Forgive my not posting this sooner: Mel Cotton, scion of the downtown San Jose sporting goods store, died last Friday. Mercury News columnist L.A. Chung wrote a nice farewell: “Wow, he just died?” asked Rick Lares, 32, who was buying…
Tag Archive for Gear
Panting over hiking pants
by tom • February 8, 2008 • 3 Comments
Acquiring gear seems forever fraught with the potential for buyer’s remorse, but one purchase I made a couple years back continues to satisfy: Columbia’s entry-level nylon hiking pants. I’ve logged what must be over a thousand miles in these guys…
Great outdoor gear deals in Berkeley
by tom • February 6, 2008 • 2 Comments
Rick from Hike Halfdome was up there the other day. He suggests: North Face has a huge outlet store – a real outlet, not a Gilroy come-on. They had 50% off winter jackets. Thank they deities that winter is almost…
Fanny packs: who’s got one?
by tom • February 1, 2008 • 14 Comments
And is it worth a hoot? I bought a fanny pack (the Brits call ’em bum bags, I love that) at REI when I first started hiking … just big enough to hold my wallet and a couple of water…
Hiking & photography
by tom • December 7, 2007 • 12 Comments
Ask Steve why he never takes a camera hiking and he’ll mention the boxes & boxes of slides from backpacking trips of days gone by that he never looks at anymore. Then there’s Dan, who could equip a polar expedition…
More gift ideas for outdoors types
by tom • December 3, 2007 • 0 Comments
Last week it was Texas; this week it’s Iowa. The Des Moines Register sent out a scouting mission. I liked these: Books “Spooky Campfire Stories,” retold by S.E. Schlosser. $12.95. Sportsman’s. “Hiking Iowa: A Guide to Iowa’s Greatest Hiking Adventures,”…
Hiking socks for Christmas
by tom • November 29, 2007 • 1 Comment
A writer at the Dallas Morning News loves that Smart Wool: Smart Wool socks are pretty expensive (nearly $20 for the midcalf style that’s perfect for hiking or walking behind bird dogs), but they’re worth the money. When I bought…
In praise of pedometers
by tom • November 26, 2007 • 2 Comments
This story got some press last week: People who walk with a pedometer go farther and get healthier, according to a Stanford researcher: Bravata and colleagues explain that although there has been a surge in popularity for pedometers as a…