As the summertime roll to it’s conclusion,  and the kids get ready to head back to school,  here is a great way to see this magical summer out.

On Sunday Aug. 22, the beach near Scripps Pier in La Jolla, Calif., will be overflowing with surfers and surf legends – and Walden Surfboards founder and surf icon Steve Walden will be there.

Recently, Walden Surfboards announced it will be donating a one-of-a-kind, custom surfboard to the 17^th annual Luau & Longboard Invitational,a cancer research charity event. The annual Moores UCSD Cancer Center Luau & Longboard Invitational surfs for a cure to raise awareness and funds for cancer research.

I have now had the opportunity to put a bunch of mileage on the Kona Zing Deluxe, and I am impressed enough with the bike that I bought it.  While I am pretty new to road biking, I am experienced enough with bicycles in general that I know what I like, what fits, and how a quality bike should perform.

Here is a recap of my initial report on the Kona Zing Deluxe:

Kona Bicycle Company has a longstanding reputation for making high quality mountain bikes.  They describe the Zing Deluxe Road Bike as “that bike the badass Kona mountain biker would ride if they decided to get into road riding”.  This sounded good to me as a long standing mountain biker with no recent experience riding a road bike.  After putting a few good miles on this bike,  I can say this a pretty good description of the Kona Zing Deluxe.  The riding position of the aluminum framed, carbon forked Zing Deluxe is similar to the stance on my mountain bike.  It is more upright than some of the other road bikes I have recently test ridden.  This works for me at this point, but does provide a little more of an aerodynamic challenge when trying to go fast and far.

The components the bike comes equipped with are very solid.  The drive train in primarily Shimano 105,  with the addition of an Ultegra rear derailer. The wheels come from Mavic, and seem solid.  The rest of the build are a combination of FSA, Mavic and Shimano making for a solid, dependable if not a little heavy ride.  The aluminum frame is well  design and beautifully crafted, with oversized tubing, and a red and black pinstriped paint job that looks custom.

I have been riding this bike for a lot of miles over the last months, and it really has become “my bike”.  I have it dialed pretty well  to work for me,  although I am making adjustments as I progress through my road biking learning curve.  This a a bike I am growing into,  and do not predict I will outgrow anytime soon.  The joy I get from riding it really ht me a couple of weeks ago when I was in Huntington Beach,  riding north on the Pacific Coast Highway one early Sunday morning,  and I ended up mixed in with a bunch of riders competing in a Triathalon.  As the front runners were blasting by me,  I decided to pick up the pace a bit,  and keep up with the middle of the pack riders.  I cranked it up a couple of gears and pick up the pace a little,  and realized I could truly ride in this environment without embarrassing myself.   It was at this point I really became connected with the bike,  and let the simple beauty of pedaling a bike with the wind in my face overtake me.  Despite the complexity of the machine involved,  the process has an elegant simplicity.  A pair of lungs, a beating heart and a few muscles propelling rubber and metal through space.

After multiple months of riding, the Zing Deluxe remains a solid performing bicycle, that is a good value for it’s price.  The well built aluminum frame, and for the most part, solid components make for a comfortable and reliable ride. Kona’s has recently released the 2011 version of the Zing Deluxe,  and it looks even sweeter than before.  They have upgraded the clunky FSA crankset to Shimano FC M550’s.  It also appears that they are also offering a triple in addition to the compact cranks that were the only choice on my bike.  While looking more closely at their component list,  the new bikes have gone away form any FSA components, and began offering Kona own handlebars, seatposts etc.  The wheels are now Shimano RS-10 wheelsets, rather than the Mavics that grace my bike.   I love my bike, and I know a person who is looking to find a road bike to grow with could do a lot worse than the Kona Zing Deluxe.

I have spent the summer wearing a great pair of light weight well ventilated hiking shoes, and my feet are thanking me for it.  Normally,  when day hiking,  I have thrown on my backpacking boots, and headed off to the trail,  and happily hiked away.  Lately though I have begin to have some issues with blisters as the temperature rises, and my feet produce a lot of moisture.  A critical feature when I am in the backcountry for multiple days is to have a pair of boots that is supportive and will keep my feet dry.  Hence the need for a waterproof barrier such as Gor-Tex or eVent.  These work as well as they possibly can,  and I would not trade them for anything when in these situations.

