STAFF pICKS: jOE pOTOCZAK, oUTDOORS & fITNESS wRITER
Shoes and packs that can stand up to the abuse of every outing
I abuse gear, regularly travel by van, and can spend a day doing four different sports outside. What that means to me is I need tough equipment that takes up little space, and serves multiple purposes. My morning might start off with an 8 mile trail run, followed by an afternoon mountain bike session and evening paddle to an island campsite. If that all happens being able to bring the same shoes, and they won’t fall apart, now that is a piece of gear I can place a stamp of approval on, because the gear we bring should compliment our lifestyle, and confidently answer the call we place upon it.
Coleman Classic Two Burner Stove
The forest green, two-burner stove hasn’t changed much since the one my father brought along on our summer trips to Lake Huron. I’ve tried to move on to others, but keep coming back to 20,000 BTU traditional Coleman -- simple, tough, efficient -- classic.
Patagonia Daily Capilene Cool Shirt
I’ve put a few hundred trail miles on this shirt both on a bike and by foot. It has spent days in the surf line-up and drifting a river, yet it looks as good, and feels as comfortable as it did on day one. The most recent iteration is made from a majority of recycled polyester, and certified as Fair Trade Sewn. Most impressive of all, it has yet to stink.
Astral TR1 Mesh
If you get on a plane with one pair of shoes, and have no idea what sort of adventure you are in for, rest assured the Astral TR1 Mesh can handle it. Light, breathable, ripstop uppers over an all terrain rubber tread that can grab loose dirt and stick to slick river bottoms with their G Rubber outsole. For the past two years it has been my go to mountain bike shoe, hiked peaks around the country, fly fished wild creeks in Pennsylvania, and circumnavigated New York City by kayak. Whether they were the shoes I always intended to wear on an outing is irrelevant in comparison to the confidence knowing they were on my feet.
Rite in the Rain 3 x 5 Top Spiral Notebook
By the time I get back from a trip, those standard reporter’s notebooks with the thin cardboard covers and all too easy to tear out sheets might as well be a shredded pile of fire starter. The Rite in the Rain’s flexible plastic cover, and tear resistant, waterproof paper feels like the tool for this job. It can get thrown around with the rest of my gear, or stowed away in my lifejacket for days of paddling. The company has been at it since the logging days of the early 1900’s, and necessity of working outside in the damp Northwest. There is a surmounting stack piling up in my office with plenty of stories to tell, and fortunately the notes are still legible.
Fishpond Wind River Roll-Top Backpack
Having a lifelong paddling background, I’ve known the merits of waterproof roll-top bags for some time. I picked up the Fishpond Wind River almost five years ago, and since then it has been stuffed in a canoe on the Rio Grande, and kept my laptop dry cycling across Manhattan. It’s tough to say the least. But there are many tough drybags out there, so why has it stood out as my go to? The TPU coated Cyclepond fabric. Not only is it durable but also produced using recycled commercial fishing nets which have been detrimental to our oceans. The highest quality of goods coming from a solution based approach to our global issues, now there is a piece of gear I’ll carry along for the ride.