Outdoor Products Power Pack Daypack 3.0

Anyone looking for the ultimate college student backpack? Outdoor Products makes the Power Pack Daypack 3.0. It's perfect for all the items you bring to class. Large main pocket holds notebooks, files, media folders, books, magazines and other similar-sized items and also includes 3 zip organizer pockets. Additional organizer pocket has numerous slot, zip, neoprene and mesh pockets for digital gear; securely stash your tablet in its own foam-padded slot pocket and keys on a fob.
Hidden compartment behind pack straps holds passport and plane tickets in a retractable sleeve; hidden lower compartment at lower back hides a wallet. Exterior pocket with stretch gussets on front holds lunch and jacket; 3 padded fleece-lined exterior pockets store fragile items. It's got a breathable padded back panel; padded shoulder straps; sternum strap  It comes in two colors: Black and Majolica Blue, and is decent sized at 1470cu.

YakTrax Pro Ice Cleats

New Year's Resolution

Earn some quick money using the following method:

Step 1. Wait for moderately snowy, rainy or icy day.
Step 2. Find retail business selling high-priced goods such as jewelry or furs.
Step 3. Enter establishment and proceed to fall due to "slippery" floor.
Step 4. File claim with said establishment's insurance company.
Step 5. Claim extreme back pain, which causes loss of movement range as well as loss of consortium between myself and the wife. Ask for $500,000.
Step 6. Settle for $250,000.
Step 7. Take the year of 2014 off. Go on vacation.

If you haven't fiendishly plotted this for your New Year's resolution and instead just want to get around town this winter without spending much of it on your kiester, you may want to invest in a pair of Yaxtrax Ice Cleats. And really, if you did go ahead with the above plan, that's a once-in-lifetime trick that you won't be able to pull off again, so you might as well walk around town in supreme gripping confidence. No more tip-toeing or baby steps waiting for "the slip." Steven Wright said it best..."You know that feeling you get when you lean back on your chair and you almost tip over, but you catch yourself at the last moment? I feel like that all the time." You don't have to feel like that any more if you get yourself some Yaktrax.

Yaktrax have a unique, spikeless, patented coil design, unlike other products on the market. Made with high strength, abrasion resistant 1.4 mm steel coils and heavy duty natural rubber material, the Yaktrax Pro easily conforms to the shape of your boot or shoe. With its patented SkidLock coil design, the Yaktrax Pro provides 360 degrees of traction on packed snow and ice and can be worn in temperatures as low as -41° Fahrenheit. (Don't ask us where the figure of -41° came from. It's top secret.)

Time for you to earn an honest living and striding confidently toward your destiny in a pair of Yaxtraxs Ice Cleats.

Pacsafe Antitheft Backpack Protector

How many stories have you heard about someone's backpack being stolen while they were traveling? Finally, someone came out with a cool product to protect your travel belongings. Introducing the Pacsafe Antitheft Backpack Protector. Featuring patented eXomesh® Ultimate security technology, the PacSafe is an adjustable high-tensile stainless steel locking device, designed to cover and protect a variety of bags and packs from tampering, pilfering and theft. Throw it around your pack, secure it to something fixed and get on with your adventure. Four sizes mean there's one to fit almost every type of backpack, soft-sided wheeled luggage or duffel bag. Designed for large packs, medium-sized packs with externally fitted gear, large duffels and soft sided wheeled luggage. Perfect for loaded trips or extended touring. The PacSafe 85 (the mid size model) was awarded Backpacker Magazine's coveted Editors' Choice Award.

Primus Multi-Fuel EX Backpack Stove

Get the Primus Multi-Fuel EX! With its new burner, the Multi Fuel EX has a higher output and functions better in cold temperatures. Runs on cartridge (LP gas), gasoline, and kerosene fuels (won't simmer on liquid fuels). The MFS features a built-in preheating system and has been tested at greater heights and at more extreme temperatures than any other stove. Includes redesigned windscreen, ErgoPump, multitool, nylon bag. Fuel bottle not included. Dimensions: 6.5" x 3.5" x 3.4". Boiling Time (1 liter): 3.5-4.5 min. Output: 3,000 W/10,500 BTU. Weight: 12.6 oz. (w/o pump), 16.3 oz (w/ pump). Find it at here.

A Good Headlamp for $17? You Bet.

On the spur of the moment, we decided to go camping recently.  One of the first things I looked for was my headlamp. I have a Petzl Tikka Plus from a few years ago.  When I got, I liked what I got for the money. It didn't cost a lot, and gave me good range and good battery life.

But I'm not the most organized person on the planet.  I figured the headlamp could be in one of 3 locations: the kitchen drawer, my son's room, or in my hunt pack.  Of course it was in none of these places.  I quickly dashed over to the store and there amongst the pricier, well-known brands was the Coast HL5 LED Headlamp.  On the package it said 175 lumens, and the price? $16.95. Immediately I was skeptical. But I figured I needed something and the price was right, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Well, let me tell you, this lamp pumps out the lumens.  I was very surprised by the range and brightness.  While I'm not sure if this is built to last very long, it has so far and at this price I could buy several and keep some as back-ups.

I think the big boy headlamp makers should keep an eye on companies like Coast. 

UPDATE: A few months ago, the switch on my headlamp started to have intermittent problems. I contacted the headquarters in NE Portland and they were super gracious. They said they would gladly replace or repair it for free. Since I live in Portland, I drove down there and they took one look at it and promptly gave me a new one on the spot. If you know me, I am hugely into good customer service. I call it out when I see it (or the lack of it.) I was very impressed at their willingness to stand behind their product!

Buck Knives Parallex Pocket Knife Combo Set

The Buck Knives Parallex Pocket Knife. My father used to carry a pocket in his front right pants pocket.  I assume it resided next to his coin purse.  Or did that go in the other pocket?  Either way, it proved invaluable on many an occasion.

You can buy them at Buck Knives (www.buckknives.com).

Teva Verdon WP Hiking Shoe

The big fishing trip had finally come. Five days on the Snake River in Hell's Canyon fishing for Steelhead. I was excited to say the least. I mean, who doesn't want to spend those five days standing at the back of a boat, shivering in pouring rain with a rod & reel in hand waiting for some fish to bite a shiny object at the end of a rope? Sounds wonderful if you ask me. But only wonderful if you're comfortable. Comfortable translating into a good set of waterproof rain jacket and pants, a warm cap, and of course a great pair of waterproof shoes.

Well, I had two of those three. The shoes not so much. My old Nike hikers had been with me for some time and although they were supposedly GoreTex, I came to find out that Gore had left Tex many miles down the trail as these things acted more like sponges than liquid defenders. By the end of day one, I felt like I had two sacks of wet flour strapped to my feet. I could literally wring the water from these things. To make matters worse, by the end of day two, the sole had delaminated at the tip so I was walking around like a scuba diver with flippers on.

I vowed there and then to get me a pair of hikers that would stand up to this type of weather. After much research and multiple visits to the same outdoor goods store (the girl in the shoe department thought I was stalking her,) I finally decided on the Teva Verdon WP. Not only are they among the cheapest (translate: inexpensive) waterproof hiking shoes on the market, they are definitely the most comfortable. And, thanks to their undersizing technique, I felt like a much bigger man having to go with size 11 (when my normal shoe size is 10.)

With the advance of the wet fall, I've been taking every opportunity to put these shoes through their paces, trudging through puddles, six inch wet grass and standing a soccer games in an all-day rain. So far so dry. I like to be dry.

I can't wait for our next Snake River adventure so I can again stand in miserable conditions and catch no fish. At least I'll be comfortable.