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Feathered Friends - Sleeping Bag Review
Feathered Friends has been quietly cranking out some of the market’s finest down bags for over 30 years, and the Merlin is yet another great example of their impeccable craftsmanship. The Exped Sparrow, which features a full wrap-around zipper that allows the bag to be turned into a blanket, was the least expensive and most versatile model tested. A pioneering hybrid design, the Black Diamond Half Dome offers great overall protection, with a large cap of polystyrene in the interior. The shop salesperson puffs up and says, “Oh, yeah, that helmet’s UIAA and CE-certified.” You think, ‘That’s nice, but what does that mean? Trango has clearly put some thought into creating a very versatile, high performance, rigid crampon. The Stubai X-Dream’s rigid frame rails are aluminum, which Stubai claims makes the X-Dream significantly lighter. Summary: At the Pitbull’s pricepoint, a crampon should come packaged with all the latest whistles and bells, it better have significant design and performance advantages over the competition, and it ought to include a decent bottle of single-malt whisky. The semi-rigid M10 is the heaviest crampon we surveyed, though Petzl Charlet says that design changes made to the heel unit and binding for this season will trim another five ounces (a surprise because it is the forward unit which seems particularly big-boned). Grivel has gotten the semi-rigid design just right: thanks in large part to the horizontal framing, the G14 is very clean — and less prone to balling (although anti-bots are available and 50% cheaper if purchased with the crampons). The DMM Terminator is a virtual chameleon, packaged with parts for adapting to nearly any style of vertical terrain. A new semi-rigid design, the C14 delivers on many a competitor’s unfulfilled promise: the relatively lightweight frame has the lowest profile of any crampon we looked at, delivering a less imposing, unencumbered feel, particularly on mixed ground. A relatively new entry into the field of semi-rigid crampons, the Bionic has a few kinks to work out. On the first ascent of the Eiger Nordward, Germans Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Vörg, using 12-point crampons, swiftly overtake Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek of Austria, who are flat-footing it in hobnailed boots and 10-point crampons, respectively. Madame Hook has a dual identity: She can be a good leashed tool, or swap in her included multi-grip handle and — voila! — she becomes a modern leashless marvel. This tool’s a real clunker. The pick is too big and its teeth are not beveled, so the Scorpio got hopelessly stuck when planted securely, plus the shallow droop angle made the pick insecure when hooking. |
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