Wouldn’t you know it after spending entire night last friday detailing the car before the race, it rains the following week. There was a window of good weather this weekend so ended up washing the car again, which lasted until last night. Today was overcast but not raining so went for a little drive in the afternoon to look for photo ops. I guess dark weather makes for a different kind of image.
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.
Other than two bottomless powder days in Niseko I only got in one craptastic day at Sapporo Kokusai. Things timed out rather well this time at Niseko with a big storm preceeding me and continued snowfall while I was there. Things timed out poorly at Kokusai, with my visit bracketed by good days. The steeper powder stashes were all tracked out, and the unridden areas were still a little too soft to be able to carry speed on the shallow slopes. Monday would have been epic, and today (Wednesday) would have been not so suckariffic. Eh, sometimes you just have to chance it.  You can’t nail the timing all the time. I guess I could have tried to hit there today then head straight to the airport and jump in the onsen before boarding, but there was the chance that heavy snows could have snarled ground transportation and I would have been stuck. As is with the holidays, traffic on the major highways has been pretty bad.
Look out with the new safety check decals if you attempt to move them. The print & adhesive layer is pretty homogenous and does that perforate with void word. I tried with heat gun (couldn’t find hair dryer) and got half of it off. So now I’m here at the 76 station getting a new check done. Didn’t want to go all the way back to dealer. Darn they only got one year tags.
Well, “like” Mexican. As I experienced many years ago at Sombrero in the basement dining arcade in the Paseo building adjacent to the JR Sapporo station, it looks right, but doesn’t taste right. The fried chicken and fries weren’t really “Mexican”, but the chili con carne and enchilada were… somewhat. They did a lot better than last time. To this day I don’t know what that white stuff that came with my burrito was, but it wasn’t sour cream (I think it was cream cheese). Continue reading ‘Mmm… Mexican’
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.