featheredfriends

We had them first. Now they are almost all gone. Not to worry! More are on the way!

The Great Hall is indeed in the FF retail store. It is where we have banquets, feasts, knighting ceremonies, and tribunals. Better wear your finery.

Reminder- this is tomorrow. I think we are going to use the Great Hall instead of the events room. Last time Colin had a show here Fred Beckey had to pull some 3rd class moves just to get a seat in the attic.

Lots of people have been expressing interest in the new Black Diamond lightweight carabiner, and unfortunately BD has not been able to deliver as many as they had hoped. We just received 25 of them. Come get 'em fast before Joe Gearhead comes in and snaps up the lot. If you are really desperate, you can buy them over the phone and we'll keep them for you until you can make it down to the shop. 206 292 2210. Peace out, Napoleon.

We'd be amiss not to chime in here. The Summerlite is a great bag and in many respects is similar to our Merlin. The dimensions on both bags are pretty close (snug fit). Down quality is the same in both bags, zipper length is the same, they are both made in the US, and they both come in snazzy colors. So what are the substantive differences? - Fabric. Western's ExtremeLite series of bags uses a very lightweight ripstop nylon that does a great job of saving weight but doesn't offer much water protection. You can buy a Merlin in our new Schoeller Nano fabric that is both very light (1.0oz/yd) AND has excellent water resistance. - Fill weight. The Merlin has more down in it than the Summerlite. - Price. The Merlin costs $19 more than the Summerlite in a regular length. Overall the Merlin weighs a bit more than the Summerlite (at least on paper), but you get more down and a shell fabric that is much more impervious to moisture. If you are in the area and you have the opportunity, you should get inside both bags and see how you like the fit. Jim Nelson probably carries the Summerlite at PMS, and we have a good selection of Merlins in stock right now. If you find you like the fit of both bags, then your decision might come down to water resistance, weight, price, or color. Either way you will end up with a great bag that will last a long time.

Some of us will be sipping liters during pre-funk at Feieaieaireabend, the German bar just down the street. It's a fun place, all are welcome.

Juicy

All these have been sold. We just put some new rental gear into the fleet so keep your eyes peeled- there may be some more gear deals posted here soon.

Colin will be presenting a slideshow at Feathered Friends on Wednesday August 1 at 7:30pm. The theme of the show is the series of climbs he did up north spanning the winter, spring and early summer. These include the first winter ascent of Mt. Huntington, a new route on Robson's Emporor Face, and the fifth ascent of the Diamond on Denali. FF will be providing refreshments as usual. . There is a $5 admission at the door. No tickets will be sold in advance. Tell all your friends, bring your posse, and show up early so you don't end up being the chump standing in the hallway craning his neck around the corner to see the screen. Come give Colin a good send-off as he will be leaving shortly after the show for his trip to Pakistan.

keg + tapping = 7:00pm

7:30. Prefunk all you want. Oh, and we will have the usual keg + this show is free. If you're not there you better be dead If you're not dead you better be in jail And if you're in jail BREAK OUT!!!

The show is definitely on! It should be a good one and we hope to see all ya'll there.

This is tonight. We're already mixing the mojitos.

The Rock & Ice has been sold.

The medium Frontpoint has been sold.

We have replaced some items from our rental fleet and that means blowout deals on a few outgoing goodies. People ask us all the time, "Do you ever sell off your rental gear?" The answer is yes, sometimes. That time is now! This time around we have: Rock & Ice Parka medium, Gore Tex shell. This is the big daddy! $89 (retail is $725) Frontpoint Jacket size large, PTFE fabric $89 same, size medium same, size XL call us at 206 292 2210 if you want one, or stop by in person. These things don't last too long, so move fast if you want one.

We definitely considered this design approach, but concluded it would limit the versatility of the bag. In a situation where you have to bivy on a ledge too narrow for the bag, two people can still sit up inside the bag in the head-to-head configuration. Going head-to-toe would be impossible if you had to hang your feet off a ledge. As it is, the Spoonbill fits very neatly inside a Bibler I-Tent.

That's right...Women only at Feathered Friends for one night. We're kicking all the guys out so women have a chance to network, talk gear and drink mojitos. Come by and check it out

Sorry for the late notice The Black Diamond Super Sale is still on. - Eddie

THE SLIDE SHOW IS RESCHEDULED FOR JUNE 27TH. SORRY FOR THE LATE NOTICE

Rockfest is family friendly. Bring the kids! Nope - Katie is a little older nowadays

Three photos of the new Spoonbill. A little explanation. The first picture shows the bag with Colin and my homey Brent inside. Aren't they a cute couple? This photo offers a great view of the vertical side baffles I mentioned. You can see how the bag keeps a rectangular cross section even with two people inside. The second picture shows the top of the bag with a view of the much talked about collar. The third picture shows the bottom of the bag with two foam pads cut to fit inside. One pad is set at an angle, the other is cut to fit the rest of the space. Note that there are a total of about 1.5 pads that are needed for both people. Maybe a little less.

Kevin, FF is selling the BD Neve aluminum crampon at 40% off starting next week. Check out our web page for full details.

Eric, the fabric on this bag is made by Schoeller, and is a NanoSphere 1.0oz/yd ripstop nylon with better water resistance than Epic. Because of the weight savings and performance of this fabric we are going to make it the standard issue on the Spoonbill. Right now we are not planning on offering this bag in the full variety of fabrics we use, mainly because everything else is heavier and we are standardizing the product line a bit. Some of the staff here have been using the Nano fabric for about a year, and it does really well for water protection. We don't list it on the website yet, but if you walk into the store you can buy a +20 or +30 bag made with this fabric. When our new website is launched (within the next few weeks) this fabric will be offered as standard on many of our lighter bags. Right now the Nano only comes in a light green color, so this bag looks a bit like a steamrolled Kermit the Frog, but we will be getting some dark blue in a couple months. I don't have my camera USB cable in the office today, so photos will have to wait for a day or two.