Men's Pearl Izumi Peak XC Light Trail Running Shoe Review

I was privileged enough to receive a pair of Pearl Izumi's Peak XC Trail Running shoes this spring while living back in Michigan. I used them almost every time I ran, covering 5K distances right out of the box, comfortably. The first time I put them on, I could notice the incredible shock absorption and cushion, not just in the heel, but also on the balls of my feet. While my running schedule has been shot to pieces since taking my summer camp counselor job, I still love the shoes.

Pearl Izumi Peak XC on top of Cold Mtn, NC

The body of the shoe is made from extremely porous mesh of several layers. Even in a light rain, water easily splashes through to my socks from the smallest rain droplets. The mesh on my left shoe tore a little the other day as I was hiking the Cold Mountain Trail in NC and accidentally kicked a stick with the side of the shoe. The stick caught in the mesh material and tore a small hole in the outer layer. The hole has not widened or been a problem in any way, however.

The shoe has a lot of reflective material. Pearl Izumi made this shoe show up in the headlights, that's for sure. The PI logos show up pretty well in the light and a lot of the stitching and shoelace loop webbing is reflective. Even the fabric on the tongue of the shoe shines pretty brightly. Also the silver rubber piece that travels up the middle of the toe of the Peak XC shoe is reflective. There's a reflective PI on the heel of the shoe, as well.

My favorite part about the Pearl Izumi Peak XC Trail Runner? The tread on the shoe. The front half of the Peak XC has aggressive rear-facing teething that really bites into any surface. It makes these shoes great for running, trail running, or hiking. I use them for backpacking religiously down here in North Carolina. I can always rely on the Peak XC to grab whatever terrain I decide to plant my foot on.

One of the best parts about this shoe is that if (and when) it gets wet, you only need remove the insole and let dry. I have gotten this shoe soaked through from mountain biking, backpacking, and work. Every time I've removed the laces, opened up the shoe, removed the insole and let dry. It only takes 24 hours or less to be thoroughly air dried. Then I brush out whatever mud or dirt might be left dried in the shoe, lace it back up, and go. The Pearl Izumi Peak XC shoes are also very lightweight. Most of the time I don't even remember I've got them on. I love the lightweight mesh body because these shoes are still comfortable even on 90ºF mountain days when the humidity must be over 100%.

The Pearl Izumi Peak XC shoes receive a 5/5 stars from me. They are very supportive, lightweight, breathable, have great traction, comfortable, and look sweet. Look for a Pearl Izumi Iso Seek IV WRX review soon, also.

Happy Trails, friends!

RoadID Wrist ID Elite Review

If you're like me then you prefer the solitude of the wilderness to the life of the party. You would rather be planning your next backpacking trip and staying in shape on the off days running, cycling, and kayaking. Let's be honest, I know I'm not the most fanatical outdoors person out there. I'm sure a lot of you train harder and achieve more than I ever will. No matter your level of training or expertise in outdoor pursuits, we all acknowledge, at some level, the inherent risks.

RoadID Wrist ID Elite (orange)

People develop diabetes mellitus without ever having a history of it. Silent and unexpected myocardial infarctions are increasingly common occurrences. That's not even taking into account lost maps, freak thunderstorms, bear attacks, snake bites, broken ankles, and any of a million other wilderness mishaps.

According to Mike and Edward Wimmer, RoadID was born when Edward was run off the road by a pickup truck while training for a marathon. Without the proper identification, first responders cannot identify an unresponsive patient. As an EMT myself, I know how much of a set back it can be to not know anything at all about your patient. First responders rely heavily on a responsive patient's ability to relay pertinent medical history and specific details about how whatever current issues developed. A medic responding to the scene would have a completely different initial approach to an unresponsive patient with identification verifying a history of Type II Diabetes as compared to someone without identification whatsoever. Plus, ID allows the hospital staff to contact family. Useful in an emergency.

From RoadID's website

Now that we know why proper identification is a good idea, let's examine exactly how RoadID delivers ID to their consumers. You can either purchase identification that goes around your neck, wrist, ankle, or on your shoe.

