TheBigOutside.com – Outdoor Research Graphic Dry Sacks and Lateral Dry Bags- Aug. 11, 2010
After testing these dry bags and stuff sacks while sea kayaking and canoeing in New Zealand’s Fiordlands National Park and Whanganui River, and sea kayaking Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, they’ve become my go-to gear storage units for paddling trips, and I use the dry sacks on any potentially wet backpacking trip.
Why? For starters, the roll-top closures on both kept contents dry through everything I encountered, including when my partner and I rolled our canoe in one rapid on the Whanganui. We swam for several minutes pulling our capsized canoe into shallow water where we could right it. But we were in no danger of anyone knowing of our blunder by seeing wet gear later; everything remained perfectly dry.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Benosh.com – First Look–Outdoor Research Helium Storm Shell – August 2010
We owe our friends at Outdoor Research a big thank-you for the amazing “pilsner” (yellow/gold) Helium Jacket™ storm shell that showed up for testing. This is an amazing piece of manufacturing technology, because it’s so incredibly light, yet packs in so much tech. Here’s a quick highlight list:
Basically, the 2.5-layer waterproofing is impressive, but equally or more impressive is that last item–the entire jacket stuffs down into a pocket at the hem into a package that’d fit in a sandwich baggy. Its incredibly light weight and compact packaging make it perfect to add to any outing with potential rain in the forecast, and the handy loop makes it easy to clip to your bag or stuff it in an available nook.
Popularity: 4% [?]
FitnessTravelGear.com – Featuring OR’s Helium Jacket – July 2010
I’ll give Outdoor Research 15 points out of a possible ten for the totally awesome Helium rain jacket.
For the last few weeks I’ve been doing a lot of climbing here in Colorado, and that means I have to deal with afternoon thunderstorms that blow in daily at about 2 pm. It’s stupid to leave behind a rain shell, but it’s frustrating dealing with a jacket that takes up lots of space in the pack. It’s been a gear Catch-22 that’s solved so easily with the Helium jacket.
I’ve never been totally satisfied with the lightweight shells I’ve tried – they’ve either been too heavy, too bulky, not waterproof, or not breathable. The Helium jacket solves all these problems well. It’s super light, waterproof, extremely compact, and breathable. At less than seven ounces, it’s about as heavy as three candy bars. I’ve been taking this little gem of a jacket everywhere this summer.
Popularity: 4% [?]
FitnessTravelGear.com – Featuring DryComp Ridge Sack – July 2010
I’m glad I have Outdoor Research’s new DryComp Ridge Sack in my arsenal. It’s one of those packs that’s absolutely perfect for anything wet and yucky: rainy bike commutes, ocean trips on dive boats, peak bagging in storms, hikes in rainforests, or days in a kayak. The list is endless. If it’s gonna be wet, I take my OR DryComp Ridge.
I got to test out this 34-liter bag in California on a recent hiking trip to the Channel Islands National Park. No peak bagging, no rainforests, no wet bike commutes — but a wet boat ride to the islands, and then a really wet boat ride on a skiff through a huge swell to get to the beach. We unloaded and were totally soaked – but all my food, camera gear, and clothing were completely dry. Big points for OR’s backpack.
Popularity: 3% [?]
PracticalTravelGear.com – Featuring Sombriolet Sun Hat
You stay cool with this on, however, because the Sombriolet has mesh vents placed around the top that will let some fresh air in—or allow the heat to escape. There’s the requisite dorky string to keep it from blowing off your head when riding a boat or hiking on a windy day, but the string comes with clips that enable you to remove it quickly if you don’t want it hanging around. And if it does fly off your head, the brim floats!?
Popularity: 1% [?]
CoolHunting.com – Featuring OR’s Helium Jacket – July 14, 2010
With all the rain in NYC lately, I’ve had a chance to properly test the Helium Jacket that Outdoor Research recently sent over. At only 6.8 ounces, the jacket is the ideal weight for toting around in preparation for summertime storms or tossing in a backpack while hiking.
The fully waterproof Helium jacket, with 2.5 layers of the Seattle, WA-based company’s 20D Pertex Shield DS ripstop fabric protects from downpours well. The fit is trim and suitable for warm weather layering and the finish includes heat-taped seams and hidden cinch cords keeping the lines clean. Conveniently, the entire jacket compresses in to a side pocket for simple storage.
Popularity: 2% [?]
