But they’re not done—no, not Teva. They upped the ante by not only making the Forge Pro a mid-height boot, but by winterizing it with 200 grams of 3M Thinsulate and water proofing it with their TIDE Seal waterproof membrane. As though that weren’t enough genetic manipulation, they slap Hypergrip Ice Lock fiberglass-infused lugs underneath to “grip ice like a wet tongue.” Nice imagery, that.

The results are Teva’s Forge Pro Winter Mid WP, a crazy genetic experiment to create a mid-height winter hiking boot out of an outstanding multi-sport shoe. Were they crazy? Yes—like a fox. Let’s start with the mid-height. I often complain about mid-height boots clamping my ankles in unpleasant ways, but Teva has a gaiter-inspired heel collar that fits snuggly to your ankle but keeps the unwanted stuff (snow) out. The result is a supporting mid boot that lets you flex and bend with wonderful range of motion—abso-freaking-lutely brilliant!

Lacing these things up is easy—the laces just seem to work surprisingly well. So well, it’s easy to over-tighten the front of the boot. Don’t get too excited. They also unlace like some sort of party magic trick, meaning you’re in and out of them in a flash. In fact, I’m spoiled—most other shoes and boots seem cumbersome and exasperatingly slow. It’s like switching from Mac to PC when you go back from these.

Thinsulate warms things up without bulk—the Winter Mids are still sleek and sexy, much like the original Forge Pros. In fact, these shoes are just downright good-looking. They come in black but have character, with some subtle gray and anthracite details. TIDE seal waterproofing from Teva has proven great, and at no time in testing did my feet get wet from inclement weather. I’d rate breathability at the lower end of the spectrum, having said that—but I was testing generally with a thicker sock. With the insulation, a lighter weight sock may have solved that problem.

I wish I could say that we had the chance to get to know the Hypergrip fiberglass-infused pods, but I didn’t get the chance to set these things free in the ice. In the wet and slushy/snowy conditions I did test them, they performed great. All this amazing tech rides on Mush infused insoles, “bringing the absurd comfort of [Teva’s] flip flops to boots.” True story—I could wear these things all day, on or off the trail, regardless of whether it’s wet or snowy. They’re that comfortable.

Teva’s Forge Pro Winter Mid WP runs a reasonable $160 for a waterproof, ice-hugging, sleek but insulated boot in which you can hike wintery trails or just play in any kind of cold weather. I’d say for these things, that’s money well spent. Forge on, Teva!

Honestly, I had looked at reviews and the press materials, but it didn’t dawn on me what a great jacket the Drystein is until I was at a local Backwoods and the employees continuously said, “Wow, that is a great jacket.” I had yet to get it into its element, so I just nodded and agreed.

It wasn’t until the teeth of the winter before I recognized that this red hotrod delivered some amazing performance. Highly breathable and yet arch enemies with all forms of water, the MH’s DryQ Elite seems to vacuum heat and sweaty vapor away from your body before you hardly realize it’s there.

The water resistant stretchy side panels have a lot to do with this—witness pit zips evolved. Now, personally, I like to be able to control how much I’m ventilated, but the Drystein seems to have found its own equilibrium. Whether under heavy exertion or just stagnant, I neither over-heated nor froze out.

The alpine cut and fit, pocket location, and helmet-compatible hood mean the Drystein is ready for serious mountaineering—far more rigorous testing than ski trips and cold weather hikes. It’s like it looks at you, saying, “Is that all you’ve got?” It took what I threw at it and shrugged, mocking my futile attempts to find an area where it did not excel.

So now comes the question—do you want a jacket that taunts you, that takes all you can dish out and asks for more? If you’re the type of hiker, climber, skier or athlete who pushes relentlessly, lives aggressively, and is always setting the bar higher, I think you’ve found your jacket. At $425 on Mountain Hardwear’s site, the bar placed on the price of entry is pretty steep. If you’re that hard core, I’ll let you tell me if it’s a value after you come back amazed.

I’ve been a fan for years, and one of my favorite pocket knives is SOG’s Flash II—a compact, easy to handle little number with a partially serrated blade and their S.A.T. (SOG Assisted Technology). Well, after years of use, I thought it was time to clean the mechanism…and you guessed it, somebody messed the knife up on re-assembly. We won’t mention names to protect the innocent, er, guilty.

