The Gearguy looks at storage systems
Greetings and a belated Happy Holidays! With the holidays comes the inevitable acquisition of that commodity so near and dear to the Gear Guy’s heart, new gear!!! As you might have gathered by now, Gear Guy owns quite a bit of gear; so much of it in fact that keeping it all acceptably organized and accessible is quite a challenge. Since Mrs. Gear Guy has not yet convinced him to turn the spare bedroom into a gear closet, he’s had to find other solutions. One of the best, most convenient and affordable is an item produced locally (in our newly minted burg of Centennial), the GearStash. Produced by GearStash Storage Systems Corp. (www.gearstash.com), the GearStash is essentially a long piece of durable poly duck fabric with numerous polypro loops sewn down the length of the “stash” (similar to daisy chains on many packs). From these loops you hang your gear using the provided hooks, mesh sacks, and other gear-hanging paraphernalia. They include an ingenious widget for hanging skis or other long items like ski poles or fishing poles, and they even have an optional doohicky (sorry for the technical terms) for hanging your bicycle.
Installing the GearStash is a breeze. First locate an unused section of wall that is at least seven feet high in your basement, gear closet, living room or bedroom. The GearStash comes in three widths to fit the back of a door or spaces 2.5 feet and 5 feet wide (costing $55, $90, and $150 respectively). An aluminum pole is threaded through loops at the top of the stash and hung from the provided screw hooks that you screw into your wall. The screw hooks are rated to 75 pounds each, but make sure you screw them into wall studs (the 2x4s that reside behind your wall board) to achieve this load rating. The manufacturer even includes a neat little installation kit comprised of a tiny level, pushpins and thread to help you get your stash installed straight up and down. Decide what spacing you want for your gear hooks and get organizing. The included mesh bags can also be hung from the gear hooks and are great for corralling rock shoes, gloves, hats, headbands or other items that get sweaty or wet and require air flow for drying. So if you need to get your stuff organized or just off the floor, check out the GearStash. I’ve got two more on order.
Kewl Tewl of the millennium: Marmot Dri-clime windshirt. It’s unbelievable that this is my third article, and I still haven’t talked about these incredible jackets. In simple terms, they are magic. They are warm when you need warm, windproof when it’s windy, breathable when you’re working hard, and surprisingly water resistant. Inexpensive, too, at an MSRP of $99.
In the summer it’s all the shell you need except in a downpour. In the winter with the right layers underneath, it keeps you warm down to the 20’s as long as you’re moving, and it functions as a great windproof/insulation layer under a softshell in colder conditions. When I took an avalanche course at Eldora, virtually all the ski patrollers wore Dri-clime windshirts. When I was climbing in Canada this summer, all the mountain guides wore Dri-clime windshirts. Seeing a pattern here? It’s no accident. Absolutely the most versatile piece of clothing that I own and one that I wear pretty much every single day in the mountains, no matter the season. I never leave home without mine. Get one; you won’t be sorry. If you’re still not convinced, look for a review of several brands and models of windshirts in an upcoming issue. P