Tag Archives: REI

Product Review – Osprey Talon 22

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OSPREY TALON 22

The Osprey Talon 22 pack is perfect for all your done-in-a-day pursuits. It’s designed to accommodate a multitude of outdoor activities.

  • Lightweight Osprey AirScape back panel features ridge molded foam with air channels covered in airy mesh
  • Mesh-lined, perforated shoulder straps and hipbelt save weight and enhance breathability
  • Panel-loading main compartment holds lunch, an extra layer of clothes and tools
  • Osprey Talon 22 pack accommodates a variety of back lengths with an adjustable torso?: just rip it, adjust it and stick it
  • Front stretch pocket is ideal for stashing jacket, helmet, book or other often-used gear
  • Zippered stretch mesh pockets on hipbelt are large enough for your compact digital camera in 1 and snacks in the other
  • Twin stretch pockets on shoulder straps, sized to fit cell phones, GPS or just stash the end of your hydration tube
  • Hydration compartment is accessible from outside, between torso adjustment and pack compartment (reservoir sold separately)

Jenn’s View: Oh my goodness, I love this pack! I use it mainly on the longer hiking trips (5+ miles) unless if I have my kids with me and have to carry their stuff or they are using my smaller back pack (the Outdoor Products H20 series- I’ll do a product review some other time on this one). I knew I needed a backpack so I started my search. I’m a true believer in consumer reviews. The more positive, the better. It seems to work for me. When I read this, it had all 5 stars and over 20 reviews.

The small everyday hydration backpack by Outdoors Product

I got the Osprey Talon 22 backpack from my dad and mom as a birthday gift. So AWESOME! Love you mom! Love you dad! Even though my dad did get me the WRONG backpack I asked for. I even gave him the print out and PICTURE of the darn back pack and he still gave me something completely off the wall! His reasoning,  “this backpack says it is a “girls’ backpack and the salesperson says its nice AND it’s on sale” (in the strong Filipino accent). The Osprey Talon 22 pack carries everything. I have my bear spray in one of the side pockets so that it is easily accessible in the “just in case moment” (GOD! I hope it NEVER EVER happens where I encounter a bear or a cougar – my poor dog would be the first to go – I better get two BIG dogs –give me more time to run! (jk) since my little Maltese would be a cookie to the hawks, bears, cougars) My first aid kit sits at the bottom of the pack- again, hope I never have to use that.

My Bear Spray.

There’s these little pockets that sits at my waist with zippers. That is where my small digital camera would reside or my phone. Easy to take out and snap pictures. I use to have a small Sony(?) Elph Camera until I kept dropping it and finally killed the poor thing. 😦 I think I use these pockets more than ANY of the other millions of pockets in this pack.

It even has a cool Osprey picture. My little side pockets. Found a map/brochure of the last hike I did – Mary’s Peak

The little pockets on the straps houses my tiny LED “pocket” flashlight and my whistle with a compass on it. The front snap helps keep the pack stay put. Even with my small chest, it handles quite well. Adjustable so Scott can use the pack. The mesh and the curved back keeps air flowing but I still get a sweaty back. It’s cool because it says “airscape” on it.

It has an area to add a hydration pack. I have taken the hydration bladder out of the small backpack and put it in this one. It does make this pack a bit heavier though and tough to run with all the stuff hanging from it. I hang my dogs collapsible water bowl from it.

Overall, I love this bag. It cost me about $99.00 from REI but very well worth it.  I will definitely stick with Osprey. They seem to get excellent reviews.

Makaila and I. I’m carrying the Osprey Talon 22

I picked up this Kelty Redcloud 5400 backpack. This thing is a BEAST but it’s suppose to be a multi-day pack.  I will put up my review when I actually get to use this beast.

UPDATE June 2, 2012: I have seen sooooo many people sporting this backpack. Next person I see, I will interview them and ask them how they like it. 🙂

PLEASE Leave me a comment if you have this pack and tell me how you like it!!!!!

I would love to buy more OSPREY stuff if money allows it to try it out and review it. Maybe I’ll just have to find a sponsor to allow me to do that 😉

Product Review – Salomon XT Wings 2 Trail Running Shoes

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SALOMON XT WINGS 2 TRAIL RUNNING SHOES
Me sporting my shoes on Smith Rock
PRODUCT: Salomon XT Wings 2 Trail Running Shoes purchased at REI as a birthday present.

The Salomon XT Wings 2 trail-running shoes combine outstanding cushioning and stability with agility to help you fly down the trails and through the miles.

  • Nylon mesh uppers feature Sensifit™ synthetic leather overlays that wrap and secure insteps for a precise fit
  • Quicklace™ lacing system takes just 1 pull for an exact fit; lace pocket hides lacing away
  • Protective toe and heel caps guard against bumps and abrasion
  • Agile Chassis System (ACS) integrates 3 components to increase runner efficiency: the skeleton, muscle and tendon
  • Clear thermoplastic urethane insert and outsole heel wrap act as the skeleton to facilitate heel-to-toe transition and side-to-side stability
  • Triple-density EVA midsole muscle maximizes cushioning, comfort and responsiveness with twice the durability of average EVA foam
  • Contagrip® outsole tendon acts like a spring to collect heel strike energy and transfer it to toe-off for forward momentum
  • Running Contagrip rubber outsoles deliver optimal performance on mixed terrain even at high speeds
  • Reflective detailing increases your visibility in low light

If you go on REI’s website, it’s an interactive photo where you can zoom in and out. Makes ya kinda dizzy but it’s fun to look at all the great details in this shoe!  Picture was taken off their site as well at http://www.rei.com/product/795722/salomon-xt-wings-2-trail-running-shoes-womens.

