Muscles Not Motors June 2011
Sierra Designs Pyro 15 Sleeping Bag
I am afflicted with a rare condition known as Sleeping Bag Zipper Adversity Syndrome. But despite the fact that I have never once managed to zip a sleeping bag without snagging the zipper, I have learned to live a relatively normal life. For people like me who struggle with SBZAS, the snag-free zipper tracks on the Sierra Designs Pyro 15 sleeping bag is big news, but it isn’t the biggest news regarding this technically innovative bag. Rather, it is a new technology called Core Comfort. Designed to maximize warmth and loft in the most critical areas, while minimizing unnecessary overall bulk and weight due to excess insulation, the Pryo 15 with Core Comfort technology is constructed with two extra baffles strategically placed around the torso area and foot box. The baffles contain a higher amount of 600-fill down insulation than the rest of the bag. Sierra had me at the snag-free zipper tracks, but I should also mention that this comfortable and thermally efficient bag also features a draft tube and draft collar as well as a hood with a convenient pillow pocket. It weighs in at 2 pounds, 13 ounces, and compresses to 16 inches when stuffed in the included stuff sack.
$249.95, www.sierradesigns.com.
Therm-a-Rest Alpine Down Blanket
If sleeping bags aren’t your thing, if you suffer from SBZAS (see prior blurb), or if you’re just plain fed up with being confined in a sack, unable to easily kick the person next to you who is snoring loudly, consider the Therm-a-Rest Alpine Down Blanket. Designed to work in conjunction with a Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad, which aside from providing cushy comfort, protects you from the cold ground and helps retain your body heat, the Alpine Down Blanket enables unhindered movement and zipper-free ease of entry, resulting in a backcountry sleeping experience more similar to that at home. The box-baffled Alpine Down Blanket uses 700-fill goose down and weighs a scant 1 pound, 5 ounces. Perimeter snaps allow you to integrate the blanket with your Therm-a-Rest mattress (when using the Mattress Snap Kit), and an elasticized foot box keep drafts from tickling your toes. Rated to 35 degrees.
$239.95, www.cascadedesigns.com.
Tecnica Diablo MAX Trail Running Shoe
Running season is here, and if you’re a runner, I’m sure you’re excited. I know I am, and I’m not even a runner, although my imagination likes to run wild and my money tends to run out quite often. I may not be a runner, but I am a rocker, so I have something in common with the Tecnica Diablo MAX, a new trail running shoe that utilizes an oversized rocker profile with a 55 percent greater toe and heel rocker height to optimize energy transfer and propulsion. The Diablo MAX also features TRS MAX, a midsole/outsole designed with a 30 percent larger platform and customized geometry that delivers exceptional stability and cushioning to reduce fatigue and stress. With twice the cushioning of traditional trail runners, this revolutionary shoe is ideal for all-day activity on the trail and in the mountains, and weighs 360 grams per set. Run out and get yourself a pair.
$130, www.tecnicausa.com.
