Klymit Inertia X Frame

By Rick Shandley

Klymit hit a high-water mark of innovation with the Inertia X Frame sleeping pad. The very design makes sense with loft and body support only where the hips and shoulders make contact with the sleeping pad while sleeping on one’s side. For folks who sleep on their backs, the X Frame offers all the support of a traditional sleeping pad.

But it’s the light weight of 9.1 ounces and the compact package when rolled up and in the backpack that get’s the accolades from us. For a full-length sleeping pad that takes up so little room, the Klymit Inertia X Frame may be a great choice for back country hikers who need to keep the pack weight to a minimum without giving up the cushion between the body and the hard ground.

You can almost visualize how the X Frame was designed and mapped out on Computer Aided Design (CAD) software to determine where body pressure needs support and where it does not. The voids, or physical absence of inflated material, simply reduce the amount of material needed for construction thereby reducing weight and pack size. But it’s the creative vision that it took for an individual to see the possibility of creating something so bold in design while taking the risk to develop the technology needed to bring this innovation to market.

Klymit Inertia X Frame is compact. Shown on an inverted Black Diamond crampon.

In the marketing material, we see the X Frame compared, in size, to a soda-pop can. Well, from this writer’s view, the Inertia X Frame is closer in dimensions to a Starbuck’s Venti  paper coffee cup in size – the one with the new logo – only slightly taller. As far as I’m concerned, this relatively compact size is ideal. There are other really good, light, and compact non-insulated camping pads available on the market that we have had the opportunity to live with, but the X Frame is definitely one of only a few that gets this small. It’s an asset when loading up the backpack and being able to slip it in with the down bag in the sleeping bag compartment of the pack. It simply does not take up any significant room. We really like that.

In mild to chilly weather conditions you may find on any number of potential back country overnight treks, the Inertia X Frame sleeping pad worked great. No, I didn’t count the number of breathes it takes to blow up the sleeping pad. From our standpoint, we do most of our trail work in elevations starting at 7,500 feet where, unless you’re a Sherpa, it takes some time to acclimate. All we cared about is that it doesn’t take but a handful of inhale and exhale cycles to get the X Frame just right. Now that little black air pump bulb works fine for adjusting the pressure in the X Frame, but we found it a nice touch more than a necessity.

Our X-Frame has been on several adventures where the sleeping comfort became a thing eventually taken for granted. When you are exhausted after a day of exertion and ready to lay the noggin on the ad-hoc pillow, you just sleep.  There is no discomfort or “falling between the cracks,” or rolling off to one side to report. The X Frame did a good job supporting a 200-plus pound person and there are no glaring complaints. What was and continues to be impressive is the negligible weight and compact, trail-ready, capability this sleeping pad brings with it. When you consider the bulkiness of stuffed down jackets, cooking kit, stove and canister, water bottles and food, the small size of the X Frame in its little storage sack is a joy.

Close up of Inertia X Frame at the head-end.

The Inertia X Frame is clearly a three-season nest to rest your body on, as my first experience with it came in the dead of winter. Please know, this takes nothing away from the excellent form and function of this bold, creative, sleeping pad specifically designed for three-season use. We share this experience only because a trip was planned, and the X Frame came to us right about the time we were fixing to launch on a snowshoe romp up Rock Creek canyon in the Sierra Nevada during the winter of 2010/2011. Plus, the photos of the Klymit Inertia X Frame sleeping pad were taken on this first-time-out picnic in the snow.

When it came time to set up the tent right on top of about four feet of snowshoe-packed snow, it was apparent that perhaps this was not the best time to use a sleeping pad that looked like a Japanese paper snowflake! The temperature dropped to 0°-degrees on the expedition watch thermometer we had on this trip as the night settled in. It got colder as the winds raced through the canyon.  And we figured the tent shaved off about 10 to 15-degrees from outside temps. So, while pulling out the Kelty Foraker -15° down sleeping bag and inflating the Inertia X Frame, it was evident more insulation had to be used between the tent floor and the sleeping pad.