On the other hand,  while dayhiking in the summer,  as well as an occasional light and fast overnights,  I have changed my approach.  A pair of low height, light weight, airy hiking shoes have become my footwear of choice.  These shoes come in the form of The Lowa Vento LO- Breathable Light Hikers which were sent to me a couple of months ago.

I have been logging a bunch of miles in these shoes and they have become the poster child of summer hiking shoes in San Diego.  They are well made,  put up with the abuse I have heaped upon them,  and still look good enough to wear out and about in town.  One of the things that I always appreciate about quality footwear is the use of intelligent well designed padding, rather than floating a foot in a heap of unsupported foam on the chance that they will be comfortable.  The Lowa Vento LO’s really illustrate this concept,  using just enough padding in the right places to hold the foot comfortably, while allowing the rest of the shoe to do it’s job of being supportive while walking comfortably.

The sole of the shoe is plenty beefy for the trail,  while not so aggressive that it makes street walking clunky.  The midsole is what I am most impressed with.  The Monowrapped construction wraps fairly stiff rubbery plastic ribs up the side of the shoe to protect and support your foot, while it has cutouts to reduce weight and allow for flexibility.  The sides of the shoes are leather to maintain durability, and the entire top is made of mesh to keep things cool.

While the primary purpose of these shoes are for light hiking with no or a little load,  I invariably would throw my youngest daughter on my shoulders while on the trail,  and did not notice any issues with 40 lbs of awkwardly poised wriggling weight on my shoulders on mild trails.  I have occasionally forgotten that these shoes are not waterproof, and have unintentionally dipped my toes in water, only to quickly be reminded that the tops are made of mesh.  The fortunate part is they then dry just as quickly.  If I had one criticism of these shoes is with the finish.  There were several places with dents from air bubbles in the molded pieces, and several threads that have straggly ends.  The good part is that none of these have affected the performance in any way.

San Diego has a plethora of warm dry weather.  A pair of light hikers fit the bill in so many situations, and the Lowa Vento LO are a great choice for those warm weather days on the dirt.

It is sort of strange to do a test report on a piece of gear I have never used for it’s intended purpose, but I am thankful for that.  The Road ID that I was sent a couple of months ago is a personal Identification bracelet that I wear for just about all of my athletic and outdoor activities.

Road ID makes several different types of identification products that can be worn on your person in case you are not able to communicate after an accident. In addition to two styles of bracelets, the Wrist ID Sport and the Wrist ID Elite, they have the Shoe ID, the dogtag style Fixx ID, and the Ankle ID.  All are customizable to provide specific  emergency information.  On mine I had my name, date of birth, numbers of my wife and father,  in addition to my insurance company and a reminder that “Pain is Temporary” which is a great motivator during a tough workout.  The Wrist ID sizing is customizable, and so comfortable I rarely notice I am wearing it.

Road ID also has an interactive version which allows emergency personnel to look up a more complete medical profile by going to a website, and entering a serial number printed on the back of the tag.  This could be critical for people who have specific medial needs that could not be communicated on a small tag, or with people with changing mendical needs that would require reprinting the tag regularly.

I have in the past had the dilemma of where to stash my drivers license on my person.  With the Wrist ID, I do not need to worry about it.   The Wrist ID is not just a good idea when I am working out,  it is a great idea when backpacking. This piece of gear is really innocuous, but has the potential to be a lifesaver on that one occasion where something happens.   At $30.00 for the most expensive ID offered, it is a no brainer.

Road ID Web Site

Testimonials on the Road ID site

Here are a few of my favorites to see you into the fall:

The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2010 is well underway.  The geargeeks biggest dream is a trade show featuring thousands of new pieces of gear from all your favorite brands.  I am not in attendance,  eschewing the show in favor of going camping.  I will be headed to the Sierra Nevada’s really soon for some extended time with nature.  It was a pretty easy choice to make,  but I do miss connecting with many of the great individuals that I have had the pleasure to meet while covering the show the last few years.  I will be back covering the winter market in January,  but thought I would bring you some links of the folks covering the show this week.

Trailspace always has great coverage of the show,  and bring the best of new gear to their pages.

4alloutdoors has expanded their coverage, and have several representatives at the show.

Outdoor Retailer has their own blog bringing you an insider take on the show.

The Gear Junkie always has interesting things to say about the show.

Feed The Habit brings their own take on the show.

Snews has daily reports coming via Youtube

Are covering the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market?  Comment on this post to let us know where we can hear your take on the happenings.

