Icebreaker New Zealand Merino Wool - Taking natural products to a supernatural level.

Wool clothing is not a new concept to the outdoor lover. For many of us thought, the idea of wool clothing makes our skin crawl, or itch at least. Icebreaker has crafted a superfine merino wool fabric that is soft, breathable, durable and retains the natural qualities that makes wool an outdoors favorite. This merino is so soft and comfortable the first products to hit the market were thermal underwear.

I have been addicted to wool hiking socks for years, and once you try these you will never sport cotton athletic socks again. They are not all geared to provide thermonuclear warmth either, from their City Ultralight Crew “everyday” socks to the Mountaineer Mid-Calf, they cover the spectrum. I tried out the Hike Lite Crew and these are my new favorite socks. Supportive in the right areas and like wearing two custom fitted pillows for my feet.

I was a little skeptical of the idea of a wool t-shirt. I have an affinity for “well worn” cotton tie-dyes, so getting me into anything less comfortable would be a challenge. The Superfine 150 Tech T Lite was a pleasant surprise. It is lighter and more breathable than cotton and feels soft to the touch. I will make room for a couple of these in my dresser.

Icebreaker wants to reconnect the outdoors lover with natural materials. In an age of synthetics, rediscovering and reinventing wool separates Icebreaker from most of the outdoor apparel world. A welcome change if you ask me. The Icebreaker Story & Philosophy is worth a read as well.

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Chippewa River Custom Rods – Tailored gear without the ridiculous price tag.

If you are anything like me, the idea of having a custom built fishing rod seemed way outside the realm of practical. Tom Schenk, the co-owner of Chippewa River Custom Rod Company, changed my mind. Tom was able to walk me through the design process for two different rods that will cover nearly all of the fishing I do. Taking into consideration how I fish and what I fish for, we were able to create “all-purpose” rods that I can take anywhere.

I had the opportunity to test both a one-piece and three-piece pack rod built by Chippewa River Custom Rod. They are nearly identical from a performance and component perspective. Around 7 feet long, medium action and stiffness, incredibly sensitive tips, and plenty of backbone for those jaw dislocating hook sets. The craftsmanship is great, I couldn’t find a single miswrapped thread or bubble in the epoxy. Both these rods explored the Boundary Waters and tamed Smallies and Walleye with expert precision. I think if I had hooked into a monster Northern Pike it may have been a challenge, but either rod could have handled it.

Tom is one of the few custom rod builders I have met who understands the need for a good 3 or 4 piece pack rod. Being able to break your rod down and store it in a manageable container is incredibly convenient and reliable. I have done many a portage with my rods either in my hand or strapped in the canoe and far too many times the rods did not make the trip unscathed. Busted off tips or crushed guides turn an otherwise great rod into a mediocre shadow of its former self. They may not show up on the site, but they have access to a variety of pack rod blanks. Tom will be able to find you exactly what you need.

CRCustomRod.com is the place to start. You can either begin with a pre-designed package or go completely custom. The pre-designed packages are priced roughly from $120 to $200 and you choose the rod blank and thread colors. With the fully custom rods you pick everything; blank, guides, reel seat, handles, threads. Surprisingly, the fully custom rods work out to be nearly the same price, but you can go crazy with the options if you want to.

If you are in the market for a new rod, but never dreamed of spoiling yourself with a custom rod, you owe it to yourself to at least take a look. With off-the-shelf rods from companies like G.Loomis and St. Croix starting at $250, for the same money Chippewa River Custom Rods can build you the rod of your dreams or maybe 2.

Chippewa River Custom Rods
N615 Chippewa Ave
Holcombe, WI 54745
Phone: 715-312-0509
info@crcustomrod.com
http://www.crcustomrod.com/

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Piragis Northwoods Outfitters - No more excuses.

I am guessing that there are a number of you that have never made the trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. If you haven't, you simply don't know what you are missing. It is simply the most serene place I have ever been. It is not your normal camping trip at the local KOA or State Park. This is something more wild. There are a number of reasons I have heard recently; it's too rustic, too hard, you don't have any of the necessary gear, etc. One word: Outfitter

Spend 5 minutes talking to a seasoned BWCA visitor or with Google and you will quickly learn the name Piragis, and I had the privilege of finding out why. After my first phone conversation with Bert and Drew in the outfitting department, I knew these guys had their stuff together. We had 6 guys heading into the woods, each with varying levels of experience and gear. The Piragis outfitting crew had everything we needed and all top-of-the-line gear. Granite Gear and Cooke Custom Sewing packs, Bell and Wenonah canoes, Kevlar bent shaft paddles and Sierra Designs tents to name a few. Check out the complete gear list. 