While this illumination of circumstance was going on, the little black air pump that is provided with the X Frame froze solid in minutes.  Water bottles, the drinking tube to the Camelbak hydration bladder, anything liquid or not, just froze. We had enough insulation to put under the X Frame and allow the pad to provide cushion and comfort. The night went ok, and the sleeping bag made up for any lack of insulation with high-end 800-fill down warmth. Lesson learned.

We share this winter experience because we have full confidence in Klymit. The innovation group out of Salt Lake City, Utah, is also the same company that developed the Klymit insulation system using Argon gas to fill the void space designed into the baffle areas that creates warmth in a very lightweight system of the Klymit vest. It’s also our hope that Klymit will combine their expertise and design capabilities to create an insulation barrier using their Argon gas technology in a Inertia X Frame application that is rated for four-season use. You know, just slip in a series of breathable, yet airtight chambers to create that 4mm layer of insulation. A challenge might be in how to exit the Noble gas from the pad when you are on the move day after day, but it may be simply a matter of more engineering and innovation to get to that four-season capability.

X-Frame is built tough enough. Sleeping pads, as you well know if yours has ever failed even once, can be vulnerable to sharp objects and are subject to punctures and tears. The X Frame is made from ripstop nylon of 30d weight on top and coated 75d weight fabric on the bottom. It has a burst pressure rating of more than 10 psi, so it would take a lot of misuse before it would be subject to failure. In the six trips this pad has been on it has just done its job, and that’s all we would ask of it.  Retail is about a hundred dollars, but that’s fifty dollars less than the product that comes to mind as being this compact and light for a mild-weather sleeping pad. The Klymit Inertia X Frame sleeping pad is definitely worth investigation and consideration for the practical reasons alone.

Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 11 running shoe.

By Rick Shandley

Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 11 running shoes logged some miles with us in recent months. Our pair was used for runs on the Huntington Beach bike path; a bike path with Pacific Coast Highway on one side, and the Pacific Ocean on the other. These ProGrid Hurricane 11’s were not worn for casual street use. They were set aside as dedicated running shoes, and they felt great from the start.

Comfort before, during, and immediately after a run, Hurricane 11’s are consistently capable of damping the blows from the pavement and cushioning the feet.  Lateral foot support is reliable for a bike path paved with black asphalt and lined with grass islands, palm trees, benches, dirt patches, and endless ocean views. This shoe doesn’t like the sand, or trail-like dirt paths. It’s a street running shoe that offers the state-of-the-art technology and innovation.  Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 11’s has an MSRP range between $140 and $100.

At 12.9 ounces, they weigh no more than a pair of 12 ounce Samuel Adams Boston Lagers, and they take you a long way…smiling as you go. Laced up, the Hurricane 11’s stayed snug and light on the feet.  Your lungs will show fatigue long before your legs are tired of dealing with these shoes.  And the low weight is engineered into all the components from uppers to outsole, but together each component combines to become a suspension system that enshrouds your feet for a couple hours, and then leaves your feet in good shape.

ProGrid is the technology of impact deflection and energy dissipation that cradles your feet and works with the balance of impact damping components as an integrated system.  The ProGrid is tub-shaped to come up around your foot to provide full suspension and shock absorption throughout the foot strike. Other contributors to foot comfort and energy absorption start with the multi-component outsole that provides traction, cushion, and fuses with various components like the SRC Impact Zone, Impact Interface, Dual Density SSL (Saucony Super Lite) closed-cell midsole or EVA, and Strobel Board.  HRC is the cushioned material type, running the full-length of the foot that is referred to as the Strobel Board.

You can drill into the role each component plays if you like, but for us, the Hurricane 11’s as a complete running shoe pretty much offered the qualities of comfort and performance we were looking for.

On the inside of each shoe is the supportive structure Arch-Lock, like a rib that keeps the middle of your feet snug throughout the lace-up, and the entire run. You might not notice it specifically as a half-collar that cinches the middle of your foot in, but you may notice overall comfort and mid-foot support during the run.

Mesh uppers work well with the more rigid shoe components, but offers good foot ventilation and keeps the weight down.  This high-comfort/light-weight theme continues around the shoe collar and down to the sock liner. The sock liners use breathable, open cell, foam to cushion the foot, and absorb shocks upon contact. Antimicrobial technology in the sock liner manages foot odor.

