I am not sure if there is such a thing as too warm.  I grew up in Maine and learned at an early age the wonders of down as an insulator.  My childhood winters were spent skiing, snowmobiling, sleding and even ice fishing.  We never really thought about the cold it was just there.  The other thing that was always there was a down jacket.  Fast forward a few years (ok decades) and I find myself spending my winters still skiing, snowshoeing and playing outside (ice fishing, not so much) in the comparatively warm winters of Utah.

I have not really though of my beloved puffy coat until this Christmas when my awesome girlfriend got me a Mountain Hardware Sub Zero down jacket . The heavy, clumpy puffy coat of my youth has been updated into a lightweight, packable, insanely warm jacket in equally at home walking into your local brew pub as it is summiting Mt. Rainier. The jacket comes with Taslan reinforced shoulders and arms to resist abrasions and a stuff sack for easy packing. It is really too warm to wear while skinning up but it packs down so small and is oh so warm for the well earned turns when you get to the top. My favorite feature is the fleece lined pockets, they are perfect for warming numb hands wet hands before putting your gloves back on. For cold days skiing inbounds and riding the lift this jacket cant be beat. It is also nice to have waiting at the car after a long run or snowshoe.

In the short time I have had it the Mountain Hardware Sub Zero has become my most prized winter possesion. Everytime I put it on it brings me back to those winter days long ago whooping it up in the woods of Maine.

The first step in choosing a hydration pack is what type of riding will I be using it for? When I am training I like to be prepared, probably a little over prepared actually. So for my long training rides (3-5 hours) the Camelbak Havoc is my bag of choice. It features a 100oz bladder and a tons of storage.  I carry 2 tubes, 1 Big Air, a pump, a Crank Bros multi tool, a rain jacket, zip ties, camera, cell phone, iPod, 2 Gu flasks, and a few ProBars. Loaded it is about 14 lbs. Overkill? For sure, but I want to make sure I make it home without walking. Plus, all that weight give a nice training effect. DaKine and North Face also make some really nice big bags as well.

For racing I actually still use water bottles for most of my races since they are short or multi lap deals. For a race like La Ruta or the American Mountain Classic, I will run a pack as the stages are 5+ hour death marches with tons of climbing. In fact at the American Mountain Classic I will be running a Camelbak Lobo. It still has a 100oz bladder but the pack is slimmed down to just carry the basics. Tube, Co2, multitool and some Gu flasks. The idea here is I am still gonna need lots of water but need to be able to get up the climbs at a good pace as well. For a true bare bones race pack I would check out the Camelbak Hydrobak or Classic.

I am partial to the Camelbak brand. They fit me well and the offer a bag for pretty much every application under the sun. They created the entire hydration pack industry and continue to be the innovators today. You really can’t go wrong with them and I would recommend them to anyone.  My biggest gripe with a cycling pack is the have to stay put while descending.  If they move up it is distracting and potentially dangerous, my Camelbak’s never move. Ever.

As I ran my race on the backside of Utah’s famous skiing mountains in Midway, I hardly noticed I was wearing snowshoes. This is good as it meant they were comfortable, light, and didn’t kick cold snow up my backside as I’ve experienced with so many other shoes. Crescent Moon has developed a binding system that is amazing. It is sturdy and flexible and doesn’t ‘freeze up’ when it is cold or covered in snow. This allowed me to focus on running fast rather than worrying about whether my shoes were going to stay put. So the weight factor; these shoes are light (did I mention that?)! Ya, these babies weigh less than 3lbs per pair! That’s awesome. The other thing that helped them stay that way while I was running was the very narrow tail. This along with the small tubing, allowed for very little snow build-up as I ran. So like I said, my 3 lb snowshoes stayed three pounds instead of ending up 6 or 7 pounds as can happen. Also, despite being a fixed crampon snowshoe, I didn’t get snow kick-up. I think this must also have been because of the tapered tail? I don’t know, but I liked it!

Anyway after my experience with these snowshoe wonders, I’ll be hard pressed to ever strap another model on—yes I am sold! Also, I won the race as first women overall! Yeah, Crescent Moon has got snowshoes down right!

Some other cool things about the company: Each pair is made by hand in Boulder, Colorado. Also, if you are striving to be an environmentally friendly citizen, Crescent Moon is green! Another thing I love? The owner of the company is helpful, friendly, and passionate about what he does. So if you only have time to try out one snowshoe, check out www.crescentmoonsnowshoes.com and I promise, you won’t be disappointed!