Author: Chad de Alva

Chad de Alva is a FAA approved drone pilot, filmmaker and photographer based out of Flagstaff, Arizona. Born and Raised in Telluride, Colorado, Chad has grown up exploring and adventuring all over the Southwest. Before GoPro cameras were a thing, Chad was the guy duct-taping and jerry-rigging cameras to himself and his friends to document their adventures. Cameras may or may not have been lost or killed in action along the way, but cameras can be replaced—experiences cannot. Today, Chad’s work has taken him from the Alaska Range to the bottom of the Grand Canyon working with companies like the BBC and Nat. Geo. to help tell stories that move people. Chad combines his engineering background with his outdoor experience to develop innovative solutions for documenting adventures in never before seen ways. His love of the outdoors, adventure, and learning new things is limitless.
Posted on

OR Winter Market 2017

I’m not sure that my pedometer is accurate, but I am sure it’s accurate to say that it takes many steps to see all of the awesome products that congregate twice a year in Salt Lake City, UT; where the outdoor industry hosts Outdoor Retailer. This is the event where exhibitors come from all over the world to reveal their new products, and showcase their existing products for retailers and industry media. The Winter Market obviously caters to skiing, snowboarding, and other snowsports—but there are hundreds of products on display that can be used year round.

I walked the miles of red carpet looking for gear that would be of interest to the American adventurist, so please let me know in the comments if there are things that you want me to focus on for the summer show. Now, without further adieu, here are the products that will be lightening your wallet in the coming months.

Adventure Medical Kits

Adventure Medical Kits (AMK) has reintroduced their Mountain Series of medical kits, which set the standard for backcountry medicine when they were originally introduced 20 years ago. Each kit is organized by type of injury, and AMK makes refill kits for each compartment, making the restocking process a snap.

Beyond Clothing

Beyond Clothing is the brainchild of some of the fine folks that played a key part in the development of the Protective Combat Uniform (PCU) program for the US Military. Utilizing top shelf American materials (yes, everything is USA made), Beyond offers a complete layering system that will keep you comfortable no matter what mother nature throws at you.

Big Agnes

How do you make an ultra-light sleeping bag even lighter without cutting down on insulation or compromising durability? Simple. You take the zipper out. Big Agnes has replaced the zipper with a clip system that allows you to close the bag up just like a zippered bag when you want it, and open it up when temps do not require full mummy mode. If you’ve ever caught or broken a lightweight zipper, you need to check out Big Agnes’ new zipper-less bags.

Black Diamond

Black Diamond’s latest update to their awesome LED headlamps packs even more lumens into many of their range of proven models.

Cascade Designs

MSR’s new four-season tents look great and I’m hoping that I’ll get to put one to the test this winter. The Advance Pro 2 is designed for aggressive alpine missions and can be easily setup be one person in technical terrain. The Access Series brings vestibules and other great features to the game and comes in a one, two, and three person version.

Darn Tough

Socks with a warranty—It’s a thing. If you manage to wear out a pair of Darn Toughs, simply send the worn out pair in and Darn Tough will send you a new pair. Their line covers everything from Ski socks to lightweight running socks.

Garmin

Garmin recently acquired Delorme, and they’ve been busy updating the InReach series of satellite communicators and many of their native products. New to the Explorer+ is a TOPO map, making the navigation functionality of the device much more useful. Maps are also making an appearance on the new Fenix 5 series of watches which pack an insane amount of capability into a lightweight watch.

Goal Zero

I’m really excited to get my hands on Goal Zero’s new generation of Yeti Solar Generators. Lead batteries are out, and higher-capacity Lithium Ion batteries feeding much more powerful AC inverters are in. There’s also the Fuel, a 2000-watt gasoline generator that I’m told is Honda-quiet. Other new goodies include the Boulder 100 and Boulder 50 rigid panels.

Groove Ring

Silicone wedding bands are a great option for folks who find themselves scratching and wearing their metal wedding bands down during abrasive activities, and they provide several safety advantages. Groove Ring takes these benefits a step further by allowing the skin under the ring to breathe, which drastically increases comfort.

Helinox

New from Helinox is the Chair Zero, a sub-one-pound collapsible chair that will hold folks up to 250 pounds.

Hydroflask

Hydroflask now offers their proven double-wall insulation in a bottle and cup designed specifically for folks who want to bring wine into the field. The new products feature insulated, food-safe lids that won’t impact the flavor or characteristics of your wine.

Leki

Known for their awesome trekking poles, Leki now makes the XS Lite Table that will allow you to set a beverage anywhere on the table’s surface without gambling on whether or not said beverage will tip over as soon as you look away (because: it’s not fabric).

