The iGearList Blog

Stickers in Action

Awesome! iGearLists’s good friend and logo designer extraordinare, Michelle, sent us this awesome photo of the iGearList sticker in action! Besides looking like a total bad-ass white water kayaker, she is sporting our sticker squarely on the back of her kayaking helmet.

You are probably thinking: “That is great, but I can’t see it very well!” Exactly! That is why you must write us for your free sticker - we’ll send one out to you and then you can find out for yourself what they look like.

Once you have your free sticker, take a picture of it in action and send it to us with your bio. We’ll feature you in our blog and basically make you a superstar for a day!

- P

July 28th, 2008

Carhartts for Women - YES!

Hello folks! It’s sunny and lovely here in the South San Francisco Bay of Callifornia, and I was so glad to get my newest Carhartts order in. New socks and shorts and shirts for work, and, maybe funnest of all, finally, a Carhartts catalog for women!

Somebody, somewhere, thinks that everyone who works in the oudoor industries and natural resource protection is a hulking 6 foot tall guy with a big grin. But it’s not true. I’m only 5′1″! And every day, in all kinds of weather, I push and pull, pitchfork and shovel, operate power equipment, spend lots of time weeding on my knees. Hard work. My fantasy commercial has me standing on top of one of our ginormous piles of weeds in our dump truck, tossing my hair and saying “My Carhartts are size 4 petite but my job sure isn’t!”

Here’s one of the many letters I’ve written to a major work clothing distributor:

Dear Humongous Company X -

With my recent purchase of work pants, you sent me a Carhartts catalog. This is a 117 page booklet of clothing for men and boys, replete with lots of photos of big tough looking guys modeling. The sizes would not fit me, and the clothing is not cut for me. Do you live in some strange world where women don’t work in physical jobs? It’s not the world I live in, nor the one where I will spend my money. The participants in today’s outdoor world of work are diverse in size as well as color, gender, and social background. The companies who don’t keep up with this are not only insulting those of us who deserve goods to meet our needs, they are losing money and valuable customers.

Sincerely,

Me

Now, I don’t flatter myself that this letter is the reason why Carhartts is expanding its offerings for women, but it is SO nice that they are; tough clothes, reasonably priced, cut exactly right. So, for those of us who sweat and shove and kneel and chainsaw and hustle on the job, cheers!

- Eco Babe

PS - I’m looking for a good pair of work boots; not too hot or heavy, waterproof, no mesh to allow weed seed and thistles through, cushy enough to climb hills all day, and tough enough to keep out rattlesnakes and ticks. And, of course, they have to be a women’s size 6. Any ideas? Post them to comments. Thanks!

Add comment July 23rd, 2008

Predator Kayak for Sale

Did you ever win something that you thought, ok, cool gear but I’ll never use it. Do as this user did, and post that windfall schwagola on iGearList!

This makes sense - not only for the bigger items - but especially for smaller items like hydration packs, shoes, socks, Superfeet… and other things you sometimes get at races, but will never use. Why? On iGearList you won’t be paying any listing fees, or commissions on the sale. So something that will already sell pretty cheap will still be worth selling in the end. Makes sense, no?

Read more about how to post to iGearList here. We’ll never ever charge you for anything, ever. Never ever never. No backsies on that!

Back to the schwagola - how about a 10′ recreational kayak in excellent (showroom) condition at 30% off retail price. As my 3 year old nephew would say “THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, OKAY!!!”

- P

July 7th, 2008

Left for Las Vegas

Every now and then someone comes along who quietly, ambitiously pushes the bar of human endurance and compassion to some incomprehensible level.

Now, I thought I had come to know one of humanity’s most spectacular feats when I read about Lisa Smith-Batchen’s Badwater Double finish. As it turns out, it doesn’t stop there for Lisa.

