Steve Clark

If I had written this review the first week I owned them, it would be a 5-Star glowing review.

Alas, it is a 2+ month review and a few glaring setbacks have made themselves evident.

We'll start with the glowing parts first...

The fit on these shoes is incredible. Hands-down the most comfortable shoe I have put on to date. Slip your foot into a pair of these and you'll never understand how you wore other, less supportive shoes, ever. Incredibly comfortable to both be active in outside, or even wear around all day.

So if they are so comfortable and fit so wonderfully, why are they not 5-stars?

The lace system.

It was brillant for the first month or so. Then it started to lose it's luster. The laces loosen on their own very easily at this point and I find myself crouching down quite regularily to retighten them, only to find them loose again a few minutes later. Secondly, the bottom two loops are lacking the plastic reinforcements/guides. While the fabric has yet to let go, it is showing signs of wear and I question it's ability to survive a full year.

Final verdict - While I LOVE the fit and feel of these shoes, I am incredibly disheartened by the failure of the lace system so early in it's life and am further concerned by some of the wear that has been caused by the system at this point. At $140, they are a pricey shoe and they should be a perfect product, and perfect they are not.

I have a small face and needed something with a low profile. I picked these up last spring after trying them on and have not looked at another pair of sunglasses ever since.

The Interlock system works flawlessly to swap lenses. I use mine for mountain biking and casual use and have had no problems. The ability to easily swap to a clear lens on an overcast day is real nice. These glasses also stay in place while still being super comfortable. Even during violent crashes and trips over the bars, they just stay right in place.

I was initially a little worried about durability and how long they would last when I bought them. However, after a full years use they still look and feel like brand new. There is no play in the hinges and I have no issues with gaps inbetween the lenses and the frame. Additionally, I am confident that Smith's warranty would be there for me if the interlock system failed.

Would not hesitate to recommend these!

Overall, the Wilderness Systems Pamlico 120 is a great kayak. After renting Perception Prodigy 10.0's a handful of times, I decided that I wanted to buy my own.

For background, I kayak on small-medium sized lakes in Central Vermont. It is on a recreational basis. At most, I may seek to use it to access a remote water's edge campsite for a night's stay.

I found the Pamlico 120 to be a great fit for my needs. The sealed stern storage compartment is a wonderful added feature. While a number of people have reported having the seal on the storage leak and require retreatment, I have not run into this problem after a year of usage. However, I would keep an eye on it. Compared to the Prodigy 10.0, the Pamlico 120 is faster and tracks better, while still being very stable. Additionally, the seat puts you in a very comfortable paddling position once you get it dialed in.

Now for the two flaws I mentioned in the title. The first one is a major oversight by Wilderness Systems. The drain plug for the kayak is located in the stern, rendering it entirely useless as the stern area is the sealed storage compartment. You will need either a bilge pump, or to install a second drain plug at the front of the kayak, otherwise you will be stuck with water inside your kayak that will prove very difficult to remove. No idea how the designers at Wilderness Systems missed that one.

The second thing missing from the kayak is a feature that is present on the less expensive Prodigy 10.0 (which is manufactured by Perception, whom is owned by Confluence Watersports, the same company that owns Wilderness Systems among other kayak brands). This nice little feature is a paddle bungee on the outside of the cockpit. The Pamlico 120 features no such thing. To free up your hands and securely store your paddle, you need to twist around and get it under the fore and aft deck rigging. Not impossible, but not exactly convenient either. The small addition of the paddle bungee like the one on the Prodigy 10.0 would be a very nice feature.

Both of these flaws are, in my opinion, minor oversights by Wilderness Systems. Both of which can be solved with relatively low-cost solutions and certainly should not be enough to turn you off from this kayak.

I give the Wilderness Systems Pamlico 120 a 4.5/5 rating; if they had incorporated a simple paddle bungee and a drain plug at the front of the boat, I would have given it a 5/5.

Awesome jacket. Sized myself at XL and it fit perfectly. The 450 fill down makes this jacket very warm without too much bulk. Plenty of features.

Only "complaint" is the zipper is on the "wrong side" which makes removing it tricky, however you do get used to it.

My first day wearing the jacket was a single digit day, I dressed as I always did for the temperatures, ended up needing to shed a layer.

Not able to comment on the 15k waterproof/breathability but I'm sure it's up to par.

I definitely recommend this jacket. Excellent tech features and awesome style.

I loved these glasses. I bought two pairs actually. The first pair cracked in one place after a year. I chalked it up to bad luck. I superglued the frame and bought a backup pair as the model was discontinued.

The second pairs frame fractured in 5 places after 2 months of nothing but normal use. My older pair is now a year and a half old and is starting to fracture in even more places and is starting to be held together by super glue.

I've written Dragon about the problem and what to do as they are discontinued and WELL within warranty. They have yet to respond to my email.

Before the frames disintegrated during normal non-active use, they were great. Great polarization, great fit and they were extremely comfortable. Unfortunately though, there is a HUGE problem with quality control of this model. I do not know if this represents the entire company either.

The Rail belt is good overall. The main clasp snaps closed very firmly and is very secure. The only complaint I do have is that on a few occasions now the small tab on the back has released causing the belt to release as well. Still 4 of 5 stars as it looks good, and has otherwise worked great. I also don't think $14 is overpriced for a belt.

I bought these to replace my aging Oakley A-Frame goggles with Blue Iridium lens. I had those for about 6 years, and were nothing but happy with them. I moved up to the crowbars after hearing many great things about them. My first impression was that they weren't as comfortable as my A-Frames were, but that was actually very short lived. After a day or 2 of use, the foam had conformed to my face and made for a very comfortable fit. The initial issue with too much pressure around the nose was gone. Lens-wise, I felt the lens were great. I found the black iridium to actually be more versatile than my blue iridium lens on my A-Frames. To me, they worked well in flat light, bright sun, and I could even see well using them for night skiing. Another thing to mention is the Crowbars fit perfectly with my helmet (Bern Baker), and the grippy straps are a nice touch.

Overall, awesome goggle and Oakley continues to impress. Well worth the extra money over the competition.