numscrl from United States, UT Public Profile

(Reviewing 2017 model) The breathable stretch fabric is soft to the touch and unlike any of the usual "crinkly" rain jacket fabrics I've experienced. Much more pleasant and comfortable to wear while still effectively repelling wind and water. I had a chance to prove the jacket in a recent Oregon coast rainstorm exploring beach tide pools in a downpour for over and hour and stayed quite dry. Conditions were cold and gusty during the rain and I stayed surprisingly warm in only a t-shirt base layer thanks to the Ozonic wind and water protection. Very happy with the lightweight performance and style. Highly recommended!

I had a chance to discover the essential utility of microspikes on a hike this past January. Our winter was unusually mild, so the mountain trails were melted off in many areas making snowshoeing not possible. Wanting to get out anyway, I headed up in hiking shoes and brought along my Kahtoolas in the pack. As I progressed up the mountain, trail conditions varied between dry, muddy, patchy snow and ice. Once I hit the first bad section of trail I attached the Kahtoolas, and suddenly my ordinary hiking shoes became all-terrain demons. They were absolutely fantastic at totally conquering any conditions I encountered on the trail that day. I am a die-hard convert!

The Kahtoola's design is super rugged and makes attachment and removal super simple for almost any shoe or boot. They stay put when attached better than I expected, and when removed they easily collapse to a minimal profile for storage in my pack (the included storage bag is a plus for that). I found the sizing to be true according to Kahtoola's sizing guide for both my shoes and my wife's. I was concerned the full spikes might be too aggressive given some of the other designs I have seen, like the Yaktrax, that provide more of a traction chain design. But after using the Kahtoolas I have no regrets whatsoever about going for full spikes. The traction is amazing, and I never feel like I'm walking suspended on spikes or cleats. Highly recommended!

The Helinox chairs with the high backs are a blissful backcountry indulgence, but the angle of the recline tends to be a bit awkward at times -- a little too far back for my 6-foot height. Enter the Helinox Air Headrest Pillow, and problem solved.

The pillow attaches directly to the chair via the Velcro pad that matches the Velcro attachment point on many Helinox chairs, or stuff it in the chair zipper bag as a filler to use the sack as your "pillow case", and then use the entire assembly as your chair pillow. This second method helps keep your headrest air pillow clean longer, but it can be used by itself just fine, too.

Easily inflates with a few breaths, fine tune using the inflate/adjust valve, then quickly deflate using the separate deflate valve when ready to stow. Adjustment is actually quite important as just a small change in air pressure makes a huge difference in head angle and comfort. I find I use it mostly only about half inflated. Depending on whether you want to hang out around the fire or take a nap, optimal head position is different for each use, and this adjustable headrest pillow makes fine tuning the comfort level so easy.

As with all Helinox gear the pillow is a bit pricey, but I'm glad I sprung for mine. Highly recommended!