However, all hope was not lost—the good people at SOG also fix what they sell. They can sharpen your dull blade, fix it if it is broken, and even replace tiny little washers that make their folding knives move so smoothly if you’re dumb enough to lose them. Not that you are.

SOG’s repair of my Flash II was quick and cost-effective for such a high-quality little knife; something wrapped in impenetrable plastic from the closest big box store isn’t a match for SOG’s, and I count a repair money well spent.

For questions about getting your SOG repaired, you can visit their website at http://sogknives.com/store/warranty-info.html and use the phone numbers or email address at the bottom. It’s even possible that if you’re a smart cookie and yet still have knife trouble, it may be under warrantee—unlike mine.

Thanks for the great experience, SOG!

The D-Tour is a small GPS device with extremely basic functions that, at its core, is designed to help you simply get back to where you came from. It sports an easy-to-read black-and-white display with blue backlighting that all but idiot-proofs using a GPS device. The D-Tour allows you to mark your origin and save it to one of its five presets… and then walk away.

Let’s say you’re at the parking lot at your favorite urban wilderness; with just a click of the button you can mark that origin as your car, hitch up your pack, and start walking. Time to head home? Pull out the D-Tour and use large arrow and distance marking to see exactly how far you are way from your car and what direction you need to proceed to get there. Hiking from the car to campsite? Simply use the camp preset to mark another location before you set out on your day hike. Seriously, this was designed for trained monkeys—in a good way.

In addition to the obvious GPS features, the D-Tour includes a self-calibrating digital compass and can display the compass, the time, temperature, altitude, and latitude/longitude coordinates. With the included USB cable, you can even connect to the D-Tour to your computer in order to transfer up to 48 hours worth of data from a hike, which you can then check out on Google maps to analyze an exact route.

The D-Tour seems ruggedly constructed with water resistant buttons. It fits very nicely in a pocket or the storage area of a pack intended for your cell phone or MP3 player, and it proved very easy to use. I saw some reviews that said you didn’t even need the manual for using the D-Tour, but currently I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to GPS. I did have to read up on which button did what and in which order to use them. However, after just a few minutes of playing around with it, I was able to grow comfortable with the D-Tour and had absolutely no problem using its features even on my first hike.

Bushnell’s D-Tour retails for $120 on their website, but I’m afraid that success—including a selection for Best New Hunting Gear 2011 from Field & Stream—have made them hot commodities. As of the writing of this, the D-Tour is back ordered, so place your order now so you’ll have it in time for your next hike! The bottom line is that if you are hiking into the deepest wilderness of Alaska, you probably want a more enhanced piece of technology with a full-color screen and all the bells and whistles. For most of the rest of us, the Bushnell Backtrack D-Tour provides a ton of features in a functional, affordable package.

A few months ago we had the chance to guest-blog for our friend Sara Roe, the Money Saving Queen, teasing her about her trip to Disney Land. But a guest editor of our own, Benjamin Kalle. Check out his ideas for an outdoors person’s take on Disney!

When stress and restlessness are affecting you then you definitely need to relax and unwind as soon as possible. There are several great ideas to choose from to relieve yourself of the problems coming from the pressure of work and daily activities. But the most effective way is a long relaxing experience with nature. And one great way to do this is to go camping.

It would be great to take your entire family into a camping trip so that you could literally escape from the worries of everyday living and bond with the people you really care for. The bonding experience is a proven way of getting your thoughts away from career and work. A great place to go camping is near Disneyland and in Disneyworld. Here are several camping activities you can do to let go of all your worries.

1. Campfire - In this activity you can do various things around a warm fire started from dried twigs and branches with your kids. You can then start cooking marsh mallows with them as you do some small talk. From there you can tell your kids stories of just about anything. Immerse yourself into this task and you will greatly be relieved of the stress of work and worries about your career.
2. Outdoor Cooking - For this activity you can let your kids join in. The most common cooking method during camping is roasting. This is also a good time to teach your kids how to roast a hotdog or a skewered meat. Take your time with your kids as you prepare the things that you are going to roast. Enjoy every moment as you roast your meal together with your love ones.
3. Camping Trails and Scavenger Hunts - These 2 activities require planning. But the end result is great fun for you and your family. For camping trails you will need to have a map for your kids to travel. The activity is all about getting to a specific location by following trails along the way. Be there as your kids try to solve it and find the spot that you want them to find but let your kids do most of the work. For the scavenger hunt you will need to be more creative. You need to provide clues that will lead to one large goal for your kids. This could be an specific item that you want them to find. Just remember to offer a prize that your kids will really love. These activities may require some work but the experience that you get enjoying them with your kids is worth it.
4. Enjoy Disneyland and Disneyworld shows and special events - After all the outdoor activities you have with your kids you can take a break and visit several parks in Disneyland and Disneyworld. You can enjoy rides and even watch shows where Disney characters are presenting with singing and dancing together with your love ones.