Yesterday, Lisa Smith-Batchen left for Las Vegas to start her 810 mile run-bike effort that goes like this: First she will run from Las Vegas to the Death Valley where she will then compete in the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon. She will finish the Badwater, and then continue on to top Mt. Whitney. After that, she will go on to ride the Furnace Creek 508 bike race.

It is hard to describe a feat that is a non-stop chain of 302 miles of running, and 508 miles of biking in the most punishing heat imaginable. Each one of these feats individually would be a lifelong goal for most accomplished endurance athletes. To string them all together into one event is unreal. I really can’t do it justice here in one amateur blog post.

What makes it more impressive is that since announcing this event, she has already raised close to a quarter million dollars for children orphaned by AIDS. Incredible!

Follow her progress starting July 9th, and learn more by visiting her 810 site. Go Lisa!!!!

- P

July 6th, 2008

SOAR 14 Inflatable Kayak for Sale

The best listings go up while I’m out of town. This month, while I was slogging around the Gobi Desert, sucking on hot peanut butter packets, flooding my body with electrolyte drinks, darning blisters, and dreaming of diet coke slurpees, someone submitted the perfect classified listing to iGearList.

Now, hopefully I won’t have to pull such a stunt for every listing that goes up on iGearList, but hey, this time it was worth it!

What makes this listing good? The user took a great photo - it shows the condition of the equipment, as well as all the equipment that will be included. You can see that the equipment is clean, organized and in great shape. The user provides a detailed description with a list of what is included and a link to use for more information. The seller also styled us out with a long review piece.

If you are looking for an inflatable kayak for some summer fun, or you have a water based “staycation” planned and you want to keep your costs down, I’d check out this listing!

Happy paddling!

- P

June 30th, 2008

Take A Hike!

For those of you in the Bay Area, in California, or maybe passing through or planning a trip - here is an event that promises to be fun, beautiful and help the local community. Read on!

Take a Hike! …to help stop domestic violence in our community.

Take A Hike! is a three day, two night hiking/camping and fundraising event for CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse). Currently CORA is the only domestic violence nonprofit in San Mateo County. Their services include a 24-hour hotline, crisis response, support groups, legal services, transitional housing, emergency shelter, and teen support services. By hiking, volunteering, or becoming a sponsor of Take A Hike!, you’ll join the community to help end relationship abuse. Together we’ll help thousands of families create a different future for themselves and help stop domestic violence in our community.

Take A Hike! will be held at Pinnacles National Monument on September 5-7, 2008. We will be entering the park from the west side and hiking to the East Campground where we will set up our basecamp for the weekend. The following two days will be filled with more hiking, naturalist talks on the geology and wildlife in the park (Pinnacles is known for its population of the California condor), as well as fun with friends, campfires, and sleeping under the stars.

As a hiker you will be asked to attend one of two Hiker Orientations on either 5/19 or 6/26 which will help give you all the details you would ever want to know about CORA, the location of the event, safety, and fundraising. You will also be asked to attend one of two Readiness Hikes on either 8/2 or 8/23 which will be a great event to get to know your fellow hikers as well as Team Leaders. There will also be one of two Safety Meetings you will need to choose from on either 8/28 or 9/2 before attending the final hike on September 5-7. The fundraising requirement for a hiker is $1500 and there is plenty of support available to help you reach and even surpass your goal!

Register now for our next Hiker Orientation meeting on June 26 at 6:30pm!

For any additional information or to attend our next Hiker Orientation meeting, please email Jenine Beecher atjenineb (at) corasupport (dot) org or call 1-888-321-CORA. To register or sponsor the event go to www.corasupport.org.

- P

Add comment May 14th, 2008

Flying Things. Also Known as Tents.

A bird pooped on my just-filled coffee mug yesterday as I was walking to work. Hit it right on the lid like some biological sharp-shooter from the heavens; no warning, no mercy. That got me to thinking about things that fly. Such as…tents.

