Vasque Breeze WT GTX Hiking Boot
The Breeze Winter Terrain GORE-TEX is a beast of a boot made for serious hikes into sasquatch territory. In other words, if you are a weekend warrior type that likes short warm-weather treks, stop reading. If you are looking for a boot that will keep your feet warm, dry, and lock steady on tricky terrain – get these. With 200g insulation, Vibram MegaGrip, and GORE-TEX, the Breeze WT GTX will take you deep into the depths of winter and into spring. The boots will need a little breaking in as they are stiff and hearty, so before going hard on the trail, it’s best to loosen them up with a few shorter hikes. The construction is what you would expect from Vasque, and these boots will last you a long time if you take care of them. Hell, these boots will probably outlast you.
First Ascent Coffee – Instant (3 Variations) – 1 Gallon
Coffee is pretty much essential, but sometimes when you are on a road trip or camping, it’s not all that easy to brew up. Thankfully the team at First Ascent makes excellent instant coffee in large packs (16 servings) that can take care of your whole crew; all you need is some hot water. The coffee comes in three varieties, the Hero Day, Dawn Patrol, and Ethiopia Washed blends; our favorite is the Dawn Patrol, which is more on the dark/robust side. The coffee is easy to port if you are hiking in somewhere and comes in smaller packs if you don’t need so much on hand. So if you are a coffee snob that wants the best, First Ascent is your new best friend.
The Geekey – The Ultimate Everyday Carry Tool
Ok, the word geek makes sense for this handy little guy because they thought of just about everything. Now you can have something on your key chain or a carabiner that will handle a large variety of tasks from opening a bottle to stripping some wire to opening a can. It even has a little pipe in it so you can pack up a small bowl when the day is done and toke your way to bliss. The build on the Geekey is rock solid as it’s made from 420 Stainless Steel. With over 16 tool functions, the Geekey is something we use almost daily. It does not have a knife on it, so you will never have to worry about losing it at airport security either. Check the video/graphic below for all the functions. This one is on our keychain for life!
The Tenstile Flight Tree Tent 3.0
With the weather turning colder, especially at higher elevations, sleeping on the ground is not ideal. We have been fans of Tenstile since we first saw them at the Outdoor Retailer Show a couple of years back, and we finally got the chance to get our hands on one of their tents. As with all things 2020, we encountered a huge problem – massive wildfires across Colorado. Unfortunately, we could not take the tent into the wilderness and run it through its paces, but we did open it up and learn how to use it! So when the weather is ready, we will be writing up a full review.
This tent’s significant advantage is that it keeps you roughly 4 feet off the ground when set up correctly. You harness it like a hammock around three trees, pop on the rain fly if needed, and you have a two-person tent suspended above the forest floor. No more worries about snakes, bugs, or other small critters during the night, and say goodbye to the cold hard ground. This model fits two comfortably and, when set up with the right tension, looks like it will provide a good night’s sleep. This model weighs in at about 8.4 pounds, so it’s feasible to pack it in on shorter hiking trips; they also have bigger and smaller versions. Check out their website for all the models, and we hope to have a full review soon.
If you are looking for a thermos/flask that can pack in some serious volume, look no further. The Firelight 750 ml model is big enough to bring along a whole bottle of your favorite spirit, wine, or coffee (boring). The tumblers magnetically lock to the flask for easy storage and deployment, even while drunk – which you will be if you are porting barrel strength bourbon. The flask also comes in a smaller version, the 375, so if you want to pack it along for a hike, it’s a little easier. They feature a wide opening for filling, no-drip lip, 24 hours hot/cold capabilities, and stainless steel construction for durability.
Firelight 750 ML Flask – $125 (Includes 2 magnetic tumblers)
Firelight 375 ML Flask – $85 (Includes 1 magnetic flask)
Firelight Tumbler 2-pack – $50 (Comes with cushioned wool-felt carrying case)
Well Told Flask – Home Town Map
Well, here’s something cool for the portable alcohol lover in your life or your damn Bourbon loving self, a laser-etched flask that you can customize with your home town map! Perfect for camping, sneaking booze into the inlaw’s house, and just drinking on the go. This handsome flask comes with a myriad of options for customizing; just pick a flask color and type in your hometown into the site, and let the etching begin. The flask also comes with a handy funnel to load it up with, which is essential after drinking!
Baxter Wood Co. Boots
These rain boots have a nice twist to them; not only are they stylish and ready to slosh around cool metropolitan areas, but they are also environmentally friendly and have a cause too. The rubber is derived from trees, and no petroleum products are used in manufacturing; they call it Vegan Rubber. Yay, now vegans can have their very own rain boot to tell everyone about. The boots are stylish, comfortable, and slip-on quite quickly when you are ready for some urban sloshing action. These vegan wellies are not made for any hardcore environments, so keep them on the city streets and sidewalks. For every purchase made, Baxter Wood Co. donates 1% to an Education non-profit promising to contribute days of school to children denied an education.
We are huge fans of traveling light, and having a multi-purpose towel in your travel kit is essential for adventure travel. Whether you are jumping into lakes or doing yoga by a river, having a compact and durable towel with you makes things a lot better. Nomadix has taken an eco-conscious approach to its line, using post-consumer recycled plastic bottles to create its towels and ponchos. You can learn more about their journey and sustainability mission here, it’s quite inspiring and we love their philosophy. The Only Towel You Need® is their slogan, and it’s true. This towel can be a yoga towel, beach towel, and travel towel all-in-one. It weighs about 17 oz and can pack down to 3.5″ x 7″ small and spreads out to 30″ x 72.5″ giving you plenty of room for your downward dog or prone sun-worshiping position. They are super soft, have many dope designs, dry quickly, and repel sand and pet hair, so you can do goat yoga and not sweat it. Just kidding, don’t do goat yoga, or we can’t talk to you anymore. See all their towels and ponchos here.
So compression socks are great for helping you to recover from long hikes, long car rides, flights, and being on your feet all day. So if you are making a journey, on foot or vehicle, these are great to take along for the ride. Nabee makes one of the more superior socks on the market; they are soft, breathable, and quite comfortable. We used them for a day-long hike up some moderate terrain, and while we were downing our beers because that’s what you do in Colorado after a hike, we definitely felt better and less achy. Check out all their unisex styles here.