Us fresh air junkie writers and shooters have watched with interest how the antimicrobial technology has made big strides in the outdoor industry for the capacity of being integrated into fabrics and working so efficiently in keeping foot health and foot odor in check.  We have some experience with antimicrobial products like Agion Active Wear under-shirts and such, we know it works and is a significant asset to any footbed and shoe upper. Antimicrobial technology seems to have been embraced by the outdoor athletic brands because it works.

Foot abrasions and hot spots to the heel did not exist with the Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 11’s, and it has been about six months of consistently wearing them on weekly runs.  For most of the runs, SOLE cushioned athletic socks were worn.  The Hurricane 11’s did great whether cushioned socks were worn or not. With cushioned socks, they worked great.   With regular nothing socks, these running shoes just want to run, and comfort is almost taken for granted.

This scribe has lived with many new shoe and boot designs in the conditions the product was built for. So when a piece of footwear is going to give you trouble, it will be apparent before long whether or not you are loping around beautiful women dressed in their finest outdoor fashion or slugging away up a trail. At some point quick, you’re going to have to stop walking or running and address the discomfort; even if it is in your own self pity…you must do something about shoes that are not happening. Yet these Saucony shoes are simply, reliably, and always ready and able for the next run.  That says tons right there.

If you are running on pavement as part of your overall outdoor exercise, we can recommend the Hurricane 11. Running and the science of running and training for better endurance and overall health is most of us fresh air junkies are into in some form or fashion. Most of us want a reliable piece of equipment or pair of shoes that will do the job and keep us from injuring ourselves unnecessarily. Well, these Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 11 shoes hit the mark.

Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 11 Technology:

UPPER

• Arch-Lock® — Provides snug midfoot fit
• Hydrator Collar Lining — Saucony’s performance apparel fabric that provides next-to-skin comfort and maximizes wicking
• Comfortride Sockliner — Saucony’s exclusive open cell foam sockliner. It is antimicrobial and breathable while providing superior cushioning and ride
• Air Mesh Upper — Provides lightweight breathability
• HRC Strobel Board — Increases cushioning and comfort

MIDSOLE

• Full-Length ProGrid™ with Respon-Tek™ — Saucony’s latest impact deflection technology, ProGrid™, absorbs impact, dissipates shock and provides a seamless transition from heel through forefoot
• Dual Density SSL (Saucony Super Lite) EVA — An advanced EVA blend that maximizes rebound and durability while minimizing weight
• SRC Impact Zone — Provides shock attenuation and sets the foot up for a smooth transition
• Impact Interface — Cushions and isolates heel impact

OUTSOLE

• Blown Rubber — Lighweight flexibile material provides added cushioning while maintaining durability and a smooth ride
• XT-900™ — A carbon rubber outsole material that offers exceptional traction properties without sacrificing durability

By Rick Shandley

The GSI Outdoors products lightweight Pinnacle Dualist cooking kit, offers some great features to consider for your next backcountry trek. It’s light, sturdy, and self-contained. The Pinnacles Dualist takes up minimal room in your backpack, cleans up efficiently in the field, and endures the dishwasher with no problem.

This two-person cook kit is fashioned from hard anodized aluminum and weighs in at 20.7 ounces. It’s entirely self-contained in its own seam welded carry sack that doubles as a water basin. The carry sack has self-supporting side walls so you can even store stream water at your campsite for disinfection or to fill up your water bottles for the trail.

We took the GSI Pinnacle Dualist cook set on several overnight treks and used it both as a solo kit and a two-person kit. Since this writer tends to use boiling water for most food preparation and disinfecting water supplies, the GSI Pinnacle Dualist was a great fit.

Pinnacle Dualist integrated cook system fits snug in carry sack at left.

The primary 1.8-liter pot offered plenty of capacity. A folding pot handle makes dealing with hot water and gas-stoves safe, and the handle also serves to lock in the entire cook kit for transportation. A crush proof pot lid, made with BPA-Free resin, keeps its shape regardless of the potentially deforming pressure sometimes exerted by other gear while inside the pack on the trail. Engineered into the pot lid are vent holes, allowing steam to escape and giving you the ability to pour off excess water without spilling. A tab-handle at the top of the lid allows you to safely grasp it while your other hand is controlling the pot by the handle. GSI cautions you to always point the vent holes away from the handle and your body, to avoid contact with the steam exiting the side of the lid.

