Campman goes to the St George Triathlon

It’s true. A group of us managed to remove ourselves from the back of our computers and head down to the warm sunny skies of Southern Utah to push ourselves to the limits. It started off early as the transition area opened at 5:30 or so. We arrived around 6:30am to drop of our bike and other gear. Looking around at all the competition it looked pretty stiff. Some of the bikes I saw were pretty sweet compared to what I brought along. They could have been straight out of the Tour De France. 1600 people had signed up for the race, however I know of quite a few that didn’t show up.

Needless to say the weather wasn’t as ideal as I would have hoped. The wind was blowing. I heard reports that is was 40+ mph. The night before it was windy as well but at least it looked as though you were swimming with the wind. At race time it looked to have done a complete 180 and the swim was directly into the wind. Being a fairly weak swimmer I had a few butterflies while looking at the water. I just hoped that all the training was going to pay off.

Race time approached and the longer triathletes were up first. They had a mile swim ahead of them. My group was the sprint class and only had to swim half a mile. The gun sounded and the men took off swimming. Next up was the women in the longer distance. Fifteen minutes after the men the women were off. Now it was my turn. With my wet suit on I strolled into the 60 degree water. A bit chilly on the extremities. At first we were delayed 5 minutes. Then it was 15 minutes. Next thing we knew it was 30 minutes later and we were still chillin’ in the water waiting to start. In the meantime boats were coming back to shore carrying swimmers who had decided enough was enough. The number surprised me and made me a little more anxious about the swim. Finally something was mumbled on the loudspeaker and everyone wandered back up onto shore. The swim had been canceled. All that swim training for nothing. Needless to say there were quite a few people who were upset including the author. Oh well thats the way it goes.

At this point the it has turned into a duathlon. Bike and run for those who couldn’t hack the longer distance. Basically the officials took everyone and started them at the swims finish, shot the starter gun, and the race began. What a mess in the transition area. Making it worse was it being my first triathlon, not knowing what to do in the first place and having everyone else around you frantically trying to get out on the biking portion of the race. It was an interesting start.

Once out on the course things got better. However everyone told me triathlon courses were flat and fast. A lot of people had areo bars and time trial bikes. I’m sure they worked great since we were heading straight into a head wind. However there is a big hill not far into the race. It’s long, pretty steep, and has cattle guards. I kind of regretted not having a triple crank for my bike. I heard that some of the grade were over 7%. Once on top of the hill it was flat and didn’t take long to get to the turnaround point. Then came the fun part. Going back down the hill. With my newly attached bike computer I saw my speed hit 55 mph. It was the highlight of the race. Going that fast on a bike is a little unnerving which definitely gets the adrenaline flowing. Especially when I saw the approaching cattle guard. Some guy right behind me cased on it pretty bad I heard. I passed the ambulance on the way back to the transition area. An update I heard today is that he is ok and vowed to battle the hill again.

With the biking behind me it was on to the run portion. I heard other people grumble how they hate the running portion on this race since it is all on a trail. I quickly realized why running on this trail is something to gripe about. Sections of it had several inches of sand. Combined with tired legs from the bike, it made for a tough time. At points I thought I wasn’t going to be able to run the whole thing. However the last mile was pretty packed down and wasn’t so bad. The last section of the run ended with a sprint to the end where I was unable to catch the couple of guys in front of me and then someone handing me a metal as I struggled past over the finish line.

Feeling spent but accomplished I pulled my last little remaining energy to cheer on the rest of the Campman team. It was all over by 10 am. The rest of the day was spent cruising around the golf course in Mesquite having a few celebratory cold ones. However since the swim was canceled I can’t say I’ve completed a triathlon, so the training continues with the Salem Spring Tri being on June 7. Hopefully we’ll have better weather then.

Written by admin on May 15th, 2008 with no comments.
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Testing Gear at Indian Creek

This weekend Campman took a trip down to the Creek. For those of you who don’t know about Indian Creek, it’s a world climbing destination for those who want to test their crack climbing skills. Known for its perfect splitters I thought it would be a great place to try out Green Gear’s Hand Jammies, Jetboil Group Cooking System, and Edelweiss Liquid Chalk.

