Igloo Coolers Yukon Series, Yukon 70

A few weeks ago the good people at Igloo Coolers donated a Yukon 70 to the Next Ascent team to demo and review, and we were tickled to do so.  We love reasons to get outdoors, and testing and reviewing gear is one of our favorites.

At first glance, this cooler is a beast in terms of size, capacity and weight.  Our initial test took us to the Arkansas River outside of Salida, CO in late April for our annual fly fishing trip over 5 days.  This beast of a cooler swallowed up all the food for myself and my brother for 5 days, and also 5 days worth of beer.  We actually had tons of food left over, but the beer was gone at the end.  When I packed up the cooler Wednesday morning before leaving for south-central Colorado, all I added was the ice from the ice-maker in our fridge at home, which is to say not much ice at all.

5 days of food and beer and not much ice

On pretty much every year we make this pilgrimage, I always end up heading into Salida to restock ice that has melted.  This year was an anomaly in that no extra trips to town were needed, and that allowed for extra time on the river and the guarantee that my food would be fresh and my beer cold.  I also made sure I left the cooler outside the truck and in full sun to test its effectiveness to the max.  Granted, temperatures rarely got to the 70′s during the day and the evenings and mornings were somewhat chilly, but the Yukon 70 did not disappoint at all.  We did not pre-chill the cooler prior to loading up which can increase ice life.  Normally, when I pull the drain plug when arriving back home, there is enough water to hydrate my entire front yard.  This year, there was barely enough for a mouthful, and most of the ice I packed 5 days previous was still almost completely intact.

Many of us have heard of Igloo’s prime competition in the premium cooler market, YETI Coolers, and I myself own a YETI Tundra cooler which I like.  I love my new Igloo Yukon!  If it’s the small things that make all the difference, then the Yukon blows the YETI out of the water, so to speak.  We have all seen the sponsored endorsements from so-called celebrity fishermen, ads in magazines and adventure films, and product placement on several TV shows.  Of course these people will extol the virtues of a YETI cooler when they’re all being paid and given free gear for life.  Who wouldn’t.  But do paid endorsements make a cooler that is better than all the rest?  Absolutely not.  Here are some features of the Yukon versus the YETI that might change your decision:

Reversible Feet

  I love the option of having reversible feet so you can quickly change from non-slip to easy-glide in a couple turns of a screwdriver.  YETI does not offer reversible feet.  This allows the cooler to easily slide out and move easier in your boat or back of your truck or camper.  The extra lift on the feet when compared to YETI allow to spray out your boat without removing the cooler first.  It also keeps your cooler lifted higher off the bottom of a hot boat keeping ice longer and cooler.

Yukon Ruler to measure your fish or anything else

I love the built in ruler on the top to measure your fish and compare against your buddies.  Not available on YETI

Fixed Rock Solid Handles

When compared to YETI’s Double Haul rope handles, there is no comparison.  The Rock Solid handles on the Yukon will never break and you won’t be fumbling around trying to grasp swinging rope handles.  Also in the photo above, don’t discount the benefit of having an attached/tethered drain plug.  I misplaced my YETI drain plug on day 1 and wasted time looking for it that should have been time spent fishing.

  Other great features that are better than YETI, steel instead of aluminum hinges, and steel corner closure that allows for better security and bear-proofness.  The other amazing feature is that the Yukon 70 is truely 70 quarts on the inside.  Did you know that the same priced YETI Tundra 65 is really only 57.2 quarts.  That’s over 12 extra quarts of interior space for the same price.  With nearly an extra 1/2 inch of insulation when compared to YETI, the Yukon does weigh a few pounds more, but 12 quarts of space and an extra half inch of insulation is well worth the weight.

