Chacos are the king of the rafting and guide world. Outdoorists wear their sandal lines like a badge of honor. Rugged enough for the trails, but chic enough to rock on city streets, these shoes do it all in temperate environments. For Spring 2016, Chaco updated the footbed with their proprietary Z/Cloud and made their sandals that much better.
Welcome to the random Monday installment of manly men reviewing manly gear. This Monday, Josh Ourada, talks about the manly Swrve Slim Fit Cordura Jeans.
Imagine a pair of jeans that do pretty much everything. They look sharp when you’re going out. They clean up nicely for work. They survive an endless beating against sharp rock. They’re the Swrve Slim Fit Cordura Jeans.
I won’t lie. I’m a total flatlander. I live at sea level, and I completely struggle at altitude. Shortness of breath, splitting headaches, all that jazz, all of it happens to me once I get close to 8000 feet.
Prior to Outdoor Retailer, a few friends and I headed out in the Uintas for some pre-show backpacking and gear testing fun. Our itinerary involved scuttling around 10,000 feet every day, so Oxygen Plus was kind enough to send along some Skinni Natural bottles.
What can happen when you throw six internet friends on a backpacking trip prior to the biggest outdoor tradeshow of the year? A lot apparently. #UintasHike16 was born as a pre-show gear testing and hang out opportunity to experience the Utah backcountry. 40+ miles through the Wasatch over three days was going to be an adventure.
I was too slow. I was too fat. Maybe my pack was too heavy. I shouldn’t have gone to the gym yesterday. Did I really need to bring my DSLR and tripod? Why couldn’t I keep up? What if he didn’t want to ever go on climbing adventures with me again?
My trekking pole got stuck in a crevice. I yanked it out and subsequently knocked the handle into my eye. That was the final straw that broke the frustrated camel’s back. I tried to stop it, but one sniffle led to another. Then I was suddenly bawling on the last half mile section to our Matterhorn campsite for the night.