i purchased the siphon wool hooded jacket based on the reviews i read, and with the intent of using it as an 'everyday' cold-weather jacket to wear on campus, around town, etc. i'm 5'9", 140 lbs and purchased a small, which fit nice and slim without being too short. it irks me that so many brands have removed the hoods from their jackets, so the siphon's hood was a selling point for me. i was also pleased to find the jacket to be made in canada, but that about sums up the pros. for the cons: the "wool blend" material was surprisingly uncomfortable and abrasive. it's presence on the unnecessarily protruding inseams irritated my skin (no merino wool here). the jacket was about as wind-resistant as a thin fleece, and i found myself chilled on a 30-35 degree windy day. furthermore, i purchased the light gray one pictured above but received one much of a much darker hue which must have been from a different lot or something. at an SAC price the siphon wool hoodie may be worth your money but at one-hundred-forty bones it simply was not worth mine.

i'd like to chime in with additional praise for these incredible socks by smartwool. they are comfortable, durable, they dry quickly... i'm sure you can get the gist of their quality from all the rave reviews. the thing that i haven't seen addressed (which should be) is what distinguishes phd from adrenaline and light from ultra light.

the adrenaline socks run slightly more expensive than the phd socks and are constructed of a 70/30 wool-to-nylon mix, whereas phd socks are around 60/40. this allows the phds to 'breathe' slightly better and dry out quicker while possibly sacrificing a bit of softness to the touch. the difference between light and ultra light is simply a marginal decrease in cushioning. i personally roll with the ultra light phds and have never had issues; they're great, even in subfreezing temps! one additional note: for muddy or sandy conditions, consider a taller sock (like mini instead of micro) to keep grit from getting in and rubbing your ankles raw... this is especially important for ultrarunners.

while i was impressed with the wind-stopping capabilities of this ultra-lightweight windshirt, the fit leaves much to be desired. i like an athletic fit and smalls usually fit me just right (at 5'9" 140lb). the sleeve length was fine but the torso circumference felt too big.

with no cinch around the bottom (waist) of the jacket and a rather short fit that leaves my mid-section exposed when my shoulders are at all raised, water and wind soon both found their way in.

i will be looking for something with a slightly longer/slimmer fit and a cinchable waist.

i've tried camelbaks. i've tried waist-belts. i've tried flasks and i've tried hip-hugging bottle holsters. none of them ever felt quite right, incessantly bouncing about and loosening up no matter how tight i'd cinched up the straps. helplessly confined to how far i could run with a handheld bottle, i decided to check out this sleek hydration vest i'd seen on a few backs lately.

ten minutes into my first run with the hpl 080 i was entirely unaware of it. the design is beautiful with it's soft, wide straps that hug your shoulders and torso. 50 ounces of water, several gels, a hat, gloves, a windbreaker, and a digital camera never felt so... nonexistent! the contents are held tightly to your back without placing uncomfortable pressure on your back or midsection, and the straps never loosened on me -- not once! and the pouches on the front of the straps are genius for quick access.

i would recommend this to ANYBODY wishing to take more gear/water on their unaided runs. i can't wait to try an hpl 020 for even longer distances. i'd also like to see some competition from amphipod and others to see where these things go.

a solid nalgene is a solid nalgene. this one just happens to be cheaper than the rest -- therefor i deem it the best :)

i have to disagree with matt's one-star review which i found a little harsh. it is important to remember that Garmin is still the only major player in the market of trail running gps devices and that the whole concept is still relatively new.

first of all, only a minority of people will ever hit the battery limit. i'm sure future iterations will address the 6-hour limit but for now, most runners will do fine with the given capacity. secondly, although i also thought the size of the watch would annoy, a couple runs with the thing and i nearly forgot i was wearing it. even if you don't like the rubber strap it comes with, you can replace it with a velcro one. thirdly, i find the accuracy of the unit to be remarkably good. runs with many switchbacks and dense foliage caused it to come up a little short and the altitude is prone to some error but once again, this is still a technology in its infancy. it's certainly more accurate than trying to chart the course out by hand on a map. finally, i agree that the included software isn't very well constructed, but there are alternatives. i've heard great things about sport tracks (http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/sporttracks/), and garmin is still in the process of converting their online database (motionbased) over to a more user-friendly, functional "garmin connect" platform.

ultimately i think the forerunner was worth every penny. there is certainly room for improvement and making it more appropriate for ultrarunners but the ability to plot out my runs in google earth and compare altitude, pace, heart-rate, and distance data from many runs is enough for me to give it a strong recommendation.

i decided this past summer to couple two of my favorite activities: trail running and backpacking. fastpacking, as it is often called, required the purchase of some new equipment including a pack small enough to run with, but large enough to fit a bivy, stove, water, food, and some extra clothing. the osprey talon met my criteria and felt good in the store, so i bought one and tested it in the san juan mountains.