Two 20 fluid ounce insulated mugs, worked well for coffee, hot chocolate, and simply as water cups while hanging out at a bivouac site. Two 20 ounce bowls also come with sip-it lids to contain sloshing contents. One pair of sip-it lids, and one pair of insulation bands work equally well for the cups and the bowls. If there are two in your party, you each have to choose whether to use the insulation band on your cup or your bowl. But if you use this kit as a solo cooking set, (minus a cup and bowl) the band can be used on each.

Two dual-purpose eating utensils, called “Foons” are collapsible and fit nicely inside the Dualist kit. At first, these multi-tasking fork/spoon devices appeared fragile. But at no time did they ever fail. Regardless of how well an eating implement is cared for on a backcountry trip, they still go into the dishwasher to ensure any bacteria or microbes are killed. Fortunately, the GSI Foons held up here as well. 

Dualist bowls, cups, and sip-it lids, all nestle within main pot for transport.

In general, we found the GSI Pinnacle Dualist cook set excellent for ultra-light backpacking or long-day hikes where it’s nice to cook a lunch and have some coffee or tea. GSI now offers an even lighter version of this cooking system in the Halulite Microdualist, that weighs 17.8 ounces, but the kit components are similar, including the low center-of-gravity bowls and mugs. The weight difference comes from the use of GSI’s proprietary Halulite alloy that is light as titanium.  Between the two kit alloys and the weight difference of about three ounces, we are indifferent. The Pinnacle Dualist worked just fine for us, both as a compact cooking system and a piece of gear that appears to be well thought out.

Specifications:

Application: Two person ultralight backcountry cook set

Core Material: Hard Anodized Aluminum; non-stick coating

Weight: 20.7 ounces

Dimensions: 5.9” x 6.4” x 5.9”

Kit Components: 1.8 L Pot, Strainer Lid, two 20 fl. oz. insulated mugs, two 20 fl. oz. bowls, two Sip-It tops, two telescoping Foons, stove bag, welded sink, cleaning cloth

MSRP: $59.95

For more information on all GSI products, check out: www.gsioutdoors.com

When you’re backpacking in cold and high-altitude, you need a stove that can light easily and get  hot quickly. The MSR Reactor stove does both quite effectively.  First, it’s easy to light while you’re wearing gloves and the stove’s radiant burner glows hot, indicating it’s ready to be used.

The stove features a heat exchanger that allows it to work in windy conditions and also makes the Reactor Stove very efficient. When used with MSR’s ISOPRO fuel, which contains and 80/20 percent blend of isobutane and propane, the Reactor Stove burns extraordinarily clean.

The MSR Reactor stove weighs over 1lbs. but is compact and easy to opeate, even if you're wearing thick gloves.

But if you’re into super lightweight packing, the Reactor may be one of the heaviest pieces of gear in your pack. It weighs in at 1lbs. 2.2 ounces which is much heavier than other ultra-light stoves that can weigh anywhere from 3 to 11 ounces. Yet, if you’re willing to put up with the extra weight, you’ll find that the Reactor is still very compact and stows inside a 1.7 liter pot, which can handle most of your individual cooking needs. In our experience, we didn’t need much else other than a spoon and fork.

MSR claims that the Reactor stove heats quickly. Our experience with the stove allowed us to boil a liter of water in less than two minutes at low elevations, and at slightly less than three minutes at higher altitudes. When lit, we found that it takes several tries to get the flame adjuster in the right positon to provide a medium level of heat for simmering.

While we liked the Reactor stove’s function, cleanliness and efficiency, we didn’t like that  you couldn’t use any other type of pot or pan on it. One might argue that the Reactor is not a base-camp stove and is designed for experienced backpackers and mountaineers. But the reality is that many of us like to fry up the day’s catch from high-country streams. 

Because of this, we found ourselves limited to only packing soups, stews and whatever we could make with boiled water on our trips. Not a total tragedy by any means, but these backpackers missed their morning pancakes.

