Vont began a few years ago as a company with a superior bicycle light that could also be used as a flashlight. Over the years they have evolved to include multiple means of lighting up the outdoors; for camping, hiking, caving, watersports… just about anything you need to see in the dark. Included among these is their Ultimate Survival Kit, a trio of products with his and hers duplication that includes battery powered camping lanterns, flashlights, and headlamps.

The products are very lightweight, water and drop resistant, and compact. And, every order from Vont comes with a lifetime warranty. You get a full refund or fast replacement (no questions asked) should you find the quality below expectations. They provide easy online instructional videos instead of hard-to-read paper instructions in the packaging.

Vont has grown to include more than 50 electronics products these days, expanding to indoor lighting, audio equipment, and electronic scales. But they started with a top notch bicycle light. They know what they’re doing from practice.

Disclosure: I was contacted by a representative of Vont with an offer to receive their Ultimate Survival Kit. The products in the kit were provided at no cost to me. My only responsibility was an agreement to complete this review. I was not pressured in any way to make a positive endorsement.

The camping lanterns are made of durable, lightweight materials, and pack a powerful 30 led’s that cast light 360 degrees. The battery use is quite efficient, averaging 90 hours of lighting with typical AA batteries.

A unique, collapsible design reduces and increases the light as you collapse or expand the lantern. When collapsed it’s as small as your phone, and easily fits in your backpack or camping kit. Great for having at home too for those unexpected power outages.

The lantern is able to survive a 10-foot drop and being temporarily submerged under water, so don’t worry if you accidently drop it in the creek… that is unless it floats away.

Paula and I had a delightful evening at our New Mexico home sitting on the deck looking out at the nearby mountains. We turned on the two lanterns to light up the table between us as we snacked and chatted. Our makeshift porch picnic was very well lit, but I didn’t feel a glare from the led’s. I like the adjustability of the brightness, simply by opening the lantern wider or closing it down some. You turn it back off by closing completely.

The Vont flashlights are ultra light and portable. Easy to carry around. Compact enough for a pants or jacket pocket, lightweight enough as a lighting essential in your hiking pack. The same five tactical light settings that the U.S. Special Forces use are included: ( (low | medium | high | sos | strobe).

They also come with a fully adjustable beam width. I found this to be particularly useful. Simply slide the flashlight cylinder in and out for a wider, or more narrowly focused beam. The wide light is great for hiking trails, lighting up not only what’s ahead of you, but what is beside you off-trail as well. Extending the cylinder creates a brighter, more focused long light. Paula and I used it to look for something in the darkness that had mysteriously appeared earlier in the day, but seemed to have just as mysteriously disappeared. The long beam easily enabled us to see a hundred feet away.

Vont has tested their flashlights under freezing conditions, run over by a truck, and underwater submersion. This product is durable and survivable. The led’s have proven to offer more than 20,000 hours of light.

Over the years I’ve tested probably four other headlamps. Most of them work as advertised, including this one, but I found the Vont headlamp to be superior to the others in it’s ease of use. When you are wearing a headlamp, you can’t see it. You can’t see the controls to adjust it. So some that I have used are a pain because I have to take it off, adjust, then put it back on. With the Vont headlamp, the controls are very simple and strategically placed. Just reach up to your forehead and touch. Very easy adjustments make this one stand out.

The headlamp will light up an entire tent, a road or your hiking trail. Batteries are included in the packaging for your convenience.

Another nice feature is the ergonomic 45° tilt: it is designed to throw light at a 45° angle. Other headlamps use an awkward 30° angle, causing occasional neck strain.

Like the other products in the Ultimate Survival Kit, the headlamps are waterproof, drop-resistant and portable: don’t worry about being out in the rain or dropping your headlamp. And, they come with the Vont lifetime warranty.

Due to time constraints I was unable to test the headlamp out in the field, but I did try it in the house and found that everything worked as it should. It fits comfortably, is easily adjustable to any size head, and the controls are a breeze to operate. I am completely satisfied.

