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The North Face Flight Futurelight Jacket
If you've been shopping for a shell jacket this past year you've probably heard the buzz around The North Face's new Futurelight fabric. It's a three layer shell made of nano-spun polyurethane, which allows material to be constructed of smaller grids of material with correspondingly smaller holes for better breathability and weather resistance. Another advantage…
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Outdoor Research Interstellar Jacket
Some days are just great gear days, and the day we put on the Interstellar jacket from Outdoor Research was one of those days. The Interstellar looks on the outside like just another hard shell, and yeah it's that but also so much more. It's no exaggeration to say the Interstellar can be your only…
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Black Diamond StormLine Rain Shell Jacket
Hard shells have thankfully come a long way since the crinkly, sweaty versions of yesteryear. Black Diamond has a great example of how nice they can be with the StormLine stretch rain shell jacket. The StormLine pulls off quite a trick: it qualifies as a minimalist shell with its ultralight weight (8oz), but it doesn't…
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Patagonia Leashless Pant
We love us some Gore-Tex, and their Active three layer fabric is their most breathable waterproof lovingness to date. Patagonia has done the wonder textile justice with their Leashless pant, an alpine climbing hardshell that is multi-epic capable. The official description of the Leashless includes both the words "regular" and "slim" relative to the fit.…
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Arc’Teryx Alpha LT jacket
Arc'Teryx earns a twofer: along with the Alpha SV bib comes the Alpha LT jacket, a stellar example of what good mountaineering kit should be. The LT barely nudges 13 ounces on the scale; yes, you read that right, a serious-duty waterproof, windproof shell at well under a pound. With the jacket and bib, all…
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Mountain Hardwear Quasar pullover jacket
Our second review from Mountain Hardwear's Ueli Steck Project, the Quasar pullover is Serious Gear. Along with the Quasar pant, it's clear that MH is not just using Steck as a marketing ploy: these items are designed for Serious Climbers by Serious Climbers. We're talking 12.5 pounds for the complete kit, ten-count-em-ten pieces: upper and…
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Mountain Hardwear Quasar pant
Our first review from Mountain Hardwear's Ueli Steck Project, the Quasar pant is Serious Gear. Along with the Quasar Pullover, it's clear that MH is not just using Steck as a marketing ploy: these items are designed for Serious Climbers by Serious Climbers. We're talking 12.5 pounds for the complete kit, ten-count-em-ten pieces: upper and…
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Arc’Teryx Alpha SV bib
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide people into two kinds and those who don't. Also, those who wear pants and those who wear bibs. Who wears bibs? Drooling infants, for one. Mountaineers, for… oops, redundant. 'Scuse. The Arc'Teryx Alpha SV bib is simply the best bib ever. The weatherproof Gore-Tex…
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Marmot PreCip baseball cap
Sometimes it's the little things, like keeping your brain housing group dry in the rain. Sometimes you don't want to put up your hood. Sometimes you don't even have a hood. For these situations you need a rain hat, but not something dorky. Marmot's PreCip baseball cap is waterproof and stylish for when you just…
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Sierra Designs Rad jacket
B-I-G. That was our first thought passing the waterproof breathable Sierra Designs Rad jacket around. The sleeves hung down past our fingertips, and the whole jacket has a boxy feel about it. That said, it's kind of a comfy boxy. If you've got an ape index that's way up there and are looking for something…