Mountain Smith

Mountain Smith partnered up with renown lensman Chris Burkard to develop the T.A.N. (Tough As Nails) series of camera bags. Three sizes of camera cubes are great for packing your kit into a larger pack that you already own, and there are two complete packs if you want an all-in-one solution for carrying your gear.

Osprey

New from Osprey is a comprehensive line of products to help you organize your kit for travel, and a line of bomber luggage. According to the Osprey, the new luggage has passed the ‘bags keep their contents dry when placed on a roof rack and driven in the rain test.’

Sea to Summit

Sea to Summit makes everything from collapsible cookware to inflatable pillows, and about 5 million things in between. Their offerings are very well thought out and very innovative. They recently launched a hammock that weighs 4.9 ounces, yet holds 300 pounds. Their new luggage allows you to configure the carrying handles as a backpack, shoulder sling, or as traditional handles.

SOLE

Not only does cork do a great job of keeping bottles closed, but it turns out it is also a great material to recycle and make footbeds and shoes out of. SOLE’s new cork-based products offer several advantages over their EVA predecessors. According to all of their professional athlete testers, the cork footbeds work better than EVA footbeds.

UST

UST has created a lighter that doesn’t create a flame. Instead, the TekFire lighter arcs a current between two poles to set things on fire. The unit is powered by a Lithium-Ion battery and charges from a USB port. UST Survival offers a comprehensive line of survival products and kits.

Western Mountaineering

Western Mountaineering makes some of the most highly regarded down products on the market. Their offerings are known for their outstanding performance and very long lifespan. Western has started having the folks who build their products sign them—just like a hand built motor from AMG.

Posted on

The Trailshot

Remember that one time your ‘quick’ morning hike/ride/<insert adventure here> turned into an all-day safari, and you ran out of water before you got back to the truck? Perhaps you passed by a source of water on your way back, and your mind decided to remind you of all of the millions of ways in which water would be awesome right now. But you can’t drink from that sketchy-looking pool of turbid water, because giardia. (Pro Tip: You don’t want giardia.) Well, thanks to MSR’s new Trailshot water filter, there’s now no reason why you can’t belly up to that water source and drink long and deep.

The Trailshot is the water filter that you really have no excuse not to always carry with you. It takes up the same amount of space as two energy bars in your pack, and weighs in at all of 5.4 ounces. This isn’t some single use ‘survival’ filter where you can only suck water into your mouth. This is a proper water filter that can be used over and over to keep you safely hydrated anytime you need to gather more water in the field. The Trailshot uses MSR’s hollow fiber filter technology that effectively filters bacteria, protozoa, and particulates from any water source. For the North American user, this is really all you need in a filter. However, if viruses are a concern—international travelers, I’m looking at you—you’ll need to add another step to your water purification process like some Aquatabs, or check out MSR’s Guardian filter that handles everything (bacteria, protozoa, particulates, and viruses). When viruses are not a concern, the Trailshot is the water filter that you should always have in your kit.

Using the filter couldn’t be easier: simply drop the pre-filter end of the hose into a water source, and start squeezing the filter body with your hand. You can drink right from the mouthpiece on the filter, or point it into a water bottle or hydration reservoir and fill it at roughly one liter per minute. A big advantage with the Trailshot’s hose design is that you can pull water from a very shallow source, where a water bottle-style filter would be very hard to use. Another advantage is with turbid water: a UV-light type filter is unable to effectively purify cloudy water, a task easily handled by the Trailshot.

Pro Tip: When working with really turbid water, use some form of container to allow the water to settle prior to filtering so that you’re not sucking as much particulate into the filter for better performance. If the Trailshot does get clogged up, giving it a few good shakes along the filter’s long axis will get it going again.

MSR states the Trailshot has a filter life of 2,000 liters, but your mileage may vary depending on how particulate-laden your field water sources are. Spare filter cartridges sell for $35, and carrying a spare never hurts.

Stay Out Longer

A water filter is a key piece of gear for anyone who wants to carry less water (and weight), or who doesn’t want to be limited by the amount of water they can carry. As long as you know that there will be water to collect in the field, you can carry only the amount of water you need to get from source to source. This is a huge advantage for ultra-runners, enduro mountain bikers, or anyone who likes to go fast and light. If you’re the type of person who must to see what’s over the next hill, or who wants to be able to take the long way home, the Trailshot is a great piece of gear to keep in your kit so you can stay out longer than intended.

Dehydration is no joke: if you’ve ever run out of water in the field, you know it isn’t a good time. For the space of two energy bars, a Trailshot in your kit can keep you and a friend hydrated from practically any field water source. Mine traveled all over the Southwest with me this fall, and even when it’s just along for the ride, knowing I have a way to safely gather water from the field is a huge confidence boost. The Trailshot retails for $49—a no-brainer for anyone who plays outside. Pick one up, and avoid that one time where you ran out of water.

Buy the Trailshot direct from MSR »