How to Get the Ultimate Survival Kit by Vont

The Ultimate Survival Kit integrated Outdoor Lighting package by Vont is available on Amazon, retailing for US$47.95, a great price for (2) camping lanterns, (2) headlamps, and (2) tactical flashlights. Buy them as a kit for your hiking partner and yourself, or separately from Amazon or the Vont website.

I feel confident about each of the individual products. You will be pleased with your purchase.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

The southern half of Utah is canyon country, a land of aridity, sparse vegetation, and unique and scenically spectacular topography and geology. It is a land rich in sites of archaeological importance and parts of it are sacred to indigenous people. It is also mostly public land, owned by the American people, part of their national legacy, and for a century it has been contested terrain.

Frederick Swanson, in Wonders of Sand and Stone, tells the story of the century-long battles between those who would preserve large parts of this spectacular landscape and those who would dedicate them to “multiple use,” principally grazing, mining, dams, and oil and gas development.

The story begins early in the history of America’s national parks when Utah’s redrock country was virtually inaccessible except to a few intrepid explorers, prospectors, and reaches to the 21st century conflicts over Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

This century of struggle over public land use has led to five national parks and eight national monuments managed by the National Park Service; the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, also managed by the Park Service; and the recently diminished Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears monuments managed, if that is the appropriate verb, by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Read full review…

Whether you’re shopping for others or yourself, these sales are the best opportunities to save big on gear this year.

Holiday sales are a great opportunity to snag gifts for your loved ones—not to mention gear for yourself—but it can be hard to know where to look.

To streamline the shopping process for you this year, Outside Magazine has compiled a list of bomber deals and promotions from brands in the outdoor world.

They’ve tested gear from all of these brands, and provided their product recommendations, too.

Bookmark this page and check back frequently for more pre-Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals—they’ll be updating it with the latest promotions that are worth your time.

See the deals…

After a number of attempts trying to fictionalize her family history, nature writer Jessica J. Lee found that her academic work in environmental history actually helped unlock how to tell the story.

“I had been trying for many years to write this story of my grandparents,” said Lee, the author of “Two Trees Make a Forest: Travels Among Taiwan’s Mountains and Coasts in Search of My Family’s Past,” which mixes family history, memoir and nature writing.

Lee’s maternal grandparents were both born in mainland China, emigrating first to Taiwan before ultimately settling in Canada, and Lee had attempted to write her grandparents’ story in various ways, from short stories to a novel.

She found the answer in nature. “I realized that structuring the book around landscape and nature allowed me to bring my own language into the story,” she said. “And to really say I might have had all these communication gaps with my grandparents but this is a language through which I can understand the places that mattered to them.”

Throughout the book, Lee merged the story of her family’s migration with her own experiences connecting to the nature of Taiwan, which developed in part through hiking.

Read full review…

One of the best ways to learn history is to literally follow in the footsteps of those who were there, says Karen Berger, author of the new book, “America’s National Historic Trails.”

“These are historic routes – a trail version of the National Park system,” she says. The 19 federally recognized trails range from 54 to 5,000 miles, and pass largely through rural areas, making them perfect for road trips and socially distant traveling.

A good example is the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. Although the shortest trail at just 54 miles, this route resonates with many travelers, retracing 1965’s famous five-day voting rights march to the Alabama state capitol. The trail crosses the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where the late Rep. John Lewis and others were beaten by police. Mostly following U.S. Highway 80, the route lets travelers delve into civil rights history at visitors centers, museums and memorials.

Another is the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, right here in North Carolina. During the latter half of the Revolutionary War, the British found themselves outmaneuvered and outsmarted by southern mountain men, who won 1780’s decisive Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina. The trail traces the route of the American fighters, known as the Overmountain Men.

Read full story…

These new fiction releases are oddly compatible tales of gritty heroines on long-haul journeys in a natural world on the brink of destruction. Where these bleak stories diverge is on the matter of redemption.

