marylou

Don't they have that WM HL bag at Pro Mountain?

Can't you just email them and tell them you want one? ID is a tiny tiny company!

The one good thing is that it may not be reported to your insurance. I got one for going 119 in a 90, enough to potentially raise my rates, paid it, not reported to my carrier.

Singapore, on the other hand, is not cold. Neither is the South China Sea. Happy Chinese New Year from the tropics.

Yes they still have the same owners.

It's of value for the mfrs to see how their gear fail, so I'm guessing they would fix it no problemmo, 'specially if it's a current item for them. I tried to look on the Osprey website but did not see it. I was curious if your pack is similar in frame design to the Mountainsmith Ghost, because I have seen a Ghost with the exact type of blowout you describe.

The paper is nice, but expensive. The kind that NG sells is printable on both sides.

Not a lot of huge innovation this time around. Saw some nice stuff for kids, and a few odds and ends: Granite Gear has a nice BC ski pack (small, just for the day) with a separate compartment for the safety gear. You can put the skis on it w/o taking off the pack. I fumbled a bit on the first try, but it's a kewl simple design. Mammut has some verry nice larger packs for winter, and the Osprey Thermojobbie hip belt is on the winter packs now. Also there are a couple of new beacons coming out that will have display screens (like a GPS) which will be a big help with multiple burials. Orthovox for sure, and I think the one that Life-Link imports will do that too. I couldn't get much info on them, but keep yer eyes peeled in the future. All in all, not a huge show in terms of groundbreaking stuff, more like a continuation of trends. For example, a lot more welded seams and hybrid/laminate softshelly kinna stuff. The coolest fabric innovation I saw was Malden/Polartec. They are doing ther same thing with fleece-like fabrics that we have seen in socks and base layers for a couple of years now, changing the density of the fabric to make warm areas (like shoulder blades) and cool areas (like under the arms). When the technology comes along farther, one can imagine having warmth (and bulk) in all the right places and less so where the body is naturally warm. Patagonia for sure is using the new fabrics, not sure who else. The new IMAX movie about rafting the Nile was kind of cool, though the editing could have been better.

But, unfortunately, Sabah is one of the places where people are getting randomly kidnapped. If you're looking for cool stuff to do, you might check out Tioman Island. It's fairly mountainous, and there are some peaks, and by the looks of it, some rock, and lots of jungle and stuff. It has some plants and things that don't grow anywhere else. Palau Tioman is off of the east side of the Malay Peninsula. Hey, how's monsoon season been? I've been looking at some weather websites and it looks like it has been pretty bluebird the last couple of weeks.

Well, you're there, then.

Yeah, speaking of Bible-thumping hellholes, how IS yours? I'll be down there in just a few short days, fortunately only FOR a few short days.

I still climb like a guy. Not a good one, either, just a real mediocre guy. I did, however, recently see the light in terms of skiing. It wasn't from lessons (can't always find good female instructors), actually it was a complete fluke. I pulled a muscle in one of my hips very early in the ski season, and that injury, coupled with brand-new Rando gear, forced me to ski more "womanly." I really had to rely on grace and balance because of the injury and the touchy gear, and man oh man, after something like 30 seasons of skiing mostly like a guy, all of a sudden it was a whole new me on the slopes. What an improvement. I only hope some day I learn the same in climbing. I know this is total thread drift, but this is not a half bad topic. I would say that for sports like climbing and skiing, it would be great to see instruction geared toward refining technique to optimize use of feminine assets like balance and flexibility.

I was going to say something, but I am now laughing so hard I have apple juice coming out of my nose. Thanks for that, Forrest.

I've never heard anyone of either gender claim that women and men were alike in any conversation on this subject, ever.

Tyvek get a nice soft fabriclike "hand" to it after being run thru the washer too.

Women's climbing technique classes are probably a lot like women's ski clinics. The curriculum isn't all that different, but the boy/girl dynamic is gone, and women won't feel as stoopid asking dumb questions. Me, personally, not a big fan of these kinds of classes, because sometimes they teach to a little lower level than I'd like, but for some women, it's a way to get them interested in doing the sport without feeling so self-conscious. Nothing wrong with that, really.

Cool, thanks. Oh and Harry, I don't know or care who the remark was directed at. It's just kind of a dumb strawman argument, that's all.

This will only be true for weak women, who would never climb much of anything anyways. Seriously. Dude, that is just so wrong.

And if there's one brand you've never heard of that rivals both, check out Valandre.

I use Mozilla, and get logged out if I don't view the site for a few minutes. Sometimes I get logged out right in the middle of an active session. I have the auto login box checked, but that doesn't seem to help. I know, "it's just me" but thought I'd add my login problems to the pile anyway.

Well, maybe feminism is not dead. I just don't know what it means to be a feminist anymore. The word now has negative connotations, and multiple meanings, so I tend to avoid using it. FC, I think you might have misunderstood me. What I was trying to say is that when, for example, a man says women shouldn't still be dealing with gender inequity, well, I'd be more inclined the believe the women know better than the man if there is still discrimination against women.

As long as male climbers are insulting one another by calling them "women," the playing field will not be equal. I mean you guys answered your own question by like the third post or something. I'm not a big fan of "women making a bid geal about being women." To the end, I have avoided women's coalitions in my male-dominated profession. I don't want to be marginalized. Maybe that's progress. But what I dislike even more than women making a big deal about women is men telling them they are lame for doing so. Sorry, you may be a badass climber, but the women thing is not your area. Trust me on this. And Klenke, there are women out there like you describe, brush bagging, peak scrambling babes. I know a lot of them, actually. But hey guess what! They all look a lot more like me than they look like Ms. Bond. Sorry to break the bad news on that. I'm also the offspring of an unabashed feminist. I don't know if I am one myself or not, as the concept is somewhat antiquated.

Hey, didn't you get that Tyvek FOR FREE? Maybe you should give away the part you don't need.

It hasn't been in the snow yet, sorry.

Housewrap is sold by the roll, and besides, it's a bit on the heavy side. I got Kite Tyvek from this place for the floor of my Beta Light. 4 x 8' piece ran me 10 or 15 bucks and weighs 6.2 ounces.