The options for food outfitting were incredible. It was actually hard to decide what we wanted because there were just so many good choices. The one concern we had was that we were 6 guys with very healthy appetites and portion size had us wondering. Piragis put that to rest in a hurry. They gave us more than enough to satisfy us all, without overloading us with a bunch of food to pack back out. It was all tasty, but if there is one thing we all loved it was the fry breads. Any of the 6 or so flavors are a great addition to pretty much any meal.

Now that you have your gear, where are you headed? Which entry point you choose determines a lot about your trip. The team at Piragis knows the BWCA as well as anyone. How difficult a trip are you up for? Do you want to chase the Walleyes? Whatever you are interested in doing, these guys can steer you in the right direction. So if you want a weekend in the woods with the family or a 10 day trek through the back-country, the Piragis crew can set you up.

So, if you are thinking about heading out into the Boundary Waters and but have been hanging on to some reason not to, you just run out of excuses. The Piragis Northwoods Outfitting Service is your first step to a great trip. Their full service outfitting runs $100 a day per person. That provides everything but your clothes and fishing gear. They can also do ala carte and partial outfitting, if you have some stuff but need to fill in the holes. Prices are very competitive with the other outfitters in the Ely area and as I said before its all new top-notch gear.

We are rapidly approaching my favorite time of year here in Minnesota. Indian summer in the Boundary Waters is a great way to mentally prepare for the frozen months ahead. The evenings are cooler and the fishing is good. So give the folks at Piragis a call and give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

Piragis Northwoods Outfitters
Boundary Waters Canoe Trips
105 North Central Avenue
Ely, Minnesota 55731
info@piragis.com
1-800-223-6565
http://www.piragis.com/

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SteriPEN Adventurer Opti

When out in the back country staying hydrated seems like an easy enough task. Here in the land of 10,000 lakes, finding water is never the issue. Finding safe water on the other hand may be tough. Being brave and drinking the water from most lakes would probably have little if any effect on a person, but when you are 2 days paddle from medical attention (not to mention a real bathroom) gambling is not the smart play.

Purifying or sterilizing the water is the way to go, but how? Boiling it will kill anything that will make you sick, but it leaves you with hot water which is not very refreshing in the summer heat and may still look like a pond in your cup. On our most recent canoe trip the lake temps were in the low 60’s, making a bottle of Gatorade quite tasty. There are a number of filter options too; gravity fed and pumps are the most common. These are good for at camp when cleaning large quantities of water are required. When you are out on the trail however, light and small are ideal.

The SteriPEN line of products uses ultraviolet light to make water safe to drink. This technology has been used on an industrial scale for years and has been proven to be over 99.9% effective in killing bacteria, viruses and protozoa that cause water-borne illness. I had the privilege of testing the new Adventurer Opti, the latest iteration of the outdoor SteriPENs. This smallest and lightest SteriPEN® has an optical eye to sense the water which doubles as an LED flashlight. In conjunction with the screw-on pre-filter, it produced clean, safe and “floaty” free water.

The story is simple. Screw the pre-filter onto water bottle of choice, submerge in water source, once container is full remove center filter and insert SteriPEN, wait 90 seconds (for 32oz bottle), done! After a couple of uses I was able to get the whole process down to under 5 minutes. This is by far the smallest, lightest and fastest way to produce clean water I have ever tried. You will find this permanently in my daypack.

Weight: 103g/3.6 oz. with batteries.
Size: 15.5cm. (6.1in.) x 3.3cm. (1.5in.) x 2.2cm. (1.0in.)
Battery: Uses two CR123 batteries (included)
Battery life: Disposable -- 100 treatments (16oz./0.5L); Rechargeable -- 40-50 treatments (16oz./0.5L)
UV Lamp Life: 8,000 treatments
MSRP: $99.95 Online: $ 66.97 and up

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