As the year draws to an end I’m looking back at the plethora of amazing advancements in the field of climbing gear and clothing this past season and calling out some of the best stuff I got to review this year that has become a permanent addition to my kit. Check them out below!
A fantastic update to what was already one of the most competitive climbing helmets on the market I went into great detail of the changes in my review here.
Arcteryx Acrux AR Mountaineering Boots
Black Dike, Cannon Cliff, New Hampshire- photo by Peter Brandon
Without a doubt the most sleek and comfortable ice climbing boots I have ever worn. From Mount Rainier to Grade 5 waterfall ice in New England these have been a serious joy to wear. See my detailed review here.
Black Diamond Alpine Softshell Pants
Black Diamond Alpine Softshell Pants Review- photos by Alexandra Roberts and @cfphotography
From Spring rock climbing in New England, Summer alpine climbing in the Cascades, to warmer winter ice climbing, these pants came in clutch this past year. Check out my full review here.
There’s a lot to love about the safety improvements to the iconic GriGri with the new “+” version. My favorite feature is definitely the fact that this device is engineered to work with any single rated rope on the market so I don’t need to think about whether my ropes are too skinny to use with this device. See my long review on this advancement here.
Cassin X-Dream Ice Axes
The author on Black Pudding Gully, WI 4+, photo by Brent Doscher
While these amazing ice tools have been around for awhile Cassin just released some more customization options including an alpine handle and two new pick options! Details in my review here.
Petzl Laser Ice Screws
The author places a screw on the classic grade 5 backcountry ice climb, Drool of The Beast- photo by Brent Doscher
I ran some numbers and did some comparing against other popular models of this screw here. While I deal with the “sticky screw” placement from time to time these still make up the bulk of my ice rack!
Climbing Skins
Author ripping Contour Hybrid Climbing Skins before descending Karlsarfjall 988m peak in Northern Iceland, photo by Brent Doscher
A lot of great skins hit the market late last winter and I got to test three of the top models! Check out the results here!
This set up absolutely slays the uphill skinning yet performs quite impressively on the descent. I logged over 50,000 feet of skiing this rig last season and I couldn’t have been happier. Bonus that the Arcteryx Procline Carbon Ski Boots could also climb technical ice!
Summary
Well there you have it, 8 of my favorite climbing (and skiing) pieces of gear and clothing from the past year. I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!
COMMENT BELOW!
What was your favorite piece of new gear from last season? Let me know in the comments below!
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
P.S. Still shopping for the climbers in your life? Check out my hand-selected Holiday Shopping Guide!
While I’m not super excited about how commercialized our holidays have become I do get stoked on seeing big discounts on gear that I own and love. I subscribe to quite a few gear companies emails and I’m combing them all for the best upcoming sales on specific items I have either reviewed or would love to own. I will also be specific on what the actual discount offered is! None of the “up to x percent off”… I hope you find this list more personal than your average marketing email, and if you have any questions about any of my suggested products please let me know in the comments!
I will add more from Backcountry as I find deals but these are my current “top picks”. If you missed my “20 Holiday Gifts for the Mountain Lover” you can check it out here!
Have a great Holiday tomorrow and be sure to #optoutside on Black Friday! I will be standing by REI’s great initiative on Friday and am pledging to myself and family that I will be 100% “radio” silent (and outdoors). I will continue this with Part 2 and be sharing deals I find around Cyber Monday and Tech Tuesday so stay tuned and…
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
Affiliate links support this blog at no additional cost to you!
Chances are if you are reading this you have a climber, skier, hiker, mountain biker, or trail runner in your life. You’ve probably already started to see “holiday guides” come from various retailers and bloggers. Here I present my personal hand selected gift ideas for the adventurous mountain traveler in your life. Some are locally hand-crafted ideas from friends and others are time tested national brands so please take a look!
This socially responsible company makes the coolest water bottles and tumblers out there! Super high quality stainless steel technology keeps cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot drinks hot for 6 hours! Customization and tons of color and style options means there is a Hydro Flask out there for just about everyone! Check out their Holiday Gift guide here.