I chose the Wrist ID Elite. It's an adjustable rubber wrist band that comes in eight colors. You are allowed six lines of space in which to customize what information your Wrist ID conveys. RoadID suggests several basic pieces of vital information to first responders, current medications and major medical history are two biggies! In order to adjust the size of the wrist band, you have to actually cut the band its self so don't cut too small or there's no going back.

The Wrist ID Sport is a fabric material.
I find that fabric wrist bands build up stink.
I have also lost velcro strapped watches
in the water, so I don't find velcro reliable.

I have worn my RoadID Wrist ID Elite for the last two months every day, all day. I've worn it in the shower, through the Red River Gorge, through Cumberland Mountain State Park, on miles of running, and during miles of cycling. The once shiny orange rubber wrist band now has developed what look like water spots but are barely noticeable. The stainless steel plate with engraved information looks like the day I bought it still, while the locking buckle on the underside has picked up a myriad of scratches (none of which impair its function). There has been no fading of lettering and I have no reason to believe that anything short of a belt sander would take off the laser etched words. The RoadID Wrist ID Elite is comfortable and classy, elegant yet subtle.

All in all, I like the RoadID Wrist ID Elite. It's a good failsafe to have and I like to wear bracelets anyway. It saves me from having to carry my wallet for identification purposes on long runs and day hikes. Probably a wise investment for anyone who often finds themselves in harms way intentionally or unintentionally. We all say "it won't happen to me" (I do!), but it's got to happen to somebody and the cold hard truth is that the world will still go on spinning even if that cold lifeless corpse goes unidentified. Don't let that be you.

Cumberland Mountain State Park

As of Friday, April 8th, 2011 I have visited Cumberland Mountain State Park. Once when I was too young to really take away any appreciation although I liked it enough to come back. Most recently, five days ago, I gave Cumberland Mountain State Park another visit as the beautiful first tendrils of spring unfurled at the tips of buds throughout the south. Heading toward the restaurant, you'll first encounter a beautiful arching bridge, damming up a river into Byrd Lake. The icy spring water spills out through these arches to continue away down the river.

In the park you'll find other amenities, typical pavilions and shelters, hiking trails, campsite, and a baseball diamond and tennis courts. You can read more about all of those here. All of this isn't much, though, in comparison with any other pretty park. What really sets Cumberland Mountain State Park apart from others is the rare restaurant.

It's not just another run down government parks building, this place is beautiful! Sitting high over Byrd Lake, the dining area provides a sweeping view of the natural area around you as you dine. Lunch and dinner can be had Tuesday through Thursday. On Friday one will find a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet of fried catfish, cinnamon apples, salad bar, banana cream pudding, ice cream, and every other delicacy one can imagine for less than $10. Saturday is the all-you-can-eat rib night.

Check out their menu here!

 Want more information? Check the Cumberland Mountain State Park Website.

One of the more entertaining factors in the park is the pair of Canadian geese which have taken up residency and have a certain affinity for ice-cream cones. Of course it's ill-advised to feed geese ice cream cones, as these birds do not have the proper mouths for chewing such food... but sometimes you can't resist giving them just a bit! They will eat from your hand if you are gentle and unthreatening, a highly exciting experience for young and old alike.

The park has some nice hiking trails, as I mention. One of the trails even allows overnight camping, through it ranks among the shorter of overnight backpacking trails. You can find the trail map for Cumberland Mountain State Park here, though I think you'll find it of such poor resolution that it is essentially useless. Head into the restaurant and ask for a trail map. They've got some decent ones in there. The trails in Cumberland Mountain State Park are short, easy, and safe so feel free to toddle on out to the trail with the kids for an hour long loop around the lake to get that appetite ready for all-you-can-eat catfish!

This is really a great park to visit in the changes of season, spring and fall. It's beautiful to spend time wandering through the park before dinner and then watch the wildlife and beauty of nature as you dine over the water for an all-you-can-eat meal. And don't forget to find the side-trail that runs down next to the bridge where you can hop from rock to rock at the base of the short waterfalls.

Happy trails.