Each book places the relationship between humans and earth at its center, with different takes on just how screwed we are—in one, healthy wilderness is the last safe place to live; in another, we’ve almost totally destroyed it; in the third, it’s just becoming clear that nature is in danger.

You won’t find a totally happy ending in the bunch, but rather three different messages about how we let the destruction of the environment get this bad, the sacrifices required to turn things around, and the consequences of not doing enough.

Each story brings a naturalist’s eye to the Anthropocene; all together they provide a compelling, apocalyptic, and occasionally hopeful reflection on everything we stand to lose.

‘The New Wilderness,’ by Diane Cook

In this novel, Cook’s first, things are looking pretty bad in civilization—though we never see it, we just hear about its polluted and overpopulated state from people who have been allowed to escape. The novel is told from the perspectives of former home designer Bea and her young daughter, Agnes, who are among the few selected to live an experimentally nomadic life in one of the world’s last natural places, known as the Wilderness State.

‘Ruthie Fear,’ by Maxim Loskutoff

This novel sometimes veers into the realm of magical realism: Ruthie has a vision of a flying, skeleton-like creature while out hunting with her dad, while Rutherford tells his daughter stories of elk the size of school buses. “You hunt them with rocket launchers,” he says. “If you miss, they’ll skewer you on their antlers and toss you out into space.”

‘Migrations,’ by Charlotte McConaghy

The heroine, Franny Stone, lives in a world that seems just like our own. Except in this novel, it’s almost all of the animals—monkeys, apes, big cats, bears, and wolves—that are becoming extinct. Franny talks her way onto the ship Saghani and heads south, along with a colorful crew and a troubled captain, both parties in search of their own rare animal.

Complete reviews here…

From Industrial Site to Outdoor Treasure

DuPont Forest protects thousands of acres of trees, five lakes and more than one hundred miles of multi-use trails. It attracts hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers from all over the United States, and its six waterfalls have been featured in movies like The Hunger Games and The Last of the Mohicans.

All of this natural beauty is easily accessible, increasing its appeal. It took not only the generosity of a multinational company but also Southern Appalachian grit and self-reliance and local activism to make these benefits available to all. DuPont Forest is young, and its future is still unfolding.

Author and hiker Danny Bernstein traces the past of DuPont State Recreational Forest and shows its potential.

Disclosure: I was contacted by the author, Danny Bernstein, and a representative of Arcadia Publishing with an offer to receive this book. It was provided at no cost to me. My only responsibility was an agreement to complete this review. I was not pressured in any way to make an endorsement.

An Introduction

As Ms. Bernstein describes in the first chapter, this written portrait of DuPont Forest uses historic documents, Dupont Corporation memos, newsletters, Friends of DuPont research and photographs, North Carolina Forest Service reports and newspaper clippings. It also relies on the best recollections of people in the area at various times.

Since it first opened in 1997 and was expanded a few years later, DuPont State Recreational Forest has been a haven for those who live in Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, especially those in the Hendersonville, Brevard, Greenville region. It is only in recent years that the name DuPont has been spread far and wide as a world-class mountain biking destination, bringing with that well-earned notoriety nearly a million visitors per year.

I first moved to WNC in 2003, soon after all the political upheaval surrounding the establishment of DuPont Forest had begun to simmer down. So I was able to skip right over the tedium and jump directly to the enjoyment. With this book Danny Bernstein fills in the blanks of what happened prior to when I arrived, and offers a look at the problems created by the astronomical growth.

Mountain biker getting some air – Photo by Jeff Clark

From the Cherokee Through DuPont Corporation

Ms. Bernstein takes us through the early development of what is now DuPont State Forest, including relics of the Native American past. There are petroglyphs to be found on the property. Many of the early settlers used the land and water as a respite from the summer heat and humidity of the Southeast. The mountains helped with that. I can certainly relate.

