Gear Review: Ribz Front Pack

Ok, gear heads, here’s the newest acquisition for my gear arsenal, and I’ve got to say I’m pretty pumped about it. Kinda like my reaction to the current rescue bags we use on our high ropes course, or those cute little Petzl helmets we use on our more junior climbers…

Where have you been? Why didn’t we get these a long time ago?

That’s my reaction to the Ribz pack. On backpacking trips, I’ve been known to wear a smaller daypack backwards combined with a larger backpack. Looked goofy, but it sorta worked. The Ribz pack is like someone read my wish list and made me a bag.

The Ribz bag is made of lightweight Cordura ripstop nylon, easy to get in & out of, and has enough zippered pockets & loops to satisfy my organizational needs. Adjustment to fit is easy and smooth. All zippers function smoothly with one hand (I hate fighting with zippers!) I love this bag!

As a professional in the ropes challenge course industry, this pack is perfect in keeping tools, parts, etc. secure & readily available when working off the ground.

Again, I love this bag!

My only (and I mean ONLY) negative I can give this bag is the Velcro fastener at the top of the front main zipper. The zipper itself works very well, but under tension sometimes wants to unzip. Instead of Velcro, I’d prefer a clip, snap, or something else with a positive, bomber lock.

Bottom line? The Ribz Front Pack is quality through & through, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a serious piece of personal gear.

Available from the mfg. at www.ribzwear.com. MSRP $59.99

 

Happy Birthday, Hattie!

Unbelievable! Our little fuzz top is three years old! Seriously, she seems to have gone suddenly from this little baby who got larger & grew more hair slowly, almost imperceptibly… then WHAM! She’s talking, telling jokes, coming into her own quirky person. I’m such a blessed daddy! Love you, my little foo foo!

 

Gotta love the cool hospital hat!

 

 

Who are you influencing?

I was recently introduced to klout.com, a website that measures your influence of others based on what you post to various social networking sites, write on your blog, and how that gets passed along, commented on, etc.

Evidently a klout score of 20 is average, so a score of 44 ain’t bad, right? According to my klout analysis, I directly reach 268 people through my immediate & extended networks. I especially got a kick out of the fact that I’m rated as an “Influencer” in the areas of health and fitness. If they only knew.

Should I care? Of course, I appreciate the fact that anyone enjoys my blog, takes time to comment on one of my tweets or Facebook updates, but to boil it down to a score, something to compare yourself to others seems a bit shallow. Look at me! Like my comment! Ka-chink, just got a +K!

Going deeper, what would the world be like if we were concerned with truly, lastingly influencing one or two people, our family & closest friends.

I know I’d be satisfied with a “True Reach” score of 3.

 

Perseverance

 

If you’ve been following thedavewave lately, you’ve probably put 2+2 together and have deduced by the photo that this post is about running. Well, yes and no. God’s been teaching me some things as I head deeper into my fourth week of training for my first 5k run.

To some degree, I’m sure all of us have something we’d like to change about ourselves – our spiritual life, our weight, our job, our relationships, etc.

“I’d like to _________.”

Really? How bad do you want it? Are you willing to work for it? Are you willing to push through the stretching, the pain that comes with lasting change?

For me, God is challenging me to draw even closer to Him. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Dt 6:5 NIV) I remember doing a word study on this verse years ago and the Hebrew word for “strength” literally means to the point of pain. That sure sounds like giving your all.

I was into bodybuilding many years ago and I remember after a session of supersets for my legs I could hardly make it up our stairs at home – had to literally pull myself up the hand rail. I overdid it that day, but I wanted the results. I had my eye on the prize & I was willing to push myself to get there. Walked funny for almost a week!

Here I am, 25 years later and I’m running. I hate running! It’s hard work, my muscles cry for me to stop, but I’m fixed on my goal – better physical condition, weight loss… and that cool hooded sweatshirt you get for running all 5 events of the Winter Running Series. If I drop out now, I guess I didn’t really want beneficial change in my life, and they don’t award that sweatshirt for good intentions.

Spiritually, I want to be like the Apostle Paul – “I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me!” (I Cor 9:26 MSG) My prayer? God, give me the perseverance to draw closer to You, to honor You, obey You, trust You more than I ever have. As difficult as the journey may be, the eternal prize is worth it.

 

Gear Review: Grace ECO Extreme iPod/ iPhone Speaker

Time for another gear review, and what better than my REI dividend purchase of 2012 – the Grace ECO Extreme rugged portable speaker. Powered by a 3 watt amplifier, this waterproof, shock resistant speaker actually has a chance of accompanying me on some of my exploits.

