Mammut Borah DLX

Yes I do wear my Chaco's for the better part of the year. Yes I do wear Croc's when I go climbing. No I do not always take the best care of my feet or worry about my footwear. Which is why I have never owned a pair of approach shoes before. However, I rescently spent some time thrashing a pair of the Mammut Borah DLX in Moab Utah, and like all the other Mammut gear I have used so far, it impressed me.

Initial Impression(s):
They are not a light or breathable shoe. The asymetrical shape isn't the same fit I'm use to.



Main Points of Notice
They offer a solid and ridged footbed for maximum support along with an Ortholite Insole which makes the shoe very comfortable for extended periods of time. The Vibram Rubber sole offers surprising traction in most every condition you will encounter on you approach or day hiking. The are a very durable shoe that is going to last you a long time. And, most importantly, they look cool!



Conclusion
The amount of grip while scrambling on every surface from very slippery sand stone to granite was shocking. For the first time I understood why people wore approach shoes instead of their Croc's. I'm still not completely sold on them being more supportive, but I definitely think the added grip and overall foot protection and this is reason enough for me to switch over to using them on a regular bases.



The Borah DLX is offered for men and women and costs $119. Overall I think they are well worth the cost and will not disappoint.

Buy them Here!

Mammut Smart

At first it was difficult to accept the fact that one could have an auto-locking belay device with no mechanical parts. When I first got hold of the Smart, I was amazed by how light and simple the device appeared. Setup and disassembly is very straight forward, just like almost all other belay and repel devices.

In actual use, the device shows its true colors as a smooth and functional sport climbing tool. However, there was a little difficulty in learning the appropriate hand motions to really gain any advantage with the device. The major breakthrough to understanding its true potential was in reading its instructions, then looking at the illustrations. If you look at the illustrations first you get the impression of using the device in a certain fashion that does not really turn out the way one expects. By reading about the operation of the device, then looking at the illustrations, I really began to understand how the device worked and how to use it to best affect.

The Smarts "lever" is really not a lever in a sense you have to rotate the device. It works best as a "hook" that you use to "push" against to control the amount of friction you feel on the rope. By using both hands, one on the "hook", the other on the brake side of the rope, lowering can be as smooth as any belay device found in use. Which everyone really wants in an auto-locking belay device anyway.

I am extremely impressed with my Smart. It is the perfect secondary belay device in any sport rack.

Mammut TX-1

Lately I have been rather unimpressed with new gear that has come out on the market. Not that it isn't good stuff, but none of it has really gotten me excited. It seems like it is just all the same and it has me bored. So, when we got in the Mammut TX-1 headlamp initially I wasn't that excited, and thought to myself "it's just another headlamp." However, upon using the TX-1 my whole universe changed.



The Lucido technology that Mammut uses is amazing. The square beam is by far the longest reaching concentrated beam of light I have ever experienced from a headlamp. Mammut claims that the beam reaches 105 meters. It is probably one of the few headlamp beam claims I believe, agree with, and support.

Frank using his TX-1 in a cave

This winter I used it backcountry skiing at night, hiking, camping, and on early morning mountain biking rides. I can honestly say that I was never once disappointed with how this headlamp performed. It just didn't matter what the conditions were the TX-1 was able to provide me with the adequate light. I also enjoyed sitting around the camp at night and challenging friends to a beam off contest to see who's beam stretched further into the night. I always won!

One of my favorite non-light features is that you can flip the head of the lamp (i.e. where the on/off switch is) into the housing. This feature protects the headlamp face from scratching in your pack as well as from turning on and draining your batteries.

Getting back from an early morning Mt Bike Ride

My major complaint is that it is more bulky then I would like it to be. I'm not a big fan of the battery case on the back.

Pros
Awesome Beam
Battery Life indicator on the back
Multiple light settings

Cons
Size & Weight

Spech's
Battery Life max: 180hrs
Light Range max: 105m
Weight: 95g / 150g with batteries
LED Type: 1 x HiFlux.LED, 2 x Definition.LED
Flood-Light HIGH: 14m
Flood-Light LOW: 7m
Dual-Light: 105m
Batteries: 3AA

Check out our selection of Headlamps HERE!