As the days go by, I slowly descend more and more into sloth/slob-dom. Any jacket that feels like a fuzzy blanket is a winner in my book. With the Mountain Hardwear Monkey Woman Grid II jacket, I can get outside and be fuzzy and comfortable too.
I hate showering. It takes forever and sometimes I just want to spend that time doing something else. When I’m camping or climbing, it’s totally acceptable because you know, outside and dirt and stuff. Back in San Francisco? Not so much. I mean, if I’m not really that sweaty, or if I’m just going to get sweaty again riding my bike, what’s the point? There’s still a drought, even with all this rain. For days like those or when you’re just playin’ outside, there are Life Wipes.
When it comes to fickle weather, spring and fall take the cake. One minute it’s bluebird, the next, Mother Nature is throwing a snowy tantrum. It’s hot for a second, freezing cold a minute later. For days where the elements are as unpredictable as Miley Cyrus’ antics, the Arc’teryx Atom SL has your back.
For the past few years I’ve been relying on my Tarptent Scarp 2 or my Teton Sports Mountain Ultra 1 for any of my tenting adventures. They’re both great, but the Tarptent is designed to be an ultralight, small thing and the Mountain Ultra only sleeps one. I wanted something that was big enough for two with more room for luxuries. When Mountain Hardwear gave us the chance to pick out our ambassador kits for the winter season, I jumped at the chance at working with the Optic Vue 2.5.
I’m the world’s laziest person ever; when it comes to the elements, I tend to baby my down jackets and prefer my stinky, synthetic insulation over the fluffy good stuff. When Outdoor Research sent over their Diode Hoody, I was a little skeptical. A down jacket to battle the elements? It didn’t seem real.