A strong wind in an exposed location and - depending on staking - you’ve got yourself a fluttering hovercraft or a cartwheeling nylon polyhedron. Thank god for those windsprints you did in college. Total escapes may be rare, but you got to hand it to them, without even a hint of god-given wings tents still can’t stop themselves from trying.

I have one such flying tent. A wonderful Mountain Hardware shelter that had served me well for years, until that mountain-top wind tunnel in New Zealand served it a nice tall glass of physics. Now its carefully engineered geometric shape has taken on the aura of crumpled paper; bent poles, un-zippable zippers and the like.

But no matter how I try to keep that mangled tent in the bottom pile of gear-to-get-rid-of it keeps rising to the top. Above my elite weight-weenie tarptent, above my fancy new gizmo gear whatever-else. It gets used. It gets used for anything and everything and gets thrown in the car even when there’s only a .01% chance of being used. That tent is treated like the busted-up hovercraft it is and yet, it keeps on working.

That’s a good piece of gear.

What’s yours?

-Gear Queen

Add comment April 30th, 2008

Send iGearList your Video Classifieds

Greetings from iGearList Outdoor Gear Classifieds HQ. Apologies for the blog hiatus. Guess what? Our blog has the equivalent of a bum knee. Randomly, we have lost the capability to upload pictures to our posts. So strange! I’m hot on the trail of a fix, but it’s not quite done yet.

Every problem, once you stop swearing at it, represents some sort of opportunity. Here is where you come in. We can’t upload pictures, but we can still post YouTube videos. Are you seeing what I see? Here it is:

Take a video of the outdoor gear that you’d like to sell
Upload the video to YouTube
Send us the link (info at igearlist dot com)
We’ll post it here and get the word out for ya!

And guess what? Not only will we have more colorful and interesting blog posts, but for those of you with a big pile or closet-full or garage full of used outdoor gear to sell, you won’t have to list each individual item separately. Definitely a time-saver.

Of course, the regular iGearList classifieds section still works just fine! This is just a handy alternative.

Awwright then, let it fly!

- P

Add comment April 23rd, 2008

Welcome, Altrec!

This week, iGearList welcomes Altrec to our site! We are now proud partners of their affiliate program. Click on the logo and check out some of their offers! Or, you can visit the Altrec Outlet - for up to 70% off.

Go Nuts!

And remember, when you shop through iGearList, we donate our 100% of our commission to a featured Non-Profit. We’re looking for a new one to benefit - know anyone?

- P

Add comment April 10th, 2008

Hilleberg Akto solo tent - $285

Ever heard of one of these - the Hilleberg Akto solo tent? Neither had I! When one posted to iGearList the other day, I did a little homework. What I found out was astonishing - this is a highly coveted 4-season solo tent, made by an amazing company, at a deep discount - about $100 off the regular price.

First let’s take a look at what the seller says about it:

“One of the world’s great four-season solo tents. Double wall construction that can withstand gale-force winds and yet weighs only 3lbs. 5oz. Green model. This tent retails for $385. Asking $285 plus UPS ground shipping… Includes complete spare pole and Tyvek groundsheet. Used on three trips this year. Like new condition….”

The folks at Hilleberg know what they are doing. If you read the list of expeditions their tents have been used on, you’ll see every climate from the Gobi to the Antarctic, the 7 summits, and some of the most famous expeditionists of our time.

Reading through some of the reviews, one person referred to it as “the gold standard tent” for solo walks, and another states: “calling the Akto unusual and unrivalled on the market would hardly be an exaggeration.”

Check it out!

-P

Add comment April 1st, 2008

The iGearList Blog

Stickers in Action

Carhartts for Women - YES!

Predator Kayak for Sale

Left for Las Vegas

SOAR 14 Inflatable Kayak for Sale

Take A Hike!

Flying Things. Also Known as Tents.

Send iGearList your Video Classifieds

Welcome, Altrec!

Hilleberg Akto solo tent - $285

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