The Gear We Love: Winter 2021
Everybody on the TWR wrote about their favorite piece of gear for Winter 2020-2021. Here are our choices.
Mickey: Whether it’s hiking, hunting, or climbing, I’ve found myself in the Stone Glacier Helio Hoody almost every day this winter, wearing it over a light tech tee and under my Filson Ultralight Vest (another fav, btw!). The Helio excels at heat management—I’m never too hot or too cold. And Stone Glacier nailed the finer points with this hoody too, with a hood that fits just right and an extended back that ensures it doesn’t ride up your back while hiking with a pack. It may sound like sacrilege, but this baby rivals Patagonia’s venerable R1 Hoody. Honorable mention: The Outdoor Research Tradecraft Pant, the warmest puffy pant I’ve ever worn.
Doug: A staple of the pandemic has been my weekly “long” trail run. It started with the Skyline Trail, then progressed to the Blue Hill 22 (a 14-mile route linking the 22 named hills in the Blue Hills Reservation), and eventually became a 3-4 hour run on Saturday or Sunday. Now that winter’s here, I’ve dialed back the mileage a bit, but the long run remains a staple of my weekend. For almost every outing, I’ve worn the La Sportiva Wildcat, my trail-running model of choice for probably 8 years running because of its comfortable footbed, solid toe cap (the Blue Hills is way rockier than you’d expect), and grippy soles. I’ve just about worn out 2 pairs of Wildcats during the pandemic and I’m about to start in on a third; my only regret—not also having the Goretex version of the Wildcat to keep my feet dry during what’s been a really wet winter in the Reservation.
Scott: My favorite new piece of gear this winter is the Camp X-Dream. The X-Dream fills multiple spots in my ice tool quiver with its adjustable handle angle that can be configured both for steep ice as well as more aggressive angles for dry tooling on overhangs. The tool’s hand grips are super comfortable, and above the grip, there’s a factory-applied texture that makes the shaft easy to grab when I’m swapping hands. The X-Dreams also swing great, especially with the addition of pick weights, which are a must for brittle ice. The combination of adaptability and a nice swing make the X-Dreams my favorite gear for my favorite activity—ice climbing.
Tim: After years of dutiful service, I finally decided to step away from Black Diamond Ascension climbing skins for a more performance-oriented pair, Pomoca Climb Pro S Glides, and they didn’t disappoint. Usually, when you trade one attribute for another—in this case, longevity for performance—something suffers, but that is not the case with these super skins. Taking advantage of a 70% nylon and 30% mohair blend, the Pomoca Climb Pro S Glides deliver excellent glide, decent packability, and look as good on day 30 as they did on day one—the only issue I’ve had is a cracked tail clip, which was easily replaced. If you’re looking for one pair of skins to do it all, from uphill laps at the resort to long days in the mountains, look no further than Pomoca Climb Pro S Glides.