When climbing cracks one usually tapes the back of the hands in order to protect them. The idea behind the Hand Jammies is to alleviate the need for taping. Making tape gloves takes time and a little skill to make. The Jammies just slide on and you Velcro them down tight. That’s it you’re done. Not only are they easy to get on but they also have climbing rubber on the back so they are sticker than tape on the rock. All of these peaked my interest so I thought I’d give them a shot. I strapped them on and started up a route that was hands to fingers sized. I noticed from the moment I put them on that they were really stiff and thick compared to my usual tape gloves. In the thin parts of the crack the gloves actually impeded my process. The few hand jams that I did get they were great. I wasn’t impressed on my first attempt with the gloves but I thought I’d give them another shot just to be fair. It was pretty much the same on the next route. The verdict was I was going back to tape. However after reflecting on the Jammies I figured they would be good for a route that was just hand size or rattly hands. Once you get into finger locks or fingers they are pretty bad.

Next on the list was the Jetboil Group Cooking System or GCS. It includes the pot, self lighting stove, and covers for the pot. It was incredibly easy to use. Put on the Jetboil fuel can, bottom stabilizer, pot stabilizer, turn on the gas, and push the lighter. It started right up and I was cooking. I decided to make breakfast burritos that morning. So I tossed in the hash browns, sausage, eggs, and cheese. 15 min later I had a feast. I did notice that the pot got really hot and I had to turn it all the way down. Once all was said and done I don’t think that the this stove is great for cooking dry food such as hash browns, but when I boiled water it was extremely fast. So as a backpacking stove this is great. When car camping I would bring along the dual burner stove and fry pan. Definitely the best backpacking stove I’ve used. It’s extremely simple and works great. The only down side I could see in the backcountry is that I would bring a fresh fuel canister every time to ensure I don’t run out of fuel. So the possibility to collect half full canisters is a likely possibility.

Last but not least was the Edelweiss Liquid Chalk. It comes in a small bottle so I was wondering how long it would last. I tried just a small amount at first, about the size of a quarter in my palm. I spread it around my hands and it dried pretty fast. Once it did my hands were dried out from the alcohol and chalked up. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a great way to get a good base layer when starting for the day or anytime before a route. The bottle should last awhile if you use sparingly. Which is all you need to use it anyways. Definitely worth the pick up for the avid climber.

Written by admin on March 25th, 2008 with no comments.
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Coaxsher comes out with new products

The boys at Coaxsher have come out with a bunch of new products for the coming year. They have expanded the Wildfire packs and developed some SAR specific packs. The FS-1 Ranger has been upgraded this year as well as the RCP-1 Pro. The new additions include the Transporter Duffel, the FS-1 Spotter, the SR-1 Endevor, and the SR-1 Recon. The SR product line is a modification of the FS lines. While the products are similar there are a few tweaks that make it more suitable for the search and rescue. Of course all the packs are made to be indestructable, but if something happens the lifetime warranty kicks in. This year the there are even colors to choose from. You can pick up the packs in red or black making it easier to accessorize.

Coaxsher has also come out with some new accessories as well. These include a Dual Flagging Tape Dispenser, Water Bottle Attachment, and Medical Case. These will work with existing packs but work best with Coaxsher packs.

Written by admin on February 18th, 2008 with no comments.
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Campman goes to the Outdoor Retailer Show

The week has come to Salt Lake, home of Campman, for most of the Outdoor Industry to show off their wares. The first couple of days were spent mostly walking around trying to take in the overwhelming amount of gear. Right now its the winter market and so most companies are showing off next years fall lines. You can still see what is selling now but the excitement usually revolves around what is the next hot piece of gear. The Gear Junkie did a nice little write up on some of the bigger manufacturers new products. However my goal was to find some smaller companies with some cool new products. Here are the few that caught my eye.

1. Brooks Range Mountaineering Sled
This ingenious little item allows mountaineers, search and rescue, and guides to tow injuries people out on their own skis by making a sled out of them. The compact system folds up extremely small so it easily fits in a packs. Its a great addition especially for professional guides. This company also makes mountaineering tools like their map tool and ski guide reference cards.

2. Hydroid by N2K Corp
They make a little gauge the slips in between you hydrations bladder hose and bite valve in order to let you know how much water you have in your bladder. While you could just stop and take you pack off and look this will let you know without you having stop what you are doing. It will also allocate you reserve so you can keep a steady flow of liquids in you while out and about. Its light and compact so you won’t be inconvenienced by it. It would work great for hiking, biking and skiing. You’ll never have to wonder how much water you have left.

3. Skins Compression Clothing
A new line to the US of performance clothing. A big hit in Australia the company has its sights on the US market. Going up against the likes of Under Armour and 2XU. It supposedly reduces soreness, increases endurance, and increases venous return. The technology is proven and used in the medical field to help with ailments associated with circulation problems. These guys have just modified it for everyday use. I was given a free pair at the show but I haven’t tried them yet. I am still a little hesitant about rocking the spandex again, but next training session I’m putting them on. They have all sorts of sizes and designs depending on your needs.

