outside 2005 Buyer's Guide
<P>Garmont Eclipse XCRGear Category: Hiking Boots </P>
<P><img src="attachments/dvbbs/2005-9/20059911313373.jpg" border="0" onload="if(this.width>screen.width*0.7) {this.resized=true; this.width=screen.width*0.7; this.alt=\'Click here to open new window\nCTRL+Mouse wheel to zoom in/out\';}" onmouseover="if(this.width>screen.width*0.7) {this.resized=true; this.width=screen.width*0.7; this.style.cursor=\'hand\'; this.alt=\'Click here to open new window\nCTRL+Mouse wheel to zoom in/out\';}" onclick="if(!this.resized) {return true;} else {window.open(\'attachments/dvbbs/2005-9/20059911313373.jpg\');}" onmousewheel="return imgzoom(this);" alt="" />
$120
by Marcus Woolf
Mark Wiens
Five Fab Features:
Stripped-down light hikers can leave weekend adventurers craving a little more of everything. But, just like my pre-ramble, all-you-can-eat Southern breakfast, the Eclipse XCR fills the plate. Balancing strength and flexibility, this waterproof Gear of the Year winner made a meal of Alabama's rugged Pinhoti Trail in a hard winter rain.</P>
<P>1. Ankle sprains are the Achilles' heel of low-cut footwear, but the Eclipse XCR fights back. A high inner cuff stabilizes the joint to discourage it from rolling inward, while a rigid leather strip lining the outside of the upper cuff kept me secure on the scree. </P>
<P>2. Many load-bearing hikers have overbuilt heels that impart a ski-boot gait—not pretty when you're negotiating a crowded pub with a full, après-tramp pint. However, the back of the heel on the Eclipse swoops upward, for sneaker-like strolling.</P>
<P>3. Smallish tongues can shift, often leading to chafing at the intersection of ankle and foot. To reduce slippage, Garmont equipped this hiker with a broader tongue that extends down toward the ankle on the inboard side of your foot.</P>
<P>4. Even after shouldering a 30-pound pack, the plastic web in the cushy midsole kept my feet in the game. I could feel the material working like an in-shoe backbone, supporting my soles and lessening fatigue without compromising flex.</P>
<P>5. You won't slosh around in these bad lads, thanks to a Gore-Tex XCR membrane, which functions like a pair of rubber galoshes. But watch out: XCR can choke in high temps; my toes felt damp after trekking through steamy ravines in the soggy Chattahoochee National Forest.
</P> <P>Dagger Crazy 88
Gear Category: Whitewater Kayaks
<img src="attachments/dvbbs/2005-9/20059912916910.jpg" border="0" onload="if(this.width>screen.width*0.7) {this.resized=true; this.width=screen.width*0.7; this.alt=\'Click here to open new window\nCTRL+Mouse wheel to zoom in/out\';}" onmouseover="if(this.width>screen.width*0.7) {this.resized=true; this.width=screen.width*0.7; this.style.cursor=\'hand\'; this.alt=\'Click here to open new window\nCTRL+Mouse wheel to zoom in/out\';}" onclick="if(!this.resized) {return true;} else {window.open(\'attachments/dvbbs/2005-9/20059912916910.jpg\');}" onmousewheel="return imgzoom(this);" alt="" />
$1150
by Frederick Reimers
Mark Wiens
Five Fab Features:
Ready to go pro? Then you already know that tricks are for kids—and success hinges on huge air. Enter Dagger's Crazy 88, our Gear of the Year selection. This boat is a masterly equation of length, width, weight, and volume distribution, all of which pull together when the time comes to skip off the lip and into the big time.</P>
<P>1. The upswept cockpit increases the boat's overall buoyancy; while popping out of front flips and back flips, I felt like I was on a trampoline.</P>
<P>2. Dagger equipped the Crazy 88 with an add-on called an Overthruster. The detachable plastic pod—about the size of an airline meal tray—increases the boat's volume, ergo its buoyancy. Plunging into the same hole avec and sans Overthruster proved its worth: an extra foot or so of vertical.</P>
<P>3. The Crazy 88 was designed for radical maneuvers like aerial backstabs—picture a back-to-front rotation at a 45-degree angle—but Dagger also softened up this boat's lines. Result: You'll quickly recover from a botched stunt—and maybe even call it a new move!</P>
<P>4. An inch or two svelter than the rest of the Dagger fleet, and boasting a flatter hull, this 28-pounder—among the lightest of the ten boats I tested—is both spry and damn fast.</P>
<P>5. Simple and lightweight outfitting—the padding that keeps you snug and comfy in the cockpit—dials in a perfect fit with little fuss. A removable wedge raises the seat to deter thigh cramps, and your perch moves fore and aft on a track to accommodate your height.</P> <P>Sierra Designs Reverse Combi
Gear Category: Camping Tents
<img src="attachments/dvbbs/2005-9/200599173958962.jpg" border="0" onload="if(this.width>screen.width*0.7) {this.resized=true; this.width=screen.width*0.7; this.alt=\'Click here to open new window\nCTRL+Mouse wheel to zoom in/out\';}" onmouseover="if(this.width>screen.width*0.7) {this.resized=true; this.width=screen.width*0.7; this.style.cursor=\'hand\'; this.alt=\'Click here to open new window\nCTRL+Mouse wheel to zoom in/out\';}" onclick="if(!this.resized) {return true;} else {window.open(\'attachments/dvbbs/2005-9/200599173958962.jpg\');}" onmousewheel="return imgzoom(this);" alt="" />
$240
by Christopher Solomon
Mark Wiens
Five Fab Features:
At six pounds 13 ounces, the Reverse Combi is the heaviest of the eight new-for-2005 shelters we tested—and is probably the most tent you'll want to carry. But this Gear of the Year's thoughtful design and creature comforts threw our usual light-is-right rules out the mesh window. Perhaps bigger is better.</P>
<P>1. When you're not obsessing over pounds, you can draw from a more appetizing menu of features: The Reverse Combi's color-coded webbing speeds setup; pole tips lock into grommets for stability; and doors tuck nicely into side pockets to stay clean and out of the way.</P>
<P>2. If the Combi feels roomier than its 4.5-by-seven-foot floor plan suggests, it's not the single-malt talking. Sierra Designs cleverly located varying diameter pole sections to create steeper walls and more living space than other similarly configured tents.</P>
<P>3. While many of today's tents are cut prosciutto-thin to shave ounces, this shelter's floor, body, and fly are made of heavier-gauge 70-denier nylon or taffeta nylon. With a new antimicrobial finish—designed to head off potential stuffsack funk—the Combi conveys a reassuring air of solidity; I expect it will still be inviting abuse in 2015.</P>
<P>4. Many side-entry tents have just one door, and heeding nature's call can also mean waking up your camping chum. Luckily, the Combi gives each occupant an escape route. Another twofer: dueling 11-square-foot vestibules, each with a door that rolls up and out of the way. </P>
<P>5. With the rain fly staked out taut, the dome hunkered down like a tortoise, scarcely shuddering during a night of meteorological Sturm und Drang below Washington's Mount Stuart. One quibble: The vestibules have pretty small windows.</P>
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