Gadling Gear Review: Patagonia R3 Regulator Fleece Jacket

by Mike Barish on

With winter upon us, it’s time to start bundling up. And if you have any cold weather vacations planned for the holiday season, you’ll want to be sure that you have the proper gear before you get to your destination. Keeping your core warm is not just about comfort; It’s a matter of safety. At the heart of any layering system is a solid, insulated and wind-proof fleece coat. I decided to put the Patagonia R3 Regulator Fleece Jacket to the test on a recent trip to the Yukon.

There are tons of fleece jackets on the market these days. Many are less about performance and more about fashion. With the temperatures in Whitehorse ranging from -25C (-13F) to -4C (24F), I needed a fleece that could actually keep me warm, and thus, healthy. I wore the R3 while splitting wood, hiking and dog sledding in some of the coldest temperatures I have ever experienced. Let’s break down how the R3 handled the conditions.The problem with many of fleece jackets is their inability to deter the wind. No matter how warm the jacket may be, if cold winds pierce the surface, the end result is a chilly core. The R3 is made of a microfleece that did a stellar job of keeping the wind out during my tests. The jacket is made partially from recycled Polartec Wind Pro fabric that claims to block “four times more wind than regular fleece.” I won’t attempt to quantify its wind-blocking abilities, but I can say that, unlike other fleeces I have worn, the R3 prevented me from feeling the wind chills will still remaining quite breathable.

The interior of the jacket is quite plush, which generated a fair amount of warmth against my base layer. The R3 managed to wick away most of the moisture generated when I was sweating during aerobic activities. It is certainly warmer and more insulated than your average fleece, so at times I did feel quite warm when indoors while others were still comfortably wearing their coats.

The R3 looks and feels like a durable product. The seams and pockets are sturdily stitched and the pockets are are glued-in to provide extra dependability. And while it’s solid and warm, it never felt heavy when I was wearing it. At $200, this is not your entry-level fleece and it is clearly made to last.

The fit of the jacket is snug but not tight. I have rather broad shoulders and a long torso, so the R3 did feel somewhat fitted around my shoulders and at times seemed somewhat short. However, it still comfortably fit when worn above a base layer (or two). I would certainly recommend that you try the jacket on at a store before purchasing to ensure that you find the appropriate size.

The purpose of a fleece of this quality is to keep you warm first and foremost, but you don’t want to own an ugly coat. The R3 is quite handsome and the snug fit, while worrisome if you are exceptionally broad, does cut some attractive lines.

While a fleece jacket is not suitable as your sole winter coat due to it’s penchant for absorbing water when it’s raining/snowing, the R3 was pretty impressive in frigid weather on dry days. On a hike up Grey Mountain outside of Whitehorse, I quickly shed my down coat and wore only the R3. It deterred the wind, kept my core quite warm and never felt heavy or damp as I began to sweat. It handled the blustery conditions in Carcross, YT, as well, despite the chill coming off of Bennett Lake.

A quick look at the pros and cons of the Patagonia R3 Regulator Fleece:

Pros:

  • Wind-proof
  • Incredibly warm
  • Durably crafted
  • Plush interior wicks away moisture
  • Lightweight and breathable

Cons:

  • Snug fit depending on your shoulder width and torso length

Overall, I highly recommend the Patagonia R3 Regulator Fleece Jacket if you are looking for a well-crafted fleece that can handle particularly low temperatures. It may be warmer than you need if you don’t anticipate dealing with below-freezing temperatures where you live or during your travels. At $200, it’s reasonably priced for how stellar a jacket it is and would be a wise purchase for anyone who is planning a winter filled with outdoor activities.

The Patagonia R3 Regulator Fleece is available on the company’s website and at many outdoor gear suppliers.

Mile High Dining Club: Air France

by Kendra Bailey Morris on


Welcome to the first installment of the Mile High Dining Club where I’ll be exploring and reviewing all things delicious (and perhaps not so) in the air, on the tracks, and on the ground.

