The Outdoor Research Turbine Shorts are a pair of shorts I would never pick up for myself. Probably. So when the crew at Outdoor Research sent me these as a part of #ORInsightLab, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, they have built-in underwear! And from my experience as a child with built-in underwear, it was not comfortable nor something I ever wanted to experience again.
press sample
The Farm to Feet Boulder sock is one of the company’s most highly lauded socks. Lightweight, merino wool with full density cushion, this sock keeps you comfortable on the way to the office and on the trails.
I reviewed the Farm to Feet Madison previously here. The Boulder is the Madison’s younger sister with a looser weave. Like the Madison, the Boulder is designed for adventure hiking and trekking. The thickness of the socks are the same, but if you’re looking for something a little more breathable and less restrictive, the Boulder is for you.
Otherwise, these mirror the Madison in terms of quality and construction. This sock is serious business; it won’t sag on you when you need it. It keeps out dirt and unwanted debris. It’s made of high-quality merino wool. You can wear these over, and over, and over, and over, and over again without getting a weird multi-day sock funk. These babies feel fresh every time you put them on.
When the Chums Vortex Utility Keychain showed up in my mailbox, I really struggled with how to use it. I’m not really a bulky keychain person. Over the years, I’ve gone from carrying bags stuffed to the brim to only going places with my wallet. Sometimes I even ditch the wallet.
The Chums Vortex Utility Keychain is a stylish carabiner, form over function. Please keep in mind that this is not designed for climbing and will not hold any load worth your weight. The lip of the gate functions as a bottle holder.
The Vortex Utility Keychain has two key rings. I actually do not prefer to keep my keys on this. Instead, I use it to hold and keep track of all my dangling camping items that have no designated place in my pack: sporks, pack-towel, whistle, and more. In this sense, I find that the keychain would be more functional with little thin carabiners so I can easily clip and unclip items as I use them. I find it to be a pain to thread them through the key rings each time I need to use an item that doesn’t have it’s own ‘biner. However, this is most likely not the way Chums intended this to be used.
If you’re a fan of neat looking, semi-functional keychains, this is for you. If you prefer to be more minimalistic, this is probably not for you.
This was sent to me for review.
When it comes to wearing things on my head, I’m the world’s biggest not fan. This also includes my hair, which I have been contemplating a big chop off, but that’s an entirely different story.
Head garments never quite fit my head. They’re either too big, or headachingly small. I’m not a fan of having something block my field of vision and slipping over my eyes. I don’t really wear head things to catch sweat. I can’t keep my wild and ridiculous hair off my neck. In general, they’re pretty uncomfortable to me.
When Outdoor Research sent me their Onrush Cap, my first thought was “Oh no, another hat that I’ll hate and it’ll collect dust in my things I’ll never wear drawer”. They proved me wrong. I’m not a hat lover still, but this cap is a-okay.
At 1.7 oz, this thing is light! It’s like wearing a protective feather on your head. The material is a perforated, polyester mesh, designed to to be super breathable and moisture-wicking. I don’t tend to sweat much on top of my head (I think) so I can’t comment on that. I will say that it wasn’t bulky and didn’t weight me down or cause me to sweat more.
The hat’s piping and logo are reflective, so if you’re running at dawn, dusk or night with this on, people might be able to see you better. I can appreciate the white fabric this is constructed out of; nothing is worse than wearing a hat that absorbs heat. However, for people who sweat bullets, the white fabric might be more of soon to yellow/brown nemesis than an ally. Luckily, it comes in two other colors!
It has a standard hat hole for you to loop your ponytail through. The cap has a buckle closure making it easy to clip onto your pack when you don’t need it. Landon Faulkner of Make Adventure raves about it here.
On a side note, Outdoor Research has an Echo Hoody with a ponytail hole, why can’t there be things with better ponytail holes? Granted, it might look a little ridiculous having a high pony coming out of my hat, but it could work. Nothing makes me hate hats more than not being able to pile my hair as far away from my skin as possible. Just a thought.
Final thoughts: the Outdoor Research Onrush cap is a very lightweight cap. It is a tolerable cap and I will probably wear it again when I absolutely hate the sun. If you’re a hat person, you’ll probably like this hat.