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Behind all the glossy ads and the various "ultimate gear guide" coverage in magazines, there's a small cottage industry in super high-quality handmade outdoor equipment..
Sometimes this grear is cheaper than the manufactured alternative. And when it costs more, it's usually only a little bit. But the quality always is a lot higher. And it's good for the soul to buy from craftspeople.1McHale Backpacks
Among cognescenti, Dan McHale's backpacks are items of almost fetishlike devotion. Whether the trail is long and unforgiving or short and beautiful these will get you where you need to go.
There is good reason for the high regard people have for McHale packs: you cannot buy a better backpack. No how. No way. No where.
Typically, a McHale pack might weigh as much as a pound or 1.5 pounds more than a comparable capacity ultralight pack. But the ultralight alternatives will kill you over many days on the trail. You won't feel the extra weight trust me: I own a McHale pack and they're miraculous.
They do cost more -- but they're made specifically for your back and your body type. It's a completely bespoke product that fits like a tailored suit. And Dan is absolutely fanaticaly about making sure the pack he makes you will serve you forever.
Once you've used a McHale, you'll never go back.
There is good reason for the high regard people have for McHale packs: you cannot buy a better backpack. No how. No way. No where.
Typically, a McHale pack might weigh as much as a pound or 1.5 pounds more than a comparable capacity ultralight pack. But the ultralight alternatives will kill you over many days on the trail. You won't feel the extra weight trust me: I own a McHale pack and they're miraculous.
They do cost more -- but they're made specifically for your back and your body type. It's a completely bespoke product that fits like a tailored suit. And Dan is absolutely fanaticaly about making sure the pack he makes you will serve you forever.
Once you've used a McHale, you'll never go back.
2Rivendell Custom Bicycle
Rivendell custom bikes are made according to the specific needs of the specific rider within certain limits imposed by Riv proprietor Grant Peterson.
Grant won't do certain things if he thinks they're wrong and he will ignore some of your desires. He's persnickety that way. But, in the end, the odds are 99.9% that you are wrong and Grant is right.
The Riv custom bikes are designed by Grant and made by Curt Goodrich -- one of the 10 or so best bicycle makers alive today. Goodrich's bikes are utterly perfect -- they ride true and feel like an extension of your body.
One day, I had a terrible high speed near miss in San Francisco and I had to hit a line about 1/2 inch wide or I would end up in traction. The bike Curt made was so perfect, I'm sure I wouldn't have surviced without it.
(About six months later when I got hit by a truck in the raid, I remember sliding along the pavement with the bike on top of me thinking "thank god the bike isn't getting wrecked..." Gotta have your priorities...)
There's nothing like riding a really good bike and it's worth every penny. Look at it this way: people pay a ton of money to buy a car that will be worth nothing a few years from now and it's, well, a stupid car.
A fleet, beautiful handmade bike will last your whole life. And will give more pleasure than any car could.
Grant won't do certain things if he thinks they're wrong and he will ignore some of your desires. He's persnickety that way. But, in the end, the odds are 99.9% that you are wrong and Grant is right.
The Riv custom bikes are designed by Grant and made by Curt Goodrich -- one of the 10 or so best bicycle makers alive today. Goodrich's bikes are utterly perfect -- they ride true and feel like an extension of your body.
One day, I had a terrible high speed near miss in San Francisco and I had to hit a line about 1/2 inch wide or I would end up in traction. The bike Curt made was so perfect, I'm sure I wouldn't have surviced without it.
(About six months later when I got hit by a truck in the raid, I remember sliding along the pavement with the bike on top of me thinking "thank god the bike isn't getting wrecked..." Gotta have your priorities...)
There's nothing like riding a really good bike and it's worth every penny. Look at it this way: people pay a ton of money to buy a car that will be worth nothing a few years from now and it's, well, a stupid car.
A fleet, beautiful handmade bike will last your whole life. And will give more pleasure than any car could.
3Western Mountaineering down bags and jackets
I admit it: I love Western Mountaineering stuff. I'll buy anything they make in any category of goods over anyone else at any time. Makes my life easy. If I need it and they make it, I buy it without looking further.
Simply put: Western Mountaineering makes the absolute best in any category they choose to enter.
I've been using WM gear since the late 1970s -- under all kinds of circumstances -- and not only has never let me down, it's always been downright amazing.
I dig them because it was started by some longhaired backpackers and mountaineers and has never wavered from the values this suggest. Makes me smile whenever I think of WM.
And there's from San Jose too, so they're almost homies for me and that means I get to buy local and buy the best. Can't ask more than that. All the gear is designed there. And all the gear is made there by good, trusty Bay Area neighbors. This is the way life should be.
And here's the really sweet part: WM stuff is almost always less than the comparable bags and jackets from any of the big (offshore manufactured) providers.
Currently, I've got a WM bag -- the Aspen. I dig semi rectangular bags because I've got broad shoulders and mummy bags make me suffer -- and it'll keep me warm down to the hight teens, easy. And the comfort is pure bliss.
Their down jackets -- extremely light -- are absurdly warm and splendidly made. However, I often don't use down jackets -- I'm warm blooded and a nice Ibis wool vest and softshell do it for me. But the WM down jacket is nearly perfect when it gets ccc-cold.
Simply put: Western Mountaineering makes the absolute best in any category they choose to enter.
I've been using WM gear since the late 1970s -- under all kinds of circumstances -- and not only has never let me down, it's always been downright amazing.
I dig them because it was started by some longhaired backpackers and mountaineers and has never wavered from the values this suggest. Makes me smile whenever I think of WM.
And there's from San Jose too, so they're almost homies for me and that means I get to buy local and buy the best. Can't ask more than that. All the gear is designed there. And all the gear is made there by good, trusty Bay Area neighbors. This is the way life should be.