the pack fits real tight to the body and cinches up very well without coming loose -- both conducive to comfortable trail running. although the materials are rather flimsy (to make the pack so light), the build feels solid and bears true to the high quality that characterizes most osprey products; i think it could take a lot of abuse before falling apart.

my only gripes would have to be about the discomfort of having a full 3 liter bladder in the built-in hydration sleeve... this was clearly more weight than the bag was designed for and resulted in a considerable amount of bounce. emptying some of the water remedied the problem, however. also, depending on the volume of your gear (how ultralight you are willing to go), you may be able to get by with the talon 22 liter pack instead of the 33 liter pack. i will likely make this trade before i do any more fastpacking since i found myself with some excess space.

truly the most bang for the ounce, i would recommend the pocket-rocket to anyone intending on fastpacking solo or backpacking with a small group. it stays lit in a storm and boils water very quickly. i would not recommend it for simmering or cooking large amounts of food... there are better choices for those applications.

i am a total convert to wool socks for all my running endeavors. hot pavement? icy river? i'll be wearing my smartwool phd micro socks because they simply don't hold moisture, keeping your feet dry and blister-free no matter the conditions.

they are kind of expensive but once you've tried them, you'll never want to go back. some advice: if you are unsure what size to purchase, get the smaller of the two you are considering. it says i should buy large socks for my size 10.5 feet but these are too big and i wind up with some excess fabric bunching up around the heel. the mediums, however, are perfect!

I picked up one of these from an REI garage sale to complete my trail running overnight setup. It packs down extremely tiny and is truly waterproof (weathered a couple downpours). If you have a warm sleeping bag then this is the perfect shell.

My only qualm is the same as the other guy said; it's difficult to hold open both the netting and/or the waterproof flap that goes over the head when you want open air... I had to modify mine with some velcro so it would stay put as I moved around at night.

The Fireblade was my first trail shoe from a smaller company (rather than Asics, Brooks, etc). Mine just endured a full summer's abuse on rough/rocky trails, so I'm ready to speak for them.

Pros: These shoes performed well and held up nicely. The sticky rubber tread kept me upright on slick and steep sections of gravel/snow/mud just as I had hoped. If not for some interior cushioning flaws, these likely still had some miles left in them. They are very lightweight just as advertised and seemed true to size, fitting my neutral foot (mostly) comfortably. Externally they were solid and outperformed any of the previous trail shoes I've run in.

Cons: I think there was a slight sacrifice in protection to keep these shoes light, as I found myself feeling pointy rocks through the bottom and sides more often than I should have. Also, although the interior fabric was soft and cushy, the heelcup rubbed my heel in such a way that a couple holes wore straight through the fabric, prematurely ending the life of these shoes.

Bottom Line: While I felt the Fireblade could get the job done, I was more impressed by its sister shoe, the Raceblade. The Raceblade is even lighter, features a sewn in upper to keep crud out of your shoes, fits a little more snugly (good in my case), and is build with a more frictionless interior fabric that has witheld a lot more abuse than the Fireblade's interior. And being about the same price, I'll be buying just the Raceblades in the future.

If you're a runner and don't mind shorty shorts, these are absolutely fantastic. Let me count the ways... I felt absolutely no chafing anywhere, this includes waistband, liner, etc. The weight is extremely light and dries very quickly. The split design allows for very free leg movement, and the biggest problem I have with most shorts (riding up) was NOT an issue with the Sugoi 42Ks. I will be getting a pair for each day of the week come my next paycheck.

I run long distance on both roads and trails and in all sorts of conditions ranging from hot mugginess to frigid mountain air. This shirt is fantastic regardless of the conditions, and has saved me the hassle of packing extra shirts. It wicks away moisture just as the name implies keeping me cool when the sun beats down. If the weather is cool you can get the long-sleeved edition and just slide the sleeves up if you don't need them. If it is cold/wet out, use this as a baselayer and simply throw a lightweight water-resistant windshirt/windbreaker on overtop (many of them are just a few ounces).

I am in the process of purchasing an assortment of these since I like them so much... the fit is surprisingly accurate and slim (I'm 5'9", 145lbs and wear a small). And at 20-30 bucks, you simply can't go wrong with this shirt.

I had high hopes for this pack -- Camelbak seems to tout it as a 'minimalist pack designed for adventure racers.' Well gee, that sounds nice -- I run marathon+ distance (primarily trails) and am notorious for carrying along little more than a hand bottle for hydration. Perhaps this will be the solution yo my dilemma.

Well upon taking it for a test run today, it would NOT sit still. Even at a very conservative pace it was bouncing all over the place. I tried almost every combination of cinched up straps, loosening them, dumping water, etc. The bottom line is the webbing is too flimsy and the buckles don't like to hold. It through my pace off and I had a frustrating run.

It MAY work for some people who run extremely slow or don't mind a constrictive bag of water bouncing up and down on their shoulders... but as for me, I will be returning it and sticking to waist-level bottle-holders by amphipod or some other brand instead.