These boots are made for walking….and hiking and climbing and winter and….

A Journey of a thousand miles may begin with a single step, but there’s plenty that follow it, so having some good boots is requirement to a happy trip.  Nothing is worse then spending all day on your feet and having you’re feet ache, day in and day out.  So with that in mind and owning nothing but a pair of runners, New Balance’s 857 (henceforth NB), i set out to get me some hiking boots.

After continously failing to find anything that fits my massive size 14 4E feet at work, i made my way to several other stores, trying various brands.  But in the end it was NB once again who i found to have some nice shoes.

The Boot

NB 1200 (MO1200GT)

• GORE-TEX® XCR® offers advanced waterproof protection and durability
• C-CAP® midsole provides cushioning and support
• ABZORB® SBS in both heel and forefoot provides 5-10% more effective cushioning than original ABZORB® with no compression set
• Rock Stop™ embedded into forefoot provides protection from sharp rocks and debris
• STABILITY WEB® delivers midfoot support and reduces the weight of the shoe
• Vibram® outsole provides maximum surface contact and multi-directional traction
• Gusseted Tongue fully attached to shoe keeps debris out
• Asymmetrical Comfort Cuff Collar provides comfort and support
• Removable full-length insert of ABZORB® cushioning provides added comfort
• TPU (Thermoplastic Urethane) Reinforced
  Heel Counter provides maximum stability, a
  more secure fit, and additional heel protection

There’s all the gory marketing details for those interested.  The 1200 is actually an older model, replaced by the aptly named 1201.  But the fit and feel was here for me, and amazingly i actually went up another size, for my boots are 15 2E.  It seems like a big jump, but honestly i felt i had the room I needed in these, and not in the smaller and newer boots.  And thanks to an old work connection I got them for a great price.  Now NB fans will know they make the heavier and tougher 1500 boot now as well.  I do like the 1500, but again… a little pressure on my small toe made me think twice.  The 1200s should be tough enough for most of what I am going to be doing, and anything really taxing, I’m looking at you Killi…. I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

So hopefully these will be my faithful companions, and we’ll find out how they perform over the winter.

The first bit of gear….

I’ve wanted this for a few weeks now.  It holds promise of being a faithful companion, and a few uses already have proved its worth.

I give you….the Spork

Not just any spork though, mine is the Brunton MY-Ti Folding Spork.  weighing in at 0.6oz, its titanium bowl/tongs and folding stainless steel handle help make it super compact and barely noticable.  The tongs are just long enough to dig into meat, as i tested with an order of take out beef fried rice.  The only thing thats slowed down this mighty utensil is a cup of apple sauce, as there’s no tip to really scoop up the last bit.  But putting it in at angle helps a great deal. Fairly simple to clean, but make sure you get everywhere to keep the germs at bay.

Despite what Brunton says, i got mine at MEC for $10

A great meal time companion for the lunch room warrior or traveler alike.

Go Abroad….the Fair!

The Go Abroad fair happened this past weekend, so i figured i’d check it out.  There were lots of educational institutes, a few travel companies, and the government.  I learned a bit from the various presentations, and booths.  Norway’s educational rep proved the stereotype…all girls from norway are blond, blue eyed and rather attractive.  The Scottish presenters had a wonderful accent.  And the travel writer was a bit odd.  It was set in the Queen Elizabeth building at the Ex, and it was glorious in its architecture…all retro futuristic.  On the whole it lacked alot of substence and depth, but it reafirmed a few things i knew before, a few tid bits i didn’t, and made me all the more excited.  I’m not the ideal target for the fair, but i’d recomended it for students looking to get out there.

A Blog by any other name?

Since the re-branding of this blog to focus on my trip, its name has not been sitting well with me.  Tech Mountain Gear is good when talking about, well my gear, but not about anything else.  So I figure I’ll hold onto it and use it to discuss my gear at length as I go, but for the main part of the blog, it really does need a better name.

But what?

Nothing immediately pops to my head.  Which is odd, cause normally thats what I’m good for, ideas.  The thought of using an old stand by name for an unwritten Sci-fi story that i have a concept of has come up, but I’m reluctant to give it up.  Something musically inspired?  Or how about some clever travel quote?  Hrm, nothing seems to have staying power.  Hopefully I’ll figure it out, and you’ll all be going to a real honest to goodness website.  Oh my!

Liberating a good concept

The concept is called a monetorium.  Its a moratorium on unnecessary spending, trying to funnel the most amount of funds towards your goal.

This is something i must master if I am ever to leave this place.

I have improved alittle.  my bills are being paid on time.  I’ve cut down on the number of things i buy, like movies, games and such not.  I’ve cut out magazines almost completely.

My current nemesis is food.  I spend inifintely too much on it, and on all the wrong, unhealthy choices as well.  This is where i must cut down.  My beloved Slushies must be stopped!  buying food downtown is also a bad idea.  and in preparation, i must try to eat better too.

So now that it has a name, the Monetorium is in effect!

Why leave the comfort of home?

Setting forth into world is something that I have often thought of, but have never really considered seriously.  As I run through my full time job, the same basic job i’ve been doing for four years selling people the gear they use to get out and do some truely amazing things, I find myself wanting that.  I want to go out and see things that I have never seen before, go places rarely touched and experienced by human-kind.  I’m tired of living my boring but safe life, leading on a road straight to my death without any excitement along the way.

I feel like I need to see whats out there, that i won’t know what i want from life till i really experience it, to live out in the world beyond my small Toronto apartment.  I feel it might be responsible in part for my failures as a creative person, that i just don’t know the world well enough to give my impression of it life.  That also may be an excuse, but I’ll go with that.

I feel like this is something i can run with for the time being, that i can actually make it happen one day… a real obtainable goal.  Been a long time since I’ve had one of those.  We’ll talk about goals in a  different post, but its nice to bring some focus into life every now and then.  As I recently told a friend, I’ve been coasting through life, and i need to give it some direction and drive.

That’s why I want to do this, why I’ll leave my quiet life and go out into the big scary world.

Hello World, Mk. 2

So, Welcome to Tech Mountain Gear, Mk 2.

Whats different you might ask?  Well the focus has changed, and the whole point is to discover the world of travel through the eyes of a novice, someone who knows the gear, sold the gear, but has yet to put it into action.  That would be me.  I have a strong but basic outdoors background, and the largest trip i’ve done was a three week family car vacation in the UK.  So truely this will be an epic undertaking, as i amass the funds, collect the gear and set out to see whats out there.

Lets begin…