In the first half of the last century the bulk of the land was owned by two groups: the Guion family who farmed the land out what is now Sky Valley Road, and a consortium of families who constructed a lodge overlooking High Falls. The picnic shelter at High Falls now sits on that former site.

In the 1950s DuPont came along, eventually purchasing the entire acreage and building a plant that provided employment for more than a thousand residents of Henderson and Transylvania counties for decades. By all accounts DuPont was a good corporate citizen. The plant evolved over time, eventually settling on a films business and was sold multiple times. The final operator was the Belgian Agfa Corporation who closed and dismantled the plant in 2002.

The End of an Era

By the mid-1990s DuPont was ready to sell all the land. The eastern half was simple. It included Hooker and Wintergreen Falls and Stone Mountain. The process of turning over the land to the State of North Carolina went very smoothly, and in 1997 DuPont State Forest was born. As Danny wrote:

The DuPont Company was not demanding. It didn’t require that the forest be named after the company. But it was felt that there were so many DuPont retirees and employees in the area that it was right to acknowledge them. Everyone felt very good when the company sold such a large tract of land for a nominal price.

The other half of the property including the major waterfalls and the plant site was not as simple. It took five years of political squabbling to resolve many conflicts. Bernstein provides the details and helps us to understand the give and take, and the nail biting that occurred at the turn of the century. Spoiler alert: the land was saved, and merged with the original half to form a larger and more robust DuPont State Recreational Forest.

Today, DuPont is managed by the North Carolina Forest Service, though it seems more like a state park because of all the recreation opportunities. Bernstein describes what it’s like to walk in the varied timberlands:

In DuPont Forest, the most abundant natural community is montane oak-hikcory. Scarlet oak and white oak are the dominant trees on more than half the land. Widespread American chestnut sprouts are also found here. But pastureland was planted with white pine all at once.

Perhaps the largest contemporary problem for DuPont State Forest is managing its success. Crowds have boomed over the years with annual attendance approaching a million. The waterfalls area is especially packed, representing 75% of all the traffic. If you get out and about on other trails within the forest you are likely to find some solitude.

A heron visits Triple Falls – Photo by Jeff Clark

How to Get One

Danny Bernstein is a hiker, hike leader, and outdoor writer. She’s been a committed hiker since her early twenties, having completed the Appalachian Trail, all the trails in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the South Beyond 6,000 peaks, the Mountains to Sea Trail across North Carolina and three Caminos de Santiago. She currently leads hikes for Carolina Mountain Club, Friends of the Smokies, and the Asheville Camino group.

She has written two Southern Appalachian hiking guides, The Mountains to Sea Trail Across North Carolina, published by The History Press, and Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey Through the National Parks of the South to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

In her previous life, she worked in computer science, way before computers were cool, first as a software developer and then as a professor of computer science. Her motto is “No place is too far to walk if you have the time.” Her personal website is Hiker to Hiker.

DuPont Forest – A History retails for US$21.99 and is published by The History Press. You can order copies from Amazon in softcover book form, or US$12.99 for your Kindle. You may also order from Arcadia Publishing.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Nearly 20 years ago prAna changed the adventure and travel-wear world when they released their iconic Stretch Zion line of pants. They provide a combination of comfort, good looks, durability and versatility for anyone who loves the outdoors. Stretch Zion is a nylon fabric that can stand up to just about anything—it takes up very little luggage room and you can wear it scaling cliff faces or to the office just as easily. Above all, it just feels good.

The one-of-a-kind fabric is water-resistant, quick drying, durable, wrinkle resistant, and comes with UPF 50+ protection. prAna was so proud of what they created, they named it after one of the most inspirational places on earth: Zion National Park.

I became aware of prAna some 7-8 years ago when I worked for an outdoors outfitter. My first stretch Zions were a pair of the convertible hiking pants. I liked the ability to zip off the legs as a cold morning turned into a warm afternoon.

