The Cirro's maiden trip was into the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho for a short day of back country skiing. On our first accent I was worried that it was too thin and wouldn't handle the wind, so I put my shell over it to block the wind. Let's just say as an under layer it works almost too well, so off came the shell and I continued on to the top. The only time I needed to put my shell back on was at the top were the wind was the worse and I was standing still. It kept me warm while still providing great breath ability keeping me dry, while the outer fabric handled the wind.

Onw thing to point out is that my biggest worry was the outer fabric.  It is very thin and light. I was worried that it would not hold up well to any wear. Well after a day of bush whacking after a group of boy scouts, through dense, dry, and thorny trees, I was yet again amazed to see that it held up just fine with not a single snag or rip.

The only thing I would adjust is to give it a bit more athletic fit. It was a bit baggier around my waist than I like, but it is hard to count that as a fault as I am a fairly skinny guy.   My climbing friends that tried it on all felt that the arms were short.  For me though I liked it just a bit short as then it didn't bunch up around my gloves when my shell was over it.

All in all I have to say that this is a good jacket. Adding in it's price ($189) and weight (12.4oz.) it becomes a great jacket that I would recommend to anyone.  It also comes in a standard jacket (no hood), and pullover version as well.

Here is a short list of specs and features.

• Insulation: Primaloft One®, 60g/m²
• Shell Fabric: 15 denier Pertex^™
• Weight (size - M): 12.4 oz. (343 g)
• Highly Breathable
• Stuffs into the chest pocket

Product Page Link

Probably the best way to explain them is in there own words on there Facebook company overview.

We love soccer. We love talking about soccer, playing soccer, watching soccer, thinking about soccer, playing soccer video games, playing fantasy soccer, playing with soccer puppets, dressing up like soccer stars, and even writing in our soccer diaries about soccer. We want to share this love with you.

Well I have to admit they truely mean what they say.  They have answered questions for me about everything.  From what shoes I should get, to what is a good sock for my girls that stays up and is not huge.  All the employees I have worked with go out of there way to help out.

Another thing to point out is that they are always having some kind of contest or at least some way to get a bit of a deal.  Just last week I won a 2010 Brasil Home World Cup jersey.  I will get a pic of it up as soon as it shows up.  Mostly I just wanted to get up a little note and let everyone know about a great company that has helped me out and I will be supporting.  You will also notice that I have put an ad up for them on this page.  Please note that this is not a paid ad, I just really like these guys and want to help them grow.  Oh and as they state on there site and many other places that they have a strong policy that that there is "No Charge for Awesomeness."  This is found out when I got my Brazil World Cup jersey.  They put candy in with every shipment.  Sorry but there is not much more awesome than that.

For sweet soccer gear from people that love what they do go here.  SoccerPro.com

What you might ask.  Well it is the AirBlaster Ninja Suit, and it is by far one of the best purchases I have made in a long time. Even though I  hate to report that the wife returned hers.  (I will talk about why in just a bit.)

As for mine, well again this thing rocks and here are a few points why.

1. One-piece means, one less waist band, and one less shirt coming un-tucked, and one less thing around my neck. With the integrated hood it is solid coverage from head to ankle.  This has been a much bigger advantage than I expected and why I am placing it at the top of the list.
2. Integrated hood, with a high front zipper.  This has basically gotten rid of the need of a balaclava.  Now for someone that likes to have something over there mouth and nose on cold days, this just won't cover it.  As for me, I like to cover right to the bottom of my chin and stop there.  This is exactly were the Ninja Suits hood comes to and works well for me.  With a little modding it would not be hard to add a small fleece face mask that integrates into the hood.
3. Long arms with great thumb holes in the cuffs.  I have heard some people call them monkey paws, but what ever you call them these work, and work well.
4. Small and simple, around the waist, waist disposal zipper.  Yep that is how I am saying it.  Instead of a flap in the back like your grandpa used to have, the whole thing practically zips into two parts.  This was a plus for my but a minus for my wife and the reason why she returned hers.  The zipper just wasn't quite in the right place and made the process much more complicated.

Now I have the synthetic version, but Airblaster does make a version out of merino wool.  One day this will get added to my  bag of goods.  They also make a cheaper version that I hope to get my hands on at the up coming SIA show.   I will let you know what I think.    As far as the price goes, you just have to remind yourself you are getting a top, and bottom together.

With all that said I highly recomed giving the Ninja Suit a try.    Check out Airblaster at http://www.myairblaster.com/

Rafting and sunscreen just don't play nice together.  The constant in and out of the water combined with sweat and grit causes sunscreen to wear off rather fast.  This past Saturday was "Short shorts Saturday" (pictures are soon to follow).  Needless to say, there was some bright white skin showing and sunscreen was going to be a must.  I figured what better time to try out the new K2 sunscreen than now.

K2 offers two versions, one with SPF 30 and one with 50.  They hooked us up with some of the 50 so that's what we went with.  I applied the sunscreen about 30 minutes before getting on the water and made sure it went all the way up above the daisy dukes I was so fashionably sporting.  Now it was time for the water.

I've never had sunscreen work quite like this before.  One application in the morning and one more at lunch and I was ready to rock.  I spent all day out in the sun with my beatiful white thighs out for the world to see and today, not a spot of sunburn.  This stuff is the BEST.  I've never had sunscreen work like this before.  Here's some places to check it out:

REI

Amazon

Since I know you were wondering...they even have in the gallon size, just in case you were hoping to swim in it.

Companies everywhere lately are trying to jump on the Eco friendly band wagon.  Just the other day we received an email from an "Eco friendly" leather handbag manufacturer.  Pretty impressive, I'd like to see how they do it.

Companies seem to have realized that if they stand on top of a mountain and tell the world just how Eco-friendly they are, it might be good for business.  The companies we should really be looking at though are the ones that haven't said a word about it at all.

The most exciting new Eco-friendly product lately isn't really a product at all.  To the general consumer, Chaco appears to be a company that makes sandals and shoes that come in recycled cardboard boxes.  Pretty cool.  What the general consumer doesn't get to see though is the packaging from their flip flop appropriately named the Flip.  Wrapped around any outdoor industry flip flop is a plastic bag.  Teva uses a bag made out of  a biodegradable material but they filled their bag with holes...weight savings maybe?  The bag is virtually useless after shipping.  Chaco, on the other hand, has a sturdy, biodegradable bag devoid of any holes.

Having spent countless hours bending over picking up my dogs' daily deposits, it quickly occurred to me that this bag is the perfect size for doing the deed.  It's durable so my hands don't end up gross, it's big enough to manage everything, and it's biodegradable.  What more could you want from a poop bag?  Every outdoor retailer that carries the Chaco Flip will have these bags.  Swing by and ask them to save the bags for your pooch.  They should be more than happy to oblige.  Pretty awesome Chaco.  Mother Earth called, she has a high five waiting with your name all over it.