Backyard Gear Testing

As our family tries to squeeze the most out of the last days summer vacation, our son is trying to find and build the perfect campsite in the woods around our house.  His first attempt was a small teepee made of sticks, leaves and pine needles built on a steep hillside.  Despite my attempts to reason with him that this wouldn't work, he won me over with his enthusiasm.  I was sure he'd see the light when we couldn't get our sleeping pads inside, but we managed by overlapping them and letting out feet stick out the back!  Even when I didn't move I constantly felt my sleeping bag sliding off my pad down the hill.  If the experience hadn't been so "awesome" for him, it would have been one of my worst night's sleep ever even if I hadn't awakened with a slug on me!
So when the tent went up two days later in a semi-flat clearing, I was almost eager to join him and test some gear.  My wife picked up an Exped Downmat which seemed like the perfect extravagance to lure me out of my comfy bed.  The only hitch was that it's too wide to fit in the sleeve of my Big Agnes Heart Mountain 30 degree superlight sleeping bag.  Never-the-less the 800 fill down bag felt like a bit much for this outing.  So out came my old Sierra Designs synthetic mummy bag. 

But when I started overheating all bound up in the mummy bag I decided to fetch the Big Agnes bag.  Much roomier and more comfortable, this would also give me a chance to see how the Big Agnes sleep system feels without a pad inserted in the sleeve.  Not only did the bag's un-insulated side expose me to the cold when I rolled over, but I spent considerable energy sliding back up my pad all night as the ground's slight incline was less than ideal.  (My son ended up curled up in a ball in the bottom corner of the tent in the morning; very cute but shivering cold.)   Conclusion: a proper fitting pad is recommended to go with your Big Agnes sleeping bag for a reason. 

It's hard to knock the Downmat, but my right side was sore from my rough night 48 hours earlier. When my side lodged in the deep trough of the Downmat's vertical baffles I was feeling it in a way I wouldn't have a pad with horizontal baffles like the Nemo Astro Air pad.  Then in the middle of the night I felt the urge to let out a little air but there was a fat plug instead of a screw valve which would have let me make micro-adjustments.  What the Downmat did better than I needed was keep me warm.  While not recommended for a cool summer night, later in the fall this might be just the right go-to sleeping pad.  Conclusion: a comfortable night's sleep can be found by using sleeping bags and pads with a temperature rating matching conditions.  Yes dear, I do need that new 45 degree summer sleeping bag. 

Get a Big Ol' Discount on a Sierra Designs Sleeping Bag

Since 1965 Sierra Designs have been creating innovative products. Products dependable enough to assist and allow extreme thrill seeking athletes to summit Mount Everest or venture to the North and South Poles, but also affordable enough so that us regular folk can join the fun as well. Sierra Designs is a well regarded distributor of  camping and adventure tents, backpacks, rain gear, and- GOING ON CLEARANCE September 1st their state-of-the-art sleeping bags.

One of the most versatile Sierra Designs sleeping bags is the Sierra Designs Cloud 15. In all seriousness, this should have been called the Cloud 9 because that's how you feel when you're nestled up inside of this amazingly comfortable 900-fill down sleeping bag. It brings back memories of when I was a child, small enough to fit in a laundry basket full of warm laundry fresh out of the dryer. It's also ultralight; Cloud 15's packed weight is well under two pounds.

Store Owner Reed in the Sierra Designs Cloud 15 (LOL)

So, mark your calendar: Sierra Designs Cloud 15 and all other Sierra Designs sleeping bags will be ON CLEARANCE starting September 1st. Call toll-free 855-244-GEAR, visit CCOutdoorStore.com, or walk into our retail store on Route 2 in Waterbury and place an order!

Want Even More Great Deals? Check out CCOutdoorStore.com on Facebook!

If you've been to our site before, you know that we're always trying to give our customers opportunities for discounts. Our clearance section is usually packed with sweet gear at sweet prices, and it's not uncommon that we will have multiple reputable brands on sale as well. But as the real discount hunters know, there's even more piping hot deals on our Facebook page.
Click the link above, or search CCOutdoorStore.com on Facebook and you can tap into a whole other world of savings. We're spicing up shopping with contests and giveaways, not to mention shoutouts regarding sales you might have not heard about yet- like our "Daily Wow!": where we'll "wow" you daily with a deal awesome enough to make your jaw drop.

Because when it comes down to it, you- the customer, is what's most important to us at CCOutdoorStore.com. Available to offer guidance or answer product questions 9-5:30 Monday thru Saturday and 10-4 Sunday (the same hours as our retail store in Waterbury, VT) and with a reputation for rapid email responses, CCOutdoorStore.com is the best way to buy your outdoor gear!!!


See you at CC

Camel's Hump in Waterbury, Vt (our backyard)

Outside Magazine's Six Best Car Camping Accessories of Summer 2012

Car Camping is a whole lot of fun. There is a plentiful amount of beautiful places in this world that have been made vehicle accessible, and having your car eliminates the limitation of what you can bring (for the most part). With that in mind, Outside Magazine has released "The 6 Best Car Camping Accessories," and we sell almost all of them! I'm tellin' ya, great minds think alike. Check out the....

