Baked at Home, Munchies for the Road

Matisse & Jacks is a small San Francisco company that makes boxed
mixes for bake-at-home energy bars, competing against the likes of
Clif and PowerBar in a market saturated with energy-food solutions.

So why would anyone want to spend the time baking an energy bar?

For me, the answer is embodied in one word: Taste. In my tests, the
company's (www.matisseandjacks.com) two current flavors -- Cranberry
Walnut Discovery and Chocolate Chip Amazon -- were exceptionally
yummy, beating out almost every energy bar I've ever tried, and
embodying a fresh-baked flavor that strikes as a cross between a good
scone and a granola bar.

Plus, Matisse & Jacks' TrailBlaze Bake-at-Home Oatmeal Energy Bars
(that's the full name!) are easy to make and economical, too. At $5.89
per box, the mixes make nine bars each, which equals to just 65 cents
per bar, a bargain compared to the industry-standard of about $2 per
bar.

Preparation is as easy as stirring in applesauce and yogurt then
baking the mix in a brownie pan.

Nutritionally, Matisse & Jacks bars have all the right statistics,
including about 180 calories per bar with 4.5 grams of fat, 9 grams of
protein, and 23 grams of carbohydrates. For comparison, an Oatmeal
Raisin Walnut Clif Bar contains 240 calories, 5 grams of fat, 10 grams
of protein, and 18 grams of carbs.

Matisse & Jacks bars have about half the sugar of a Clif Bar, at 11
grams, versus 20 grams in Clif's Oatmeal Raisin Walnut flavor.

Other healthy attributes Matisse & Jacks touts include the organic
whole-grain rolled oats used in all mixes; omega-3 fat at up to 650
milligrams per bar; and a commitment to no refined flours, no
preservatives, and no hydrogenated or fractionated oils in its
products.

The hassle factor is high with these bars, as baking, cooling,
cutting, and packaging are required before taking the bars outdoors
and on an adventure. Plus, they do not have the shelf-life -- or,
perhaps, "backpack-life" -- that competing pre-wrapped (and
preservative-enriched) energy bars embody. A Matisse & Jacks bar is
not something you keep in an emergency kit, or stowed away with your
camping equipment.

Instead, these bars are made to be baked, and then eaten fairly
quickly. They do fine sitting out or refrigerated for several days.
But to me that's missing the point: These are freshly baked
delectables, made to eat warm and right out of the oven, or very soon
thereafter.

(Stephen Regenold writes The Gear Junkie column for eight U.S. newspapers; see http://www.THEGEARJUNKIE.com for video gear reviews, a daily blog, and an archive of Regenold's work.)

Rough Riders

Can you say cream of the crop? The Salomon S-Lab XA Pro 3 shoes were
developed for elite adventure racers, top trail runners, and mountain
marathoners who might tick off a 40-mile backcountry session on any
given Saturday.

And now they're available to you, starting later this month, at a mere
$70 per shoe. Yes, that's $140 a pair.

Indeed, until now these uber mountain runners were only handed out to
pro athletes, with a select small quantity available on web sites like
argear.com and backcountry.com (the latter of which had only six pairs
remaining in its stock last I checked).

The Gear Junkie here got an exclusive test pair shipped out in
January, and I've been running in them ever since.

What makes the XA Pro 3 so special? Essentially, Salomon
(salomonsports.com) took its successful XA Pro 3D shoe design and
streamlined its weight by 15 percent, changing the toe bumper and
other exterior details.

Salomon also added an integrated gaiter, something I personally love.

The result is a go-anywhere shoe with breathable mesh uppers, a
cincher lacing system, and a not-too-aggressive outsole that nicely
balances speed with its grip on the terrain.

The XA Pro 3 shoes are extra stable on bumpy, variable terrain, with a
somewhat flat-footed feel that keeps the shoe from rolling. The mesh
uppers breathe well, but they don't keep out any water. Instead, the
shoes naturally squeeze out and drain water as you run, allowing
racers to slosh through streams and puddles with less concern.

The integrated gaiters are made of a stretchy nylon material. They
close tight with Velcro, keeping sticks and pebbles out of your shoes.

In my tests, the XA Pro 3 shoes were near-perfect for off-trail
events, like orienteering and adventure racing. Rough trails and
mountain terrain are optimal mediums for the XA Pro 3 as well.

The shell of the shoe feels like a tiny force field on your foot,
protective but not bulky. The gaiters worked well, keeping all
detritus at bay.

For road running these shoes are a no-no. To me they felt too flat for
pavement, keeping me on my heels, with little of the cushioning
support that my knees needed. Even on flat dirt trails I would pick a
different shoe.

But for the terrain I'm more a fan of running through -- the woods,
mountains, hills, screefields, meadows, and swamps -- the XA Pro 3's
get the job done, and then some.