The MSR Reactor stove retails around $160 which may seem a little high, but considering that it comes with a pot, lid, pack towel and fuel canister, it’s probably everything you’ll ever need in a backpacking stove.

www.MSRGear.com

By Dan Sanchez

The MSR Reactor stove stores in its 1.7 liter pot. The only disadvantage is that you can't use it with any other type of pan.

The Kelty FoxHole 3 is a sturdy four-season tent suitable for three people

Four season comfort, durability, great ventilation and quick set-up time are distinguishing features of the Kelty Foxhole 3 mountaineering tent. Part of the Kelty Apex Series of expedition level four-season tents, the Foxhole 3 is designed to take on inclement weather wherever you find yourself spending the night.

Kelty Foxhole 3 setup early evening in the Gila National Forest of New Mexico.

Kelty Foxhole 3 in transport on a heavy Gregory Spear backpack; 12 Spears on this hike.

Kelty’s Foxhole 3 is a freestanding tent you can guy out partially or fully depending on conditions you encounter. Kelty made good use of illumination materials on the large Kelty Foxhole 3 logos on the exterior of the tent, near the two entrances, and illuminating thread woven into the guy-out lines. At night, you can easily see where your tent is from a distance as the illumination glows perfectly clear in the headlamp or flashlight beam; even at the periphery of the beam. Also, when you are walking around outside the tent at night, the illumination strands woven into the guy lines let you know exactly where to avoid tripping accidents.

Set-up goes fairly quick as the Dac ultra-light poles configure rapidly into an external frame that anchors in deep pockets at four-corners of the tent. The entire exoskeleton uses slider-clips and hook-clips to rapidly erect the core tent body so it’s taught and ready to stash your gear.

It only takes one person to roll out the tent body, assemble the Dac-pole frame, slide four pole ends into the pockets, and clip up the tent. In addition, the guy lines can be adjusted with the ITW Lineloc guy line adjusters to batten down the hatches in severe weather. All seams are fusion welded and taped, increasing this tent’s capacity to withstand harsh environments.

Kelty Foxhole 3 tent-crown slider clip in place.

When attaching the rain fly, remember to line up the two doors of the Kelty Foxhole 3, and it's easy street for the night.

Ventilation is well thought out with or without the rain fly attached. Closable mesh panels allow you to open ventilation routes where you want air flow. With the rain fly attached, ventilation ports on the rain fly are propped open with short (about 3-inch) sections of Dac poles inserted into sleeves and secured in upright position with Velcro fasteners.

This combination of rain fly ventilation working with the main tent ventilation system allows you to fully adjust to the current conditions at your bivouac site. Even in warm weather, you can still have the full protection of the rain fly without restricting the ventilation and cool air through the tent.

The rain fly drapes over the exoskeleton — creating an air chamber between the tent walls and increased insulation – and fastens with side-release buckles to the main body of the tent. When securing the rain fly, you do have to match the two doors located caddy-corner across from each other on opposite sides of the tent. With practice, this becomes routine.

With the rain fly secured and the entire tent guyed out, you have two roomy gear-storage vestibules and two door openings you can literally stand up in to put your boots on as the walls of tent slant away from the tent floor. This design characteristic is convenient because you don’t have to step out of the tent, onto the ground, in order to stand up to full height. And these tent doors are especially nice for taller people as you won’t have to crawl out of the tent.

Interior view of Kelty Foxhole 3 window, floor, entrances, and far-side vestibule.

Hook-clip attached to Dac tent pole on Kelty Foxhole 3.

Two clear windows are welded into the rain fly at the door openings. This is a cool feature as you do not have to completely unzip the inner tent door or rain fly door to check on the weather or to figure out what kind of mammal is tossing around the bear canister 50-feet away.

Noiseless zippers worked well with the Foxhole 3. Zippers are stout enough to manage the taught tent fabric and tent walls without binding or making any racket. And because the tent design yields taught walls there are times when you have to balance the left-side zipper travel with the right-side zipper travel to close a door. But when an opening is fully zipped up, the tent wall is as tight as it needs to be to shed any moisture and withstand a snow load or stiff wind.

