Primal Quest Gear, Part III: Water Sports

NOTE FOR READERS: This is the third in a three-part series of columns chronicling the Gear Junkie's training, gear preparation and competition in Primal Quest, a 10-day adventure race held in Utah June 25 - July 4, 2006.

Down-river transit during the Primal Quest adventure race will be accomplished in two ways: In a traditional tandem kayak as well as on a not-so-traditional riverboard. As such, the race requires an odd mix of aquatic gear, including knee and shin guards, fins, booties, a climbing helmet and, of course, the riverboard itself.

Riverboarding is a new whitewater phenomenon that sends participates straight through the rapids on their bellies. During Primal Quest my four-person squad -- Team Bulleit -- will use heavy-duty riverboards from Carlson and Rocky Mountain Riverboards. My particular board, the StreamJet ($435; www.rockymountainriverboards.com) is made of dense and buoyant polyethylene foam with handles and a curved design for maneuverability.


Primal Quest Water Gear

A shield of hard plastic on the StreamJet's hull protects the foam board from errant river rocks, while the exposed foam on top -- where the body contacts the board -- is soft and comfortable. Its subtle hourglass shape accommodates swim strokes. For control during the ride it has nylon webbing handles andbrace grooves for your elbows.

To protect my legs, which dangle free off the back of the riverboard, I'll wear SixSixOne's 4x4 Knee/Shin Combo guards ($40; www.sixsixone.com). On my head is Petzl's Meteor III helmet ($90; http://en.petzl.com), which is made primarily for climbing, though it has crossover use. (I will wear this same helmet on the Primal Quest's climbing segment, thus saving overall gear weight.)

My glove of choice is the Pro-Pel Paddle Glove by Henderson (www.hendersonusa.com), which are basic Neoprene gloves but with webbing between the fingers to add power while swimming. On my feet, the classic Churchill Floating Fins have soft rubber in the foot pocket area and harder rubber for power in the wings. They are available for $40 on www.facelevel.com, which was the Web site I used to research and procure gear for riverboarding.

For Primal Quest's kayak leg, which may be 100 miles or more in length, I'll employ the Xception SL Tour Carbon paddle made by Adventure Technology (www.atpaddle.com). This solid carbon paddle weighs less than two pounds and has a unique ergonomic design.

Essentially, the Xception SL's contoured grip puts your wrist in a neutral position as the blade cuts through the most powerful part of the stroke, alleviating strain. The company says the $399 paddle will give you a stroke that "uses the least energy while maintaining control and comfort."

For a splash top, I'll wear the Kokatat Tropos Light Breeze ($69; www.kokatat.com), a waterproof and breathable piece. It has rubbery cuffs and a collar that cinches tight to keep water off your core.

My life vest, or PFD in adventure-race parlance, is a well-loved (and discontinued) old Lotus Designs (www.lotusdesigns.com) model. It's equipped with a Gerber River Runner Knife ($25; www.gerbergear.com).

Montrail (www.montrail.com) and Henderson will outfit my feet respectively with the Ocoee booties (pictured) and the Hyperflex Cyclone Round-Toe Surf Boot (not pictured). The $70 Ocoee booties, which have a hard sole, will be used while kayaking; the soft-soled Hyperflex booties, $30, fit inside the swim fins for the riverboard segment.

Finally, next to my skin, underneath all the other gear, is a comfortable wetsuit from Billabong (www.billabong.com). It is an older model with three-millimeter-thick neoprene. The suit, which was designed for surfing, provides generous range of motion to keep me going for hours on end out there on the race course.

Primal Quest Gear, Part II: Biking

NOTE FOR READERS: This is the second in a three-part series of columns chronicling the Gear Junkie's training, gear preparation and competition in Primal Quest, a 10-day adventure race held in Utah June 25 - July 4, 2006.

Primal Quest is headquartered this year in Moab, Utah, a top mountain-biking destination. As such, the race promises to dish up a lot of epic riding on the area's famous slickrock formations and desert trails.

To prepare for a long haul, I've outfitted my mountain bike with lights, bags and components that will -- hopefully -- get me through the many saddle-sore days and nights I'll spend in the desert.

All members of Team Bulleit, the four-person crew I'm racing with, will ride the Dakar XC Expert, a $2,300 bike made by Jamis Bicycles (www.jamisbikes.com). It's a dual-suspension model with a Fox F100RL suspension fork and a Fox Float RP3 rear shock. For travel on gravel roads, which are common in adventure racing, the shocks can be locked off to optimize pedaling efficiency. Hydraulic disc brakes from Avid provide abrupt stopping power.