These are the great things you can do to keep your mind off the worries of career and work when you have a camping trip to Disneyland and Disneyworld.

Benjamin writes for http://www.disneylandflorida.org/.

The team at Benosh had the chance to spend an extended period of time with Omyst, treating the various scratches and other minor injuries that go hand-in-glove with living an active life. A nurse practitioner and herbalist with over 25 years of ER experience developed Omyst, and if anyone knows what a body needs to get better, I’d say a woman with her credentials does!

Omyst features  a number of organically grown herbal compounds—caledula, yarrow, plantain, and wild roses in an alcohol base.

• Calendula is an anti-inflammatory
• Yarrow has antibacterial properties
• Plantain is an astringent
• Wild roses are known for their rejuvenating properties

We applied Omyst to a variety of ills. On minor scrapes and abrasions, the peculiar-smelling spray seemed to sooth irritated, hurt skin. The treated areas did not develop infections and seemed to heal quickly. I especially liked that healing scabs did not seem dry or to pull on moving skin as untreated injuries might.

We tried Omyst on every hiker’s delight, a fungal rash. Rashes are covered on the usage guide, but we weren’t able to see any discernable benefit from using Omyst on the affected, damp shady places that shall remain nameless.

In a hiker’s first aid kit, room can be at a premium. If you’re pressed for space, I would stick with the tried-and-true treatments to prevent infections from injuries in the field. But if you’re very ecologically conscious, herbally minded, and have room for Omyst’s small (and long-lasting bottle) such as while car camping, I would definitely suggest picking some up. Omyst retails for $20 for the spray bottle on their website.

Right away I noticed that the fit of this jacket runs small—I’m generally a small in Columbia’s products, and it just barely fits in the shoulders, and I would love even half an inch when using the “comfort cuffs” thumb holes. You don’t want a spare tire in this thing, either—or if you have one, ensure that you buy a size up to match its sleek looks. This is apparently not an uncommon problem, so be sure to consider size carefully, especially if ordering. Best bet: try it on.

I also quickly became convinced that this is jacket best suited for climbing those peaks it mentions in the title. When doing any strenuous activity, the combination of a well down-insulated front and breathable side panels made me feel warm where I wanted and like I was shedding heat where I didn’t. Teamed with a good shell, the RtP Hybrid Down Jacket excels at providing for the body-in-motion’s needs.

That said, when that body stops…my back started getting a bit chilly. A look at the jacket shows the front appears more heavily insulated-looking than the back. The stretchable knit that gives you such good movement reaches back into the back panel, and even that panel seems less filled than the front. Especially when wearing the RtP Hybrid Down Jacket alone, if I wasn’t exerting myself (or after I was done), I actually felt under-insulated for very cold days.

A quick look at the stats don’t show any shortcomings—700 fill-power is a good rating. It’s also a compressible jacket, which is great for packing. The shell is durable, Omi-Shield is effectively repellent, and it feels nice to the touch (and yes, that does matter). Omi-Heat seems effective—although it can shed little silver scales on you if you’re not careful. The price isn’t bad either—it retails for $180 on Columbia’s site, which isn’t bad for 700-fill down.

Like so many things, this jacket is about knowing what you want and then making sure the product provides that before you buy. I wouldn’t recommend it for very cold weather skiing, for instance; that time in the lift chair might get chilly. However, for any active winter pursuit where the hybrid breathability means the difference between getting sweaty (and then freezing later) vs. staying ventilated while exerting, the RtP Hybrid Down Jacket should be a great fit—if you get the right size!

We spent some good trail time in the Fulcrum (though not a through hike), and these firm, stable boots proved ideal for situations when you need serious support while carrying heavy gear. The OrthoLite performance insert provides great arch support, and the Virbram Mutant rubber outsole always provided abundant grip.

The leather upper is waterproof and looks great—in fact, these are good-looking boots in any situation. Need something for hard work, or even a night out in bad conditions? The Fulcrum aren’t a bad choice even off the trail.

