Trek Tech: December 2011

Trek Tech's Most Popular Post in 2011: Zom-pocalypse Wish List

I have to admit, I was pretty shocked at how popular this year's number one post was. Within a week, this post doubled the previous top dog's page views. Which probably means you guys are just as twisted as I am. I'm glad we're all going to be ready when the inevitable happens.

Wish List: Gifts for the Zombie Apocalypse

You can find gifts for the runner, backpacker, etc. on every other outdoor gear blog. Literally. Great websites that'll help you shop for the outdoorsy loved ones in your life. Some of my favorites are listed here under Friends of Trek Tech. Good people, all.

HOWEVER, only Trek Tech brings the Zom-Pocalypse to your doorstep. If (when?) the dead rise, you know the survivors will be the ones who know how to survive outside. So it's no surprise that some of the best zombie survival gear comes from the outdoors world. I asked around the Book of Faces, and a surprising amount of recommendations involved a fresh set of undies. Here are some gifts for your crazy uncle with the zombie obsession.

Gerber Legendary Blades Apocalypse Kit ($350, gerbergear.com)

It's a no-brainer (get it?). Like I said in an earlier post, blades don't run out of ammo and they keep you silent, but deadly to the undead. Gerber Legendary Blades' seven piece A-Kit lets you pick the right knife/machete/hatchet for dispatching the "life-impared." Note: the kit is sold out (of course), but the individual components are all available, so you can mix 'n match your own kit.

Tactical Bacon ($15 for a 9oz. can, cmmginc.com)

If I had to only eat one thing for the rest of my life...you guessed it. Muscle-building protein, saturated fat for winter weather insulation, and oh, yeah-it's delicious. Tactical Bacon comes fully cooked and has a10+ year shelf life. Nom nom nom.

Polarmax AYG Boxer Briefs ($29.99, polarmax.com)

The support you need, but the mobility you desire. Polarmax's All Year Gear Boxer Briefs are made of a 4-way stretch that won't hinder motion while you dart through a shambling horde. The Acclimate Fresh treatment lets you go longer between those vulnerable laundry stops, and the polyester dries quickly after those particularly terrifying encounters.

Kru82 Vodka ($19.99 for 750ml, kru82.com)

When you spend the whole day foraging for food/survivors and sprinting from/braining the undead, you're going to need to chase the pain away. Kru82 brilliantly packs their vodka in a shatterproof 18/8 stainless steel bottle, keeping your beverage safe and sound. Until martini time, that is.

Darn Tough Merino Run Series Socks ($16, darntough.com)

Regardless of what's going on in the world around you, it's good to know your feet are taken care of. I mean - the last thing you need out there is trenchfoot slowing you down. Darn Tough socks are the toughest socks that you can get your hands on; made with densely-knit merino wool, they're tough, soft, comfortable, and stink-resistant. Heck, they even come with a lifetime guarantee, which is more than I can say for their wearers.

Triple Aught Design's Legionnaire Pants ($129, tripleaughtdesign.com)

Too thick to bite through, yet stylish enough to help you repopulate the planet. The Legionnaire pant sports 9oz cotton herringbone fabric, triple stitching, reinforced knees and a wealth of storage for rapid transit with all your earthly belongings. There's even two secret pockets for stowing valuables if you get accosted by a roving band of marauders (assuming you don't already lead one).

That's a good start. If you've got any other ideas, feel free to chime in. I'm always looking for supplies to add to the bomb shelter.

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Day 2: Hellfire Challenge, Part 1

Photo by Amy Jurries

Whenever I travel to a new place, I try to watch Man vs. Food and see what restaurants and food challenges I should try out. If you haven't seen the show, it consists of a tour of various cities around the US, and culminates in a food challenge that entails consuming either a huge quantity of food or a ridiculously spicy meal.

Since I was in Salt Lake City for Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, I watched the SLC episode, which ended with Kobe Sushi's Hellfire Challenge. The challenge requires you to eat a series of hotter and hotter pieces of sushi, starting with level four and ending with the blazing-hot level seven. Chef Alex has to watch you eat each piece to make sure that you can handle the next.