Having two entrances and two vestibules add comfort and convenience value to this Kelty Apex Series Foxhole 3 tent. With three people using the tent, having two doors facilitates easy access in and out of the tent. And the vestibules offer enough room to accommodate the gear for three people. When lodging just one or two people, the Foxhole 3 takes claustrophobia right out of the equation.

Fusion welded floor seams run up the sides of the tent to create a tub affect. This is great as any potential build-up of snow or water outside the tent during any single weather event is not likely to intrude into the tent. Tent floor material is 3000mm thick, polyurethane coated 70D polyester. When used with a footprint, you are assured of sleeping on as weatherproof a foundation as you could ask for in the backcountry.

Kelty Foxhole 3 rainfly vent supported by section of Dac pole and secured with velcro.

During the several trips this tent was on, at no time was there a sense the tent floor was too thin skinned or incapable of handling overnight moisture. Though we did not get into any heavy rain or snow events, there were several mornings of overnight frost and freezing; conditions that lead to condensation – none of which were a problem.

Overall, the Kelty Foxhole 3 is certainly a solid choice to consider in a four-season, all-weather tent. There are some questions as to the ability of the tent hooks to withstand super-cold conditions without breaking, or becoming brittle over time.

And the argument can be made that the main tent body may be better supported with a combination of pole sleeves (where the Dac poles pass through sections of tent sleeves on the upper portions of the tent) as well as the use of hooks to offer the strongest possible design, should the hooks fail. But this is a design philosophy tent makers continually wrestle with and improve upon.

Even though the exoskeleton pole design appears complicated at first, we found this tent to be one of the most reliable and easy tents to set up quickly with just one person doing the task.

When morning arrives, and it’s time to break camp and move on, the Foxhole three disassembles and roles up quick.

Kelty Foxhole 3 tent components ready to set up.

 Some folks just stuff the entire tent fabric into a backpack or stuff it into the stuff bag. I found it to be very convenient to fold the tent properly and roll the poles up with the tent. Each time, the tent rolled up quickly and fit into the Kelty stuff bag with no balking.

For the comfort and shelter this tent provides, the weight is negligible. And when you plan on sharing this kind of tent with more than one person, then each person can carry either, the rain fly, the main tent, or the poles as separate units and thereby distribute the load. However, even for solo trips, at its full 9.4 pounds, the Foxhole 3 would probably be the first nine pounds loaded into the pack. The Kelty Foxhole 3 tent is simply a sturdy shelter to look forward to at night.

Although each person has to assess the qualities and attributes they want in a four-season tent, the Kelty Foxhole 3 is a good shelter I’d recommend potential tent buyers to consider.

 By R. Shandley

Kelty Foxhole 3 tent without rain fly.

Kelty Foxhole 3 zipper at top of door, when closed, is taught like it's supposed to be.Kelty logo on Foxhole 3 tent pops with illumination when headlamp beam hits it at night. There's a big Kelty logo on both sides of the tent.Kelty Foxhole 3 interior with Therm-A-Rest NeoAire mattress on right, and Sierra Design Arrow Rock 30 down sleeping bag.

Kelty Foxhole 3 interior with Therm-A-Rest NeoAire mattress on right, and Sierra Design Arrow Rock 30 down sleeping bag.

Kelty logo on Foxhole 3 tent pops with illumination when headlamp beam hits it at night. There's a big Kelty logo on both sides of the tent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specifications:

Wall material: 70D Polyester taffeta (Dye free)

Floor material: 70D Fusion welded Polyester (3000mm thick with polyurethane [PU] coating)

Weight: 9.4 lbs.

Floor size: 45 sq. ft.

Doors: 2

Vestibules: 2

Vestibule areas: 9.4 sq. ft.

Length: 92”

Width: 79”

Height: 42”

Packed size: 8”x28”

MSRP: $419.95 U.S.

The Wolverine Omni hiking shoe is quite possibly the most comfortable and well-built shoe we’ve tested this year.

 If you’re an avid hiker, you expect a shoe to be lightweight, supportive and extremely durable. Loose dirt, jagged rocks and daily casual use greatly reduce the life of a typical hiking shoe. So we had high expectations for the Wolverine Omni, a new lace-up oxford style hiker due out this fall.