As airlines continue to cut more services, the bygone Pan American days of bottomless champagne, caviar and carving stations of roast beef have unfortunately fallen to the wayside as more travelers now find themselves packing cold cheese pizza, cinna-buns and bagel sandwiches into their carry-on’s in an attempt to avoid spending more money while on board. Some food experts even argue that “complimentary” first and business class meals no longer offer anything edible of note other than, “the dreadful food in the sky”. Certainly, the culinary times are-a-changin’ due to economic woes, so is it still possible to enjoy a decent meal while in the air?

Let’s take a look at one of the more respected airlines for foodies– Air France.

It’s well known that the French have it going on when it comes to cooking, and my experience while dining on-board an Air France flight mostly held its ground to this effect. Recently, I booked an overnight flight from Washington to Paris in the airline’s Affaires (business class) cabin where the uber-spacious seats convert to semi-flat beds and little extra’s such as mini Clarins moisturizers, feather pillows, and drawstring bags for your shoes, make red-eye travel a lot less painful.

Dinner started off with an aperitif of salted cashews and a glass of Ayala Brut Majeur champagne, which like all of Air France’s wine selections, was chosen by sommelier, Olivier Poussier. After being presented with the Affaires in-flight menu, which typically offers a four-course option including an hors d’oeuvre, main course, cheese course and dessert, I moved on to a glass of white Bordeaux (Chalonnais Rully Rodet, 2006). Note: Air France’s economy class also offers aperitif, Champagne, and Olivier Poussier chosen wines along with a choice of two hot meals as part of their on-board service.
First course was a classic cold duck foie gras accented with onion compote and served over butter lettuce. Simple, yet delicious. A nice addition were the mini bottles of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic for drizzling, yet the accompanying baguette was disappointing. Hard, crumbly and dry, even smothering it in French butter couldn’t save it. After sampling some seriously tasty, crusty baguettes while jaunting throughout France, I’ve just got to call out a French airline for serving crappy bread. Non bon, people.

Second course was a platter of beef tenderloin in a mushroom cream sauce served with broccoletti and mashed potatoes. While the meat appeared properly cooked on the outside (nice grill marks) the inside was substantially undercooked. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a rare meat girl all the way down to the moo, and filet mignon is designed to be served rare to medium-rare, but this slab of beef was about as raw as it gets. Too bad I couldn’t send it back to the chef for a few more minutes on the grill, but the fact is, airlines don’t have a lot to work with, especially when you consider that many meals travel up to twenty-two hours from kitchen to plane. With this in mind, the broccoletti was outstanding–al dente and crisp, as if it had just come out of a pot of boiling water, so kudos for that success.

Cheese consisted of perfectly sweaty, room temperature Fourme d’Ambert, Cabecou and Camembert along with a few pieces of fruit, and was an excellent match for the 2005 Jean Guyon Cru Bourgeois Superieur. Dessert held its own as a raspberry mille-feuille, although it tasted ever-so-slightly freezer burned.

In all fairness, I have to add that reviewing an airline’s in-flight dining cannot be held to the same standards to that of a restaurant. For starters, airline food is often cooked, chilled and then reheated on the plane versus being prepared a la minute, and you probably won’t be seeing any celeb chefs plating up their specialties along with the flight attendants. The fact is, airlines have many things working against them when it comes to preparation, yet luckily it isn’t all bad as many airlines are changing their culinary tune when it comes to pleasing their passenger’s palates.

Sure, the meal I had on board Air France wasn’t Chez Panisse nor was it trying to be. However, for an in-flight dining experience (cue endless pours of amazing French wine) Air France was pretty darn tasty, and I’d be happy to eat and drink my way across the Atlantic with them anytime.

–Kendra

SkyMall Monday: Full Color Photo Throw ACTUAL REVIEW

by Mike Barish on

Welcome to a very special edition of SkyMall Monday. For the first time in the illustrious history this series, I can provide you with a first-hand, hands-on, handy review of a SkyMall product. This may shock and/or amaze you, but I don’t actually test the products that I review in this space. I know, I know. It seems disingenuous. But you’d be surprised how well you can understand a product when its usefulness is just so plainly obvious. But, when the time came to purchase a going away gift for a friend, I knew that it needed to be the perfect balance of practicality and narcissism. And so, with great optimism, excitement and trepidation, my friends and I ordered the Full Color Photo Throw.

