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bearbreeder

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Everything posted by bearbreeder

  1. clip the e-lite to you belt ... and youll never be without a lite ... you can fit spare set of bats in the same container ... unless u like descending the chief in the dark
  2. i live by the arcteryx outlet ... only reason why i have arcteryx gear ... its no worse or better than EB FA, mammut, OR, NF, MH, etc ... ive used or own them all ive went through 2 350a ... and the drop loops fall apart, theyre too thin, and the only reason i still use it is because MEC replaces them for free ... my atom LT was dethreading ... and the response got was "oh its fragile" ... lol there is absolutely no reason to pay a premium for a made in china/vietnam/etc ... over other reputable companies ... quality is debatable either way ... the support for made in NA is not ... whats the difference between EB FA made in china, patagucci made in china and dead bird made in china? ... none that i can see ... dead bird IMO aint worth the premium ... unless ya like that yuppay cool look
  3. im betting itll be even cheaper after xmas wearing my $60 EB FA downlight as im typing this ...
  4. petzl e-lite and 2 set of bats always go in my pack ... it weights less than 2 oz with the extra bats itll save yr a$$ someday
  5. best constructed? maybe a decade ago ... now its simply -over priced -over rated - made over there and before anybody starts hating here's a list of what i have Jackets ... fission ar, gamma sv, gamma lt, solano, tau lt, beta ar, stingray, atom lt fleece ... 4 various dead bird fleece tops base/mid ... delta, various base layer tops pants ... alpha sv, gamma sk, gamma lt, pallisade harness ... 350a those are just the ones i can remember off the top of my head .... the quality is no better or worse than any other big name outdoor brand... but at a substantial premium i wish people would stop pretending that dead bird is "special" ... hell i can just go play dress up in my gear closest, and be a special yuppie ... lol
  6. if your EB leaks just take it back to EB and exchange it ... theyre usually very good about it ... pattagucci down sweater... 3 oz of 800 fill ...$200 retail EB FA Downlight ... 3.8 oz of 800 fill...$169 retail ... they were going on clearance for as low as $50 this summer EMS Ascent Down Sweater ... 4.5 oz of 800 fill ...$169 retail ... they were going on clearance for $109 this summer Montbell Alpine Light Down ... 4 oz of 800 fill down ...$160 retail you can usually find the EB and EMS on clearence or sale after xmas for monster discounts first ascent igniter and serrano synth jackets use primaloft one backpacking light gear test ... Patagucci .... "Although the Patagonia Down Sweater has been around a long time and is very popular, its shell, warmth, features, and value are only average or less compared to similar jackets. Its best attributes are its sizing and fit. This is not a jacket I would take backpacking because it doesn’t have a lot of warmth for its weight. It is a nice jacket for day outings and trips to town in cool weather." EB FA ... "The Downlight Sweater has become one of my favorite ultralight down jackets. It’s an excellent balance of light weight, basic features, warmth, and cost. It is sized well for layering under it, and the fleece-lined pockets are appreciated on cold days. Its water and wind resistance are excellent. I can personally do without the pocket zippers to save a little weight, but that feature gets down to personal preference. Overall, the Downlight Sweater is well designed and sized, it's lofty and warm, and a great value. It’s quite light weight, but not the lightest. It’s an excellent choice when you realize that the lightest jackets with comparable warmth cost about $100 more. I noticed the Downlight Sweater on sale in late 2009 at $139, which is an outstanding value." EMS Ascent ... "In my opinion, the EMS Ascent Sector Down Sweater is a sleeper in a very competitive field of three-season down jackets. Its 4.5 ounces (128 g) of down insulation is above average, and its shell fabric is one of the lightest to be found; it's sized well for layering, fits well, is puffy and warm, is fully featured, and is a good value. Overall it achieves a good balance of all these factors, more so than many similar jackets. The measured weight of 12.7 ounces (360 g) is very reasonable considering the jacket’s features."
  7. lol ... total rip off for yuppies note how they dont tell you how much down there is in there ...
