Category Archives: Gear Reviews

Every climber worth their chalk knows you can never have enough gear! Pros and cons of gear I’ve used, loved, and hated!

M.A.P. Footwear Review

Oct 24 2016

A few months ago our family got the chance to try out some children’s shoes from M.A.P footwear. Each kiddo got to choose a pair (Troy for Big C, and Lillith Toddler for Little Z.) Both pairs are similar in style to outdoorsy children’s shoes from other brands. Cute, yet very functional, ie Mary Janes with a very thick sole. Prior to this review, I’d never heard of M.A.P before, but after realizing their name stands for “Motion, Adventure, and Play,” it was a match made in heaven, because those 3 words are a few of our favorite things! What first caught…Read the rest of this entry →

Epic Wipes…For When Your Kids (or You) are “Epically Dirty”

May 21 2016

Recently I was contacted by the makers of Epic Wipes, a brand new kickstarter company that is making a product that EVERY outdoor family needs to have on hand. We’ve had these wipes with us all spring – camping, climbing, beach-ing, etc, and we’ve been pretty impressed with the results (cleaner, better-smelling children.) Here’s our take… First off, these wipes are HU-NORMOUS (in case you are wondering, that is a combination of “huge” and “enormous”, a word made up by my 6 year old.) Seriously, these wipes are super-sized; a double layer that stretches out over 2 and a half feet! After…Read the rest of this entry →

Best in Snow…DUCKSDAY

Mar 15 2016

It feels a bit odd to be writing this post in shorts as I look out the window and see my son frolicking around in 75 degree weather. But I’m all too aware that just because spring has sprung in the South, doesn’t mean everyone is done with winter (and also doesn’t mean that winter won’t come back for one last laugh before spring is here to stay!) I had actually intended to write this post back in January, but held off because we had a snowtubing adventure planned for February, and I had hoped to get some great action…Read the rest of this entry →

Biking Gloves from WeeRiderz (and GIVEAWAY!)

Jan 26 2016

The past few weeks haven’t been the most amazing biking weather here in Charlotte. After rain, more rain, and then an inch of ice, the trails are all but floating away. Luckily, we have a great neighborhood for biking and we’ve been able to squeeze in some laps here and there. While we were out and about, Big C had a chance to try out a new riding glove from WeeRiderz, a small family company based out of CA. WeeRiderz was formed after founders Eric and Rachel Ortlieb saw a gaping hole in the market when it came to biking gloves. The…Read the rest of this entry →

Review: Solo Stove

Jan 18 2016

Recently our family got the chance to check out a camp stove. But not just any camp stove – the Solo Stove relies on innovative yet brilliantly simple design ideas to make an efficient, reliable wood-burning fire. Here’s how it works (as taken from their website, which does a more concise job explaining it than I would!) “The air intake holes on the bottom of the stove channel air to the bottom of the fire while channeling warm air up between the walls of the stove. This burst of preheated oxygen feeding back into the firebox through the smaller holes at the…Read the rest of this entry →

“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN