More product reviews – Ibex, Craft, Garmin 800

guest — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:19:34 GMT

As promised, I have a few more product reviews for you this week. The first two, Ibex and Craft, came from recommendations I received when I wrote the holiday gift idea column last year.

First some background. As the temperatures drop and we do our monthly ride to Estes Park body temperature management becomes an issue. If we begin at a temperature in the low 30s and climb some 2500 feet, everyone works up a nice sweat by the time we arrive at our mountain destination. The problem is the descent. Wet clothing next to the body on what is essentially a 30-mile descent in a cool canyon makes me cold.

What I typically do this time of the year is to carry an extra sports bra and base layer to Estes Park. I change those layers before descending.

I picked up an Ibex sports top a few weeks back and wore it on my last trip to Estes. What I found is the wicking properties of Merino wool kept me comfortable and I didn’t need to change sports bras. (I did need to take off my heart rate monitor though, because the elastic strap was cold and clammy by the end of our stop at the Notchtop Café.) Though not a good top for high impact activities, this sports top is a great choice for cold-weather cycling and skiing. No more cold, wet, clammy elastic straps. Excellent.

My second layer was the Craft Pro Zero crew. I did carry a spare to change at the top, but I’m not sure it was necessary. Between the Ibex and the Craft, I was totally comfortable.

The last product on my list is the Garmin 800. I had the older Garmin 800, so I was aware of all of the features offered. On the new touchscreen product – it is the touch screen and some of the navigational redesign that I love. The very best feature? It’s the touchscreen response while wearing long-fingered gloves. That rocks. Take note smartphone manufacturers - I don't want to remove my gloves to use your product.

Tomorrow we’ll be at 85 degrees for the high temperature. The historical range for today’s temperatures is 19 to 86 – a near 70-degree temperature swing in the possibilities. Ah, Colorado! Be ready for anything.

Blog Posts From Active Expert: Gale Bernhardt Tagged With ibex

More product reviews – Ibex, Craft, Garmin 800