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Just Out - January 2009 - 272
Nine servings of swag to keep you smiling through winter
Shown here is the SCARPA FEROCE ($135, scarpa.com) with its narrow, bullet toe shining especially in pockets and thin cracks. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com |
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 The Reyna Reigns
Too often, a “woman’s” jacket is simply an extra-small man’s jacket dyed pink. Not so with the MARMOT REYNA JACKET ($230, marmot.com). This hooded softshell is tailored perfectly to fit women’s shorter torsos and narrower waists.  Eat Ice for Breakfast
Any frosty hardperson worth his/her gap-toothed grin knows a high-end mixed boot depends on two things: its mobility and crampon-to-boot interface. Newly designed for 2009, the LOWA ICE COMP IP GTX ($750, lowaboots.com) scores high marks on both counts.  Standing Ovalation
If you’ve climbed long enough, you’ve clipped a few ovals. But though today’s biners trend more toward pear shapes, Ds, and other asymmetricals, the AUSTRIALPIN OVALO ($6.99 for the screw-gate, austrialpin.net) is going retro.  May the Force Be with You
On long, multi-pitch ice and mountain routes, keeping the hands warm is a matter of comfort and safety. Witness the new BLACK DIAMOND EQUIPMENT ENFORCER GLOVE ($169.95, bdel.com). The highly engineered Enforcer sports an optional, super-warm removable liner, and the articulated fingers and stretchy Schoeller shell fabric offer excellent dexterity. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com  Little Black Backpack
As a multi-pitch, wear-while-climbing friendo or miniature cragging pack, the MILLET HOOK 25 ($129.90, milletusa.com) is a bombtruck breath of fresh air. Weighing just 2lbs 1oz, this svelte little back-hugger has all the features climbers need.  Just Boot-iful
Named after a Karakoram massif, the LA SPORTIVA BATURA ($525, sportiva.com) — a colorful double boot with an integrated, zippered gaiter and inner lacing system — offers outstanding performance on technical ground, as it did for me in late-season (read: sub-zero) temperatures at 20,000 feet in Pakistan’s Hispar Glacier area. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com  Brain Boosta
Confounded again by the Kwik-e-Mart’s energy-drink array, I found myself nervous as I reached for a can of TRUETONIQS BRAIN TONIQ ($2.59 per 8.4oz can, braintoniq.com). I’ve become accustomed to the sugary spikes and jittery caffeine crashes that accompany my hectic lifestyle, so I was hesitant to put 1,830mg of healthy energy into my body.  Ferocious!
When you find a shoe that dances with you on the super-steeps and transitions equally well onto precision face, you love it up. Nicely fitting this bill, the SCARPA FEROCE ($135, scarpa.com) is a high-end adept on all things beyond the vertical, with its narrow, bullet toe shining especially in pockets and thin cracks. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com  One Cool Jacket
From the moment I donned the PATAGONIA ICE FIELD ($400, patagonia.com), I was so impressed by its minimalist style that I wondered how technical it could really be. However, as I put this insulated hardshell through its paces on chilly, damp approaches, I recognized it as a true performer. |
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