On day two of the ORSM I went to dinner with a few people from Columbia Sportswear and some other journalists (including Amy Jurries, The Gearcaster, and Columbia's Andrea Palavicinni, both of whom took a bunch of pictures), and four of us decided to give it a shot.

From left to right: Billy Brown, Scott Trepanier, Ana Trujillo, and Adam Buchanan Photo by Andrea Pallavicini

The intrepid four were Ana Trujillo, a writer with snewsnet.com, me, and Scott Trepanier and Adam Buchanan from Columbia. This is our story.

Round One: Levels 4, 5, and 6

After warming up with the deliciously non-spicy Yum-Yum rolls, we get cracking on the first round. This round consists of one peice each of the first three levels. All four of us put these down without much of a struggle; level 4 (with hot Sriracha sauce and a custom set of house spices) is spicy but not bad, 5 has a little kick at the end of it, and 6 ramps up the heat with red chili shichimi, making it probably the hottest sushi that I've ever eaten at that point. It's not so bad, because we have a strategy of taking a quick chew and swallowing the sushi whole without letting it touch much of our mouths at all. Adam, however, makes the rookie mistake of licking his lips, leading to a gnarly afterburn.

Ana digging in on the Yum-Yum roll. Photo by Amy Jurries

It's nothing terrible, but Ana calls it quits, wisely deciding that she doesn't like where things were headed.

We're down to three.

Round 2: Level 6.5

While we wait for level 6.5, Chef Alex jovially chats with us, but I'm only gleaning snippets from his thick accent. Adam, whose lips were still en fuego from the last round, shouts "What's he sayin', Billy?"

Is he hoping for advice? Encouragement? There's none to be found.

Working on 6.5. Photo by Amy Jurries

After about twenty nerve-wracking minutes of waiting, Chef Alex serves us level 6.5. We're about to eat two pieces of level 6.5. Thai chilis are added at this point, making it significantly hotter than the others. Additionally, level 6.5 is completely covered in cayenne pepper powder. Now, cayenne is pretty hot, but what makes this such a big deal is that it's powder. This negated our attempts to swallow them whole, because the powder tends to coat the inside your mouth, much like eating a cracker when you have cottonmouth.

Level 6. This is not the expression of a happy man. Photo by Andrea Pallavicini

As soon as I start chewing, the cayenne invades every crevice in my mouth. I feel it on my gums, under my tongue, and in my teeth. The burn starts immediately, and Scott, Adam, and I are all at our seats, sweating, coughing, and chugging milk. It was too much for Adam, who backs out, leaving Scott and I to face level 7.

Signing the waiver, note the smile on my face. Photo by Andrea Pallavicini

We have to sign a waiver before we move on. It's very comprehensive, absolving the restaurant of any responsibility for injury or death, making us confirm that we were choosing to do the challenge of our own free will, then writing down our insurance provider, signing it, and getting a witness to sign as well. It all seems very official, but Scott and I sign it, dismissing it as a scare tactic.

Round 3: Level 7

After a brutal wait (during which Adam heroically went and got Tums for us), they serve us the first two pieces of level 7, complete with sparklers patriotically jutting from the plate. Level 7 has all the fire of the previous levels, with ground red Chinese chili seeds added to elevate the pain to levels of transcendence reached only by ascetic Hindu shaman and Timothy Leary-era acid fans.

Level 7, where things start to go downhill. Photo by Andrea Pallavicini

We had to eat six pieces of the level 7 in three rounds of two rather than all at once, like on Man vs. Food. According to Chef Alex, this was because too many people were going to the hospital from eating them all at once.

After a few deep breaths, Scott and I chow down on our sushi, eating fast to get it out of our mouths and past our taste buds as soon as possible. Scott immediately runs outside with his milk to gather his thoughts, but I sat back in my chair and wave it off. It's hot at first, but it settles quickly. I'm pleasantly surprised, actually.