We expected the Omni to be just as durable and rugged as the company’s work and construction boots that incorporate full grain leather uppers, heel and toe protectors and a rugged construction that any tough-guy with a jackhammer over his shoulder would be proud to wear.

The Wolverine Omni has full leather uppers with rubber heel and toe protectors.

The shoes met our visual expectations, incorporating everything we mentioned above, including a removable footbed that’s molded and provides full cushioning for added comfort. The foot bed is called OrthoLite, and aside from also being breathable, it also incorporates an anti-microbial treatment to absorb odors. The Omni also uses Wolverine’s MX outsole that features individual compression pads. These absorb impact and return energy as you step and also provide adequate traction on loose dirt and gravel.

We were sent a pair in dark brown but the Omni is also available in black or concrete, and comes in either a low or high-top version. We put the Omni through daily three-mile dog walks every morning for a month and a few day hiking excursions in both loose dirt and jagged rocky trails. During that time we found that the shoe’s water resistance works well, especially if you slip while crossing a stream and accidentally dip your foot into it for a second or two.

The OrthoLite foot bed is anti-microbial treated and provides an extra cushion for your feet.

Although the Omni was rugged enough to handle getting dirty, wet and provide plenty of traction, even with a heavy daypack, we were most impressed by the shoe’s comfort. The shoe feels more like a casual sneaker than a hiker. Yet, it continues to prove to you that it can tackle just about any situation you could put it in. It’s the kind of shoe you wouldn’t think twice about throwing at a hungry black bear that wanders into your campsite. Then again, we liked these shoes so much we wouldn’t dare risk losing them. For more information on the Wolverine Omni, visit www.wolverine.com

By Dan Sanchez

The Hilleberg Kaitum 3, is a light weight three-person shelter that’s ideal for trips where strength and comfort are a priority, but where true all-season, all-weather capability is still a necessity.

This Kaitum 3 is a two door/two vestibule tent that offers maximum usable space, outstanding comfort, and excellent strength in a incredibly lightweight package.

The Kaitum 3 uses ultralight Kerlon 1200 outer tent fabric and DAC Featherlite NSL 9 mm poles to keep total weight to a minimum while providing strength for all  conditions.  Also incorporated into the Kaitum 3 is a two door/two vestibule tunnel design, which adds outstanding comfort and flexibility.

Kaitum 3 is ideal for mobile adventures that involve moving camp frequently, and is equally well-suited for long and short back-country stays. This shelter is outstanding for use in protected terrain in any weather, and easily robust enough to handle use in exposed and/or above tree-line terrain in all but the worst conditions. For warm weather treks,  the Kaitum 3 is excellent since the front section vestibule can be completely rolled open for maximum air flow. 

We’ll have the Hilleberg Kaitum 3  (price point: $775) on several upcoming backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada mountain range as we move into Fall and Winter conditions in the high-country. Our usual trailhead begins at the 10,300 ft. elevation level and should bring us plenty of weather and conditions to evaluate the tent in a variety situations. Two colors are available: Red or Green.

SD Arrow Rock 45º Down Warm Weather Sleeping Bag 

 Big on comfort and light on weight, the Sierra Designs Arrow Rock 45 is the hot ticket for warm weather backpackers. Weighing in at just 2-pounds, 2-ounces, the Arrow Rock is built with Sierra Designs’ Flex construction, allowing the bag to move with you while you sleep. This eliminates dead airspace to help keep you warm.

Arrow Rock’s 600-fill goose down is light, warm, and super compressible. In fact, this bag stuffs down to a real packable 7-inch by 17-inch stuff sack, which makes it perfect for slipping into a sleeping bag compartment in your pack or nestled in amongst your gear in the main pack compartment. A full-length zipper regulates temperature while a zippered chest pockets keeps your valuables close at hand.

We’ll be doing a product review on the Sierra Designs Arrow Rock 45 in coming weeks.  As the weather chills down towards Fall and Winter, it’s our intention to use this bag along with additional insulation such as tent, clothes, jacket, etc. to learn how far into the seasons we can be comfortable in it.

Arrow Rock 45 specs

Weight: 2 pounds, 2 ounces
Fits: up to 6′
Fill Material: 600-fill goose down
Shell Material: Polyester
Price Point: $189