Hydrapak Moro 2011 Review

What do we look for in a hydration pack:

 How much gear space do we need in it? How snugly will it hold to your body with the high-density weight of water filling it up? Is it comfortable enough to use for trail running? How much water can it hold for us? How easy is the reservoir to clean? Does it have a high-flow bite valve? These are all questions we need to keep in mind when looking at hydration packs for the trail.

The Hydrapak Moro has filled a lot of roles for me. The 800 cubic inch gear pocket is great for long day hikes with a lot of gear. I filled the Moro up with generous lunch portions and camera gear as well as an extra layer for a good day hike through the Red River Gorge and it carried like a champ. For the size, this pack is middle of the road for dry weight, coming in at 1.3 lbs. With its 3L water bladder full, you'll be hauling 7.9 lbs.

The number of compartments on this pack is astounding. There are four outer pouches, two "bottle" pouches, although I don't know why anyone would carry extra water with a 3L reservoir, one MP3 stash  pocket with headphone port (center zipper in above photo) and one trinkets pouch at the bottom of the pack for miscellaneous small gear. Inside the main pouch are two "hidden" zippered compartments for more small odds 'n ends storage, two pencil holders, and a calculator/cell phone/MP3 pouch. Really there are redundant pouches on this pack to carry multiples of things you probably didn't even need to take one of. On the back, right behind the back padding, is the dedicated water bladder compartment. This is where your water reservoir goes, and it's probably my only complaint with the pack.

The water tubing is designed to come out of the pack right where the shoulder straps are sewn to the pack. From there the tubing follows the shoulder strap down and is held in place by elastic bands. Pretty standard hydration pack design. It took me forever to figure out why Hydrapak had not done this with the Moro. Finally I realized that they intended to do just that, however, on the Moro pack that I recieved from Hydrapak, the seamstress had accidentally sewn shut the port on my right shoulder and partially sewn shut the left one as well. Now I can barely get the tubing through the left shoulder port and the right side? Forget about it. That's a thumbs down. Instead of having the tubing run smoothly along my shoulder, I have to leave the reservoir zipper open a bit and run the tubing clumsily out, through the carry handle, and along the strap that way. Very shabby, but functional. Not a mistake I would be happy with if I paid the fill $110 price tag on this pack, though.

The bite valve its self, however, is wonderful. I've used the old school CamelBak bite valves and let me tell you, they don't allow enough water flow. It's like trying to drink a thick milk-shake through a small straw. The Hydrpak Moro bite valve is great though. It comes standard with a twist-lock (I can't tell you how many times my CamelBak has leaked all over) which is a life saver. This valve lets out all the water you could want easily, so no extra effort to get enough water through the valve!

The water reservoir its self is awesome, too! It has a large opening for filling and cleaning and it closes with a simple slide-lock so it's super quick to take in and out of the pack. The water tubing connects with a quick-snap valve that won't leak and feels solid. According to Hydrapak one can turn the bladder inside out for cleaning and washing but that scares me a little since I feel like it will put undue stress on the plastic of the reservoir closure and lead to accelerated damage to your reservoir. I opt to clean it without turning the bag inside out, but it's up to you!

There are four cinch straps on the sides of the Hydrapak Moro to secure your load so that it doesn't move around and throw off your balance. I found these to work great while scrambling over rivers, balancing on logs, and climbing rough sandstone in the Gorge. These straps have velcro to take in the extra webbing when you're not using the straps fully extended. Keeps the pack looking neat and no dangling cords to mess you up.



The sternum strap is elastic, keeping the pack always tight but never uncomfortable. I chose to put the magnetic "Quantum" clip here for the bite valve. This is a neat addition Moro made to the Hydrapak to keep the bite valve from flopping around freely when not in use. The hip belt is very lightly padded but sufficient for this pack as it won't be supporting any weight, simply holding the pack tightly to your back so that it doesn't move around while you're trying those technical moves.

