It has snowed 4 times here in the mountains on the front range. In the mountains they have opened some of the resorts and skiing is going on even as we speak.

Here the gear is ready - that gear that straddles the line between winter and fall. Jackets that perform well in wet and cold conditions but has the opportunity vent should the mercury start to rise. Its my first experience with this type of weather.

You know the running joke in Colorado is “if you don’t like weather, just wait 20 minutes.” This proves to be so true so you need to be ready.

This season and last I have been enjoying the miracle of Merino. The Smartwool brand has great gear, and the Ice Breaker team does too. I am going to be testing out some Ibex gear here shortly and will provide my feedback on all three.

Interestingly enough if your cool gear does get washed and dried - it will shrink a little but not like the old days. The warmth ratio is extremely high and the fabric is no longer scratchy. So take a look as wool….primarily merino - its my go to base layer this time of year.

Look into some of the new soft/hard shells that are on the market. I hope to have more data on them in coming weeks.

Its mid winter most places in the US with snow on the ground. My brother is in Jackson with some fresh powder and I am here in Florida with 80 and sunny.

Where would you rather spend winter? Everyone here in FL is so delighted with our weather - yet I could stand a good month or three or more of fresh snow, chopping wood and playing in the outdoors.

Weather man said that a front was coming through - indeed a front that will drop our temp to the high 70s brrr. Give me a big chocolate lab bounding through snow and a day or two on the mountains….please.

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OK so first lets say that I am torn on this issue. I have both really great things to say about man made aka synthetics and naturals in all walks of life.

Just recently, today in fact at lunch I was asked about a synthetic and if I was interested in trying it. It was a digestible and I decided to pass. Now in all fairness to all products great and small I passed on a lot of things this just happened to be one of them. I don’t know that I have ever tried Monavie (please don’t stop reading this isn’t a pitch for them) but I have tried acai berry juice from Whole foods.

When it comes to what goes into my body naturally I am inclined to go the natural route…beer included. A good natural micro brew with less extra stuff going on suits me better than say a highly manufactured beer.

Now back to gear….I love wool and am excited to try the new stuff from Icebreaker.com. I have looked at it over the last couple of years and wondered if it was worth the extra cash. Kind of like buying organic groceries. I think it is but when the rubber meets the road or in this case the shirt meets the shoulders I will let you know. Its all natural and its got a ton of awesome properties.

What about the cool synthetic stuff? Patagonia is one of my favorite brands because they get it. You know what I mean. They care about what we care about and want the outdoors to be here for many generations to come….so that they can enjoy what we do. They have cool stuff like capilene and its awesome.

Is it better than natural? Not sure? I love both…and own both. Since its going on my body instead of in it the big question comes down to how does it make you feel? Weigh in and let me know your thoughts.

The last few years have seen some really cool stuff. And when I say last few - lets throw a bigger than 2-3 year net around that.

We saw the birth of Keen Shoes - man do I love there stuff. It wears well is cut for performance and function and its comfortable.

We saw the birth of Crocs - I know Waldies was first but Crocs rock or at least they did rock. Now they are into everything and some of its cool but some of its clearly not outdoors anymore.

We saw FIVEFINGERS from Vibram what a very cool product - own several pair and they are doing extremely well.

So lets look at those three just for a moment. Three great companies - three great shoes - so why do we buy them for our outdoor activity? And then why do so many people coming behind us buy them for their outdoor activities or just to plain old wear?

I am going somewhere here - I truly understand that the outdoor industry only has so many customers and that the shoe people need to reach other markets. That’s cool - but does it change the core of the awesome product we fell in love with and made popular?

In the case of Keen the answer is clearly no…the same holds true for vibram I think. But as a paddler who wore crocs way before they were cool (I can remember two girls stopping and then taking a double take when I was in the grocery store isle - wish I could say it was me but it was the crocs - orange crocs to boot) maybe just maybe we have been abandoned?

Let me hear your thoughts…

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Eclectic 3.0: The Roads Less Traveled from Ross Ching on Vimeo.

Hey there these guys have great stuff. If you love fly fishing then check them out.