I’ve long been obsessed with the Full Color Photo Throw. I’d wanted to give a blanket with my face on it to someone…anyone…but couldn’t decide who was deserving of such woven perfection. But my friend Jenny solved that riddle when she had the idea to gift the blanket to Asami, our friend who has been in New York studying English for close to a year. What better way to let her know how much we enjoyed her friendship and how badly we’ll miss her than to send her back to Japan with a blanket sporting our charming smiles?

Photos were taken, the order was placed with SkyMall and, very shortly thereafter, we received the packet of instructions for submitting our chosen image. In just a few short weeks, our blanket arrived. To say that we were pleased with the service and quality is an understatement. I mean, it’s a blanket…with our faces on it…and we never had to leave the house. If that’s not that apex of what the internet has to offer, I don’t know what could possibly be coming in the future. I can only hope that it will be a Full Color Photo Throw that flies. And gets good gas mileage.

We presented Asami with the blanket this past weekend and, needless to say, she loved it. She’s eager to get back to Hokkaido and show everyone how amazing her American friends are. And we’ll be famous in Northern Japan for being the blanket people. It’s a win-win.

The Full Photo Throw is fantastic. I recommend it with great confidence and enthusiasm, as proven by the use of this exclamation point! But I would suggest that you include my likeness on any blanket that you order. That seems to be the factor that guarantees the blanket’s success.

So, SkyMall, kudos and huzzah to you. You sell at least one worthwhile product that forwards the human existence and raises the level of discourse in all blanket-related conversations. And you also enabled the creation of a blanket that includes not one, but two Gadling contributors (yep, that’s yours truly in the bottom row in the middle and Jeremy Kressmann in the lower right-hand corner).

I’ll wrap things up with my own “official” product description. SkyMall editors, feel free to use this. It’s my gift to you:

Do you love your friend? Do you love yourself? Do you want to combine that love in a way that won’t result in awkwardness? Then keep your pants on and purchase the Full Color Photo throw instead. You, your friend and your ego will be glad you did.

Photo by Matt Huang.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Gadling gear review – Teva Sunkosi 2

by Mike Barish on

More and more, I’ve found that my vacations involve fewer hotels and rental cars and more tents and hiking. As such, it was time for me to stop pretending that running shoes and flips flops were the proper footwear for camping trips and outdoor adventures. Not wanting to have to pack separate trail shoes and water shoes on my trips, I needed something that could handle dry terrain, allow me to trudge through water and then dry quickly afterwards. In other words, I needed some amphibious footwear. And amphibious is just the word that Teva uses to describe their Sunkosi 2 shoe.

I decided to test out the Sunkosi 2 in both wet and dry conditions, and not just on a run-of-the-mill hike or camping trip. No, I took the Sunkosi 2 with me to Australia for a walk through the muddy mangroves of Far North Queensland and a day of old-fashioned farm work in the bush town of Goomeri. I needed shoes that would protect my feet, give me good traction and dry quickly enough for me to pack them up with the rest of my gear since we were traveling nearly everyday.
The Sunkosi 2 more than held its own in the loose, sticky mud of the mangroves. With my feet sinking several inches into the mud with each step, the Sunkosi 2 maintained a solid grip thanks to the Quick-Pull lacing system. Despite the extreme suction of the mud, the Sunkosi 2 only loosened slightly during the taxing walk. Water drained out of the shoes’ mesh immediately after I stepped out of shin-deep pools of tidewater.

Unfortunately, that mesh could not handle the large amount of sediment that managed to enter the shoes. Walking through the loose sand and silt of the mangroves, some solids found their way into the shoes. Before the sediment had entered the shoes, they were beyond comfortable. Once it was trapped inside, however, I experienced discomfort and rubbing on the interior of the shoe that resulted in matching blisters on both feet.