I’m pretty sure the 10 seconds of silence from my girlfriend after asking her to marry me was enough time for her to accept that she loved a man with some seriously stinky feet. Luckily she said yes and I would soon find this foot powder, seriously the only product that works on my feet! 7 years later she is quick to remind me if she notices my supply running low. This one is a PERFECT stocking stuffer, pick it up on Amazon here.
Another socially and environmentally conscious company Life Straw makes getting safe drinking water possible with innovation and effective products. I have been using the Life Straw Steel model over the last couple months and it’s becoming a standard part of my day kit.
This device allows someone to summon help even when they are far away from cell phone service. It provides piece of mind to my wife when I’m out on a week long trip in the mountains by allowing me to send “check-in” messages that show her where in the world I am. This is an excellent gift for the adventurer in your life!
I’ve had the VSSL Supplies model for two years now and it’s an integral part of our home emergency kit (extended power-outs) and comes with us on road trips as part of our “on the go” kit. While it’s a little heavy for me to take climbing I know a few hunters that have added it to their day kit and it has a lot to offer the casual back-packer and car-camper. See my detailed review I posted here!
Possibly the best socks I’ve ever owned and made right over the border in Vermont! For mountaineering and ice climbing check out this model! These socks come with an unconditional lifetime guarantee and make an excellent stocking stuffer!
My friend Brittni started this hand-crafted company just last year and I’ve been seeing her work at local coffee shops and at the crags! The iconic “drink sweater” is right at home keeping that pre-climb coffee warm or that post-climb beer cold! I’m definitely excited to be giving something handmade to some of my loved ones this season!
Every home in the Northeast should have one of these! It’s effective enough that I can easily dry my boots and gloves along with my wife’s in just a couple hours. No balancing them over the floor base heaters or getting them too hot near the wood-stove and risking early de-lamination! You can pick on up on Amazon here.
This charger sees almost daily use as I use my iPhone extensively while out climbing and for most of my video editing. What I like most about this charger is that I can get at least 3 full charges from it and it charges much faster than a wall outlet. You can pick this stocking stuffer up on Amazon here.
This goes with me everywhere. It’s super comfy on airplanes as a blanket and in hostels around the world. I also like that it keeps my expensive down sleeping bag clean (extending its life) even after weeks of grimy sleeping!
If ropes are involved these come with me. They were perfect for the warmer daytime glacier temps and offer great protection for rappelling, short-roping, etc.
I recently upgraded from my older Petzl Myo model and this new model is awesome! Up to 260 hours of burn time and able to through light 90 meters! If you’re due for a headlamp upgrade I highly suggest you check out this model!
My current favorite GPS navigation capable smart-watch with optical heart-rate! This is the watch I used to create the GPS tracks linked in the trip report. It also allows one-button waypoint saving and the built in barometer/altimeter was a nice plus to our navigation plans. I would like to upgrade to the new Fenix 5 soon!
My personal favorite avalanche beacon with a host of advantages over other beacons on the market. Super fast processor and “Smart Antennae” technology helps you find and be found faster. On sale on Backcountry.com now!
My friend Bianca sporting the Revo Onix with Blue Water Lens during our trip to Iceland last April! photo by Brent Doscher Photography
These high end goggles out perform every other brand I have ever tried. As a brand ambassador I can share my promo code “ALPINESTARTF&F” which will get you 20% off when ordering directly from www.revo.com!
Education!
Perhaps your loved one has been talking about taking an ice climbing course or avalanche safety course for a couple of years now but hasn’t pulled the trigger? Give them the nudge they need with a gift certificate for a course at Northeast Mountaineering! Also be sure to use promo code “DavidNEM” when you book a course for a chance to win a free guided adventure of your choice!
Memberships ($35-$80)
UPDATE: A couple readers pointed out an excellent gift idea is a membership to an organization dedicated to access, education, and conservation. To that end I’m embarrassed I didn’t think of that without the nudge so may I also include a membership to the Access Fund and/or the American Alpine Club, two organizations I have supported through membership for over the last 15 years!
Shop Local!
While I do love these online deals I want to take up this space by encouraging you support local businesses, especially small specialty climbing shops, with your business! To that end if you can physically visit this stores please do!
