A Guide’s Review of the OR Aspire Super Stretch Jacket Gore-Tex is not known for its flexibility. On the contrary, it’s known to be stiff and crinkly. Enter the Outdoor Research Aspire Super Stretch jacket. Lightweight and waterproof, its four way stretch panel and Torso Flow make this simple looking jacket into a surprise performer. Overview Material: Gore-Tex Paclite. Weight: 411 grams Size Tested: XL … Continue reading OR Aspire Super Stretch Jacket
Review: Outdoor Research Vantage Air Cap You know when you get that one item that you love, you wear it out then buy the same thing again and again? I was like that with hats… until I couldn’t replace my trusty friend of three years. It was time to go shopping and at the top of the list this year was the Outdoor Research Vantage … Continue reading Review: Outdoor Research Vantage Air Cap
10 Must-Haves for Ski Touring As a guide I’m able to get out skiing a lot, both professionally and recreationally. And by a lot, I mean a lot. A typical season will see me strapping on skis for over 100 days. At least half of which will be ski touring. The rest will involve helicopters, ski lifts or some other device (or cheat) that helps … Continue reading My Go-To Gear: Ski Touring Edition
Welcome to Black Sheep Adventure Sports’ annual gift guide for climbers of all styles and creeds. This is the fifth annual Black Sheep Adventure Sports Gift Guide for Climbers! And as always, we’ve found a bunch of great gear that the climber in your life is sure love. This year we start off with some kit for ice climbers before moving on to more rock … Continue reading Climbers’ Gift Guide 2019
Black Sheep Adventure Sports Annual Christmas Special – Stocking Stuffers Well, it’s that time of year again. The warm and sunny fall rock climbing trip is over and the cold winter ice climbing season is just beginning… if you’re into that kinda thing. I have a love-hate relationship with ice climbing personally, I love the climbing and hate the barfies. Anyway, if you have a … Continue reading Climbers’ Stocking Stuffers 2019
The 2018 version of our Annual Christmas Guide for Climbers. For me Christmas is always a bit of a mixed blessing. I have to put up with hearing Christmas carols everywhere, and there’s the stress of spending time with family, finding gifts for everyone and often lots driving on icy roads. On the other hand it’s great to catch up with friends and family and … Continue reading Black Sheep’s Christmas Guide for Climbers 2018
There were a bunch of new bivy bags, tents and tarps to check out at OR Show this summer. A sic new line of ultralight Dyneema/Carbon Fiber based shelters from Big Agnes, new additions in the BD and MSR line-ups, a redesign of Mountain Hardware’s entire alpine/mountaineering line and an overhaul to OR’s bivy line. So in no particular order lets take a look. Big … Continue reading Summer OR 2018: Tents & Shelters
This Outdoor Retailer Show Report focuses mainly on equipment for mountaineering and alpine climbing. However, it also has a bit of a hodge-podge of gear that could fit into several categories or none. It’s all great gear though! So in no particular order… Mammut Glacier Cord Dry: Much like Petzl’s Rad line, Mammut’s new Glacier Cord is a high-strength, low-stretch glacier travel and crevasse rescue … Continue reading Summer OR 2018: Mountaineering & Alpine Equipment
Move over Uberlayer, there’s a new put-on, leave-on layer in town called the Ascendant. This new active insulation layer from Outdoor Research takes advantage of some newer tech to make a more breathable and lighter hoody without changing the overall warmth offered by its predecessor. Features: Facing fabric: 20D Pertex® Quantum Insulation: Polartec® Alpha™ Direct (95g/m2) Pockets: 3 Fit: Trim Weight (L): 370g Water & … Continue reading Review: Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody
Outdoor Research has updated their Splitter rock climbing gloves for 2018. And while on the surface it may look like a purely cosmetic change, they’ve also tried to address some of the durability and fit concerns expressed by climbers. Now this review will focus solely on the new Splitter gloves. If you’re interested in how different climbing gloves options stack up to one another check … Continue reading Update Review: New OR Splitter Gloves
