Last fall, I was contacted by a company called App Outdoors, an outdoor apparel store in Pennsylvania. They said they would give me credit to their store if I would buy something and blog about the experience. No problem!
The credit went smoothly and I was tasked to find something that I wanted to buy. Their selection is pretty good and their prices fairly comparable to other places, with the occasional incredible deal. Since my Keens were finally starting to show some wear, (I have had them for 8 years or so), I thought I would aim to replace those, even though I eyed some pretty expensive Arc’teryx and Patagona jackets. They didn’t have the same type of sandal that I was replacing, but that’s OK since I was curious about trying another style, in this case, the Keen Kanyon Sandals. The leather on my older pair sometimes dried out my feet.
The order went through OK and I received and email confirmation. All was quiet until, about two weeks later, I received a 
phone call that they were out of stock on my item and would I like to select something else? I was pretty busy at the time, interviewing for a new job and getting ready for my big move. I didn’t respond for a while and then I get an email that my sandals were getting shipped.
I looked to see what it was and it was my original order. Evidently, they had gotten them in and figured I still wanted them. I did and was happy to receive them. They are now my favorite sandals and I wear them all the time outside of work. The different fabric doesn’t dry my feet out and they appear to be bulletproof.
I am pretty happy with ordering from App Outdoors and would definitely try them again.
Columbia Peak 2 Peak Jacket
Disclaimer: Columbia sent me a free jacket for me to field test. Their purpose was for me to take a survey after I used it out in the field. But I also wanted to write about it here.
When I received the Columbia Peak 2 Peak Jacket
in the mail, the first thing I noticed that it was pretty light. It’s not as light as my other super-thin rain shell, but it sure felt more durable. The other thing was the color. Columbia calls it Compass Blue and it is a really nice color. Most of everything else I have is forest green, black, khaki, or white.
I examined the seals and zippers and the pockets all seemed waterproof. The fit was nice and it wasn’t as noisy as some other waterproof clothing I have.
I appreciated the Velcro cuffs and the wire-supported hood and the overall feeling of durability that the jacket offered.
Here are the specs:
Adayak Hiking Tee
A few weeks ago, I got a message from David over at Adayak asking if I’d mind linking to the Adayak website. I don’t normally just add links to my page without some thought, so I browsed their website and liked what I saw. Adayak makes t-shirts for people who enjoy outdoors activities.
Three things stood out to me:
- The t-shirts are made from 100% organic materials.
- They don’t have prominent logos on their products. That’s a pet peeve of mine.
- They donate 1$ from every order to environmental conservation charities.
Then I read Modern Hiker’s review of the shirt and I knew I had to have one. I contacted David at Adayak and begged to be sent one to review on my blog. Within a couple of days, I had the shirt in my hand. I asked for a large, since I read that sizing tends to be small.
From time to time, I will be reviewing some of the gear that I use. Since I only use stuff that I like, most of the these reviews will be positive. I will be honest in addressing any potential flaws.
The first review is for the prAna Men’s Stretch Zion Short. I first found a pair of these shorts several years ago on the clearance rack outside side of REI for about $25. The material is 97% Nylon amd 3% Spandex.
Since then, I have not seen these shorts anywhere near that price. These were an older version that had stiff but stretchy fabric with netted pockets and were quite comfortable, stain-resistant and wrinkle-free. I stuffed them in my backpack or suitcase and they always looked good. I’ve been wearing them regularly since and I see no visible signs of wear. They are made from strong material to withstand years of abuse. Since I liked them so much, I recently decided to order more since I will be spending more time out on the trails.
The current year’s version lists for about $60, but are for some reason hard to find these days, escpecially in Large. I ordered my latest shorts from Neptune Mountaineering for $35 each and now they are out of stock on all sizes and colors.
I just received the new shorts the other day and the fit was excellent. The only difference I can see between the older version is that the back pocket is not zippered on the new version, which isn’t a big deal for me. It has a built-in belt that I pretty much set and forget and find it easy to wear under lumbar or overnight pack belts. Other shorts that I own tend to restrict my movement up the steeper parts of the trail, but these shorts do no such thing due to the stretchy fabric.
I like that I can travel with these and they always look great and fresh. Dirt seems to slide right off of them. I love these shorts and can’t recommend them more.
Last fall, I was contacted by a company called App Outdoors, an outdoor apparel store in Pennsylvania. They said they would give me credit to their store if I would buy something and blog about the experience. No problem!
phone call that they were out of stock on my item and would I like to select something else? I was pretty busy at the time, interviewing for a new job and getting ready for my big move. I didn’t respond for a while and then I get an email that my sandals were getting shipped.
