In the late 1990’s, soft shell (also spelled “softshell”) outerwear hit the marketplace with a bang. Almost overnight, the stretchy fabric became the telltale mark of “serious” outdoorspeople. Soft shells continue to excel as a go-to piece for outdoor play. Today we present: everything you’ve always wanted to know about
How to add warmth to your Halloween costume
Unless you live in Southern California or Miami, chances are you are freezing your buns off every year on Halloween. And every year you think to yourself, “Man, I need to come up with a way to add warmth to my costume. Why am I wearing this sexy French maid
Attack of the killer detergent: The Nikwax Difference
It begins innocently enough. First, you figure what harm could it possibly do? I’ll wash my jacket just this once with my regular laundry detergent. Before long, that harmless “regular” laundry detergent has become a gateway to the serious stuff: fabric softeners, boosters, oxidizers… And your outdoor excursions become significantly less
Back From the Dead: How to Clean Your Ski Jacket
The world is full of frights that the rational mind can’t reconcile with reality: cheese in a can, the zombie apocalypse, that ski jacket you left unwashed, dirt-covered and and reeking at the bottom of your gear closet. While experts are quite unified in their classification of canned cheese food,
Ode to the Fleece
It becomes an afterthought. You throw it on while you pore over stats and specs for this winter’s ski gear. It’s the layer you wear when you go shopping for your new parka. It’s seen the four corners of the Earth, the inside of your local grocery, innumerable National Parks,
Gear Rehab Can Help Flooded Colorado Residents
We knew we were in trouble on Sept. 12, when the rain, which had been falling without break for four days, came down even harder. From my second-story home office, I could hear the nearby creek thunder like a herd of galloping clysdales. The street outside our house morphed into
Back to School Lessons in Responsible Thriftiness
Every good parent knows that raising respectable, upstanding children requires love, integrity and the periodic dose of deceit. Marketing, peer comparisons and shiny, new things influence kids, just as they do adults. This is extraordinarily evident during this period that retailers like to call Back to School. To hear J.C.
The Fine Art of Tailgating
The ball crosses into the End Zone. High fives and cheers surround you. Someone picks you up and raises you over the crowd. A cooler full of Gatorade pours down over your head. Wait a minute. That’s not Gatorade. You didn’t score the winning touchdown. You’re in the parking lot
True confessions: we’ve neglected our gear, too
The smell was ungodly. Every time I cracked open my dry bag, the stench brought tears of disgust and pain to my eyes. At first, the smell just made me feel a little dirty – nothing over the top. It wasn’t until Day 13 of a 16-day mid-August Grand Canyon
Top Ten Ways to Enjoy the End of Summer
Hey! Back to School shopping: we’re talking to you. You represent the end of the dog days more than Labor Day, more than the equinox and even more than the plummeting mercury in our thermometers. We may be excited for the kids to expand their minds and unleash their daily