From the category archives:

product reviews

First Impressions: Gregory Baltoro 70

August 9, 2010

My former backpacking pack was an Osprey Atmos 50, a well-worn bright red model with an awesome mesh ventilated back. It has served me well over the years, but now that I’ve started backpacking in places that need bear canisters, I’m pretty much out of room with that guy. In light of my upcoming Mount [...]

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Put SoCal on Your Wall in 3D

May 3, 2010

When the team at Summit Terragraphics asked if I wanted to check out their new 3D relief map of Southern California, I was more than happy to oblige. Their maps are high-resolution satellite images overlaid on terrain models generated by NASA topography missions. They are meant to mimic the view you’d have if you were [...]

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Review: Peaks 2.0 for the iPhone 3GS

April 30, 2010

I like to pride myself on having a pretty good sense of place and direction. Whether or not those senses are accurate is another story, though, so it always helps to have a bit of backup with you. Of course, a paper map is one of the Ten Essentials, and I never leave home without [...]

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Review: SGMPlants for the iPhone

April 14, 2010

After you’ve been hiking for a while, you might start to notice some of your other interests sneaking their way into your trail routines. As a history and geography nerd, I absolutely love poring over topo maps before I hit the trail and comparing my visualizations with the actual trail, and if I come across [...]

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New in the Store – CLIF Shot BLOKS

March 15, 2010

I’m in the process of adding a few new items to my OpenSky storefront, and I’m happy to announce that you’re now able to purchase a variety of CLIF Shot BLOKS directly from the Modern Hiker Shop. In case you haven’t had the chance to try these yet, they’re lightweight gummies that act as electrolyte [...]

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Review: Trimble AllSport GPS for iPhone

January 29, 2010

When I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I met some representatives from Trimble Outdoors, who were kind enough to let me in on a review copy of their iPhone App, AllSport GPS. While I think it has a few shortcomings for hikers, its features really shine as a fitness app, which [...]

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Review: Black Diamond Equipment’s Boost

January 11, 2010

A while back, the guys at Black Diamond Equipment were kind enough to send me a sample of their new Boost pack to test out. After taking it to Topanga State Park last weekend, I can say it is a more than welcome addition to my arsenal of gear-carriers, even with a few minor quirks. [...]

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Review: EveryTrail for iPhone

January 5, 2010

While I was back on the East Coast, I had the opportunity to test out the beta for EveryTrail’s new iPhone App (which has since gone live). For those of you who don’t know, EveryTrail is a free user-built database for GPS-enabled outdoor activities of every kind. Users can upload their GPS tracks and photos [...]

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Review: AccuTerra for iPhone

December 15, 2009

Earlier this year, I went up to Big Bear for some snowshoeing. I went on the Pine Knot Trail, and while it was fun, I definitely got lost more than I like to when I’m in the middle of the woods – both due to the snow covering most of the trail junctions and a [...]

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Thriv Performance Shirts

October 27, 2009

The guys at Thriv sent me an email a few weeks back, asking me if I’d be interested in testing out a sample of one of their new athletic shirts. Unlike most athletic wear, which is either made of synthetic fiber (or, sometimes, very old and sweatsoaked cotton), the Thriv line is mostly bamboo fiber, [...]

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