Lighting is an imperative concern in adventure racing, where much travel is done at night. For my primary light source I will employ the Yukon HL Bike from Princeton Tec ($60; www.princetontec.com), an LED model that runs for about eight hours on three AA batteries in its maximum-brightness mode. Switched to a dimmer secondary mode, the light shines for more than 100 hours.

My big-gun light -- the Arc Li-ion Ultra from Light & Motion (www.bikelights.com) -- puts out an amazingly bright beam. When the terrain gets tough during the wee hours I'll switch off the Princeton Tec light and turn on the Light & Motion. The HID light is nearly as bright as headlights on a car, allowing you to cruise through the woods on tough singletrack trails in a virtual window of daylight.


Primal Quest Biking Gear

The Arc Li-ion Ultra, which costs a hefty $600, runs on a rechargeable battery that provides six hours of shine time.

Topeak's MTX BeamRack paired with the MTX TrunkBag EXP provide generous storage capacity for food, water and spare tubes. At $48, the MTX BeamRack is a 20-inch rack that attaches to the bike's seatpost via a quick-release clamp. Sitting on this rack, the $63 MTX TrunkBag EXP has side panels that expand into panniers. Fully stuffed, the bag can hold about 1,030 cubic inches of gear, according to the company (www.topeak.com).

Snacks will be kept in the Bento Box, a small nylon container that mounts on the top tube behind the handlebars. The $16 product provides quick access to energy bars and other concessions.

For apparel, I'll wear a mix of new products and comfortable older items, like my well-used and loved shoes, jersey and gloves, all of which are from Answer Products (www.answerproducts.com). My bike shorts -- the Castelli YPro Short (www.castelli-us.com) -- are new. These $150 shorts are of a road-biking ilk, though a comfy fit makes them appropriate for long races like Primal Quest, too.

On my head is the Bell Sweep XC, a $140 model I've been using for the past year or so (www.bellbikehelmets.com). My socks are Smartwool Adrenaline LT Mini Crew, a cushy and durable wool hybrid ($15; www.smartwool.com).

Finally, for hydration, I'll be relying on Camelbak and its generous 100 ounce Omega reservoir ($30; www.camelbak.com). This hose-equipped water bladder stuffs free inside any backpack. Its big holding capacity will keep me slurping for hours under the hot desert sun.

Next week: The Gear Junkie will look at gear for the Primal Quest's kayaking and riverboarding sections.

Primal Quest Gear, Part I: Trekking

NOTE FOR READERS: This is the first in a three-part series of columns chronicling the Gear Junkie's training, gear preparation and competition in Primal Quest, a 10-day adventure race held in Utah between June 25 and July 4, 2006.

Say a prayer for the Gear Junkie. By the time many of you read this, I will be off into the wild yonder of the Primal Quest adventure race, a 10-day, 500-mile multidisciplinary event, taking place in late June this year in the Utah desert. As a member of a four-person squad called Team Bulleit, I'll go nonstop, day and night, through mountains and canyons, desert plains and deep forests. A map and compass will be our only guide through a vast and unmarked wilderness course.

Trekking for an untold multitude of miles, in every conceivable type of terrain, is de rigueur in this type of event. To prepare for all the on-the-feet time I've been carefully gathering gear for months, testing backpacks, shoes and apparel as if my life depended on it.

For the race, I've decided to employ Montrail's (www.montrail.com) Continental Divide shoes. These stable hikers are fast enough on the feet for the Primal Quest, where most of the foot travel will be trekking, not running. The $105 shoes have a generous toe box to prevent crammed piggies (and thus blisters), plus they breathe well. They drain and dry reasonably fast should I need to tromp through a stream.

Team Bulleit's official uniform will vary depending on course conditions. But of the apparel I know we'll use, the Cairn LS Crew, a basic breathable synthetic top from Arc'teryx ($40; www.arcteryx.com), will serve as a good all-around base. For the hot desert sun, the $54 Eco-Mesh shirt and $69 Eco-Mesh pants, made by Rail Riders (www.railriders.com), will provide sun protection as well as good ventilation via integrated strips of mesh under the arms and on the side of the legs.



Primal Quest Trekking Gear


Primal Quest is going to be hot and blazing this year, so for maximum sun protection our team will be wearing Sun Runner Caps made by Outdoor Research (www.orgear.com). These neck-skirt-equipped ball caps, which cost $26, have mesh paneling for adequate airflow.

Eyewear on a race like Primal Quest is tricky, especially if you rely on prescription lenses like me. After testing a couple companies' offerings, I went with the Frontline Rx from Smith Optics (www.smithsport.com). These sporty, solid glasses let you switch between lenses for daytime and dark. The frame and one set of lenses cost $265; the second pair of lenses are an additional $155.