I have no idea what I'm in for. Photo by Amy Jurries

Moments later, the fire comes and it comes with a thunder. It's not really a burning sensation on my tongue, but more of a raw acid feeling in my throat; it feels like someone had put steel wool on a plunger handle and rammed it up and down my throat for five minutes.

I down my milk, scream for a refill, then run outside to deal with the fire in my head. I'm pouring sweat and tears and drooling like a werewolf - there's a puddle of saliva on the ground in front of me. As I storm around, eyes wide and watering, I look for solace in Scott's face, but find my own desperation reflected back to me. I'm about to tell him that I'm done with the challenge, when he looks at me and says "F--- that, I'm not doing it again."

I nod agreement and stagger down the sidewalk to be on my own. The sushi had won.

It takes about forty minutes, countless Tums, and who knows how much milk for Scott and I to pull ourselves together enough to drive everybody home. My mouth is feeling better, and with the exception of a little burbling in my stomach, my guts are feeling fine. It's a good thing, too, because Teva's throwing a huge party, and we don't plan on missing it.

Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

Tomorrow: The After Party

Paix-ing It Forward: Paix Clothiers

Nope, it's not a tech tee. Just plain old cotton. It's not reflective, doesn't wick sweat away, and if it gets wet, it'll stay wet. On the other hand, Paix does donate 20% of its proceeds to charitable causes around the world. Very cool, but it's not the only clothing company that does that.

What sets Paix Clothiers apart from other giving gear is that its t-shirt line gives you constant updates on the project that your purchase supported. Scan the QRC code on your shirt with your smartphone to see which project your shirt helped fund, and how it's going. In the words of co-founder Mark Yoder,

"Each shirt has a patch with a QR Code on it, so the shirt is forever linked to updates on the project. Just scan it with your phone and you can keep tabs on your contribution to the world!"

The first project is a two-parter with Thirst Relief International, whose mission goes further than just drilling a well and taking off. According to Paixclothiers.com:

"Their “WASH” program provides a deep bore well, a pump and filtration system, multiple taps that serve as faucets or drinking fountains, and latrines to improve sanitation."

Project one will provide the WASH program for a middle school in the Tirupur District in India and another for a village in the Virudhunagar District of India.

It's one thing to donate to a cause, it's a whole other beast to get to see the impact you've made as it develops. It's a very cool idea. If people went all "Black Friday" on Paix shirts, I'd feel a bit better about the post-Thanksgiving stampeding.

Take a look over at Paixclothiers.com.

The Best (and Worst) Foods to Vomit Back Up During a Workout


Hopefully that wasn't coffee.

"All the hard-hitting journalism the liberal outdoor media doesn't want you to hear!"

If you played a sport in high school, the odds are that you've run/played/been concussed so hard that you've heaved your lunch (or was I just too competitive? Hmm...). If you're one of the few and proud reading Trek Tech, I'm going to bet that you carried that intensity on past the scholastic level and you've lost a lunch or two in the last six months.

I was in the middle of a Crossfit workout yesterday when I started getting a little...uneasy. All I could think was, "I'm glad I just ate an English muffin with honey this morning." I kept it down (barely), but that started a line of thought - every experienced over-exerter knows that some foods are better coming back up than others. What are the best and worst foods to have to re-taste in the middle of an intense workout? I pondered my extensive experience and asked around. Here's what I came up with for the best "recycled food."

Please keep in mind that these are just observations - not recommendations. No one should be puking...but if you are, these are the best things to heave:

Dairy: You need to neutralize that sharp stomach acid, and the creamy goodness in udder leak keeps that eye-watering burn to a bare minimum. Most people recommended chocolate milk and dairy-based smoothies for ease of expulsion and sweetness, but Casey Lyons in Boston suggests dairy foods "with good visual interest, like mac and cheese." The recognizable, neon yellow staple is a comfort food no matter which direction it’s headed.