4. Ground Clothing
These guys are an up and coming brand. We started carrying them about 2 months ago. They have great product design and if you are hardcore about performance apparel then check out their jacket and pant lines. They use eVent in a lot of their jackets, which is more breathable than Gore-Tex. I just got their Extension Shell and its an amazing jacket. It fits nice, looks good, and incredibly breathable. I got a peek at their new designs for next year and they all will have Recco reflectors built in.

Written by campman on January 25th, 2008 with no comments.
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Campman has expanded its lines again

We are in the process of picking up products from Mountain Hardware, Big Agnes, and The North Face among others. If you have something you really want and don’t see on our site give a shout and we’ll see if we can get it for you. We appreciate input from our customers and usually hook them up with something for their time. So let us know what we can do for you.

Written by admin on January 8th, 2008 with no comments.
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We keep rolling because now we sell Jetboil and National Geographic Topo Maps

We keep expanding and Jetboil stoves is the latest edition to be added to Campman. Not only that but we also added National Geographic Topo Maps. Now you can find your way to that remote campsite and not have to carry in a heavy stove.

Jetboil has won numerous awards for its intelligent and well made designs. It easily packs and fits into your backpack. Jetboil Stoves boil water incredible fast. It comes in the a Personal Cooking System as well as a Group Cooking System. Jetboil also produces a lot of great accessories for backpacking and their stoves.

Stop by and check’em out.

Written by admin on December 14th, 2007 with no comments.
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Golite Neve Jacket Review

Since we just started carrying Golite, I figured I should try it out. I first tried the Neve Jacket. It is a performance soft shell jacket. Golite claims it is as bomber as a storm shell with the benefits of a softshell. Initially I just wore it around town to see how it feels. The fleece liner is really comfortable and the jacket fits fairly nicely. The only problem I had with it was the high collar. When the jacket is zipped up the collar can be a little obtrusive due to being a little stiif. This eventually became better when the jacket was broken in.
The jacket is highly breatheable as I found out when I tested it out during some hiking in Europe. Germany in November is quite cold and wet. However the jacket held up against the elements extremely well. The rain and snow beaded up and it performed as well as any storm shell I’ve owned.
The jacket is well thought out and has many nice features. Pit zips for when it gets a little too hot as well as a MP3 player pocket on the inside. Overall the jacket is really nice. The initial fit isn’t great but once its broken in its great.

Written by admin on November 21st, 2007 with no comments.
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We now carry Suunto Watches

We’ve expanded again. We are now an authorized Suunto Dealer. Check out these incredible watches. They track just about everything you might need to know whether it be fitness or mountaineer information. Follow the link to some of the coolest watches you’ve ever seen. Suunto Watches

Written by admin on November 20th, 2007 with no comments.
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Campman.com has expanded its lines again with Golite and Ground

We are excited that we will now be selling Golite and Ground equipment. Both are dedicated to creating the best technical equipment and clothing. Golite’s mantra is shed the unwanted pounds for ultimate ultralight experience. Ground has niche out by creating some the best technical gear for mountaineering and backcountry activities. We are adding new products along these lines everyday so check back if you don’t initially see what you are looking for. We are always looking for new products so if you want something that you don’t see let us know and we’ll try and get it for you and give you 10% since we don’t have it in stock.

Written by admin on October 25th, 2007 with no comments.
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Campman.com now carries Nemo Tents

Here at the store we are excited to announce that we will now be carrying Nemo Tents. If you haven’t seen their tents they are pretty cool. Several of their models include air supported frames. Nemo has done away with the tent poles and placed air bladders in substitute. Now you don’t have to worry about breaking a pole and puncturing your tent in inclement weather.

Beyond the air supported tents they manufacture high quality backpacking tents. The Tenshi is an expedition quality tent that has earned awards from Climbing Magazine as well as Rock and Ice. Nemo has also come up with some ingenious accessories such as the paw print which is a washable floor cover that has sleeves for your sleeping pads. Not only does it keep them in place but can make a pair of single pads into one luxurious pad. Nemo also manufactures carbon fiber poles for some the models for those who like to shave every pound that they can.

The tent collection produced by Nemo is well thought out and has many features that make their tents highly functional as well as high quality.

Written by admin on September 14th, 2007 with no comments.
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