I’m excited to announce I will be entering my second year as an ambassador for Revo! This company started back in 1985 and has steadily been producing some of the best high-end sunglasses and goggles on the market. Before I get into the product details I want to share some of the other things that make me psyched to be a part of this team.
Community & Social Responsibility
Revo has partnered with Bono and the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) to raise awareness about the Institute’s eye health programs and to provide aid to impoverished people around the world suffering from visual impairments. With every purchase Revo donates $10 to this campaign. While $10 might not seem like a lot it really makes a difference considering Revo has pledged to donate a minimum of 8.5 million dollars to this cause!
Climbing & Filmmaker Legend, Jimmy Chin!
If you are reading this blog you have most definitely heard the name Jimmy Chin. He’s been on The North Face Global Athlete Team for fifteen years, is one of the few people to climb and ski Mount Everest from the summit and has been profiled in multiple publications including National Geographic Magazine, VICE, Outside Magazine, People Magazine, and Men’s Journal. Did you see that amazing 2015 climbing film Meru? He produced and directed that. It so humbling to be connected to such a giant even if it is though 6 degrees of ambassador separation!
With those shameless plugs of how cool this company is let’s get into the actual product.
What does Revo make and how can it improve your time spent crushing outside?
Revo makes top-of-the-line men’s and women’s sunglasses and goggles along with a modest line of apparel. My experience is with a few different models of sunglasses and the nicest pair of goggles I have ever owned. While style is a very individual taste the first thing you should know about Revo’s is the quality, and variety, of their lenses.
Lens Technology
The author wearing Revo Straightshots with Green Water Lens- photo by Matt Baldelli
Revo goes beyond simply selling a “polarized” lens and offering 100% UVA and UVB light. Every pair of Revo’s manages the full spectrum of light, including harmful ultraviolet light, Blue Light, and high-energy visible (HEV) light. By filtering the Blue Light you see a greater contrast between colors and a more pronounced brightness of objects. This has been quite obvious to me on a daily basis here in the White Mountains as we undergo peak foliage season! For further protection Revo’s also block HEV light which has been implicated as a cause of age-related macular degeneration (loss of vision).
Revo uses two different materials for their lenses. The SeriliumTM lens is a lightweight, shatterproof, poly-carbonate lens, and is the only lens I have personal experience. The other material uses is a higher form of crown glass, trademarked “CRYSTALTM LENS”. Revo Crystal lenses are scratch resistant and are ground and polished to about the same standard as a camera lens.
Len Options
This is where I find Revo really shines in this market. The choices of lenses is almost overwhelming at first but I’m going to break it down and simplify the options with suggestions for end-use. But lets first look at a complicated yet informative chart.
Lots of data represented there but let’s look at the main lens options and how they look and perform along with what they would be best suited for.
Blue Water
As can be expected by the name Revo Blue Water lenses are perfect for cutting glare in bright conditions on the water. They are ideal for boating, sailing, fishing, skiing, and field sports.
Green Water
These have become my favorite lenses to date! Revo Green Water lenses enable natural colors to pop and radiate by completely cutting through surface glare in medium and low light conditions. They are ideal for golfing, tennis, biking, cycling, motorcycling, driving, fishing, boating, sailing, skiing, hunting, and shooting.
Graphite
Revo Graphite lenses enhance natural vibrant colors while blocking harmful rays and harsh glare. They are ideal for boating, sailing, fishing, baseball, softball, basketball, and tennis.
Terra
Revo Terra lenses actively filter the light spectrum to provide clear vision from trailhead to viewpoint. They are ideal for hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, hunting, shooting, and skiing.
Open Road
As the name suggestions the Revo Open Road lenses are ideal for driving, motorcycling, biking, and cycling. The lenses feature an image intensifier that filters to improve light adaptation in bright and low light situations while also precision tuning light transmission for greater sharpness, crispness, and contrast which also makes them ideal for hunting and shooting.
Now that you have a sense of the lens options you can spend forever trying to pick out the style you would like because Revo has just about every style imaginable! Aviator, rectangle, round, semi-rimless, square, wrap, and more… one might think it would be hard to narrow down the selection but Revo’s website has great filtering options to make this happen!