Well, I still have that original pair, and over the years I have built my stretch Zion collection considerably. I now own three pair of shorts in khaki, blue and forest green. In addition to the convertibles I also have a pair of straight leg in the sepia color, and plain ol’ stretch Zion pants in chocolate brown.

Disclosure: I purchased all of the above prAna stretch Zion pants myself. I am not on any kind of affiliate program. I have not been contacted to provide this review. It is simply my own opinion of the products.

The prAna Stretch Zion Family of Pants

My Thoughts

Are you getting the feeling that prAna stretch Zion are my favorite pants? That would be fair. With the stretchy fabric they are super comfortable. I wear them for hiking. I wear them to the grocery store. Many use them for climbing. They are certainly durable enough.

The prAna stretch Zion are four season pants. The shorts obviously are great for late spring, through summer and early fall. All of the long pants are plenty warm enough for most winter months. If the outdoors temperature is below 25° I might put on a pair of long johns beneath, but above freezing they are definitely fine.

When I’m hiking I usually have a camera with me. I get down at ground level for macro shots of wildflowers and creepy crawlies. Whether I’m squatting or laying on the ground, I can count on the stretch Zions to move with me. They stretch where you need stretch; at the knees, in the waist and butt.

The fabric is plenty durable. Kneeling on granite or rolling in dirt, scrambling over boulders or fording a stream; they always come back ready for more. I still have and use all my purchases after many, many cycles in the washing machine.

The fabric is also quite water resistant. Whether you’re walking in tall grass with early morning dew or get caught in an unexpected rain shower, most of the moisture beads up and runs off. Short of uncomfortable hard shell pants, not much will stay totally dry in a downpour, but the stretch Zion pants wick moisture away very well if they do get soaked through. They dry very fast.

Ok, I’m going to tell on myself here. I was wearing a pair of the shorts for a hike in Shining Rock Wilderness along Little East Fork River when we came to a crossing. The other guys rock hopped across just fine. I got about half way and slipped on a wet rock ending up in the drink (I’ve been known to do that). I was fine. No harm, no foul. We all had a good laugh. But my point here is that within 20 minutes the stretch Zion shorts were completely dry.

Do you like pockets? I sure do. All of these come with a double-zip cargo pocket and deep front pockets. There are two pockets in the back, one with a protective flap to keep your wallet or other valuables secure. The long pants have snap buttons on the lower legs so you can roll up the cuffs easily. There are also small vent holes at the upper inside thigh for breathability.

So what do I think? I love all of the prAna stretch Zion family of hiking pants. They are definitely comfortable, so they make a fine all-purpose pant. They look nice enough for a casual work environment and are functional enough for most outdoors activities. They will last for you too. My oldest pair are now seven years old and look just as fresh as new.

How to Get Your Own

Each of the different styles of stretch Zion pants come in multiple colors, plenty of different waist and inseam sizes, and they all come with a built-in adjustable belt if you happen to lose five pounds from all that great exercise you’re getting, or if you eat too many of grandma’s Christmas cookies.

The prAna brand can be found at most major outdoors retailers if you want to try them on before purchase. Otherwise, you can buy directly from prAna here. $69 for shorts and $89 for long pants may seem a bit pricey at first, but I feel they are well worth what you pay. If you’re patient and wait for a holiday weekend, you can sometimes grab a pair for 25% off.

Just as in-store, major online outdoors providers offer prAna products as well. I use Google to ask who has the best deals going at any given time. You can usually score a pair at a reasonable price.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Loom shoes are city-appropriate and designed with outdoor activities in mind. This wear-anywhere sneaker is meant to tackle any setting – rain, mud, snow, slush, dry pavement – you name it.

These sneakers are well-cushioned, impact-resistant, and have breathable upper material, making sure that your feet stay fresh and comfortable at all times.

