Stuff I'm Loving - April 2021

 I used to do really in-depth product reviews, but I'd usually only get to them once the products were no longer current.

Which is not especially helpful if you can't actually buy that product anymore

So, I'm just going to throw out a bunch of stuff that has made me happy lately, and is still available for purchase!

Runyon Canyon Apparel

Focusing on "made in the USA" and giving back to conserve American wilderness, they donate $1 for every item sold to the "One Wild Buck" initiative to protect and preserve wildlife and open space. The real reason I ordered from them, though? A friend of mine (who turns out to be a friend of the company's owner) posted a pic of this shirt, and I knew it had to be mine.

RAWR

It's about the softest thing I've ever felt, has no seams at all at the armpits, and inside-out seams almost everywhere else so it should be chafe-free. I also ordered one of their all-mesh trucker hats with reflective (the paracord has reflective flecks, and the tag on the back is reflective), and for purchasing more than $50 of gear they sent me a free hand-screened bandana with their running lupine logo, which they offer in a dizzying array of colour combinations. I'm wearing all of these items in the photos above and below, and I love 'em!

I swear people were extra friendly to me while I was wearing this outfit, too!

Belcorva's Shorts

A friend of mine turned me on to this company, which specializes in activewear at reasonable prices and includes POCKETS of USEFUL SIZE in all of their bottoms! They have full length tights (of which I have a pair), capris, and a few different styles of shorts..

Including THE PERFECT PAIR to go with my RAWR shirt!

I'm not as big a fan of their tights - despite the huge, quite-useful pockets - as they're on the high waisted side and my stumpy little torso does not get on well with that cut. They ride down, leading to the Dreaded Cantaloupe Crotch, aka melonspace. This is an issue I face a lot, so your mileage may vary, but anything that comes down below my knees tends to be prone to it. For that reason, I have declined to try any of their capri-length tights, which pains me as they come in some really awesome colours!

The shorts, however? I have one pair each of two different styles, and I'm a fan! The compression-style shorts seen above have giant pockets on each thigh; my only quibble with them is that perhaps they're a bit too large, as the top of the pocket sits higher than you'd expect (like hip height), and my phone sinks down to the very bottom of the pocket when running with it. 

Not me - this image is from their site

I have a similar sort of issue with the Runner's Dream 5-pocket shorts I got from them back in the winter, in which I've run a few times now: the inner compression shorts have pockets that come up so high that it's pretty much impossible to get anything in or out of them while wearing them, and the pockets of the outer shorts come up past my hip crease, which can make it a bit awkward to have a large object (like my phone in there), particularly as the zip-secured opening is fairly narrow. I will say this, though: I expected to hate them, and to be completely unable to get my phone in or out of the pocket while moving, but I have been pleasantly surprised! It's not the easiest thing, but it works.

Again, photo from their site - the pair I have is plain black.

The fit is a bit strange on first blush; they're quite snug in the thighs, but have a bit of extra room (on me) at the waist. Here's the thing about that, though: the legs stay put, and I say that as someone whose thighs laugh at that very suggestion. I have spent a lot of my life digging shorts that "don't ride up!" according to 8 million reviews out of where - you guessed it - they rode up. These don't. The bagging at the waist is solved by the drawstring, and means if I'm having a bloaty day or have just put on a few extra winter pounds, I can adjust the fit to my own comfort. 

Both pairs of shorts also have a small zip pocket at the lower back with reflective strips for visibility

Gym Rings

Not a brand - just a pair of wooden rings on heavy-duty straps. I bought a pair for under $40 off amazon.ca, tossed them up in my livingroom (I have a couple of eye bolts in the archway that used to be a wall I've been using to attach free-swinging climbing holds for doing pull-ups and stuff), and promptly got my arse kicked.

In the best of ways, that is.

I didn't think they'd be quite so difficult, but that just means it's a great challenge for me to work away at. Heck, I couldn't do a single pull-up before about 3 years ago, so I have no reason to believe I can't make some improvements!

Slackline Industries Play Line

Speaking of challenging..

I mean, at least I'm realistic about it.

This just came in on Monday, and we've had it out a grand total of once so far; on Tanker's birthday on Tuesday evening. It's TOUGH, and so far we've only been able to accomplish anything on it by using the "help line" that our kit came with. However, we were only able to play around with it for about 25mins - over at the local schoolyard, because we haven't had any trees in our backyard for almost 3 years now - before we had to pull it down to run away from an incoming thunderstorm.

Heck, we weren't even using the helpline correctly, since one of the trees bends away massively between the height of the two lines

Tank turns out to be amazingly good at it, though!

We had a hoot, and can't wait to get it back out again - or better yet, for when we're able to get together with friends and toss the line up so we can all have some laughs by giving it a try.

Speaking of which, the last thing I'm loving right now is that my sweetheart has just yesterday got his first dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. While he's had some pretty unpleasant side effects today - he was sent home from work at lunchtime after some digestive issues, full-body aches, chills, and even some respiratory issues - it's one step closer to being able to gather with and hug the people we've been missing this past year.

Deep breath and hold tight; just as the trails get a little greener each day right now, a future full of races and parties and freedom draws a little closer with every sunrise.

And I'm RAWR-ing to go!