  8. http://www.whittakermountaineering.com/ these guys were nice enough to tell me how much down was in the downlight and peak jackets if yr a yank, they have peak jackets (12+ oz 800 fill down) on sale for 225$ US ... Mens Peak XV - 365.5 grams Mens Downlight Swtr - 115 grams sites like backpacking light will often list the amount of down in the jackets they review ... check yr mail, u owe me a run up the chief ... lol
  9. it wont be much warmer than 100 g/m primaloft one .. ie micropuff ... primaloft one gives a clo of 0.92/oz ... down 650 fill around ~1 / oz .... if you want a down jacket id recommend the Eddie Bauer First Ascent downlight which you can find on clearence soon ... i got my vest for $60 ... the jacket has ~4 oz of 800 fill or the montbell alpine downlight which you can likely find on sale ... it also has 4 oz of 800 fill OR makes some good stuff ... unfortunately for them the times when you could sell ~600 fill jackets at premium prices to customers aint here anymore ... i can buy a 650 fill jacket at superstore for $50 now EB has changed the game with mass market decent value 800 fill jackets
  10. interesting that - he uses windshell + fleece ... not some yuppie softshell for the top - doesnt use mitts - doesnt use bivy sacks - uses foam helmets - doesnt use gaiters - uses aluminum crampons for many climbs - uses a whippet instead of an ice axe obviously we are not all at colin's level (well me anyways) ... but it looks like a lot of mountaineering is being rethought its funny because im re-thinking all my layers on a similar line ... and i just got a snowscopic which is 50g heavier than the whippet but with more credible self arrest thanks for taking the notes
  11. arcteryx aint any better folks ... unless you like 900$ yuppie goretex winstopper blazers Climbers seeking the ultimate weather protecting even during formal dinner parties will be pleased to hear that Arc’teryx has introduced a line of formal clothing made of W. L. Gore’s Wind Stopper fabric. Climbers can now drink and dine at ease knowing they are protected from any freak snowstorm that may strike their favourite thee-star Michelin restaurant. http://gripped.com/2010/11/sections/news/nov-11-2010-gore-tux-formal-wear/ most of these fabrics are overated .. powershield isnt very breathable and seems to have a fairly narrow operating temp ... i should know since i have a gamma sv hoody and a gamma lt most of these membrane softshells are fairly useless, having no better breathability than event, nor better water resistance ... the only saving grace is the abrasion resistance ... its more a yuppie fashion statement these days ... the ORIGINAL softshell concept was quite simply a pile or microfibre jacket with a wind resistance layer ... the purpose is to retain the microclimate while wicking away moisture ... the only softshells worth having are the highly breathable ones ... ie the original driclime, schoeller dynamic/dryskin ... or just a light fleece and a windshirt anything that is "highly water resistant" such as windstopper, powershield, etc ... sacrifice breathability to where you might just as well get an event jacket http://www.andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/the_best_softshell_in_the_world
  12. i just put the lamp on top of my helmet at the start of the climb and take it ... helmet doesnt come off
  13. the older polarguard cats meow is not properly rated ... that one was more properly a 30F bag the newer blue cats meow is a 20F bag ... en-testing requires that it be tested at independent laboratories whose equipment is certified to be less than a certain % variation each other this is of course for a brand new bag ... like any synthetic the more and deeper compression cycles it goes through the more the insulation degrades IMO ... the most overlooked part of a climber's sleep system is the ground insulation ... it doesnt matter if you have a 20F bag if you have a single zlite pad ... youll lose heat through the ground ... bag tests are done on the assumption that you have a total ground insulation with an R value of 5+ ... in other words try to shoot for 2 pads ... or at the very least your main pad and yr bivy backframe pad on top ive found my cats meow to be fairly rated ... used it down to -10C with base layers and fleece as to sweat ... sweating is the killer in winter ... dress to stay cool on the move ... warm on belays
  14. do note that the disadvantage for me anyways is one of bulk rather than weight for a synthetic bag ... my synth bag takes up over 1/3 of my alpine pack although the best 800 fill down bags will be ~30% lighter than the best synthetic bags on the market, 650 fill bags are often the same weight as a good synthetic bag as an example my climbashield cats meow is 19F en 13537 tested, takes up 15L or so and weights 1200g the marmot helium 800 fill which is 16F en 13537 tested, weights 1077g but takes up less space the marmot sawtooth 600 fill is 14F en 13537 tested, weights more at 1389g ... but is 5F warmer ... so the short story is that only 800 fill is worth buying ... the top synthetic bags are at the same level of 600 fill down ... and likely 1/2 the price to boot especially on sale just make sure you find ones which are tested if you want to be certain of the temp rating
  15. synthetic clothes ... synthetic bag down bag will work fine for short durations and if you dont get it wet what is nice is a light down sweater/vest for times you need that extra warmth ... itll be below freezing then so rain wont be too much of an issue generally youll need 60-70% more synthetic filling in weight to equal 800 fill down as a side ... with primaloft 1 having a 0.92 clo/oz ... its pointless to buy anything less than 800 fill down these days .. you might as well go synthetic
  16. steve u bum ... its eric msg me on fbook the OR fraction only has 60g/m primaloft eco ... that aint all that warm ... basically the same as a 200 weight fleece unless you get 100g/m+ of primaloft1 ... itll be nowhere as near as warm as an 800 fill light down sweater the OR Transcendent only has 650 fill ... you might as well go primaloft at that point wait for an Eddie Bauer sale on their First Ascent down jackets ... theyve got 2 store in Victoria ... their First Ascent line is top notch with 800 down fill ... i got my down vest for like $60 this is the thread to read for comparative warmth of garments http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=18950
  17. 129???? thats a sick sick sick sick sick sick price
  18. sweet .... one more question ... is yr large a bit loose or tight ... i luv that oh sooo snug feeling
  19. anyone know how the sizing is im 5'7 and 170 lbs ... medium? i need a hoody fleece and the price/made usa seems attractive
  20. someone asked about latoks with metal gear ... i never had a problem with screws ... i did have a problem with the gloves at -20 C temps when they were wet grasping the head of a quark axe ... the event menbrane got stuck to it ... kinda like licking a metal pole in winter ... had to use some hot teat from the thermos to sort that out only used them for one season so far, but seems to be fine ... they DO lose a bit of loft though on the other hand i can tie all my knots with those gloves on in -20 C weather ... if you have medium hands they work perfectly with nomics for a sale get them at europe bound after xmas ... call after xmas when their sale usually is
  21. trad ... always alpine ... always ice ... always sport/top rope ... depends on the rock itself ... not usually in squamish granite ... always in the rockies
  22. europe bound in vancouver 65$ can per pair ... they are awesome ... soft, gripy, decently warm with liners and very flexible ...
  23. rab latok ... mercury mitts for belay
  24. you dont chimney in a rain shell and expect it to last ... sorry ... even my goretex pro shell would shred in that case ... its the same as taking yr jacket and rubbing it against sandpaper westcomb does make jackets that are part event and part softshell ... other gear makers such as OR have seam sealed softshells use gear as its meant to be used ... for chimneys schoeller soft shells are probably the most abrasion resistant
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