SierraDescents | Category | Gear
December 1, 2010
Black Diamond Couloir Harness
Black Diamond's Couloir is not the harness I'd want to be wearing if I was going to be hanging around all day, but short of that need, you'll have a hard time finding a better (more)
September 28, 2010
Platypus CleanStream Gravity Filter
Here's my review of Platypus' Cleanstream Gravity Filter: as soon as I see the word "backflush" appear in the instruction manual, I'm out. Okay, maybe that's not entirely fair. (more)
September 23, 2010
Deuter ACT Trail 24
Think of Deuter's ACT 24 Trail as a well-executed example of traditional backpack design. You don't get anything anything particularly cutting-edge here, but what you do get is (more)
September 9, 2010
Nemo Losi
Nemo's Losi 2P makes a big impression right out of the box: with a packaged weight of five pounds, fifteen ounces, this isn't the tent I would normally carry for solo use. The (more)
August 26, 2010
MSR Carbon Reflex Tent
At a published weight of two pounds, thirteen ounces, MSR's 'hyperlight' Carbon Reflex 2-man tent sounds perhaps a little too good to be true. The Carbon Reflex employs a mostly (more)
August 17, 2010
Injinji ToeSocks
What the heck is this all about? That's about what I thought when I first saw Injinji's "ToeSocks"—socks with individually-fitted toes for your...toes. Injinji makes the (more)
July 30, 2010
Thermarest DreamTime Mattress
I may be biased toward ultralight gear, but a select few heavier items have a place in my heart as well. Case in point: Thermarest's luxurious DreamTime sleeping pad. Calling the (more)
July 6, 2010
Osprey Exos
Osprey isn't joking when it calls its Exos-series packs 'superlight'—these overnight-capable packs come with a stiff and robust frame yet weigh about the same as most frameless (more)
April 18, 2010
Scarpa Skookum Review
I was under the impression Scarpa's new Skookum was a Frankenboot of parts borrowed from other Scarpa models in an evil-genius attempt to create a downhill performance monster. (more)
April 8, 2010
MSR Reactor
Probably the most critical comment I can make about MSR's Reactor backpacking stove is that it sat unused and unopened inside my closet for nearly two years. Winner of a 2007 (more)
January 5, 2010
The Factor Review
It's impossible for me to assess Black Diamond's new Factor ski boot without considering it in context: the Factor represents the flagship achievement of Black Diamond's audacious (more)
November 21, 2009
Pieps Freeride Beacon
Do you check to see what kind of avalanche beacon your partner is carrying? I ask because there are a wide range of beacons on the market, and some of them are a lot easier to (more)
February 19, 2009
Snow Camping – Sleeping Pad Comparison
We're here in Flagstaff, AZ, en route to Colorado for our annual family ski vacation, and I've got my tent set up in my parents' yard. No—it's not that my folks are driving (more)
January 2, 2009
Mountain Hardwear Typhoon
The Typhoon Jacket is yet another of those affordable ambiguously technical rain shells that are fast becoming today's bestsellers. Similar to the North Face Venture Jacket and (more)
December 30, 2008
Big Agnes Two Track
In its two-inch version, the Big Agnes Two Track self-inflating sleeping pad offers a very warm advertised r-value of 6.5. To put that number in perspective, Thermarest's (more)