Inverse: Highly acidic foods like coffee and, say Chipotle's lime-cilantro rice are terrible, repeat, terrible. They just intensify that godawful throat burn.

Salts: If you're intolerant of cow juice, going salty is another option. Top Ramen (it is a pre-workout meal when you're in college) kept coming up, scoring points for the salty neutralization properties, along with the noodles' soft consistency.

Exception: Too much salt, or food that's salty/spicy like Thai-hot Chicken Pad Thai also increases throat burn.

Melons: This comes from a more recent experience: I ate a melon fruit cup (more macho than it sounds) about an hour before running hill repeats. Fourth set, they were on the ground, and I didn't even break my stride; just leaned over, said "huuuah," and kept going. The melon tasted the same as it did the first time, and it came out nice and easy. Sheri Christie in San Jose did extensive involuntary testing during her two pregnancies; she summed up the melon nomination well, saying that "the best was shredded carrots and watermelon! Watermelon was the easiest cause of the watery base and both come up sweet."

Not all advice revolved around physical well-being. Yesterday, @johnnyhaddad tweeted some very pertinent financial advice:

"French fries, anything high in fat, and inexpensive! I aint trying to puke out $40 for all my protein!"

Since we're not about glorifying rerunning your food, here's your guys' worst of the worst, as per your Facebook replies:

"I know the worst. That would be spicy foods and fish oil pills. That was a bad day."

"Coffee. Nope. Bad idea."

"The worst would be rice. It gets stuck in your nose on the way back up."

"Avoid spicy Mongolian bbq and huge mountain bike rides..."

Running for Your Life: Five Ten's Atlas Pamplona Running Shoe

Footwear company Five Ten is known primarily for their rock climbing shoes. If you look a bit closer, though, they seem to have a shoe for every application you can think of, from mountain biking and hiking to BASE jumping, freerunning and slacklining. My personal favorite is the Atlas Pamplona running shoe ($150, fiveten.com).

It doesn't have the super-techy sole of the Mizuno Prophecy, and it's not the newest, baddest Five Finger shoe on the market. In fact, aside from its bright red exterior, it looks like a plain old running shoe. A plain old running shoe for the running of the bulls.

If the name struck a memory that you couldn't quite put a finger on, it's because Pamplona, Spain is where they hold the annual running of the bulls. You know those videos you've seen of hordes of people sprinting through alleys, followed immediately by a stampeding herd of horned fury? Yeah, these shoes are made for those.

I have a hard time with bullfighting, but I'll say this - at least in Pamplona, they get a chance to hit back. After all the beef I've eaten (and will continue to eat), it's the least I can to to give them that chance. Five Ten took a bunch of runners out to the 2011 running of the bulls and made this video.

Regardless of your thoughts on bullfighting and the surrounding culture, you can't deny that this is the most intense short run out there.

Five Ten took their Atlas freerunning shoe, with its Stealth Climbing rubber for maximum traction on cobblestones, and they redid the upper in an all-crimson hue. The shoes' freerunning background will come in handy not only for cobblestone sprints, but also for hopping fences and brick walls if necessary. As far as I'm concerned, the red exterior serves two purposes: 1) To cover any potential blood stains if you get gored, and 2) To serve as a middle finger to the bulls that you're outrunning. You're not afraid of them.

A bull's-eye view of your shoe.

Wired.com: Brooks PureConnect Review

A few months back, I posted a first impression and some pics of Brooks Running's PureConnect running shoe. After a good amount of testing, I wrote a full review of my impressions on Wired.com. Take a look.

The minimalist running-shoe market has exploded over the past year or two, with almost every footwear manufacturer rushing out a line of barefoot-inspired running shoes to feed the public’s interest.

Brooks Running, by contrast, has taken its sweet time. The company has only recently introduced a line of minimalist shoes for runners.

Actually, minimalist is a bit of a misnomer here. The shoes in Brooks’ PureProject line provide a noticeable amount of cushioning when compared to other more bare-bones examples on the market. But the PureConnect road running shoe isn’t necessarily supposed to approximate the feel of running barefoot.