Scraping against sandstone, scrambling over logs, and crossing rivers this pack never let me down. It performed like a champ in the field. It's a big day pack, but Hydrapak offers smaller versions if you don't need as much gear space. The pack hugs you tight on every move and even with tripods strapped on, a full water bladder, and cameras in the pack I never had a scary moment. This pack is great for days when you need to haul a lot of gear comfortably through the bush. I would recommend the Hydrapak Moro to anyone and it instantly replaced my old CamelBak as my primary day pack and hydration pack for it's superior quality and great durability. Watch the video to see in detail all the aspects of this pack!

Backpacker Magazine Reviews the SOL Origin Survival Kit

I'm here to point out, once again, that not every article you read has your best interests at heart. For example this week Backpacker Magazine (which I love and respect) did a photo gallery gear review of the Survive Outdoors Longer (SOL) Origin Survival Kit, set to release March 18th 2011. Before we get started, it's very important that you review the concepts I laid out in my "Eight Rules to Follow for Your DIY Survival Kit". Important things to remember from that articles are:

• Not everyone has the same survival skills, thus each survival kit should be unique
• Survival kits should be uniquely tailored to complement the environment you expect to be using it in
• Every item in the kit must be able to perform double duty in order to optimize weight/space/functionality ratios
• It's a good idea to make the majority of your survival implements yourself, or thoroughly test them before you need to use them so that you will be exceedingly familiar with their uses
• There should always be at least one trash bag in your survival kit, they fold up to almost nothing and can be used for almost anything

Okay, now that you're read the article again and brushed up on the major points here, we're ready to move on and talk about the SOL Origin Survival Kit. This kit comes in a hard plastic case which houses an internal waterproof compartment, and external "slots" into which fit various survival implements. So the case is serving dual roles, this is good. It comes with one of those cheap-o dollar store compasses (the kind you'd give out at your kid's birthday party). I would never trust my life to one of those things since, from my experience, they're less likely to point north than moss on a tree. Not to mention, even if you do get the little 1/2" compass to point in the right direction, you can't take a decent bearing off of it because it's too small to orient well. *Sigh*

From the Backpacker.com review

Moving on, we'll take a look at the knife included with this kit. They talk about how this knife has a whistle (good) and a little LED light to illuminate what you're cutting. I guess it's good that this guy had a block of Velveeta cheese in his Origin Kit. It unless you're stabbing something to death, however, this LED won't do you much good since it's oriented straight down the knife blade which only illuminates thing in front of the knife. The plastic handle doesn't buy my trust, either... not something I would want to rely on for my life.

Now we move on (in their review) to the waterproof compartment which holds (oddly enough) eight different items that are already waterproof! Tin foil, nylon cord, safety pins, a needle, fishing line, fish hooks, steel wire, and tinder in a plastic bag. The only thing in this waterproof container that would be adversly affected by water is the tinder, which is already in a plastic bag! WHY would you make such an obviously redundant blunder? Because these companies are looking out for profits, not your survival. Their tinder, by the way, is advertised as being waterproof even without the doubly redundant waterproofing system they put in place.

They include a little "how-to" manual and survival tips booklet in the case. My dear readers, if you're lost in the woods and have to use your survival kit and you need a how-to manual you are, quite simply, a dead person. You had damn well better know how to keep yourself alive before you end up in the situation! Including a survival "how-to" booklet in the SOL Origins Kit just goes to show that they don't expect you to open the thing up before you need to use it. They expect their customers to buy it, throw it in the bottom of their packs until one day they need it and realize "holy shit, I don't know how to use any of the items in this kit I bought". 

If you only get one thing out of this article, let it be this: don't buy a pre-made survival kit. Do the research, learn the skills, and make one yourself. You'll quickly find out that including tinder in most survival kits is a waste of space since you can find it almost anywhere, any time. You'll learn that a trash bag is one of the most versatile items you can possibly take into the wilderness.

You might also learn that putting some water purification tablets in your survival kit adds (almost) no weight and saves you from having to boil all your water to purify it. Why didn't SOL include water purification? I have no idea! There are only a few things that will kill you more quickly in a survival situation than lack of water, and SOL did nothing to address this issue other than add some "sturdy" tin foil for boiling your water. Ounce for ounce, you can purify more water, more rapidly, with potable-aqua tablets than an army of men with tin foil could boil.

