OXFAM 100km Trailwalker - Part 1

In 2011 I was surfing around of Facebook and noticed some pictures coming through from the OXFAM 100km Trailwalker event. I saw one of my buddies with his feet taped up, laying on his back with his feet rested against the side of a car. I was immediately intrigued. I clicked through some of the pictures and was excited to see that they were still in the middle of the event and that photos were coming in as they got to the checkpoints. I was amazed. 100 kilometres is something that I had never fathomed possible. First of all I have a love hate relationship with walking. In the city, it's probably one of my least favourite things to do. After experiencing the speed and fun of skateboarding, inline skating and cycling, walking is… slow… and boring. However up north, walking is sometimes a means to get somewhere that is not accessible by car. Walking usually means adventure, not something routine like going to the store to grab groceries. Also, walking in Toronto never really required me to go further than 2-3 kilometres at a time. So seeing pictures of my friend embarking on a 100km challenge was mind boggling. The furthest I had ever gone unassisted by a motor was about 65km on my bicycle when I rode to Canada's Wonderland and back. Being the sucker for punishment that I am, and after being glued to my computer so I could see all the updates from my buddy's walk, I knew I had to try this.

Moon River Falls

It took a while, but after a few debates, we decided on Moon River Falls for our Canada day long weekend destination. We had tossed around ideas ranging from the campgrounds in the Adirondacks, to Algonquin. In the end though, finding something close to Toronto and free pointed us in the direction of Crown Land. Matthias and I dropped off my wife, daughter and my good buddy Benson at our insertion point to the forest, and we went to Moon Basin Marina to park the car. When we met up and started hauling our gear into the forest three things became painfully apparent. The horse files and mosquitos were out in full force, lugging enough beer for a long weekend is very heavy, and it was hot… very hot.

Nike Air Pegasus+ 27 GTX - First Impressions

I will be participating in the OXFAM 100k Trailwalker event this summer. I finally settled on the Nike Air Pegasus+ 27 GTX in mid February. I have been doing a lot of training in High Park and noticed that after about a month, the soles started separating from the shoe! I took them back to The Running Room where I purchased them, and they ordered a new pair for me. I was reassured that it was unusual that they fell apart like that. 

Oakley Flack Jacket XLJ Review

I'll admit that when I saw Travis Haley in the Dynamic Handgun video wearing the Oakley Flag Jackets it planted the seed. Over the years my eyes have betrayed me and degraded to the point that I need prescription glasses. I should mention that if I did not have vision benefits with my job I would have never dreamed of getting prescription Oakleys, but I was eligible, so I figured why not?

I own two pairs of non-prescription Oakley A-Frame goggles, and a pair of Frogskin sunglasses. So I'm used to playing Oakley prices. The reason I keep buying though, is because I really notice the difference in quality between Oakley and the competition. When it comes to comfort and optics for sports, I haven't seen a company that can beat them. 

ORC PCU Level 5 Pants - First Impressions

Not too long ago, a friend of mine sold me his ORC level 5 bottoms. I've been looking to grab a pair for a while, but every time I found a seller, I had to question whether or not I was getting two or three pairs for the price they were asking. Ordering directly from ORC is out of the question because they no longer produce any of the PCU line. The only items they have left in their inventory are the sizes that don't fit me. 

PCU Colour Comparison

One of the the things I find very frustrating about shopping for things online is that the colours you see in the photographs are usually a lot different than what shows up on your doorstep. And of course PCU is no exception. You figure that if companies list clothing as "Alpha Green" they would all be, you know, the same colour. Well, as you can see in the photo below, Alpha Green has many different flavours. 

Left to right: ORC lvl6, Patagonia lvl6, Propper lvl6, Beyond lvl5, ORC lvl5, Propper lvl5, Propper lvl4, ORC lvl4

To me, ORC's level 5 is the quintessential Alpha Green. ORC's MCU is fairly close, albeit super shiny, whereas their level 6 is very dark. Patagonia's Torrentshell, while I know isn't really part of the MARS line, is still listed as Alpha Green. In reality it's a lot closer to olive drab than anything else. What's really surprising is that Beyond Tactical's level 5 is significantly different than ORC's. They're both manufactured by EPICs so why they changed it is a mystery to me.

In the end though, it doesn't really matter. My set of level 6 is still waterproof even though they don't match. And let's be real, when you're biking down the street with level 5 top and bottom, people aren't thinking to themselves, "Wow! Look at how high speed that guy looks!" They're thinking, "What's up with that dude dressed like a Ghostbuster? Halloween is in like 5 months..."

As I collect more PCU, I'll take more pictures for comparison.

Go Home Lake

March 2012

44° 59' 43.4" N, 79° 50' 7.4" W

My camping buddy Matthias and I were planning on trying winter camping this year, but unfortunately winter never showed up. So I dragged my heels in regards to making any camping plans. Fortunately, when Matthias (being the proactive guy that he is) gave me a call and said that we had to do some March camping, I was down.

When we started looking, none of the Ontario Parks were fully open. Unfortunately for us, what Matthias found, after making a few calls, was that all of the Yurts were already reserved. We had success at Moon River in November, so we figured Crown Land camping would be a solid choice. And then we thought back to our last trip, and as fun as it was trying to find a suitable place for a tent in the dark, we decided to wake up early on a Saturday instead of driving up after work on a Friday.

ORC PCU level 4 - First Impressions

After doing a bit of digging around, I thought it might be interesting to check out the level 4 windshirt. I wasn't completely convinced that I needed one, or had any use for one, since the level 5 is also an excellent windshirt. Being the geardo that I am, though, I caved...and contacted ORC to place an order.

They have two windshirts available: the PCU (Block 0) version, and the MCU (Block 1) version. The PCU windshirt is made with the Epic Praetorian fabric by Nextec, has a half zip and is water resistant. The MCU is made with Ecology by Brookwood, has a full zip and is also water resistant. I liked the idea of having a full zip, which would make taking it on and off easier. As well, the introduction of ripstop was appealing, but after reading a review on the Military Morons site, I read that the finish on the MCU had almost a satin-like finish to it. I wasn't too interested in that, so I decided to order the PCU.

Blackhawk! PCU Level 5 - First Impressions

Ok ok, the Blackhawk! Warrior Wear Gen III level 5 Jacket, as far as I can tell is technically not PCU, it's from the ECWCS line. It just seems like the more I research PCU the more confusing things get. Both systems have seven layers, and are virtually the same as far as I can tell except for some extra velcro. Although the ECWCS system was developed in the 80s, Gen III ECWCS was not fielded until 2007, where as PCU was fielded in 2003. Having owned the ORC level 5 jacket, and now looking at the Blackhawk! level 5 jacket, I honestly think that the only major difference is the label. I may get some arguments about this one, but when it comes down to it, they are both softshell jackets made from Nextec's Epic fabric and have virtually all the same features. 

PCU Block 2 Update From Beyond Tactical

I had an interesting conversation with a rep at Beyond Tactical today while trying to get an update on my softshell. I had forwarded them the Protective Combat Uniform Block 2 preview article posted in January on Soldier Systems, and he said that his co-workers were very appreciative of the heads up. I then asked him if Beyond was going to be working on any of the new line of PCU.