Fat Boy Deluxe

One of the many generous gifts my brother and sister-in-law gave me over Christmas was a set of Cabela’s MTP Compression Skinz™ Polar-Weight Mock-T and Bottoms. It’s basically Cabela’s store branded version of UnderArmour. The last few weeks have been excellent for testing cold weather gear, hitting -15º on one particularly cold and windy day.

First up is the Mock-T. It’s black, so of course I look dead sexy in that sausage still in it’s casing kind of way. It’s tight, yet it doesn’t shorten up on you while you’re riding, avoiding the dreaded chilly air draft up the back. Tuck it in your pants or leave it out, it does a good job of staying put. The added neck portion at the top seems to be good for keeping a little extra warmth in, but not tall enough to be annoying if you forgot to shave that morning.

Next up are the bottoms, also in dead sexy black. Like the top, they are good at protecting against the cold air, only this time it’s the dreaded crusty ice crack… The bottoms are tight, but loose enough in all the right places. Most importantly, like a set of long johns, you can whiz without having to pull them down, big bonus, especially when riding in the woods. The only problem I have so far with the bottoms are the ankle cuffs being really tight, so it takes a little extra umph to get them on/off, but that might just be due to my fat metal cankles.

Couple of things both the top and bottoms that has impressed me so far:

• X-Static Technology – oh yea! My biggest complaint about using normal long johns is the static. Maybe it’s just me, but I can practically light up a room with the static I generate just putting clothes on and taking them off. Not only do these things keep from generating static, they actually seem to absorb the static generated by my other layers.
• Again, X-Static Technology, only this time I’m talking about the silver coated textile that they weave into the fabric. It’s main purpose is anti-odor and I’ll be damned, it works great. It’s been a month and I’m just getting around to washing them and not because they smelled, because they were just dirty from riding in the slushy, salty, wet road grime.

So there you have it. If you’re looking for some base layer action, this top/bottom set gets a winter thumbs up.

Picked up my new DaKine hydration pack (Black Camo) that I got online from REI-Outlet and had them just ship it to the local REI shop for free shipping, cause I’m cheap like that.

Looks like REI raised the price of the pack since I bought it, from just under $30 to almost $45! Must have been a small rush of people to buy this thing. I know I told some people, who told some people, which resulted in a few buys…right Arleigh. Anyway, just picked up the bag last night and it’s pretty spiffy. I’ve owned one, count it one hydration pack in all of my biking days. It’s a circa 2001, 100 oz. Camelbak MULE. It’s seen it’s fair share of ground crushing wrecks, tree scrapes, and rock rubbing, and it’s lasted a good 7 years. At this point the zippers are broken, holes in the fabric are getting to the point I might actually lose things, and I have to date never cleaned the water holder… Yes, it was time for a new pack. So when I saw the DaKine Drafter (2006 model) for uber cheap, it looked like a good solution.

A few of my requirements:

• Can hold at least 70 oz. of water (I didn’t fill the 100 oz. full very often)
• An outer mesh pocket (so the GPS can get a good signal, while bing protected)
• Compressions straps (handy not only for compressing, but holding things on the back)
• An airflow system to ward off SBS (Sweaty Back Syndrome)

This pack met all those requirements and upon further inspection, it has a lot of extra things I didn’t think about that will come in handy. Instead of having one large deep pocket to throw things in (like the MULE), it has a long deep pocket with a few small mesh pockets inside to sort gear, which is a godsend when you need something fast. I think a couple of these pockets could also be used for holding 12 oz. bottles securely inside the pack, if you know what I mean. One pocket has a key holder clip, which is also a nice touch.

There’s also a pocket on the outside that is lined with fleece, specifically for sunglasses. The fleece gives you a good way to clean off the glasses if you have the need and at the same time keeps them from getting scratched up while being stored and tossed around. Another outside touch is a removable piece that expands the back of the bag to hold a regular XC or full face helmet. They’ve included a little zip pouch at the bottom just to store this extra piece of bag, so you always know where it is.

The hydration part of this pack is pretty slick too. I believe DaKine uses Nalgene water bags and Nalgene has put in some thought into their hydration design features that will make this pack even more useful. The water in port at the top is covered by a huge screw on lid, so it’s easy to screw on/off and easy to fill with the large hole access. The water tube itself has a quick release, so it can be cleaned by itself or the bag can be stored full without the hose attached. To get water out, there is a bite valve with a lock that looks a lot more secure than my old MULE, which had a simple slit in the end and tended to drip on you when not in use.

All this adds up to what I hope will be a great hydration pack for at least the next 7 years…hoping to push 10 out of this one. Once I’ve taken it out for some good rolling fun, I’ll report back to see if the features are actually useful or all just a show.