National Outdoors -- Kids Clothing | Gear

I tested the Patagonia Down Sweater Jacket on a few early season backcountry ski tours. Weather conditions varied from bone-chilling fluffy powder, to a face stinging grapple, to a cool, clear blue bird morning. The Down Sweater Jacket kept me toasty as intermediate layer beneath my shell and as a outer layer. The jacket weights under a pound and can compress to the size of a Nalgene bottle. The shell material is made from 50% recycled polyester.

Tech Specs:

New for 2009. The Seattle Sports Active Trax is an eco-friendly portable speaker. The Active Trax is powered by a hand crank and/or a solar panel. The speaker is compatible with most music players, and also can tune in FM, AM and Weather Band Stations. The Active Trax comes with a protective case for the speaker and music player. You can find the frequency of the weather station in your area by visiting the NOAA website.

It's that time of the year, when biking has to go indoors. As you all know, there are a number of trainers out there. I picked the 1up trainer because it was rated very highly by users of mtbreview.com, it looked study enough for a mountain bike, and 1upusa is a small company from Wisconsin.