Reviews by User: chemosabe (12)

thought this would be a bargain for the two items, but the headlamp is pretty worhtless - the slightest movement and the battery case pops open due to very small plastic retaining clips. renders the headlamp useless. so only buy this combo if you want a simple heavy-ish second stove. haven't tried the stove yet.

i'm not into wetsuits but got this for kayaking in the ocean. unfortunately, the arampits really chafed (with paddling) so it had to go back. it seemed like a nice suit otherwise. maybe it's not really meant for paddling...

i guess i was fooled by these on my last trip. they were my non hiking shoes on a long back pack trip at 10000 feet. so i walked across a stream in them and then had to spend hours trying to dry them off by the fire without melting them since they were wet and cold :( the straps are certainly not waterproof even though they say that on them. maybe water doesn't damage them? my cotton t shirt isn't damaged by water either, but i wouldn't call it waterproof

tried this out from steap and cheap. impressions- 1)it's large and a bit bulky looking and feeling, but tolerable on the wrist. i wore it backpacking. 2)the temp gauge is innacurate on the wrist due to your skin temp. 3)the compass and altimeter work pretty well, especially when the altimeter is calibrated daily. it was pretty dead- on over 500-2000 feet changes. the comopass was off initally but after a battery change and few calibration attempts it was fine after that. 4)it was hard to set up (for my brain) but my younger girlfriend could set it without even looking at the instructions. 5)yes the battery was dead or dying but it came with a spare anyway. that's helpful. 6)waterproof features and low battery warning are nice. 7)i mentioned my brain before-it's hard for me to remember how to access and change a lot of the functions if i don't do it regularly. there's stuff on there that i'm not even aware of what it does....and yes the instructions are almost unreadable due to small print. the website didn't have any manuals available when i checked-the link wasn't set up yet. i still think it's solid and a great deal especially for the cheap price on S/C

i like these for general walking around and mild scrambling. i did use them on a rocky hike on mt ranier ( lots of tallis) and my soles were feeling it after a short while - this is basically a light weight sneaker type shoe, but with a decent grippy sole and a nice waterproofing feature, which works well. they also look good. it's great on non-technical terrain. my feet were not hot despite the very warm temps. i wouldn't try carrying a pack with these on. they would be great with a little more protection/stiffness in the mid layer.

these are pretty light pedals -150 gms for each pedal - and they have a neat cleat/adapter system for road shoes but i needed a lot of float for my knees and i was fooled by the float description- the release angle is 20 degrees - the float is only 6 degrees (check the website). your foot is essentially fixed unless you twist against the strong springs. i would have tried them more but i couldn't get past the float issue. good price on bonktown- a real steal for a light pedal

the fabric is quite lux- very smooth and comfy. great for hot weather. they look good. stretchy but not tight. i have a 34 waist and the large is perfect.

ok, lets just say that i feel like a kid again. pretty powerful shoes. great grip. they have a lot of room up front; i have a narrow foot but they can be cinched down well. they just make me feel totally confident. nice materials, no bad plastic smell, waterproof yet not steaming hot. the high tops rubbed my ankles a bit with thin cotton socks on, but with thicker wool socks there's no problem. i just got them and have been wearing them constantly. my favorite shoes now. : )

i have a lot of ibex stuff, from jackets to base layers. this was kind of disappointing- pretty thin/light weight wool, and very much larger than the usual ibex fit. it is not athletically cut and has a sloppy baggy feel to it. just really didn't like it, especially for the price- you can find the shak on S/C for 60 bucks- no comparison. still- it's wool, but you can do better

rode with this a few times in the low 50's -twice with a thin wool underlayer and once without. pros; looks great. well made. blocks wind well. cons; didn't fit me well- rode up when on the bike so that it pouched out above shoulders and behind neck. also, didn't seem to breathe well. i'm used to multiple wool layers and this felt distinctly sweaty/clammy - couldn't wait to take it off after my usual morning riding. also zipper needs two hands to pull up. going back to layered wool

what is it with montrail? their products always have a powerful odor of plasticizer solvents to them. i wanted to like these since they were very inexpensive on steap/cheap. the sole is very grippy, and they have a gor-tex liner. you can snug them up nicely too. they felt pretty comfortable to lace up but walking in them wasn't natural for my feet. and they dodn't win any style points- kind of clunky. so they're going back....

got this for cheap on S/C. totally impressed. very thick and very light. very nice touches throughout- YKK zippers, inside zippered pocket, tall collar, little fuzzy thing near your chin. the jacket feels great. large fits fine- i'm 6 feet/175.