Gear

Any outdoor adventurer worth their salt is a total gear nerd. Here’s the stuff I use to live my adventures.

iWalk Crutch Review — you need it

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I recently took a large fall rock climbing and broke my foot in two places. Doctor’s orders: no weight for six weeks. I ended up trying four mobility devices, all of which had some utility, but my favorite by far was the iWalk 3.0, a.k.a. the “peg-leg.”

I was recommended and loaned this device by a friend of my sister who had rehabbed a similar injury, so I’m going to pass along the favor by writing a short and to-the-point review for other people who may have a broken foot, broken ankle, ACL injury, etc. Short version is: this thing lets you walk around at a fairly normal pace, and carry things while you do so. It is far more maneuverable than a knee scooter, and handles stairs with ease (although you may have to go down backwards!).

I think in 20 years, everyone will be using these.

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North Face Cobra 60 First Impressions

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(“First impressions” is a bit of a misnomer for this post, as I’ve now used this pack for around 30 days. However, I used the older rendition of this backpack for 5-6 years, so in my opinion, I am indeed still forming my first impression.)

I beat the ever-loving-hell out of my previous Cobra backpack. For years, it served for any purpose I needed it: cragging pack, international travel, overnight backpacking, ice climbing, alpine rock climbs. That pack went with me to Europe, to the top of the Grand Teton, to Mount Baker, to alpine ice climbs in Rocky Mountain National Park, and elsewhere. It finally died this summer in Peru — split along the bottom after I overloaded it, trying to fit seven days of supplies in a 60-liter pack.

North Face generously warrantied that pack, sending me the updated version. I have now taken this pack on a few outings, including local day trips around Boulder, an overnight climb of the Fisher Chimneys on Mount Shuksan, and five weeks of climbing and cragging in Indian Creek, Utah. Here are my initial impressions.

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Best Christmas Gifts For Beginner Climbers

Daniel 6 Comments

[Spanish here / leyelo en español]

Christmas season is coming up, which means it’s time to start thinking about the things we could get out loved ones to help them along their way, and brighten their days in the year ahead.

Since I often write about climbing on here, I thought I’d put together a brief list of gift ideas that could be good for an aspiring climber or a beginner climber.

Read on for my recommendations.

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