featheredfriends

Feathered Friends carries the La Sportiva Nepal Evo for women, an excellent lightweight insulated single boot, in the sizes you are looking for. We haven't found any "bricks and mortar" store in the area that stocks the Spantiks, although we have placed several special orders for these boots. Some of our customers heading to Denali and Aconcagua have really liked these boots. We also have the Vasque Ice 9000, and will probably be getting in the Scarpa Phantom 8000. For 8000m peaks, you might be better off buying a dedicated high altitude boot like the Phantom or the Olympus Mons rather than the Spantik, which is not as warm. Come on down to try on the Nepal Evos, and we can discuss other boots while you are here. M-F, 10-8 Sat, 10-6 Sun, 11-5

Because they already make one: Get 'em while you can. Model will be discontinued. The Nomic is still a great mixed climbing tool, however, and the absence of a hammer is not a hindrance. Do you really want to slot a hammer and pull on it with the pick of your tool pointing right at your face? Instant self-administered lobotomy if your placement pops.

What is on sale? It would be easier to say what isn't on sale. We only have sales twice a year so there is a lot of merchandise at sizeable discounts. There are more FF down items on sale this time around than ever before, lots of clothing, backpacks, rock shoes, climbing gear, tents, boots, stoves, rental gear, etc. If you live within a half hour drive of here it will be worth your while to come down and check it out. See you soon.

Lots o' shiznit fo' sale yo.

August 23, 7:30pm, at Feathered Friends. This show will be free to the public. It will also be shown on the big screen in our new event room. See you there.

ALL SOLD - We'll let you know when we get some more

We just received two sets of Hybrid aliens - including the two new sizes! They won't stick around for long so give us a call 206-292-2210.

Our selection here: http://www.featheredfriends.com/retail_store/footwear.html

Just in from BD: http://www.bdel.com/about/speed_harness_bulletin.php

A lot of people have been asking if we had them and we've been sold out for a while. We just got our backordered shipment in so we have them again - just in time for what looks to be another beautiful weekend. Word.

Thanks. That was the work of the multi-talented Eddie. It was time for some new ads. Maybe we should make some T-shirts...

"Smith Rock Select" by Jonathan Thesenga just came in. Nice little book, well-organized with color photos... Come on in and check it out.

We have two of the Grivel Compact model in the shop. One for each of you. Stop by or give a call if you want it: 206 292 2210 M-F 10-8, Sat 9-7, Sun 11-5. Cheers.

The weather is going to be outstanding this weekend, and I have a bunch of great raffle prizes and swag for the festival! See ya'll there.

Climbing clothing and shoes on sale next week. Also, all remaining ski equipment is 40% off (boots, skis, bindings).

Joe Puryear's Supertopo Alaska book just came in. A beautiful book!

That's right, the new C3's are finally here. Come and get 'em while they're hot.

Gene and Matt, thanks for the kind words about our bags. Matt makes a good point about the tradeoffs of "super light." Lighter weight fabrics tend to be less durable than heavier ones for a number of reasons. For example, on our own bags and WM's, the lightest weight fabrics require a top-stitch construction to reduce down leakage at the seams, but this in turn reduces durability since the threads are then exposed to abrasion. In our experience, the failure of seams due to abrasion is a long term problem. With the heavier fabrics we use (Epic and eVent) we can tuck-stitch the seams and conceal the thread within the bag to increase longevity. Lighter fabrics are also more prone to tearing and tend to have lower moisture resistance properties than heavier fabrics. If you look at WM's bags, the DryLoft models are heavier than their microfiber counterparts, and the same is true with our eVent fabric being heavier than Epic. All the same, if you think that weight savings trumps all other considerations, then by all means you should buy a super light bag. Just be aware that you will need to take greater care of it and your expectations about durability and performance should match the limitations of the fabric and construction methods. To address Matt's point about down quality/stuffing/durability, I would say that loftier down performs better in the field on extended trips. Having just spent six days in the North Cascades with a couple days/nights of crummy weather and getting some moisture inside the tent, my experience with my Vireo bag was very positive. When finding a small pile of snow on my bag after leaving some tent vents open during a storm, my bag kept me warm in sub-freezing temps and was dry by morning. Higher quality down = more air space inside the bag = better ability to transport moisture through the down = faster drying bag. Body heat alone can dry out a damp bag fairly quickly- faster than a synthetic bag. Throw in a hot water bottle and you'll expel moisture even faster. High quality down will also loft better on an extended trip than lower quality down through repeated stuffing and unstuffing. There is really no motivation to buy a bag with lower quality down fill unless price is a primary consideration. Check out the FF Snowbunting bag in Epic fabric. For a minimal weight increase over a "super light" fabric you gain a considerable increase in durability and moisture protection- great for sleeping in Megamid type shelters or snow caves where you will experience dripping water or showers of frozen condensation. Feathered Friends Snowbunting

Joe Puryear's kick-ass new guide is coming out and we're celebrating!

$240 plus tax (if in state): $60 per cam plus shipping if applicable. Hell, we'll ship them for free to the lower 48 if you buy the set.

Hey, we just sell them, we don't make them. If you want to spray, there is another forum for that, and the phone number for CCH is (307) 721-9385 if you want to tell them what you think about their products. Here is a link to their recall notice to inform you of the reported failure rates: http://www.aliencamsbycch.com/index.html There are a lot of CC.com members who want to buy these things, so don't rain on our parade for informing the community that they are in stock. Thank you, FF

We received two sets of hybrid Aliens today, four sizes from black/blue to yellow/red. We took a look at them and they don't appear to have any of the visible marks indicative of the manufacturing issues that came up with earlier production runs. They probably won't stick around long, so work fast if you want them. 206 292 2210, we can ship anywhere.

The Volant is sized to fit over layers, so there will be more room in it at any given size when compared to the Helios. A large should fit you just fine in the Volant, but think of sizing up for the Helios. If you're going to be using it as part of a sleep system and used in the winter I might recommend the Volant over the Helios. - Eddie

It's available in two different fabrics: Epic and Event. Epic is the same stuff that BD uses for their lightweight tents. It's pretty water resistant and very breathable. Event is waterproof as a fabric, more breathable than G-Tex and is more durable than the Epic. If you're looking for a weatherproof down jacket, this is about as good as it gets. - Eddie