Nemo Helio: This super legit portable shower holds a copious 11L of water that, with a foot pump, can be pressurized for more of an at-home-like shower. Instead of hanging this in a tree and waiting for gravity, the control is in your hand with a sprayer like that one on your sink. The Nemo Helio makes a portable shower pleasant, as well as dishes, dirty dogs, dirty mountain bikes- the versatility is there and the possibilities go on and on. ($99)

Kelty Folding Cooler: Available in 20, 35 and 50L this soft sided cooler saves a heck of an amount of trunk space. A cooler that is completely collapsible, foam-sided and made by Kelty? Oh, and I forgot to mention that this fully functional cooler is also a functional bar- equipped with cupholders. The Kelty Folding Cooler is perfect for in the car and on the campsite.($46)

Primus Firehole 300: If you have ever messed up cooking dinner on the campsite, rest assured you can blame your cooking system because no cooking system out there is as user friendly as the Primus Firehole 300. This badboy's got built in lights so you can see what you're doing, an electric lighter, and even an on-board timer. This dual-burner stove is virtually bulletproof and if that's not enough- it comes with a spatula, spoon, and even a cutting board. ($295)

Check these hot items out in our store right next to Little River State Park, or look 'em up on our website 24/7 CCOutdoorStore.com.

Oboz, Big Agnes, Leki, Jetboil: CCOutdoorStore.com's Upcoming Sale!

I can't believe it's already August. It's been quite the summer so far, but there's plenty left! That's why we're giving you the opportunity to get outdoors and do that camping or backpacking trip you've been thinking about, by offering some huge savings on our gear. Starting TODAY some of the best outdoor gear will be on sale at 20-30% off! Such as....

Oboz: Innovative light and heavy duty hiking shoes and hiking boots. Check out the Sawtooth Lo BDry and the Beartooth backpacking boot.

Big Agnes: Luxurious and lightweight tents, cozy sleeping bags and dream-inducing sleeping pads inspired by and manufactured in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Check out the Big Agnes Soda Mountain SL 4 Tent, the Big Agnes Encampment 15 Sleeping Bag and the Big Agnes Insulated Q-Core Sleeping Pad.

Leki: The number one trekking pole brand from Germany- specializing in security, stability and function. Check out the Leki Trail Antishock Trekking Poles.

Jetboil: Jetboil has been feeding even the most tired, starving, disoriented hikers and backpackers with simple cooking systems. As functional as they are pack-friendly, check out the Jetboil Sol Cooking System for extreme conditions, or the Jetboil Sumo Group Cooking System, or the Jetboil Flash PCS (Personal Cooking System).

Mike Ehredt Project America Run II: An Amazingly Demanding and Poignant Journey

You know the old saying "To walk a mile in their shoes,"? Mike Ehredt, of Hope, ID, is taking that to a whole new level, in an epic salute to the US soldiers who have fallen in Afghanistan, that is as humbling as it is gallant.

On August 23rd Ehredt will begin a 2,100 mile solo run, stopping at every mile marker along the way to place and salute a US flag with a yellow ribbon bearing the name, age, rank and hometown of every soldier that we have lost in Afghanistan. While pushing a jogging stroller laden with flags, Ehredt will run a marathon a day for 11 weeks, culminating to his arrival to the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, TX, on November 11th- Veterans Day.

 

Ehredt, 51, is an Army Veteran and retired postal worker, and this isn't the first remarkable journey. In 2010 he ran 4,514 miles dedicated to the service members who died in Iraq. From the Pacific Ocean in Astoria, OR, to the Atlantic in Rockland, ME, Ehredt left a trail of personalized commemorative flags. He averaged over 28 miles a day for the 159 day journey.

Can you even imagine doing that?????

To follow the journey visit www.ProjectAmericaRun.com . And by the way Mike is sponsored by Vasque and rocks the Vasque Mindbenders for every mile.

Goat Man: And I thought I was Outdoorsy....

I like to think of myself as an "outdoorsy" person; in fact, all of us at CCOutdoorStore.com are passionate about the outdoors. But I'm not quite convinced that any of us are as exuberantly enthusiastic, or crazed, about our outdoor pastime as the newly famous and colloquially titled: Goat Man.


This photo, taken on July 15th by a hiker approximately 40 miles outside Salt Lake City along Ben Lomond  Peak, has gone completely viral. Apparently the hiker was observing a herd of Mountain Goats from across the ridge when he noticed that one was unusually clumsy and lagging behind. Upon further observation the hiker noticed the obvious- that aint no goat. He posted the photos on an online photo sharing website, and before long most news companies had a story published covering this confusing mountainside creature.


After a week and a half or head-scratching and shoulder-shrugging, Phil Douglas of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources had the whole story explained to him. It turns out that the Goat Man happens to be a 57 year old California hunter who was trying out his goat suit in preparation for upcoming hunt in Canada. The hunter decided to call in and explain due to the widespread popularity his story received, while remaining anonymous to maintain his personal safety. He never broke any laws, but everyone can agree that this bizarre display of dedication could have gotten him seriously injured- by goats or hunters. This was a baaaaaaaaad idea and goat figure somebody got it on film.