Hike New Jersey » Gear Reviews

Hike Tracking: RunKeeper Pro Free For January

Chris Casciano — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:27:13 +0000

It’s New Year’s Resolution time, and if your resolution is to do more hiking, trail running, cycling, or cross country skiing and need a bit of a kick in the pants, or just want to find an easy way to keep track of your progress the iPhone and Android mobile phone application RunKeeper Pro is free for the month of January (normally $9.99).

I use RunKeeper to track my cycling, to keep track of my hiking mileage while on the trails, and even to generate GPX files for geotagging my photographs. Many of the previous hike reports, including that from the 33 mile Lenape Trail Hike, reference maps generated by RunKeeper using my phone’s built in GPS.

Follow the following link to download RunKeeper Pro for iPhone or Android.

Winter 2011 Gear: Gloves

Chris Casciano — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:10:50 +0000

Last winter I did a review of the Mountain Hardwear WINDSTOPPER Half Flex Balaclava. Well it’s wintertime again, snowing as I write this post, and even with a few 50ºF days in a row there has been snow on the ground here in New Jersey since the post-Christmas blizzard. So it’s time again to look at the gear I’m using to keep myself warm.

Today it’s the gloves on my hands.

Outdoor Research BackStop Gloves

Lightweight WindStopper Gloves

I needed a pair of everyday winter gloves for those middling days where I’m hanging outside, hiking, or just standing around taking photos, where basic liner gloves won’t cut it but I didn’t need the heavy guns. What I found and since fallen in love with are the OR BackStop Gloves. Just 100 weight fleece, but with Gore WindStopper fabric and a tacky palm they’re light weight and help cut the air and keep your fingers nimble but warm.

So far this season they’ve been warm, dry, the windproof-y-ness has proven itself useful, but in more extreme conditions such as biking in just under freezing air, their lack of insulation does start to show itself. But that is OK by me, because I wasn’t expecting them to be all things all the time.

I bought these gloves a little on the small side. They don’t have the stretch of a liner glove, but I wanted to be able to use them as such in real extreme conditions, and when fiddling with gear didn’t need any loose fabric on the fingers. I picked up the BackStop Gloves at EMS earlier this season. So far they’ve been great, and they look to be quite durable (another problem I’ve had with liner gloves).

Rating by Chris Casciano: 5.0 stars

Manzella Hatchback Convertible Gloves

Microfleece gloves with windproof finger cover.

When I need to make sure my hands stay warm for long periods of time these have been great. These are heavy fleece gloves with a bit of a grippy palm and fingers, and a windproof cover/mitten that can cover the fingers. Long stints in 20 degree snowy hikes and photowalks haven’t been a match for these, and unlike the less insulated ORs they’ve been able to cut it even on the windy bike rides.

The only downside to these gloves is that they may wind up a bit wet and soggy—not so much an issue if you’re active and warm, but not the greatest gloves for snowball fights, snow shoveling or other cases where you’re putting them on and taking them off often going in and out of your house.

I bought these gloves last season and wore them all year. I think I had gotten them at REI, but I don’t see them on the site now. But you may find the Hatchback Converible Gloves at Campmor.

Rating by Chris Casciano: 4.0 stars

I haven’t put either of these gloves through more technical winter sports use: no ice climbing, kayaking or anything else crazy like that. But they have been great through hours of hiking, days out and standing around with the camera, and in both dry and wet snowstorms.

What About You?

What gloves are you wearing this winter? Where did you buy them and who helped you decide they were right for you? What other things are you doing to stay warm and dry this winter?

Next Up: What I’ve got on my head this winter.

Quick Review – Mountain Hardware WINDSTOPPER Half Flex Balaclava

Chris Casciano — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:34:53 +0000

It’s been a cold, windy and snowy go of it here in New Jersey this winter. Though I’ve left my real gear monkey tendencies behind years ago, each season it seems I pick up a few new things and one of them really stands out and makes me wonder how I ever did things without it. This winter it was the Mountain Hardware WINDSTOPPER Half Flex Balaclava.

A lightweight neck and face mask great for those winter activities.

One key to keeping warm in the winter is staying dry by regulating temperature and avoiding sweat. I find being able to pair this half balaclava with different weight hats or just rip it off when too warm [instead of wearing "double" hats like rolling a full face balaclava up] goes a long way towards helping regulate things. Whether its for hiking and snowshoeing on the local trails, biking, or going on slow paced photowalk with lots of stops and starts the thin weight windstop fabric keeps the cool and wind off without making my face sweat from my own breath. I’ve used full fleece windstopper balaclavas in the past and they can be just too bulky and overly warm for the 25ºF winter weather we see most of the time in this area. As its made for mountaineering it also works well and doesn’t get in the way of a bike helmet.

This is a “one size fits all” item and I’ve found it fit me well and I think it would be comfortable going up or down the spectrum. Those with small heads may want to find a way to pin or sew a small pleat to get it to fit snugly and stay up.

MSRP for the Half Flex is $30 and it was money well spent. I purchased this in the beginning of the season at Paragon Sports in Manhattan, but check the Mountain Hardware product page for dealer locations. Product photo from the Mountain Hardware site.

My rating: 4.5 stars