JENN’S VIEW: I love these shoes! I should have bought two because I see them wearing out from excessive use but for $130 a pop, hmmm, maybe not! I did my research (like all the many products I buy) and found that the user reviews on these shoes were great. So, without trying them on (since they didn’t have it at the retail store), I went blind and had my sisters and brother buy it for me for my birthday. I’m glad I did my research and glad that they did turn out phenomenal!  I wear them on hikes as well as trail running. I have used it on the 7+ mile run through Silver Falls one summer and they did fantastic. I have used them on hikes and notice my back does hurt after mile 5 but I’m also carrying a pack and really not meant as a backpacking type shoes. Also, I think I want to add different insoles in them to see if it will help on those longer hikes.

If you have these same shoes, please leave a comment and let me know how you like them! If you have a favorite pair of trail running shoes – LET ME KNOW! I would love to hear about other shoes out there. I don’t care if they are stinky, old pair of shoes! My first shoes were old, pink and black Puma running shoes. Soles were worn down, I think I may have had a hole at the bottom or some where on them but I didn’t care. They molded to my feet. Absolutely no traction and eventually they found themselves at the bottom of the garbage pail. I’m a believer of user reviews and base my purchasing habits by that. My boyfriend, Scott needs a new pair…hmmm!

The old Pumas completely covered in mud from the Lower and Upper Butte Falls hike
Me sporting the shoes on my hike to Niagara Falls – in Oregon. 🙂

Columbia Gorge – Rowena Overlook/McCall Point (#21)

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McCALL POINT – ROWENA OVERLOOK

 June 8, 2011

Info: (from my Oregon Hike Book) More than 300 varieties of plants grow on the dramatic oak grasslands above the Columbia River and Rowena Dell. Thanks to the Nature Conservancy, this fabulous preserve – named for former Oregon Governor McCall, a conservationist-is open to everyone. Spring and early summer mark some of the showiest wildflower shows anywhere, though poison oak has a grip here, too. Lava flows and ash deposits coupled with massive floods have produced this strange mound-and-swale topography that baffles even the experts on that sort of thing. Here you’ll find meadowlarks, the Oregon state bird, as well as canyon wrens, Pacific chorus frogs and mule deer. Flowers include grass widows, prairie stars, lupine, Indian paintbrush, balsamroot, milk vetch, shooting stars, and waterleaf, several of which are found only in the Gorge. 
Directions: Drive east of Hood River five miles on I-84 to the Mosier exit (Exit 69) and follow “Scenic Loop” signs 6.6 miles to the Rowena Crest Viewpoint.
Thanks Kevin for the wonderful calendar!

Jenn’s View: OKAY so my challenge is to do every hike (or visit the places and then find a nearby hike) in my new Oregon Calendar that I received for Christmas. The first hike for the year was taken at the Rowena Overlook. No where in my book shows a Rowena Overlook so had to look it online. Well, it kept pointing me to the Tom McCall Preserve so I went with it. Now, the picture on my calendar shows it with snow but as you can obviously tell in my picture – no snow. It was a little “blah” and not very picturesque but I bet its pretty phenomenal in the Spring when the fields are blooming with sooooo many colors. I wouldn’t mind going back to see the show in the Spring. 🙂

We first visited the Viewpoint. We had to stop for “directions” on how to get to the trailhead and to ask for advise on which trail to do first. Very nice cyclists and the lady would have talked your ear off!
All the signs were pretty confusing and not trust worthy on the length of each hike. The first hike we did was to McCall Point or the Rowena Overlook (?). It was pretty cold but the sun was shining. Thank goodness cuz when we left Salem, the fog was so thick, I didn’t think I was gonna get a good picture!
 The trail was pretty muddy and wet but steady climb up to the peak. Not good when you drank a little too much of very delicious Jalapeno, sweet thang Margaritas – courtesy of Mr. Scott Wenger.  The higher that we went up, the peak of a mountain was starting show. That was a great highlight.

My Daughter…Not happy…Teenagers!
We hit the first mark and decided to take some pictures!
Posing the same way. I wonder if she got that from me or me from her?
AWWWW, my man!
Here is the peek-a-boo of a mountain top.  We couldn’t figure out which mountain that was. It was definitely on the Washington side so I was thinking it was Mt. Adams?

Had to get a picture of the “rolling hills”.

Steady climb up and found some normal trees!
My Sherpa. 🙂 I started with the backpack and he ended up carrying the rest of the time. Thank goodness!
The higher we climbed, the more I saw this mountain. 
More steady climb up but we are sooooo very close!
Posing for the camera. Easy picture taker!
We finally reached the top and was clear enough to see Mt. Adams (?) and Mt. Hood (?). Maybe that was Mt. Hood with all the snow.

We reached the top and stopped to enjoy the view and Kaila to finally eat her victory Banana! Should have stopped at Subway to eat our Victory Sandmich!

Kaila hidden somewhere in there eating her nana

Well, I didn’t want to take a picture of up, down and all around for the 360 photo software. It’s kinda a pain in the butt so I’d rather do a pana shot. I know, I know…lazy me. Oh well. 🙂

Click on it! I swear it does get bigger!!!! :))