Your mp3 player of choice (1/8″ headphone jack required) connects inside the clamshell design, kinda reminscent of a Pelican case. Once sealed safely inside, the only external control is power/ volume.

For such a small speaker, the sound quality is really not bad, especially the rich low end frequencies reproduced. With a battery life of around 20 hours from three easily replacable AAs, you’re good for tunes on most any trip.

Dave’s verdict – thumbs up!

Retail $30-$50

Still going…

I still hate running. This morning I remembered one of the last times I was required to run was gym class in high school (24 years ago), and I CHEATED! Yes, you read it, I skipped the final lap of our quarter mile track and clamed the 3/4mi time as my 1 mile “finish.” Teacher didn’t even question it… shows how closely they were paying attention. Almost a quarter century later, maybe there’s hope for me yet? Some key milestones since I started training:

(1) I’m still running! My next training run marks the start of my 4th week. That’s got to make it at least close to a habit, which brings me to my next point…

(2) I’m driven to run… there, I said it. Last night at 9:30pm, I was dog tired. Every fibre of my being was screaming “GO TO BED, YOU CAN RUN TOMORROW!” It was so tempting, but I HAD to run before calling it a day. Dang it, I’m turning into one of those people.

Roughly 5 more weeks before I finish my 5k training program. Time to start looking for some events to register for? Nothing motivates like non-refundable registration fees!

 

Cat’s out of the bag…

“Have you posted that you’re running?”, my wife asked recently. To be honest, I’ve avoided making this public… kinda like announcing a pregnancy too early. If I let the world know & for some reason it doesn’t “take,” everybody knows I failed.

Well, I think it’s taken root. I still hate running, but I’m invested now, halfway through Week #2 of an eight week training program in preparation for running my first 5K event. I’m sure I’ll run one sooner, but it’s my goal to run all 5 events in the Winter Run Series this year. Stay tuned…

Oh, I’ll probably be posting over the next several months regarding my road biking. Got my eye on a handful of upcoming tours, with my goal riding the Cream City Century 100 mile ride in August.

 

Happy birthday, Olivia!

Happy 5th birthday to my little princess! Where has the time gone? In a flash she’s gone from our little baby to a young lady getting ready to start school in the fall.

 

April 2, 2007. She was much more portable during those early days.

 

 

Olivia at ballet practice. Her first recital is later this month!

 

Blowing out the candle.

 

 

 

Hattie getting into the cake.

The danger of bandwagons

With the passions surrounding the Trayvon Martin shooting, I’ve been tempted to let others be vocal on the various social networking sites I frequent and adopt a “wait and see” position. However, I keep finding myself coming back to this single question:

Is justice even possible in this case?

Face it… we don’t know all the facts, which is why there’s an ongoing investigation. But that doesn’t seem to matter to an alarmingly large number of folks. George Zimmerman has already been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, even sentenced if the New Black Panthers have their way.

That’s not justice. That’s mob rule.

There will eventually be a conclusion to the investigation into this incident. You may like the outcome, or you may not. If it’s found that Zimmerman’s actions weren’t justifiable, he will face whatever consequences are allowed by our judicial system. If it’s found that he acted in self defence, he won’t be charged. That’s how it works, folks. Whatever the outcome, the loss of Trayvon remains a tragedy, and my prayers go out to his family & others he leaves behind.

There’s a lot of people publicly jumping on this particular bandwagon. Unfortunately, the trouble lies in getting off if it proves to be the wrong ride.

 

Gear Review: The “Perfect” Camp Shoe

I’ve been in a creative slump for awhile, so I thought I’d kickstart this lazy Saturday with a gear review that’s been on a back burner for some time.

For those of you who don’t already know, I’ve been involved in full time ministry at a large Christian camp & retreat center for almost 14 years. Crazy, huh? As much of my work involves being outdoors in most all kinds of weather conditions, my professional wardrobe looks like an REI store on a smaller scale. After all, how many of you when dressing for a day of work even consider that “today might be a good day to bring my gaiters along.” Welcome to my life.

Anyway… having tried many different types of gear over the years, I’ve found my favorites. This review focuses on what’s become my standard everyday piece of footwear (not to be confused with my aquatic footwear, backpacking footwear, winter footwear, etc.) – the Salomon XA Comp GTX trail running shoe. Lightweight, comfortable, aggressive tread for the various terrain around camp, plus the waterproof security of a Gore Tex membrane when teaching morning classes in dew-covered grassy fields. At $140 retail, they’re an investment, but well worth it as I got 4 years out of my last pair. Tried similar shoes from The North Face, but the seams blew after only a year… so much for trying to save $30. Go with the Salomons, ya can’t go wrong!