Warranty & Lens Replacement
By now you have found the slickest pair of shades you might ever own, but what’s the warranty on them? Revo has a common sense type of warranty that covers defects for 2 years and offers an affordable ($80) lens replacement option should you drop your sunglasses down 400 feet of Conway granite on Whitehorse Ledge and they end up quite a bit scratched but otherwise still serviceable. Yes, that did happen to someone. Instead of copying the details of the warranty here I will refer you to Revo’s FAQ page.
As you can see I’m quite sold on this brand, as any brand ambassador should be! If you’re curious about them seek me out on the cliff or on the slopes. I’d be happy to have you check out the models I’m currently sporting. I’m also am happy to be able to offer you a discount! Exclusive to Wild Northeast Magazine and Northeast Alpine Start readers you can get any pair of Revo sunglasses or goggles at 20% off with this promotion code when ordering directly from www.revo.com:
ALPINESTARTF&F
This code expires 12/31/17 which gives you a little over a month to do some shopping and save some money. If you have any specific questions about models, lenses, end-use, etc. please feel free to reach out to me!
See you in the mountains,
Northeast Alpine Start
Disclaimer: David Lottmann is a Revo brand ambassador and received all products mentioned at no cost.
Today is National Coffee Day (September 29th) and I thought I’d share some thoughts on my most essential coffee related piece of gear, the AeroPress, along with a look at MSR’s newest high performance personal stove system, the MSR WindBurner. So grab a cup of Joe, sit back, and let’s start by talking coffee.
AeroPress
Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker- photo from Amazon.com
This has become the single most used item in our kitchen. I switched from a French Press many years ago when I discovered the advantages of the AeroPress over the French Press. These advantages also make it a better choice for our back-country and car-camping adventures. The ultra-convenience and pack-ability mean we even take this with us when visiting family out of state. You can read exactly how it works, along with hundreds of other positive verified reviews on Amazon, but here’s my top 3 reasons why I only brew with AeroPress:
1) Better coffee. Regardless of the grind and quality of your beans this method produces smoother less acidic/bitter coffee that is good to the very last sip (where as a French Press always left some icky silt at the bottom of my mug).
2) Faster. Once you have coffee ground and water boiled the remaining steps take less than a minute to produce enough hand-pressed espresso to make two 12 ounce Caffe Americano’s, which is just the right amount for my wife and I.
3) Cleaner. At home I just push the “puck” into the trash and give the plunger a quite rinse/swipe. In the back-country I can eject the “puck” cleanly into my trash for easy Leave-No-Trace practices.
After 5 years of almost daily use the unit shows no signs of wear. It is close to indestructible. At less than $30 this is likely the best value kitchen item I have ever owned!
If you need to melt snow or boil water as efficiently as possible the award winning Windburner stove might be for you. “Reactor” technology mixed with simplicity and pack-ability make this a great choice for 1-3 person alpine teams. I recently used this stove for a two week climbing trip in the Cascades at elevations up to 11,000 feet and can highly endorse its performance. My top 3 favorite things about the MSR Windburner.
Fuel efficient. One 4 ounce canister easily melted snow and boiled water for freeze-dried meals for 2 people for 3 days from 7,000-11,000 feet in elevation.
Pack-able. The 4 ounce fuel container fits comfortably inside the pot and the plastic bowl snaps onto the bottom. There is room for a small lighter and chamois cloth just above the fuel which makes my entire “kitchen” take up the same amount of space as a 32 ounce Nalgene water bottle!
Quiet. So quiet that in bright sunlight sometimes it was hard to tell if it was lit!
For foul weather use there is a hanging kit available, and since we are celebrating National Coffee Day despite my affinity for my AeroPress I would be remiss to not point out MSR also makes a Coffee Press Kit that fits this stove. Since I only melt snow and boil water for self-contained freeze-dried or dehydrated meals I prefer to carry my AeroPress and never have to wash or clean the pot. The only improvement MSR could make to this stove is adding a push button igniter. That would make this a 10/10 piece of gear in my book!