Dear readers,

I rest my case.

Neo Air Competitors: Peak Elite AC, Ether Elite 6, and SynMat

Don't have the money for the listed retail value for Therm-a-Rest's new NeoAir? It's $150 retail price and guess what Cascade Designs forgot to do again? They forgot to include a bag to put your NeoAir in. "That'll be $15 extra, please," says Cascade Designs in their ongoing low-blow marketing scheme. Come on guys, who sells an unfinished product? And we all know that's what an inflatable mattress without a stuff sack is: incomplete product. And if you haven't read all the bogus reviews, the frequency with which the internal baffles "pop" on the NeoAir is absolutely unacceptable for a mattress with a $150 price tag. Overall the NeoAir is too expensive, poor insulation, and terrible durability.
I'm going to do all of you NeoAir freaks a favor and expose you to a few more economical choices that rival, or surpass the features of the NeoAir. Here they are.


Pacific Outdoor Equipment Peak Elite AC
The POE AC has got the NeoAir beat hands down. It should be available early spring 2011. Here's the quick and dirty:

• Peak Elite AC = 15oz (L) --->  NeoAir = 19oz (L)
• Peak Elite AC has vertical baffles ---> NeoAir has horizontal baffles

        *Horizontal baffles allow the pad to conform to your body shape better and hold you in place

• Peak Elite AC R Value is 4.4 under the torso and 2.5 on extremities ---> NeoAir R Value is 2.5
• Peak Elite AC pad size 20"x78"x2.5" ---> NeoAir 77"X25"x2.5"

        *Peak Elite AC is narrower, however the vertical baffles help hold the sleeper on the pad, thus
          allowing the pad to be smaller while still being effective. Plus the shaved down size also shaves  
          weight.

• Peak Elite AC and NeoAir are both manually inflated, meaning you must blow them up like a ballon.
• Peak Elite AC pack size 4"x12" ---> NeoAir 4.5"x11"

Pacific Outdoor Equipment Ether Elite 6
Extremely similar to the POE Peak Elite AC, the "old" Ether Elite 6 has all the same features except it lacks the new "Radiant Heat Return" technology. So a slightly lower R Value. However the Large EE6 was priced at only $69 versus the NeoAir's (large) $169. That's a huge difference! And guess what? Pacific Outdoor Equipment didn't try to cheat us out of a stuff sack, they sell those with their products. Wow!



Exped SynMat Basic 7.5
Is now available for purchase! It's heavier than the others we've talked about but it's 3" thick instead of 2.5". Exped boasts an R Value of 4 for this mat which they rate down to -11º C (12º F). It comes in at 9.5"x5.7" packed and 71.5"x19" as a mat. It's narrower, yet, than the POE AC, and 6" narrower than the NeoAir.
Exped's sister series; the SynMat Pump is a bit heavier but has higher R Value and, you guessed it, an air pump to fill them up.

Les Stroud's The Temagami Knife Review

Video Released 4/19/2011


NOTE: This article was written prior to the release of the Temagami as an analysis of the (then) released information about the knife. The Adventure Lifestyle Blog has received the Temagami and will release a new and current full review of this knife soon. Suffice it to say that a lot of the speculations I made herein are now irrelevant and incorrect as the final production version of this knife rolls off the line. Watch the video above to see the knife and our video review, released 4/19/2011.

Funny that I just posted on Bear Gryll's partnership with Gerber. I got an email from Les Stroud today offering pre-sales on his knife: The Temagami. This isn't a surprise, the knife has been in the works for quite a while. Les chose to partner with an international knife maker from Norway. The country chosen to do the work instantly buys my confidence, Norway is a European company with a good reputation and superb craftsmanship. The company, Helle, is one I have never heard of but it doesn't matter too much what company produces the knife so long as they follow good bladesmithing procedures. The Temagami appears to be a good knife. According to Les's site the knife has a "birch handle that's oiled with linseed". I like the look of a good wooden handle on a non-serrate carbon steel blade. Especially since they chose to put solid brass rivets in with it! Birch isn't the most durable wood ever but the colors compliment the brass and polished high carbon steel. 


