AKU SL Trek GTX

Aku’s SL Trek GTX is not the boot I was expecting. At two pounds, 15.5 ounces per pair (US 9.5), the SL Trek is light but certainly not ultralight. In fact, if you’re looking for a light GTX hiker in the class of something like the Vasque Breeze, the SL Trek will likely perplex you. This is a beefy boot with a formidably stiff sole—stiff to enough to absolutely impact your stride. Based on its design and construction (more…)

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Sony RX100

Yes, Sony’s RX100 is a revolutionary digital camera—but is it really the best compact in the world, as many reviewers are now proclaiming? If you’re only interested in bright-light image quality, I think the answer has to be a resounding Yes. The RX100 puts a next-generation 1.0 inch, 20 megapixel CMOS sensor and a branded Carl Zeiss lens in a relatively compact 4″ x 2 3/8″ x 1 7/16″ body (more…)

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Nothing Endures But Change (Bodie Edition)

From the glass towers of Chicago to the ghost town of Bodie, California, we go. Bodie, now a state historic park, is thirteen miles off Highway 395, just southeast of Bridgeport. Gold was discovered here in 1859, and within twenty years there was a booming town with a population around 10,000. The principle mine closed in 1913, though the town lingered on into the early 1940’s (more…)

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