Read the whole review here at Wired.com.

Wish List: Gifts for the Zombie Apocalypse

Gerber Legendary Blades Apocalypse Kit ($350, gerbergear.com)

Tactical Bacon ($15 for a 9oz. can, cmmginc.com)

Polarmax AYG Boxer Briefs ($29.99, polarmax.com)

Kru82 Vodka ($19.99 for 750ml, kru82.com)

Darn Tough Merino Run Series Socks ($16, darntough.com)

Triple Aught Design's Legionnaire Pants ($129, tripleaughtdesign.com)

That's a good start. If you've got any other ideas, feel free to chime in. I'm always looking for supplies to add to the bomb shelter.

Still Trying Stuff: Columbia Fall '12 Event Gear Highlights

The Ultrachange's removable liner. Sweet, right?

"Trying Stuff." Two words that say an awful lot about what Columbia Sportswear is all about.

You've got to give Columbia props for trying to push the boundaries of outdoor sports tech every season. I love that Columbia keeps trying stuff. Even if all the stuff doesn't end up working. you're bound to have some home runs in there.

This week, I along with about forty other editors and journalists went to Park City, Utah, to check out their new wares. Food, drink, gear and snowsports ensued. If I were to go in-depth into every great aspect of this week, this would be a ridiculously long post, and you'd probably get sick of hearing me prattle on. So I'll save the bobsledding, amazing food, whiskey lessons, aerial ski training at Utah Olympic Park, athletic training facility tour, snowboarding, et cetera, and just get to the gear that caught my fancy. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. PeakFreak Trail Running Shoe ($150): You had me at the name "PeakFreak". Waterproof, breathable, and lined with the OmniHeat reflective dots, which could come in handy on snow runs. Could be a great winter trail runner. I'm hoping to get a tester and see just how rugged it is.

2. Men's Ultrachange Jacket ($450): Menage 'a Utility. Columbia's 3-way jacket is composed of a waterproof (OmniDry) breathable (OmniWick) shell and a sharp-looking, sleek, removable insulating liner with Columbia's distinct OmniHeat. So far, I'm loving the liner as a standalone, and the shell works well as a windblocker. Can't wait to see some rain.

3. Montlake Pack ($115): Digging the retro styling on this adventure/day pack. It sports top-loading access, load lifters, a removable belt, and TechLite padded shoulder straps for dayhiking, snowboarding, and whatever else you can imagine. A felt-lined laptop pockets makes it a viable commuter pack, giving it an urban dimension as well. Felt good while snowboarding today, I'll give it a shot on the bike when I get home.

I couldn't get a press image, so here's one from my hotel room.

Those are some of my favorites, but it looks like Columbia's going to have a lot more rolling out next fall (including some ballsy fashion-forward pieces), so keep an eye out for some more of that stuff they're trying.

Because I Said I Would: Falling Asleep at the Keyboard

This afternoon, I told The GearCaster about falling asleep while I wrote and promised I'd post the result. The following is a post that I attempted to write last night following Columbia's Fall '12 preview dinner. This is a rough draft with no fact-checking or editing. Please don't unsubscribe because of this.

Today was day 2 of Columbia's Fall '12 Preview Event and man, these guys know how to throw a party. After a great ice-breaker dinner last night, about 40 other journalists and I donned some down jackets (it was like 15 degrees outside) and piled into a tour bus to check out Park City's Olympic Center. We witnessed the unveiling of a new display, heard from a few olyians, then some of us were able to go on a bobsled ride. I couldn't go because of my neck sprain, but I got to see the other folks hit 80 mph and 5 G's on their way down the track, which was almost as good as doing it myself. No it wasn't.I'm jealous.

After a quick lunch, we headed down the hill to watch the freestyle team practice and were treated to some aerial excellence from the ski team (flips and such), then we piled back into the bus for a trip to the Academy of Excellence olympic training facility, where we got to see firsthand why we have the best olympic ski team in the world. The training there is amazingly detailed, from oxygen level manipulation to maximize individual workouts to $70k zero-gravity treadmills, our olympic athletes are in great hands. I want trampolines and foam pits in my garage now.

