From time to time I have Outdoor gear giveaways on the blog, and hopefully there will be more in the near future. That said, there are a lot more out there that you may want to take advantage of. To help with that I am working with The Outdoor Adventure on a site to keep track of them all and easily enter or submit your giveaway. http://www.OutdoorGearGiveaways.com (more…)

Image from Google

6 days ago a very important milestone happened. Hikingthetrail.com celebrated its first year of existence. I wanted to thank everyone who has been reading my blog and following my adventure thus far on Twitter Facebook and the rest of the social networks. A lot has happened in the past year and I honestly can not believe it has been a year already. I would like to also thank everyone for the support and positive waves to help make this year possible.

Looking back the biggest thing I can take away from the year is that the outdoor community as a whole is amazing. The people are just awesome. There have been many great conversations and opportunities to help others that without hesitation everyone jumps on.  I am so proud to be a part of this community and look forward to watching it grow and flourish even more in the years to come.

Thank you all and Happy Trails.

Adam

Click to view larger Image

Today I want to take a look at the Leki Corklite Aergon Speedlock trekking poles. So far these poles have just shy of 20 miles put on them and they have been fantastic. The hand grips are nice and comfy and allow you to change positions on the grips for going up or down. The locks are great for quick changes for terrain changes. One thing to note however is you have to keep a watch on the locks because they can become loose over time. There is a tightening screw on the back side of the locks but be careful not to over tighten them.

Comfy Grips

Speed locks closed and open

They do not have shocks in them so they have a slight wiggle when you use them but not enough to cause problems nor throw off your stride.  The Leki Corklite Aergon Speedlock trekking poles weigh in at 16.6 oz for the pair. The cost ranges from $80 to $120 on line and can be found at many outdoor retailers.

Disclaimer: I purchased these with my own money and the views expressed in this review are mine. The links are an affiliate link to amazon.

For Philmont and the Appalachian Trail (AT) I have chosen to use the ALPS Mountaineering Clearwater sleeping bag. The decision came mostly because I found it for a really great price.

The ALPS Mountaineering Clearwater sleeping bag is a synthetic bag that is rated at 35 degrees, 21 ounces of fill weight, and weighs in at 2 pounds 11 ounces. Its warm and works great. My only negative comment is that I am roughly 5’6″ tall and my feet hit the bottom of the bag. So those of you who are taller might want to get the “long” bag.  This sleeping bag retails for $90 for the regular and $100 for tall.  For the price its a great buy no matter what your camping situation calls for.

I have taken it on several practice hikes and I have never had any issues with getting cold at night. It packs down into a nice compact little ball with the provided compression bag. Only concern with the compression bag is that the one that comes with is not water proof. It does however appear water resistant. I have not tested it however. I do plan on getting a waterproof lighter weight compression bag for my trips however.

Here is what ALPS Mountaineering has to say about the Clearwater sleeping bag.

The Clearwater series sleeping bags are made with MicroX+ insulation. MicroX+ Insulation consists of multiple denier staple-length fibers that have a siliconized finish for maximum insulation, loft, and compactness. It is an ultra lightweight insulation that has a tremendous weight-to-warmth ratio. The Clearwater uses a 2-layer offset construction, sometimes called a “bag within a bag.” The contoured hood and mummy shape helps seal up your warmth and keep you warmer. The Clearwater is a great backpacking sleeping bag to take along on your hikes that won’t take up all the space in your pack or weigh you down.

To find out more information about this sleeping back visit the ALPS Mountaineering website.

Happy Trails

Adam