The next morning, I found that the Sunkosi 2 had not completely dried from the previous days mangrove walk. This was most certainly caused by the tropical climate of Queensland and the humid conditions in which they were set out to dry. By no means were they sopping wet in the morning, but they were not quite bone dry either. To give them a second chance in less tropical conditions, once I returned home fro Australia I wore the Sunkosi 2 on a dismal day and aimed for every puddle I saw. I allowed them to dry overnight on my balcony after the rain had stopped and the humidity had broken and they were dry by morning.

On the Australian farm, the Sunkosi 2 was a work-horse. I was concerned that they might lack the tread that I needed on dry ground. But they were comfortable, sturdy and durable. They even protected my feet admirably when I gracefully crashed a dirt bike into a shed. I spent a long day taking on some dangerous farm tasks, and the Sunkosi 2 protected my feet and kept me comfortable. I was more than pleased with how it performed as a makeshift trail shoe.

So, here’s what you need to know about the Sunkosi 2:

Pros

  • Amphibious in every sense of the word
  • Comfortable and secure even in extreme conditions
  • Quick-Pull lacing system is easy to use
  • Offers excellent protection
  • Mesh drains water instantly

Cons

  • Allowed a fair amount of debris to enter the shoes
  • Chaffed once debris was trapped in shoe
  • Won’t completely dry in humid conditions

Overall, I was quite impressed with the Sunkosi 2. I’d love to see them dry a bit quicker, but humid conditions can have that effect on gear. And mangroves are gnarly enough to get sediment just about everywhere, no matter how secure or snug your shoes are. The Sunkosi 2 performed more than admirably when I needed them most – both in water and on land.

So, I have to say that I would definitely recommend the Teva Sunkosi 2. They sell for $100 at the Teva website and are available at most outdoor gear stores.

UpTake takes the pain out of finding the best travel reviews

by Scott Carmichael on

The travel world is “blessed” with quite a few review sites. In recent years, millions of reviews have been added to sites like Yelp, Tripadvisor, Fodors and more.

Of course, this means that it can be hard to find the best place for an honest review, or a site with enough reviews to help you make the right choice.

Enter UpTake – this service takes reviews from all those sources, and displays them on their own easy to use site.

They cover it all – hotels, restaurants, activities and even shops, spas and beaches. In total, UpTake claims to provide access to over 20 Million reviews.

The site itself is a breeze to use, and since everyone has a different preference for how they search, you can access reviews and recommendations in several ways. The easiest is of course to just enter your keywords. Thankfully, the site lets you find stuff with plain English queries. You can also browse by state, activity and even by theme (romantic, budget friendly, girls getaway, pet friendly, family friendly and “just get away”).

Search results are presented in a very easy to use format. The information shows you a brief summary of recent reviews, any available ratings, a map of the location, the most recent price of the location and even a list of other things to do in the area.

Once you get a list of places based on your search, you can narrow the results down by changing the price, type of amenities and theme. The results update “live” based on these requirements, making it really easy to pinpoint exactly what you are looking for.

For example, check out their page for the Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago. As you can see, you get a great amount of information, with everything from the number of rooms to the year the hotel was built, as well as links to most review sites.

Hotels can be booked directly on the site, and UpTake even takes the hassle out of finding the cheapest rate by providing prices from multiple booking sites.

The “themes” section on UpTake is equally impressive – once again, you can search by keyword (“Pet friendly things in Seattle“) or by clicking on the themes buttons on the main page.

What I really like about the themed search results is that they gather information from appropriate sites. For example; pet friendly destinations uses reviews from DogFriendly.com.

Finally, the UpTake Vacations section allows you to do one-stop-shopping for planning your vacation. You’ll find hotel recommendations, but also links to attractions and other activities. Of course, all these destinations link to the specific UpTake review page.

All in all I’m quite impressed with the site – it offers a massive amount of information, but the tools make it really easy to find things, and unlike some other review sites, you only really get the information you need, without making the results overly complicated or hard to read.

The site is technically still in “Beta”, but I did not come across anything that did not work correctly. That said, there are one or two things I would have liked to see added – with so much information, it is hard to keep track of the things you looked at. Unfortunately, UpTake does not provide a way to easily save your results. In an ideal world, you’d be able to add search results to a “virtual suitcase”, making it easier to plan your trip and do some true comparison shopping.