Arc’teryx Nuclei Hoody Review
Bottom Line: A versatile, packable, CoreLoft jacket. Perfect for belaying or as a midlayer. Face fabric (Arc’teryx Airetica) is water resistant but not waterproof so a hardshell is needed in a downpour, however, the Arc’teryx CoreLoft, unlike down, will insulate when wet as it retains its loft. I’d highly recommend it to others, another quality Arc’teryx product. How I chose it: Full disclosure, we are active members in a number of online communities, from nature conservancy and interest to outdoor equipment for enjoying the wild comfortably and safely. Arc’teryx is one of them. They wanted to say thanks for our continued support of their online communities by giving myself and Spring at Pebbleshoo a jacket. We chose the Nuclei Hoody. We had already been considering it as we already have down jackets, but they aren’t practical to use if the weather is forecast to be wet as down loses its insulation when soaked. The Nuclei uses Arc’teryx’ own Coreloft which retains it’s insulating properties even when wet. Belaying near Squamish Belaying near Leavenworth Returning from climbing Seracs at Mount Baker Observations since receiving and using it: If you’ve watched our video review above you’ll already have heard most of my observations regarding this Hoody. I love the included stuff sack for packing the jacket which also has a loop attached to it so that it can be clipped to a harness with a carabiner when climbing. It insulates really well. It’s warm. It fits well. I wear it everywhere. I have a coat rack at my apartment door and I don’t like clutter so I usually just have one or two jackets there that I put on when heading out. The Nuclei Hoody has replaced my old fleece Hoody as my go-to jacket. Pros: Packable: Compresses down really well Light: I don’t even notice it when I’m wearing it or have it clipped to my harness Fitted: The trim design is awesome, it doesn’t bunch up or crease when I have it on under a hard shell and a heavy backpack Vibrant: Personal choice, but I love Arc’teryx’ use of bright colors. For my photography the color of this jacket really stands out. Simple: There really isn’t anything I’d take away from this jacket. Cons and Areas to improve: Stuff sack could be improved with a couple of compression straps on the side to pack the Hoody down even smaller. I don’t like carrying around air. Zip or Velcro on the Stuff sack pocket: The pocket for the stuff sack does not seal, but the stuff sack can be removed. It would be nice to have the option of using that pocket to...
7 Exercises to do while watching TV
This post is not at all about endorsing that you spend a lot of time in front of TV’s or screens but I’m also a realist. At least an hour of my day, especially during the Winter, darker months, is spent watching TV. I don’t have cable or satellite so I usually end up watching a documentary I can stream online, or I queue up a few videos during the week using Vimeo or Youtubes “Watch Later” feature and then watch them all at once. I’m not a fan of sitting for long periods of time so I started looking for stretches and exercises I could do that wouldn’t be so distracting as to make trying to watch and learn something on the TV redundant. I am also not recommending that these should become your only stretching and exercise regime when not engaging in your chosen activities. For me these exercises are merely supplemental to my own regular Yoga and exercise schedule. It’s an alternative to statically sitting or lying for an hour. I run, climb, ski and hike mainly so these exercises are geared more towards those activities. Still, everyone can do them and you will notice improvements over time if you stay consistent. 1. IT Band Stretches: If you run or even hike and backpack long distances then IT Band stretches are excellent. I used to suffer from stiff and sore knee joints before I started to stretch my ITB on a regular basis. Here are a few I do on a regular basis. Seated IT Band Stretch: If you have a foam roller and Yoga mat you can also do the following in front of the TV if you have the floor space. 2. Hip Flexor Stretch: Similar to the IT Band, Hip Flexor stretches are not only great for the legs but also for nagging lower back pain which I sometimes suffer from. This whole Yin Yoga video is excellent, but skip to minute 39:20 to see a pose I do if I’m lying on the couch to give my hip flexor a stretch. 3. Squats: Trusty Squats. I do as many reps as I can or few sets a minute or two apart. Do what works for you. 4. Thigh Steering Exercise: Skip to minute 1:40 to see the exercise. It may look simple but trust me, if you don’t ski regularly it will start to feel pretty difficult around the 25 to 35 rep mark. 5. Heel Raises: Pretty straightforward exercise. Good working on calf strength, endurance and flexibility. I primarily do them for ice climbing as I get...
Mount Baker: Ice Climbing
“Did you see the BCMC call out for a trip to the Mt Baker seracs to do some ice climbing? Do you want to sign up?” This was the question I received in a text from Leigh one morning in October. I texted back within seconds saying “Anniversary at Baker!” It just so happened that the Thursday before the trip we would see our 8th year wedding anniversary come and go. This seemed like the perfect way to see in another year of adventure together. We signed up for the trip and started dreaming about climbing ice again. The only type of ice that Leigh and I have climbed before has been waterfall ice, some in the Rockies and some in the Coastal Range, so climbing glacier ice was going to be a new experience for us and it was going to take some time to knock the rust off of our recently acquired ice climbing skills. We set up top-ropes at the first wall of ice we could walk up to on the glacier. These first climbs proved to be more difficult than anticipated, and everyone, albeit 1 or 2, had to shout “take” more than once on their way up. There were several bulges and overhangs to contend with and the density of this ice was proving to be very hard and made for some very ginger tool placements, as no crampon or ice pick was really sinking in. All part of the learning process and also part of the beauty of ice climbing, no two walls of ice are ever the same. Once we had our fill of these climbs we decided to make our way over to an area where 2 from our group set up a few more ropes. We had to weave around gaping crevasses, jump over cracks in the ice and down-climb some sections just to get to the climbing area. It was unnerving but so much fun at the same time. It was really starting to feel like we were on another planet with such an other-worldly almost eery feeling. The only sounds apart from the odd shout of “on belay” or “climb on” was the groaning and cracking of the glacier. I walked the final narrow ice bridge towards the crevasse where the top-ropes were set up to see that you had to rappel into the hole if you wanted to climb. I felt a reluctance at first, as my first instinct is to always avoid being inside a crevasse, but I had to find a way to push through it and I joined Leigh and our friend Scott down below. Did someone say...
What gets us Stoked, IX
This is going to be the second to last installment of weekly videos to get you motivated. We’ll still be posting videos, just differently. We’ll have more information about that next week. Here is what we’re watching though that we feel should inspire you to get outdoors this week. Amazing Timelapse: Skiing: Ice Climbing: Rock Climbing: Mountain...
What gets us Stoked, VIII
Some of the videos we watched this week that we hope you will also. We especially like the piece featuring Adam Campbell called “Silence”. It was filmed close to our home on Brohm Ridge. A pretty special place to go running. Let us know if you’ve watched something this week that inspired you. Mixed Climbing: Sky Running: Living Life: Mountaineering: Trail...