Summertime in California demands sun protection.   Whether is be the sun on the coast, or the brutal high altitude rays in the Sierras,  one must protect themselves from turning crispy red while on the trail.  Sunscreen is always an essential component whenever I am outside.  (My doctor just the other day called me a “mole factory” as he was checking them out to conform that none of them had mutated into a cancerous form.) But I am increasingly turning towards other forms of sun protection, such as UV protective clothing.  The advantage being you always have a consistent level of protection throughout the day, and there is no glopping on sunscreen multiple times  on exposed skin.  Not all clothing is equal when it comes to UV protection.   A white cotton t-shirt is generally rated at UPF 7 (not so hot) while there are  expanding lines of clothing that is designed with sun protection in mind.  Some of the best has been coming from ExOfficio, a company that has been making high quality hiking and travel apparel for years.  I have had the opportunity fo the last several months to use their new Vent’r pants, and Exhale long sleeved button down shirt. These articles of clothing feature sun protection in the 30+ UPF range.

Both the Vent’r Pants and the Exhale shirt address the issue of keeping cool in warm climates.  Both these articles of clothing feature large panels of mesh that help keep one cool.  While this is not a new concept,  most clothing with ventilation hide the mesh under panels of solid cloth, significantly hampering it cooling potential.  The Vent’r Pants and the Exhale shirt have laser cut mesh that is welded into the inner leg of the pants, and the sides of the shirt,  where they are effective, but out of the way.

The pants are made of very lightweight material,  and feature a zippered cargo pocket and one zippered rear pocket.  The material is treated with “Repeloff” to resist stains, wrinkles, and water. The waistband is lined with a soft tricot material which make the pants are really comfortable.  They have a nice loose cut that help enhance the cooling components of the pants.  I was hesitant about the inner leg mesh lining, and how badly it would expose my pasty white thighs.  This proved to be irrelevant, as it takes some looking to even know that there is a different material on the inner thigh.  It is kind of like my cool little dirty secret.

The shirt is stylish enough to wear everyday, and very well designed and constructed.   The mesh panels let in a good amount of air, that can be supplemented by unzipping the two deep, mesh lined chest pockets.  The shirt uses snaps instead of buttons on the shirt front, and the tabs to hold up the sleeves.  The shirt fits nicely, and has a comfortable stand up collar to further block the sun.

I have washed both the pants and shirt numerous times, and they come out of the wash looking fresh and wrinkle free.  I often stuff them into duffel bags and packs, and they unfurl with a minimum of permanent wrinkles.  all the hardware is functioning just as it did on day 1,  and I have yet to blow a seem on any of the Exofficio garments I own.   I you are looking for cool, lightweight, well made sun protection,  give the Exofficio Vent’r Pants, and Exhale shirt some consideration.  I was very satisfied,  and think you will be as well.

I woke up and crawled out of the warm blankets to the waking murmur of the pine and sequoia grove in Kings Canyon National Park, in which we were camping, with hot coffee on my mind.  The air was cool, and the patches of sky between the tree blue as I set up the camp stove, and basked in the relaxing ambiance that only mornings in the Sierras can produce.

My silent reverie was shattered with a thunderous “THUMP” as a heavy dense, spiky green Lodgepole pine cone dropped two feet from where I was working on setting up the coffee pot.  “That would have really hurt if is hit me” I thought as the last shock waves reverberated through the forest loam.  I strolled over to the pine cone,  picked it  up and was admiring it for it’s weapon-like properties when a loud “CLANG” directly behind me made me nearly jump out of my skin.  I spun around, in a heartbeat, to see another freshly dropped pine cone rolling off the steel bear box where it had just landed, inches from the camp stove.

“That is really odd” I thought as I sat down in my camp chair just a few feet where I was standing, shaking with the adrenaline (normally reserved for white knuckle drive home through Los Angeles after a relaxing camping trip in the Sierras) coursing through my body.  I pondered as to why two pine cones dropped in the space of a couple minutes as I brushed off the pine needles that were dropping on my head at an unprecedented rate, disturbing my vision, and further distracting my pre-coffee muddled thinking process.  I looked up to see what kind of stealth wind was blowing pine needles exclusively above my head, and could not get a good view through the deluge,  so I stood up to get a different angle.  Just as my butt left it’s perch, the grandaddiest pine cone of them all made a free fall into the very chair I was just occupying. The elastic nature of the seat rebounded that great big heavy pine cone right to my feet, where it glared at me with malicious intent.

I am fairly freaked out at this point, and I quickly made my way out from under the tree and into one of the small blue patches of sky I was admiring as I woke up,  and marveled at the way karma was trying to work me for tossing those pine logs into the fire with a little too much relish last evening.  I resigned myself to a long desperate trip through the trees, dodging pine cone mortars in a quest for  tree free topography which was nowhere in the vicinity.  In my glum reverie, I began to be aware of the commotion in the branches of the tree that was attacking me.  Everywhere where this commotion went, there was a chatter, and eventually I made out chubby little brown form causing the noise and commotion.  My karmic fear eased to a curiosity as I tracked the little brown form busily making its way through the lower branched of the Lodgepole pine,  inspecting each tip for a pine cone and rapidly chewing off the cones he thought worthy and dropping them to the ground. This squirrel was not part of a plot by mother nature trying to take me out, but a busy little rodent making a living.  I was not part of a cosmic plan to take my life, Mother Nature was just going about it’s business despite my intrusion.  I pulled my chair a safe distance away from the tree, and enjoyed the view while my my coffee began to percolate away.

Jetboil is listening to it’s critics, and is expanding its line to offer several new stoves that will fill out niches left open in its current lineup.

The first new stove line is the SOL-AL and the SOL-TI which are going after those lightweight backpackers who have refused to carry the 14 oz of Flash, and 15 oz of the PCS (personal cooking system) despite the compact functionality of these units.

As indicated by their monikers, the SOL units come in Aluminum and Titanium, and weigh in at a diminutive 10.5oz and 9oz respectively. Jetboil is marketing these as true 4-season canister stoves, and tout their new “Thermo-Regulate™ Burner Technology” as being effective down to 15F. Sounds like they have a real winner with this unit.

MSRP for systems:

Sōl Ti – $149.95

Sol-Al – $119.95

The next line of units are called the ZIP-AL which brings to the market an simple inexpensive canister stove to those who do not need the bells and whistles of the Flash,  and want reduced weight from the PCS.  This essentials only Jetboil will be retailing at a reasonable $69.95, and will weigh in at 11.75oz

The new Jetboil Zip

In addition to the stoves, Jetboil has a whole lineup of accessories, including a group cooking companion cup and a  canister recycling tool that further expand the functionality of their line. I am looking forward to getting my hands on these fantastic new offerings from Jetboil,  and am really excited to see the innovation that brought us the revolutionary PCS continue to evolve.

Lightweight efficient insulation is a key to any adventure in the California backcountry.  Whether it is the unpredictable weather in the Anza-Borrego Desert, or or the chilly evenings in the Sierra Nevadas, it is essential to have a way to keep warm.  Jackets do not come more efficient than the Patagonia Nano Puff Pullover.

I received a Nano Puff several months ago, and it did not take long for it to become one of my utmost favorite insulation pieces.  I am a huge fan of down insulation,  but have become a fan of the thin, warm (even when wet) properties of the PrimaLoft One polyester insulation that fills the Nanpuff.  I was very skeptical at first look at this piece as it appeared much too thin to possibly provide any sort of warmth,  but I was sold after backpacking into Little Harbors on the western shore of Catalina, and using the Nano Puff to ward off the cold winds blowing off the vast Pacific Ocean. This jacket is almost magically warm for its bulk.

The Nano Puff was purposely designed to be a minimalist piece.  the front zipper only comes down half-length,  and the only pocket is the zippered chest pocket that also serves as it’s stuff sack.  the cuffs and hem are finished with a narrow strip of elastic, and do not have any adjusters (nor do they need it).  The cut is generous,  and the jacket almost feels like you have nothing extra on except for the additional warmth.  The “traffic cone” orange color of the jacket I was sent is interesting, but it does come in a range of other  less  (and more) conspicuous colors. the minimalist design gives the Nano Puff an average weight of 10.2 oz, although my XL sized piece hit the scales at 11.3 oz.

I am really jazzed about this jacket.  In a place like San Diego where you most often do not need a jacket,  but it is critical that you have one for the times when Mother Nature throws a curveball,  a light, minimalist, high performing piece is the ideal companion.  The Patagonia Nano Puff comes really close to being the perfect jacket for exploring Outside San Diego.