Next up was a bit of free time, so I came back to my rddddddddddddddddddddddddd

----

That last word was supposed to be "room." I woke up after a few seconds, posted this on my Facebook page,

"Trying to bang out a quick post about the Columbia Fall '12 event, but I'm falling asleep. I'll get it out tomorrow. zzzzzzz"

and went to sleep. I'll make some coffee and write a real post tonight.

You Never Know: Gerber's Apocalypse Kit

Go ahead and say it: "That only happens in movies." That's when they get you. It's like saying "bloody Mary" in a mirror three times, you're asking for it.

Sure, a zombie apocalypse probably won't happen.

But it might.

And if it does, bladesmith Gerber's got you covered with their Apocalypse line of cutting tools (including three different machetes) to help you chop your way through the horde.

"But what about guns?"

Pah. Gunshots draw attention, heads are small targets, and blades don't run out of ammo.

I love the fact that there's a gear company out there that takes the hypothetical into consideration and comesup with a kit that has zombie hunter written all over it. Well done, Gerber.

The Apocalypse Kit is no longer available, but you can pick up each piece one at a time at Gerbergear.com. Prices range from $21 to $69.

Visit Gerber's website to check out the Apocalypse lineup.

First Look: Vibram Five Fingers Spyridon LS Spotted in the Wild

Vibram's trail runner - the Spyridon LS

Vibram's Five Finger barefoot shoes are becoming more and more specific; they've got shoes for road runners, hikers, crossfitters, watersports, and soon they'll have a pair specifically for trail runners.

Their highly-anticipated trail running shoe, the Spyridon LS, is a notably aggressive addition to the Five Fingers line. With its flexible nylon mesh rock plate, burly upper, and mountain bike-looking tread, these guys are built for off-road endeavors.

Image of the outsole from ORSM

Yesterday, I took the Spyridon LS out for a 12-mile test run/hike up Kanaka Peak. The Spyridon's gnarly outsole helped me run on the rough stuff with more confidence, and the upper feels like it's made up of a beefier material than it's genetic predecessor, the KSO TrekSport. So far, so good.

The Spyridon is due out this Spring. I'm testing this pair right now for Wired.com, so keep an eye out there for the full review.

Treadling lightly(ish) down Kanaka Peak

Black Diamond Releases Dawn Patrol Facebook App

Getting out and hitting powder before work is only half the fun. The other half is getting online and telling all your other cubicle-jockey buddies about it. Today, Black Diamond is releasing its Dawn Patrol Facebook application so you can either get inspired or show everyone how you started your day off right. Check it out here.

Here's a video from the app that'll give you a good idea of what The Dawn Patrol is all about.

Dawn Patrol from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Pages

Trek Tech's Most Popular Post in 2011: Zom-pocalypse Wish List

Wish List: Gifts for the Zombie Apocalypse

Top Trek Tech Posts #2: The Hellfire Challenge

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Day 2: Hellfire Challenge, Part 1

Top Trek Tech Posts: Fancy Footwear

Paix-ing It Forward: Paix Clothiers

The Best (and Worst) Foods to Vomit Back Up During a Workout

Running for Your Life: Five Ten's Atlas Pamplona Running Shoe

Wired.com: Brooks PureConnect Review

Wish List: Gifts for the Zombie Apocalypse

Still Trying Stuff: Columbia Fall '12 Event Gear Highlights

Because I Said I Would: Falling Asleep at the Keyboard

"Trying to bang out a quick post about the Columbia Fall '12 event, but I'm falling asleep. I'll get it out tomorrow. zzzzzzz"

You Never Know: Gerber's Apocalypse Kit

First Look: Vibram Five Fingers Spyridon LS Spotted in the Wild

Black Diamond Releases Dawn Patrol Facebook App

Blog Archive

Friends of Trek Tech