Gear Lust

To say that I am a bit of a gear junkie is sort of like an alcoholic saying he likes an occasional nip of brandy. I am incorrigible.  Those who have seem my garage are appalled, while I am simply palled.  I am not, however, an Old Milwaukee beer sort of gear junkie.  I have standards.  I am a good gear junkie.

While I do receive gear samples periodically that are sub-par (at least to my standards), I try to be like the Winged Lion of the Island of Misfit Toys.  I just pass them along, usually to friends who love the outdoors but sometimes are in the unenviable position of being in graduate school, thus taking a Vow of Poverty along with the Vow of Voluntary Advisor Abuse.  Don’t get me started.

A few weeks ago we had this little event called Canoecopia.  While it is a consumer show, the amount of B2B stuff that goes on is increasing, just because there are a lot of industry people in one spot for the weekend.  This includes folks who want to visit me to talk about the possibility of doing business together in the future.

Guy (pronounced ghee, like the clarified butter) Bourassa, the Sales Manager for BorealDesign kayaks stopped in to check out The Big Show and catch a few minutes with yours truly if possible.  Yeah, I was busy, but we sat down Saturday evening at the High Noon Saloon and chatted for a while.  I learned the story of their company (family-founded by a couple of kayakers — a good start) and the growth and development of the business.  Interesting guy (pronounced guy, like the wire).

Anyway, after a nice visit (I am lusting after a Maelströmkayak Vitäl 166), we agreed to continue the conversation over escargots in Quebec City sometime this summer.  And I thought that was it.

When I got back to the shop a few days later, I found a box of stuff.  In the box was gear.  There was the usual t-shirt and hat action, which we promptly distributed to the new staff, who have need of such things. I have enough t-shirts to clothe Congress.  It might not be such a bad idea to get Mitch and Nancy out of their suits and such and into a cool kayaking t-shirt.  But I digress.

Also in the goody box was a nice cockpit cover cum mesh bag so you can keep wet stinky stuff where it belongs, or at least where it doesn’t not belong.  Also…and this was the kicker…a set of canoe pogies.  For canoeists.  You know who you are.

Pogies are basically gloves that wrap around your hands so you can grip the paddle directly, which in a lot of our minds, a better solution than wearing a glove.  It gives you better control and better feedback from the paddle.  It’s like having solid motor mounts for your engine; nothing between the engine and the chassis.  Anyway, suffice it to say I like pogies.

The only problem is that the kayakcentric world has made canoe pogies as rare as hen’s teeth. Pogies are usually thought of as a kayak thing. So imagine my delight to discover a pair of canoe pogies mixed in with the goodies.  There is justice in the world, I thought.  After almost twenty years, I have a good pair of canoe pogies again.  I had a pair once, but thoughtlessly gave them away to find out a few weeks later that the manufacturer had stopped producing canoe pogies due to a lack of a market.  Sure, let a stupid little thing like lack of demand stop you.

These are, bar none, the finest pogies I have ever seen. They were clearly designed by someone who actually uses them, not by a person who once saw them on someone. They are well-constructed, well-designed, and the attention to detail is outstanding. The long red tab so you can use your teeth to pull the pogie on your top hand is ingenious.

I do get excited about gear, but as I am exposed more and more to gear I have become a little jaded. No, that’s not the proper word…cautious, maybe? In a world where some folks want to be everything to everyone, it’s nice seeing a product that isn’t a me-too product.

These pogies are decidedly not a me-too.  They’re a hey-look.

I hope to have some of this gear in the shop this summer, fall at the latest.

Respectfully submitted,

Canoelover