And here's the really sweet part: WM stuff is almost always less than the comparable bags and jackets from any of the big (offshore manufactured) providers.
Currently, I've got a WM bag -- the Aspen. I dig semi rectangular bags because I've got broad shoulders and mummy bags make me suffer -- and it'll keep me warm down to the hight teens, easy. And the comfort is pure bliss.
Their down jackets -- extremely light -- are absurdly warm and splendidly made. However, I often don't use down jackets -- I'm warm blooded and a nice Ibis wool vest and softshell do it for me. But the WM down jacket is nearly perfect when it gets ccc-cold.
4Vanilla Cycles
Sacha White -- the designer and builder of Vanilla Bycles in Portland -- is a young master.
He's got a way to go until he's at the Curt Goodrich or Peter Weigle or Richard Sachs level on the design part because these guys have internalized astonishing amounts about what makes a bike ride right.
That's not to say Vanilla Bikes aren't great -- I've got a friend who rides one and he never stops smiling about it. But it's just the older masters have the design stuff down cold.
However, White's bike have an aesthetic quality unmatched by anyone working today -- including Mendocino's Columbine Cycles. White's bikes are rolling art and among the most beautiful bikes ever made.
I was lucky enough to see a bunch of Vanilla Bikes and meet White at the Handmade Bicyle show in San Jose last year. And they were breathtaking.
Already White is making bikes at the highest level -- he's just a tiny notch below the masters -- and certainly he will soon be considered one of the top bicycle makers of all time.
Personally, if I had a choice between a Weigle and a Vanilla, I'd still go with the Weigle (I've already got a Goodrich so...)
But... it would be a hard choice.
He's got a way to go until he's at the Curt Goodrich or Peter Weigle or Richard Sachs level on the design part because these guys have internalized astonishing amounts about what makes a bike ride right.
That's not to say Vanilla Bikes aren't great -- I've got a friend who rides one and he never stops smiling about it. But it's just the older masters have the design stuff down cold.
However, White's bike have an aesthetic quality unmatched by anyone working today -- including Mendocino's Columbine Cycles. White's bikes are rolling art and among the most beautiful bikes ever made.
I was lucky enough to see a bunch of Vanilla Bikes and meet White at the Handmade Bicyle show in San Jose last year. And they were breathtaking.
Already White is making bikes at the highest level -- he's just a tiny notch below the masters -- and certainly he will soon be considered one of the top bicycle makers of all time.
Personally, if I had a choice between a Weigle and a Vanilla, I'd still go with the Weigle (I've already got a Goodrich so...)
But... it would be a hard choice.
5Custom hiking boots part 1
OK, for some people this could be the ultimate over-the-top most extreme indulgence. For other people, this could be the only thing that makes the outdoors feasible.
Why? Because if your feet can't hack it, you will suffer forever on the trail.
If you have relatively normal feet in terms of shape, custom boots are an extravegance because the reason you go to custom boots is all about fit. If you've got normal shaped feet, a production boot with a custom orthotic (about $55 bucks) will give you 95% of the benefit of a custom job.
But if your feet are unusual, then custom might be the only way to go. But it's a super expensive route: these boots are between $450 and $700. Ouch.
Most custom places have fine tuned the process of web ordering and measuring, but if you happen to live near one of these outfits, get fitted in person.
Esatto boots -- good looking, supposedly top quality, but I don't know anyone who has used them. The site seems vaguely, well, corporate to me. www.seatto.biz
Van Gorkom boots are cult items from a master builder in British Columbia. I've known three people who have them and the practically dance down the trail They look great too.
Van Gorkom Custom Hiking Boots http://www.hikingbootshandcrafted.com/
These boots are really popular with some folks. I don't know anyone who has used them. They look kind of odd to me.
http://www.nicksboots.com/index.htm
Why? Because if your feet can't hack it, you will suffer forever on the trail.
If you have relatively normal feet in terms of shape, custom boots are an extravegance because the reason you go to custom boots is all about fit. If you've got normal shaped feet, a production boot with a custom orthotic (about $55 bucks) will give you 95% of the benefit of a custom job.
But if your feet are unusual, then custom might be the only way to go. But it's a super expensive route: these boots are between $450 and $700. Ouch.
Most custom places have fine tuned the process of web ordering and measuring, but if you happen to live near one of these outfits, get fitted in person.
Esatto boots -- good looking, supposedly top quality, but I don't know anyone who has used them. The site seems vaguely, well, corporate to me. www.seatto.biz
Van Gorkom boots are cult items from a master builder in British Columbia. I've known three people who have them and the practically dance down the trail They look great too.
Van Gorkom Custom Hiking Boots http://www.hikingbootshandcrafted.com/
These boots are really popular with some folks. I don't know anyone who has used them. They look kind of odd to me.
http://www.nicksboots.com/index.htm
6Custom hiking boots part 2
Limmer Boots are a fixture of the northeast scene (they're in New Hampshire). They have two lines: a custom line and a special production (European made and highly regarded) production line. Limmers are famous in the outdoors world, but I've never seen them in action. Maybe someone who reads this can add a comment about it.
limmerboot.com
Randy Merrill Boots are custom boots made by the guy who founded (and sold) the well-known Merrill Boot company. This is a little like Richard Schwinn selling the family production bike company to focus on specialty custom steel bikes. This is almost always a good thing and you can bet that Merrill's custom boots are sweet.
randymerrell.com
limmerboot.com
Randy Merrill Boots are custom boots made by the guy who founded (and sold) the well-known Merrill Boot company. This is a little like Richard Schwinn selling the family production bike company to focus on specialty custom steel bikes. This is almost always a good thing and you can bet that Merrill's custom boots are sweet.
randymerrell.com
