Gearing for the Flow

By Chris Kalous

Waterkeeper Alliance T-shirt

Think of this a gear for your soul. Waterkeeper Alliance is a grassroots organization that supports efforts around the US and the globe to defend water sources against polluters. If your beef is with this or that dam being built on your favorite stretch of whitewater, then this may not be your zone. But if you care about the overall health of our rivers and streams, and the ecosystems that they support, click over to waterkeeper.org and buy a T-shirt or something. Better yet, donate time or money. You’ll feel good, and maybe…just maybe, your kids’ kids will still have somewhere to safely skinny-dip in 60 years. $24.99 www.waterkeeper.org

Omnium

These beefy and rugged river sandals take some of Teva’s tried and true designs and add a little more armor to protect your feet. As a result, I am pretty sure that these sandals can beat up your sandals. An airy padded upper and solid toe-box eliminate the possibility for those painful toe-to-rock stubs that most sandals eventually deliver — tears and all. I liked the fact that the fit depends on a buckle rather than Velcro, which wears out more quickly and does not function when dirty and wet. These little armadillos were tested and refined during the filming of Teva’s joint I-MAX project Grand Canyon Adventure: a River at Risk — a film made to raise awareness of the issues facing river conservation. Teva’s website touts fairly extensive efforts by the company to protect and renew our water resources. It’s good job security for Teva, and just plain good sense. $70 www.teva.com

Albright A5 Five-Piece Fly Rod;
Bugati Reel

Fly-fishermen, ahem, I mean anglers, are a tricky bunch: some see the modern rise in the sport as a plague of locusts on their sacred holes, while some spend thousands on gear for a weekend in the Frying Pan. And some are people like you and me who want to go fishing now and again, and, if the fish ain’t biting, think a beer and smoke on the bank can be a good substitute. The Albright A5 and Bugati are aimed at us in that they are good, functional gear for a lot less money than one would expect in a sport that is in overall cost right up there with golf and wine-spitting. The well-balanced A5 has casting power and finesse. It doesn’t quite compare to my higher-end rod (a hand-me-down from pa), but for the price, it’s close enough. The Bugati is a basic disc drag reel that works smoothly and looks like it could take a beating and still function. The five-piece design of the A5 and case make it an ideal backpacker rig, or for stashing under the seat for unpredicted hatches. Although Albright’s fortunes fall and rise with the waters, I didn’t find an environmental statement on their website. $225, $69 www.albrighttackle.com 

 

Original Mountain Pant and Alpine Utility Shorts 

Canvas work pants have become part of the uniform for us mountain folks (and river rats), despite the fact that many of us spend as little time working as possible. And so that dangling hammer loop (yes, that’s what that thing is for) follows us from the jobsite to out-on-the-town, and even, admit it, a wedding or two. Mountain Khakis, out of Jackson Hole, is here to help us lose the loop. Their line of clothing for men and women nails the mountain look, but with style that leaves the jobsite behind. The Original Mountain Pant maintains the bomber three-stitch seams and stout construction we want from a rugged pant, but with a soft cotton canvas and a svelte fit. The Alpine Utility Shorts, a knee-length all-activity short, also sports rugged construction and a clever pocket design. Both are simple, clean-lined garments that will still outlast anything in your wardrobe. Also, MK gives at least 1% net revenue to environmental organizations including the Snake River Fund. $70, $60. www.mountainkhakis.com

 

Energy Bar

I will admit right here that my favorite energy bar is a Snickers, followed closely by a cheeseburger. But my more savvy athlete friends tell me that a Snickers is mostly empty calories and cheeseburgers are just not very transportable — believe me, I’ve tried. So lately, in lieu of eating straight sugar from the pack, I have been running Probars, and handing them out to friends. Made from 100% organic and vegan ingredients, the 3-oz. bars pack a walloping 350 calories, and everyone found at least couple flavors that they really liked. All provided filling, long-lasting energy. Just added is a new sweet and savory variety, but regrettably, no cheeseburger flavor. $3.29 www.theprobar.com

 

Sport Drink Tabs

While playing around in water is fine, drinking the stuff, just plain old water, is so 1964. In 2004 Nuun came up with the simplest and most tidy way to get those electrolytes that are so conspicuously missing from the tap. These fizzing tablets (twelve in a pack) are easily transported, easily added to a water bottle, and easily swilled for a flavorful electrolyte dousing. While the dissolving action does not leave the drink carbonated (burping is bad), it does have a little charge to it. The point is that these are not powder, so you can drop a tube in your pack and use a tab to remix any time you refill without a mess and residue. As a bonus, the Kona Cola flavor has a little hit of my second favorite drug: caffeine. $6.50 www.nuun.com

 

Dale’s Pale Ale and Old Chub Scottish Ale

Good micro-brew in a can? Yeah, right! Every snobby micro-brew aficionado knows that only yellow schwag-beer brewed in county-sized vats comes in cans. Well, folks, get over it because Oskar Blues Brewery of Lyons CO is putting its batch brewed, delicious beers in cans and it makes total sense. Bottles suck in the backcountry, on the river, and anywhere else you might want to carry them for more than fifty yards. Cans are crushable and light, infinitely recyclable, and they do not effect the flavor one iota. Cans, shmans, you say? What about the beer? Dale’s Pale Ale and Old Chub both tear it up with full, complex flavor that you’d expect from craft beers. Smoky undertones and the punch of 8% alcohol sealed the deal for me on the Old Chub. Oskar Blues also has several other varieties, so find the one you like, load the slabs in the back of the raft and you are in heaven. $8 www.oskarblues.com

 

The Railbenders

Man, river rats love their bluegrass. They just can’t get enough of those spunky banjos and down-home harmonies. But oddly, if somebody dials up straight country, a little Yoakam perhaps, on the radio while cruising back upstream, they just might get booed out of the shuttle. This is a damn shame and Denver, Colorado’s Railbenders will show you why. These boys unapologetically rip through tunes about drivin’ trucks, drinkin’ whiskey, losin’ women, and even a train song or two. While channeling Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, George Jones, and a little ZZ Top (pre-Eliminator, of course), the Railbenders feature ripping electric pickin’ and a big bass fiddle to keep your two-step in line. No bullshit xenophobic songs about Iraq here, just goodtime footstomping music and a couple ballads to keep it real. Check out their latest CD Showdown, but for the true experience, get to a show this summer and prepare to have their guitarist, Tony Nascar (no kidding), rip your face off with his Telecaster. www.railbenders.com.

MG