaning of. So, to solve this problem, go to REI when you have ten bucks. Buy a Slider bottle cage, that should leave you five bucks, unless you made a mistake, in which case get your money back and start over. Take the remaining five bucks and go get yourself a pint.

This is what you pay me for: good advice ending in beer. You'll appreciate the Slider too; it's got a decent weld, and the design works smoothly to hold and release the bottle. You don't have to slide the bottle out too far to get it free, which is good because if you're jockeying a full-suspension bike like me there's not a lot of clearance inside the frame.

$5.00 at REI

Garmont Mega Ride randonee boots

Here's your ticket to ride with both step-in and Dynafit bindings. The Garmont Mega Ride randonee boot is an awesome four buckle backcountry doghouse that you can bring to the groomers with nothing lost in translation.

Weighing in at less than 7.5lb per pair the Mega Ride is plenty stiff enough with four fully-adjustable buckles and a power strap to boss around your fatties with confidence on the steeps. Switch them over to walk mode and they have lots of travel, and a beefy tread to goat it over rock and other mank when you have to do your bohemian bootpack routine.

The tongue is thickly padded, the cant is adjustable and there's a little plastic "spoiler" thingie behind your calf that does I-have-no-earthly-idea-what, but it looks cool. The liners are warm and you can lace them if you want - I just leave them loose usually. Overall the fit is more appropriate for medium to small volume feet, with plenty of arch support that translates into a more comfortable hiker than some of my mountaineering boots.

$459.93 at REI

Mountain Hardwear Splitter pack

Ever on the lookout for a place to keep my stuff, I was intrigued by Mountain Hardwear's Splitter crag pack. Packed full of rock climbing features, the frameless 2,150ci Splitter makes a few odd design choices that are easily overlooked if what you want is a tough, capacious gear slut of a bag that you'll take to a climb but not necessarily up it.

The Splitter is thusly named because you can zip it fully open so it lies flat with all its innards gloriously exposed. There are pouches for harness, shoes, chalk bag and other stuff. Better are the triple gear loops for organizing your rack and the compression pouch that snugs your heavy rope against your back. Best is the generous nylon tarp that flips out to protect your lifeline from the dirt. A single center daisy chain terminating in a gear loop dresses up the workmanlike exterior, as do the oversized metallic zipper pulls that are a blessing for clawhand operation after a day of power crimping.

Externally there are two mesh pockets and a single slash zipper to a pocket running the entire front of the pack, but it's not bellowed so if the main compartment is full the pocket won't hold anything bulky. There's also a zippered hydration pouch accessible from the top. The odd design choices are the ice climbing features: dual ice tool loops instead of haul points on the main bag, and four ice clipper sleeves on the waist belt instead of gear loops. If you're looking for a roomy rope-bag on steroids that carries a lot of gear comfortably and will stand up to some serious abuse, the Splitter will serve you nicely.

$159.95 at Backcountry

Mad Rock Venus women's harness

I got your Venus, I got your fire... when Bananarama goes climbing, this is how they roll. If you want to be the goddess on the mountain top, check out the Mad Rock Venus women's harness.

She Who Must Be Obeyed was barking commands at her belay slave in no time as she hung comfortably, yet stylishly, from an autolocking, offset buckled, contoured, thermo-molded waist belt. The tapered and angled leg loops with embroidered pink flowers kept her regally upright, and the four plastic gear loops kept all her gear at her once-manicured-but-now-destroyed-by-granite fingertips.

The Venus is fully SheFlogger compliant with its slick good looks and top-end performance and comfort. It's a great working woman's harness: you get a lot for the price - three buckles, four gear loops, molded waist and shaped legs - and even a little style to boot, if you don't mind climbing with pink flowers on your no-doubt shapely and toned derriere.

$40.00 at Eastern Mountain Sports

K2 Shuksan alpine touring ski

Used to be that a rando ski was just some old boards with 'biner holes drilled in the tip. Oh what a difference a zillion years of evolution makes. K2 has updated their standout do-everything AT ski, the Shuksan, with a new tip that improves both edge hold and turn initiation.

Designed in collaboration with Martin Volkel, certified Swiss mountain guide and author of Backcountry Skiing, the Shuksan is a wood-cored metal-laminate brick house: 119-78-105 tip to tail, with a 16mm sidecut. It's supposed to be your one-stop backcountry shop, and it delivers with predictable personality: light yet solid, easy short to medium radius turns, good edge hold and beautiful touring performance.

True to its 50/50 design the Shuksan performs equally well on hardpack and in the pow. We even used it for area skiing and it works well enough that if you want to keep only one rig for front and backcountry this'll do ya. The only compromise is that the light weight makes it a little more difficult to drive uphill through the mank, but overall the Shuksan makes all the right tradeoffs and is a reliable and capable bring-it-all-on backcountry partner.

$349.97 at Mountaingear

REI Expanding Wedge seat bag

Remember the wedgies you used to get during gym class? This is different, so quit your whining. REI's Expanding Wedge is a perfect little bike bag that mounts on your seat post, with one important caveat, so read to the end for once in your ADHD-driven existence.

The Wedge has a main compartment with a side zipper and key tether that's big enough to hold a 6' cable lock, multitool, spare tube and some smaller odds and ends in a separate mesh section. When I get ready to head out I'll unzip the expanding part and throw in a cell phone, energy bar and garage remote or keys. The Wedge attaches easily to your seat rails and quickly untwists so you can take it with you when you lock your bike up at the pub. There's a velcro tab to keep it affixed to the seat post, and the webbing part is perfect for keeping your rear fender on the straight and narrow.

There's even a place to clip an LED please-don't-hit-me light or reflector on the back. OK, so the caveat is this: small bikes, specifically those of the SheFlogger category, may not have enough seat post showing to fit this bag. We'll keep searching for an alternative, but for bigger bikes this is the bag to beat. If you're in to beating bags, that is.

$24.00 at REI