But the real story here is the ICS disc, which sits under the insole. You can pop it out relatively quickly and adjust it by removing and rotating the disk. Want more cushion? Rotate the Cushion label toward the toe of the boot. Firm? Do the same. There’s also a setting for people with flat feet and high arches. These boots have something for everyone!

With that said, these are some heavy boots. Proper training and preparation for any trip is important, but when compared to some other mid-rise hikers we’ve tested, the Fulcrums came in as the heavyweights and would make getting used to them before your hike very important. A few other nits to pick include a lacing system that doesn’t easily keep tension while tightening various areas but also doesn’t quickly loosen when it’s time to pull them off.

The Fulcrum’s retail for a hefty but not uncompetitive $200 and are available in black and brown on Wolverine’s site. However, with their weight I would suggest a very good fitting and spending some time in a shop tromping around to make sure that these industrial strength hikers are for you. But if you’re hiking with a serious load and need great adjustability, look seriously at Wolverine’s Fulcrums.

We had the chance to check out Columbia’s Midweight Long Sleeve ½ Zip baselayer shirt and Tight (pants—why, oh why, did they name them Tight? What man wants anyone to know he’s wearing Tights?). Naming conventions aside, these are some warm, form-hugging items from a Columbia team well-known for creating affordable outdoor gear of high quality.

The Columbia baselayers are actually in tough company, as we are also testing baselayers from Smartwool and Icebreaker, but the Columbias stand alone in that they’re polyester/elastane, not wool. With Omni-Heat thermal reflective dots in areas that most need warmth and Omni-Wick advanced fabric for high perspiration zones, the Columbia offerings are high tech indeed. Wearing them in a variety of conditions, I felt warm and well-insulated without overheating in between artic blasts. One cold night I comfortably wore the top to bed, and it was like a second skin.

The tight fit is in keeping with good baselayer tradition, but I found the top slightly awkward-feeling if I wasn’t using the thumb holes. Thumbs in their proper position, the tight fit was sexy and functional. Even tight as it was, the 4-way comfort stretch technology ensured I had great range of motion. The bottoms were svelte comfort so warm, I felt like performing ballet in the arctic. (Not really.)

Antimicrobial treatment purportedly keeps the Columbia baselayers smelling good over time—I never sweated them up so badly repeatedly that I was worried about that, but perhaps this is just evidence the tech was doing its job. No idea if that washes out over time.

At $65 for the tops and $55 for the bottoms, Columbia’s Midweight baselayers are pretty industry competitive. Also, their packaging is smashing—I think I’ll use the plastic containers for Tupperware, they’re that cool. You can get the Midweight baselayers on Columbia’s site: click here for the tops, and here for the bottoms (I will not call them tights).

But how does it perform? Can it live up to the hype, or is it just good looks?

Honestly, this thing performs every bit as good as it looks. Icebreaker uses high quality Merino wool (and in the case of the GT line, just a dash of lycra) to create these amazingly warm, breathable baselayers. The feel against your skin is soft and natural, and the wool’s inherent warmth and breathability mean that the Icebreakers don’t need fancy areas to wick sweat. The whole thing is fancy—courtesy of nature’s own sheep producing a very fine product as well.

I’ve worn the Sprint for its intended baselayer purpose in a variety of temperatures, and I never overheated or got clammy. The long zipper makes ventilation a breeze, but honestly, it breathed so well, I didn’t have any trouble. And even if you do sweat it up, the Merino wool is naturally antimicrobial, so it won’t stink.

I also have worn it extensively as one darn good-looking shirt. It’s classy enough for a date, technical enough for the slopes or a long hike. Wear it skiing in the afternoon and then to dinner in the warm lodge.

But it isn’t all roses and Nordic-god sex appeal. The LS Sprint Zip retails for $110, which is high for a base layer—or any other shirt, for that matter. The leggings are no better at $100. Contrast that against a $35 discount for Columbia’s synthetic Omni-Heat baselayers, which we’ve also reviewed, and Icebreaker must make a strong case for the Merino’s natural fibers, sustainability, and green appeal to go along with amazing good looks.

Do they make the case for value-conscious Benosh? I’m afraid I’m sold—take me to New Zealand! If you want a shirt that can do it all, and can make you look amazing doing it, I strongly suggest considering the LS Sprint Zip and Leggings—just skimp on the rest to save room in the budget for becoming a Nordic ski god.