On my wrists, for the entire race, I'll be wearing products from Silva and Suunto to aid in navigation. The Suunto t6 watch ($399; www.suuntousa.com), which has an altimeter, a barometer, a stopwatch and a thermometer, is an essential tool for this race. (I used the t6's heart-rate monitor feature prodigiously during training.)

To keep me going the right way day and night, I'll use Silva's Wrist Sighting 424 ($25; www.silvausa.com), a basic compass mounted on a Velcro watchband.

My trekking poles, Leki's Super Makalu Ergometric AS ($140; www.leki.com), are sturdy and light, weighing about 10 ounces a pole. They telescope down, too, for easy transport on the pack.

On my back, I'll be switching between the Gregory Spectrum during shorter sections on the course and Macpac's 35 Amp for longer hauls. The Spectrum ($119; www.gregorypacks.com) is a 1,900-cubic-inch pack capable of hauling two day's worth of supplies during the race. Its well-thought-out design includes quick-access pockets on the hip belt, lightweight and slick silicon-injected nylon fabric and large mesh pockets on back for extra gear.

Macpac's 35 Amp ($130; www.macpac.co.nz) -- a 2,200-cubic-inch pack made for races like Primal Quest -- has intricacies that include: hip-belt pockets, shoulder holsters for water bottles, a removable sleeping pad that doubles as back support, a sternum strap buckle with a built-in whistle, a large rear mesh pocket, compression straps and reflective piping for increased safety and visibility as I trek on down the Primal Quest trail.

Next week: The Gear Junkie will look at cycling gear for the Primal Quest's unremitting mountain bike leg, which will traverse hundreds of miles through the Utah desert.

Red Oxx Carry-Ons

Last week, en route to Vail, Colorado, via a cab ride, a jet plane and a shuttle bus through the Rocky Mountains, I tested out some new luggage. I was on my way to participate in a 12-hour adventure race at the Teva Mountain Games. By default, and quite as usual, I was overloaded with gear.

United Airlines allowed me to bring two pieces of luggage -- each with a max weight of 50 pounds -- plus two carry-on bags. After packing in snowshoes, helmets, a wetsuit, climbing gear and ropes, a paddle, shoes, inline skates, trekking poles and a few other mandatory adventure items, I was nearing the airline's prescribed stowaway limit.

Thus, I turned to Red Oxx Manufacturing Inc. (www.redoxx.com) to help maximize my carry-on capacity. The company, which is based in Billings, Montana, prides itself on helping customers take as much baggage as legally possible into the airplane.

The Safari-Beanos Bag model PR5, a square-ish duffle that measures about 10 x 10 x 24 inches, is, according to Red Oxx marketing literature, "as big a bag as you can legally go for carry-on items, both domestically and internationally."

With six pockets and a large main compartment, the PR5 has about 2,400 cubic inches of capacity, meaning you can fit in shoes, clothing, a computer, a few books, your toiletries and other travel essentials. I packed all my outdoors gear in two large suitcases stowed away in the hull of the plane; the PR5, locked in the overhead compartment above my seat, held a week's worth of clothes, my camera, a pair of shoes, and other basic travel articles.


Red Oxx Safari Beano

The PR5 is a well made product, though a bit old school in design. It has large zipper teeth, snap closures, heavy buckles, and beefy straps. It comes in a dozen colors (as well as three other sizes). Logo patches, shiny metal and tasseled zipper pulls give it a traditional look.

Toting a loaded and heavy PR5 through the airport was not an effortless task. An absence of wheels or backpack straps made carrying the duffle a bit of a lug. However, a cool grippy rubber shoulder pad kept it steady and in one place hanging off my body.

The PR5 costs $175, which seemed expensive to me. However, the bag, as I said, is sturdy and nice. It is made to last.


Red Oxx Gator

Further capitalizing on the airline's carry-on policy -- which allows a bag plus a "personal" briefcase or purse -- I employed Red Oxx's tidy Gator Bag, which measures 9 x 6 x 12 inches. It has about 650 cubic inches of capacity and fits neatly under an airline seat, which always seems to make the flight attendants happy.

I kept a book, snacks, my phone, a magazine and a couple water bottles in the Gator. A small laptop will squeeze in, too.

The Gator, which costs $95, has the same classy and traditional look as the Safari-Beanos line, with big zippers and buckles and many pockets. It's of the same quality, too, and is made to last for years of on-the-road and through-the-friendly-skies travel abuse.