(Stephen Regenold writes The Gear Junkie column for eight U.S. newspapers; see http://www.THEGEARJUNKIE.com for video gear reviews, a daily blog, and an archive of Regenold's work.)

Pulk for the Bulk

As long as humans have lived in winter environments they have been designing devices for dragging or pulling loads across the snow and ice.

At least that's according to Ed Bouffard, a former instructor with the National Outdoor Leadership School who runs Eds Wilderness Systems LLC out of his home in St. Cloud, Minn.

Bouffard makes pulks, which are essentially sleds you pull to haul gear while skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking in the white stuff. Pulks are used by polar explorers, mountaineers, and other wintertime backcountry wanderers who'd rather pull a load than put it on their back.


Sometimes it's good when your gear's a drag.

Pulks are often employed on expeditions -- like climbing Denali, or skiing to the South Pole -- as you can pull more than 100 pounds, while putting that much weight on your back is impossible.

Eds Wilderness Systems offers a free 35-page booklet on its website (www.skipulk.com) on making your own pulk, including instructions for drilling holes and rigging fiberglass poles to a sled, attaching the poles to a hip belt, tagging on fins for tracking and stabilization, and using it in the wilderness.

Pulk poles and hip belts are available for sale on the company's website.

Or, the company sells complete pulk kits starting at $160.

The kit I tested, the $188 Backcountry Outfit, includes a 5-foot-long plastic sled, fiberglass poles, a hip belt, fins, and extra parts (in case things are lost or damaged in the backcountry). The complete setup weighed about 10 pounds.

I tested it out skiing on the frozen surface of a chain of lakes near my house, pulling loads up to about 120 pounds. I skated and skied classic style, and the pulk pulled easy both ways on flat surfaces.

After overcoming inertia, momentum kicked in and the pulk slid along behind. On hills the pulk was much harder to pull.

Up to 50 pounds was fairly unnoticeable on my short ski outings, especially on flat ground. More than that and the pulk started to feel like a real lug.

The hip belt was comfortable, and the system's poles clip in via small carabiners, letting you easily drop the pulk when needed. Buckle-equipped webbing straps over the top of the sled let you tie down gear.

For smaller loads -- say less than 25 pounds -- I found a backpack to be more comfortable and efficient than the Backcountry Outfit.

But for big loads on long wilderness hauls, nothing does the job like a pulk.

(Stephen Regenold writes The Gear Junkie column for eight U.S. newspapers; see http://www.THEGEARJUNKIE.com for video gear reviews, a daily blog, and an archive of Regenold's work.)

Backcountry.com Cairn Fleece Jacket

Fleece jackets hover in a mushy middle ground between
waterproof-and-breathable shells and sturdy workaday wool sweaters.
They're warm enough for nice sunny winter days, but too airy when the
wind really blows.

But even on the coldest days a fleece jacket is often part of my
insulation arsenal. Indeed, as a second-to-top layer -- underneath a
Gore-Tex or eVent shell jacket -- a good fleece can keep you toasty
while wicking sweat better than almost any other apparel option.
Backcountry.com, an online retailer of outdoors equipment, launched
an in-house line of technical outerwear earlier this winter, including
the Cairn Fleece Jacket, a $110 model I've been testing for two
months.


Cairn Fleece Jacket

Made of Polartec Thermal Pro fleece, the Cairn has a unique look and
feel. Its exterior face is a rough weave of lines and micro
corrugation. Unlike the synthetic fleece popular in the 1990's,
Polartec Thermal Pro has no pilling effect and not a hint of
lumpiness, making it more sleek and durable.

The interior face fabric is soft and almost cottony, feeling warm
and fuzzy to the touch.

I tested the jacket skiing and running, both as a layer and on its
own against the elements. As suspected, the jacket excelled on mild
days, breathing nicely and insulating just enough in temps between 20
and 50 degrees.

On my nightly 3-mile training runs around the neighborhood I wore
the Cairn on top of a single wool base-layer turtleneck. Aerobically
maxed, this system was near perfect for jogs even in temps down to
about 15 degrees.

Alpine skiing with the Cairn was comfortable only on the warmest
winter days, as wind filtered through with little resistance as I
gained speed on the slope. Mostly, I wore the Cairn underneath a new
eVent shell I'm testing, and the setup proved a good pairing, with the
fleece insulating while also providing an airy conduit to move
moisture out to the shell.

While Nordic skiing, the Cairn's clean, athletic fit acquiesced just
fine with striding and poling. Deep pockets inside the jacket were
great for stashing gloves and a light winter hat as I warmed up and
needed to de-layer.

The jacket is manufactured in Canada, and it comes in red or black.
Its $110 price tag seemed fair and reasonable to me.

Backcountry.com's marketing department touts the Cairn jacket as
embodying "trail-ready performance beneath a lifestyle-inspired look."
I guess I agree, as the Cairn both looks good and -- in the right
conditions -- performs in the outdoors with aplomb.