Les's site also claims the blade is made of "carbon steel laminate". We can only guess as to what they actually meant by this but I assume that what they're getting at is trying to convince people that the blade is made of folded high carbon steel. Hooray! Oh wait... The necessity of folding steel to distribute carbon content equally died with the invention of the modern process of making making steel. Is it necessary to fold modern compounds of high carbon steel to make a better blade? Absolutely not, and if you're under the impression that a folded steel blade is better than one that isn't... well please go do your research.

They included "custom groves on the back of the blade" to facilitate fire-steel striking. That's not a bad idea, really, but first of all it's "the spine of the blade" not "the back". Second of all, where's the grooves on the spine where the tang meets the handle? I've had these on previous knives and they increase one's ability to handle the knife significantly by adding a good friction point to prevent slipping of the thumb. Speaking of slipping... a smooth wooden handle is prone to slipping of the hand on any stabbing actions. There's a rather small out-crop of wooden near where the bolster should be on this knife that acts as a slight barrier between the handle and the dangerously sharp blade, but not much. That's a little concerning, but if one handles the knife responsibly it should prove to be little problem.


The tang is almost a full-tang, in fact it's so close that I would rather just call it a full tang. You can see that it tapers narrow at the end because it's not visible through the whole witch of the pommel of the knife. This does not mean the knife is any weaker than a true full tang knife. It's obviously got a wide tang that protrudes back several inches through the handle as we can see that the two (I'm guessing here) 3/16" brass rivets are spaced a good distance apart and must both travel through the tang to sandwich the handle to it. It most likely then tapers slightly upwards and ends (where we can see it) at the pommel. The lanyard eyelet is a third, well placed, rivet. not only does it provide a place to put a lanyard, it gives the Temagami a third rivet in it's already beefy full-tang handle. Really solid construction if you ask me!


Les's decision not to include serrations gets this knife another thumbs up in my book. I hate serrated knives! What a waste of blade space. If I could somehow get my hands on the exact specs of the steel used for the blade and the heat treating processes they followed to manufacture these, I would be more confident in my review of this knife. However, let us assume that they heat treated this steel perfectly, and furthermore that the steel used in the blade is of the proper quality (this could be one of any number of different steel types). If we assume this to be true, then I would say this knife is a winner. Les Stroud's Temagami Knife gets five stars in my book.


You can pre-order this knife now from his website, available Feb 26th for $180 excluding shipping. If you're thinking about ordering this, let me tell you a secret... It's not worth the price. Unless you're ordering it for the sole reason that it's got Les's name on it, you'd be better off investing your money elsewhere. There are plenty of comparable knives for less money. But there are also plenty of poorer quality knives for more money... So I leave the decision for you, readers.

Gerber Makes Bear Grylls Knife

It is a sad day for me. My most cherished knife brand, Gerber, has decided to endorse and produce knives that have the names of survival idiot Bear Grylls on them. OUCH! Why would you do that, Gerber? For any of you who need a refresher on why Bear Grylls is the biggest idiot to ever set foot on television and the great outdoors simultaneously, I will release a post explaining it shortly. I've always loved Gerber because they combine quality with affordability. Until now they've been a brand that sells quality and not a label. Although the "Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Knife" (ultimate knife? a bit bold, don't you think?) has the makings of a good knife (one piece through tang, one piece synthetic handle, sheath, lanyard) it has one fatal flaw. They put the words "Bear Grylls" on it, which is one of the fastest ways to get yourself killed in the wilderness. Nobody shows off more numerous or creative ways to kill ones self while trying to live in the wilderness than Discovery Channel's favorite... Bear Grylls. Therefore we can assume that any time you run into someone carrying this knife, they're probably a Bear Grylls fan. And while it's possible to be a fan of his show and have the vaguest hint of an understanding about correct wilderness survival... it's highly improbable. Don't be too quick to trust someone with a Bear Grylls endorsed product as they most likely wasted money on buying an item with his name on it, and are probably almost as full of ego as Bear Grylls himself!