With temperatures of -6 to -8C and wind at around 3 to 8 m/s, I tried Propper softshell pants (no laminate membrane nor fleece inner layer) over Patagonia Capilene 1 long underwear. The cold could be felt more than less-breathable pants, especially when the wind blew. These pants would probably be OK in these temperatures for highly aerobic activities like snowshoeing or skinning up on a splitboard, but the urban comfort level gives out around 0 to -3C or so without a heavier baselayer.
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Okay, temperature around 0 to -2C, windspeed around 3 m/s, TAD Ranger fleece with Stealth LT uninsulated softshell was fine over just a tee-shirt on 20-minute walks. It did get hot inside heated stores, and my tee-shirt did get sweaty where my pack was against my back, but the highly breathable materials did allow for a decent amount of moisture transport, so I didn’t chill out once outside again. I’d probably have been a little wetter with the eVent jacket. Could probably take this combination down to about -10 to -15C before adding more layers underneath. A technical baselayer and midlayer would easily extend the temperature down another 10-degrees, or extend exposure time.
For S&G, I tried wearing a Patagonia Capilene 3 half-zip long sleeve top over the same tee-shirt, and put a Patagonia Nano Puff vest and TAD Stealth LT softshell over that. The temperature and wind were still about the same, but it was night, so no warming effects of sunlight. Fail. Cold. Colder than the heavyweight Polartec Wind Pro TAD Ranger hoodie alone. The Cap3 and Primaloft are pretty good insulators, but I guess nowadays I’m not pumping out as much heat as I used to. After a moderate amount of activity, my core did warm up, but my arms were still cold.
Mow!(WMV format)
Derek, you need one of these for your lawn! I have a feeling it doesn’t work on inclines though. I’m not sure how the control works, I saw a foot pedal and a tiller/joystick
Whoa! Sweet! These are like German ninja boots! After slipping and sliding in Danner Desert boots in the snow last year, I got a pair of Lowa Couloir GTX boots to try. These incorporate Lowa’s G3 sole unit which has dual-compound rubber lugs with textile “studs”. Between the softer rubber lug center compound and the textile, these boots are just short of metal studs insofar as grip on packed snow and icy surfaces. I’m not sure how they came up with the textile idea, but it works. The normal compound lends the sole normal traction, feel, and noise on everyday surfaces at normal to cold temperatures. You’d be slipping and sliding on concrete and tile if you had metal studs, or didn’t take yout Yak Trax or similar traction devices off. With the G3 sole, the transition between clear sidewalks, icy streets and snowy areas is seamless. The only surface that these still have traction issues are streets covered with churned-up brown tire slush, which is where you’d really need the metal spikes or crampons. The Partelana wool/polyester fleece lining and wool felt insole kept the insides warm. These are seriously the best thing I’ve ever walked in during winter hands down. As a bonus, they’e not made in China! Like my Scarpa Kailash GTX’s, they are made in an Eastern European republic.
Highly recommended
Four out of four monkeys not falling on their asses on the ice
Okay, the conditions this afternoon were -3 to -4C with winds between 5 and 7 m/s. I had on my TAD Ranger fleece (heavyweight Polartec Wind Pro) over a tee-shirt, and TAD Covert pants (50/50 NYCO ripstop) over Patagonia Capilene 1 underwear. The wind was what killed this setup. I would have been otherwise about right if it wasn’t for the wind cutting through the outer layers. Capilene 3 long underwear and a shell layer would have fixed things, but that would have made it hot when transitioning into interior spaces, and the resulting sweat would have made returning to the outside even colder. Had to put on gloves. Wished I had hat. Had keffiyah, but didn’t bust it out, as I looked suspicious enough as is.
Darn. Shuugaku-sou is closed today, so I can’t go and buy all kinds of titanium stuff.
Snow Peak stuff is supposedly designed to nest to maximize space effiiciency, but there isn’t a whole lot of information on their US distributor site on what fits in what. There is a little more information on the JDM site if you can read Nihingo, but nothing beats going to a fully-stocked Snow Peak store in Japan and playing with the stuff. The cookset nesting is fairly well documented – the Trek 700 or Solo fits into the Trek 900 which in turn fits into the Trek 1400 – but the mug fit is somewhat mysterious. Here are several combinations of mugs that fit within the Trek 700.
Titanium Double Wall 450 Mug, Titanium Double Wall 220 Mug, Giga Power Micro Max Titanium stove
This gives you two mugs with folding handles. If you max out the Trek 700, you’ll have enough water to overfill both mugs. The 220 is slightly small for USDM instant soup packets (Lipton, for example) that use 8-oz. of water, since that works out to 237ml, but it is perfect for JDM instant soup packets (Knorr, for example) that require 150ml/5-oz. You’ll have to use a storage sack for the stove, since the included plastic hardcase won’t fit in even the 450 mug (storage sack not shown for clarity). There is enough wiggle room for a small 35mm teaball and a reclosable bag of loose leaf tea in the 220 with the stove, and enough headspace above the mugs to fit a packet of instant soup under the Trek 700 cover. Continue reading ‘Snow Peak Trek 700 Nesting’
Packy!
Here’s a patch of Botasky from Cat Shit One 80. Mojo Dave says Perkins is arriving next week! The woven detail is nice. Like the unit patch, I’m not sure if this one passes copyright muster…
Get your 7.62 on!
Recommended
$8 USD at Mojo Tactical
Popped into Mojo Tactical to visit Dave after I got back from Japan. He had these KFC parody patches in original color and subdued tan. Image is pretty good, but the subtext is somewhat forced …not particularly clever …okay, lame. Eh, it’s worth several laughs. Sort of makes me want to put a fully loaded plate carrier on one of the Colonel Sanders statues outside a restaurant and take a picture! Definitely can’t put a bump helmet on him unless you gut the foam, since his fiberglass hair is huge. Maybe a keffiyah would be better. Patch has a rude gesture, so it’s after the break… Continue reading ‘November Patches’