The interior is made of high quality merino wool. This breathable surface is temperature-regulating, anti-odor, antibacterial, durable, and super comfortable, all at the same time. The upper is a 100% waterproof and breathable knit layer that will keep your feet nice and dry in all seasons. The proprietary Excelcast sole is designed to maximize energy return and absorb shock, and is non-marking.

Despite being waterproof, the material absorbs and releases moisture from the air to protect against rashes and bad foot odor, a different concept from most waterproof liners. This also makes them easy to wash.

Disclosure: I was contacted by a representative of Loom Footwear with an offer to receive a sample pair of shoes. They were provided at no cost to me. My only responsibility was an agreement to complete this review. I was not pressured in any way to make a positive endorsement.

My Thoughts

The first question I always ask about waterproof shoes is: Are they really? These Loom Footwear sneakers are indeed as advertised. I stepped in a creek for more than a minute and did not detect any moisture inside the shoes. Now obviously, if you cross a stream that is deeper than your ankles the water will come in from the top. But for shallow water crossings, rain or light snow, these sneakers will keep your socks and feet dry.

When they first arrived, upon opening the shoe box, there was a strange odor. Not unpleasant, it was nevertheless noticeable. However, after a few days of use, that original smell went away. Could just be something about rubber and wool in a hot delivery truck.

I will offer a warning about sizing. I wear a men’s size 8.5 medium width. For some reason, these Loom shoes do not come in half sizes, so I went up to a size 9. When putting the shoes on for the first time, they were just a bit snug. However, a size 10 would have definitely been too big. I learned later that these are measured on the European scale, so when ordering I recommend you go up a full size from your normal. No half sizes can be problematic.

Despite being snug, these sneakers are very comfortable. I wore them immediately for exercise walking around the neighborhood. There is no break-in period at all. They are ready to go right out of the box. Additionally, despite being waterproof, they are not hot. They breathe well, so I have yet to end up with sweaty or stinky feet after use.

Because these Loom Footwear sneakers are also street shoes, they do not have the traditional waffle pattern you find on the soles of hiking boots or trail runners. So I was somewhat skeptical about how they would perform on a rocky or rooty trail. I was particularly concerned about slippery granite because of the flat sole.

The concern is warranted because I did notice some slippage. But frankly sometimes even the best hiking footwear will slip on wet surfaces. Still, because the soles of these shoes are flexible, they may not provide equal protection and support as a solid traditional hiking sole when walking over jagged rocky areas. If you tend to hike only on well-maintained trails, these shoes will do just fine.

So what do I think. I like them. They are definitely comfortable, so they make a fine exercise walking shoe. They aren’t likely to be my all-purpose hiker’s, but I will certainly wear them for easy, smooth-grade trails. I chose the black color and they look nice, so I will also wear them out and about town. The Loom Footwear website describes the shoes as selling for $250, but are on sale for $99. That seems kind of hokey. I would not pay $250.

How to Get a Pair

Loom Footwear 100% waterproof sneakers are available from the Loom Footwear website. They come in white or black for both men and women. You can receive a 10% discount by entering code Jeff10 at purchase.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

While some may miss the bustling chaos of city life during the worldwide lockdown, others sheltering in place can’t wait to break out of their cabins and into the great outdoors — void of walls and screens.

It may be awhile before we can break free and run wild — and in less than 6 feet of one another. But in the meantime, we can turn to storytellers and movie makers who have made some of the world’s most stunning, natural surroundings into secondary characters in their films.

In many of the movies, a protagonist sets off on a solo adventure that becomes a rite of passage. In both Wild and The Way, the main characters (played by Reese Witherspoon and Martin Sheen respectively) try to deal with grief and loss by hitting the trails on hiking trips.

In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Ben Stiller’s character heads to the otherworldly landscape of Iceland on an impulse in search of adventure and to break with monotony.

In 127 Hours, the stunning canyons of Utah serve as the background for a dramatic mountain climbing trip gone horribly wrong. The film stars James Franco and is based on a true story.

Cite…