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Thanks Thanks to everyone. All excellent comments. I'm gathering that the number one item is fit. Second, that for me, the Arctis Expe is perhaps overkill for the Northeast, even if your feet tend to run cold. I'll focus first on the Degre, then on the Scarpa Inverno, then perhaps on the Expe...

I’m in the market for a pair of plastic boots and have narrowed the field to two candidates: Koflach Arctis Expe (at $365, near the outer extreme of my budget) and Scrapa Inverno (at $279, a little more affordable). My foot (size 10) is wide, with a low arch, and I know the Invernos tend to...

depends where you are Mike, Deer season (firearms) in New York State begins Nov. 18 in the Southern Zone. It began Oct. 21 in the Northern Zone. But your point is well taken...I wear some orange even during bow season. zeke

Sorry, wrong location... Sorry, I accidentally posted this thread in the Site Help location. I've got a request in to Darren to shift it to Q&A. I'm a little slower than usual this a.m. zeke

We’re planning on climbing Bearpen and Vly sometime before hunting (firearm) season starts. We’ll be hiking from the col between the two mountains. Are the herd paths going up these mountains easy to locate? On the map, neither looks difficult to navigate, but I've heard there’s a network of...

We're planning a hike up Table Mt. sometime in the next few weeks and would like to head over to Lone as well. The Catskills guidebook says there's a herd path a little way past the summit of Table (on the way to Peekamoose) that leads over to Lone. Is this herd path obvious? Is it the...

humble pie coldfeet, There are so many things that can factor in. Mike P. notes several in his earlier post. One's "grade" as a hiker is all so relative. For example: My wife and I finished the Adirondack 46 five years ago and attended the yearly get-together where the 46ers award you with a...

high end ... mass market Yes, agreed. The problem (as in the original complaint about the current TNF Mountain Light jacket) is when a product has taken a big step toward the fashion crowd but is still REPRESENTED as one of "our most technically advanced products. Designed for expedition...

who's left? Shayne, I'm hoping Arc'Teryx is one of the good ones left. In place of the Mountain Light, I'm purchasing a Theta AR jacket, pricey but I don't want to mess around anymore. As some of the earlier posts point out, I think most of the big names, including TNF, make some good...

I understand that The North Face was purchased by Vanity Fair and that a certain amount of fashion/consumer influence will be evident in the company's more popular jackets. But the Mountain Light jacket I recently bought was a joke. Its core-vent zips fall directly under your pack straps. Its...

Sorels too hot? Hard to say I own a pair of two-year-old Sorel Conquests and I’m not a fan of them for cold-weather hikes. Though they’re rated to -40F, my feet get cold in them in temperatures much higher than that, especially if I stop for any amount of time. I think the Sorels are a little...

SLR not generally practical on hikes I've lugged my Canon Rebel SLR film camera along on hikes in the past and found that, although the pics were excellent, stopping to use the camera was almost the equivalent of stopping to have lunch--stop, take off the pack, retrieve the camera, take it out...

my experience with three OR balas Blue: I’m in the process of refining the balaclava I use and have done the buy-return, buy-return thing several times in the last month. I’ve been focusing on an Outdoor Research balaclava because I like OR products generally, though the other items mentioned...

blue mt. lot not reliably plowed in 2004 We hiked from this lot one week, then three weeks later did an overnight from this same lot in the Jan/Feb timeframe last year (2004). On both occasions, the trailhead parking lot was not plowed. However, a third, pull-over lane opens up as you approach...

synthetic alternatives mountain goat, I've never bought a pair of down mitts mainly because I'm afraid of getting them wet and negating their insulating power. For Xmas, my wife (under light guidance) gave me a pair of OR Summit mitts, which combine a waterproof-breathable shell and a...

Let me play the devil's advocate It took me three attempts to get to the top of Marcy in the winter. I hiked all three times solo, which can have an effect on how daring you are and how much energy you need to exert. Each trip had its own challenges. On the first trip, I turned around within a...

So what do you use when? The soft shell strategy sounds great, but can someone enlighten me on what you use over it and under it in different conditions? It seems to do everything a hard shell does except provide waterproof and windproof protection. If that's the case, then do you have to lug...

elbows Coldfeet, In January 2003, I was was standing on a ladder, clearing ice from my roof, when the ladder suddenly (like in a nanosecond) disappeared from under me and I was up there by myself in space. I came down on a slate sidewalk on my left elbow, which pulverized the olecranon, the...

winter bags I have a -20F bag from Mountain Hardware that I use in combination with a bag liner on the inside and a bivy sack on the outside (over feet and midsection), plus a winter-grade pad underneath. Inside the bag, I typically wear most of what I was wearing during the day (base layer...