  In conclusion, I absolutely love this cooler and my Yukon 70 will be attending every outdoor adventure I take from here on out.  My YETI might just be what they want it to be, an extra chair to sit on when nothing else is available or a step stool to get my mountain bike down from the rafters of my garage.  The Yukon does exactly what Igloo says it will do, and that’s keep your ice longer, 7 days and even longer if you pre-chill it ahead of time.  I lost maybe 20% of my ice over the course of 5 days of driving and fly fishing.  I am totally confident when I take my Yukon 70 to Moab, Utah this summer in the heat on a mountain biking trip, I will be the only one who doesn’t have to drive into town to refresh my ice supply.  All the features I mentioned above along with a few others make the Yukon line of Igloo coolers superior to YETI.  If you still need the blessing of a huge stable of paid endorsers from a company that is more a marketing company than it is a product company and now owned by a private equity firm in New York City, than maybe the YETI is for you.  If you just want a product that works and went the extra mile to add features we can all use in any environment, then the Yukon is for you.  I rate the Yukon 70 Cooler 4.8/5 points.  We gave bonus points for all the extra features, but we will always subtract some points for weight even though it is unavoidable at this point for all the Roto-Molded Coolers on the market.  One cool feature that the Yukon Series offers that YETI might not ever offer because they are afraid of the warranty issues that will arise and affect their bottom line, is the line of wheeled Yukon Coolers. An extra benefit of the Yukon 70, which cannot be overlooked is that the shipping box can also be used as a clubhouse for your kids which my daughter did without hesitation and guidance.  Too bad Justin Bieber wasn’t able to come and join in on her party.  Not even Igloo could pull that off :)

The free Justin Bieber playhouse my daughter made

Review prepared by product tester and Next Ascent Outdoor owner Eric Graham

See the Yukon vs. YETI Challenge RIGHT HERE

Buy Yukon Coolers HERE

 

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Free Same-Day Delivery for Mother’s Day in Denver, CO

We are running a special promotion for everyone who has a mom or maybe the mother of their children living in the Denver, CO metro area.  We will deliver same day to the mom in your life up until Saturday, April 11 at 5:00pm EST on select products.

CLICK HERE to see all the items on the promo

Using coupon code DENVERMOM will give you free shipping on orders over $75 to be hand delivered to mom.  We will also gift wrap and include a card/note.  You can add your note to us during checkout of your order in the “Gift Notes” box.

Find brands like Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, QAK, Marmot, Redington, Miir, and several others.  Just make sure your order is at least $75 and we’ll drive it over to mom’s house in person.  If you procrastinate like we do, this could be your savior and we’d love to be a part of that for you.  Don’t forget to use coupon code DENVERMOM at checkout to get the free same day delivery service to your mom’s front door

CLICK HERE to see the products

Happy Mother’s Day from the Next Ascent Outdoor team

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My daughter on KCRG’s Big Ol Fish

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How to pick the right Ski size

Men’s Ski Size Chart

                                                        

User
Height (in) 
User
Height (cm) 
Expert
Length (cm)    
Intermediate
Length (cm)
 Beginner
     Length (cm)   
4’6″ 137 140 135 125
4’8″ 142 145 140 130
5’0″ 152 155 145 135
5’2″ 158 165 155 145
5’6″ 168 175 165 155
5’8″ 173 180 170 160
5’10″ 178 185 175 165
6’0″ 183 190 180 170
6’2″ 188 195 185 175
6’4″ 193 200 190 180

Women’s Ski Size Chart

                                                        

User
Height (in) 
User
Height (cm) 
Expert
Length (cm)    
Intermediate
Length (cm)
 Beginner
     Length (cm)   
4’8″ 142 149 139 136
5’0″ 152 152 142 139
5’2″ 158 153 146 143
5’4″ 163 163 153 150
5’6″ 168 166 156 153
5’8″ 173 170 160 157
5’10″ 178 173 163 160
6’0″ 183 180 170 167
How do you pick the correct ski size? 

So the truth is that there is no perfect size for one height and weight.  The general rule is to pick a ski that is going to land somewhere between your chin and the top of your head.  Pro and expert skiers may choose skis that are slightly taller than their height. Within your size range there are multiple reasons to choose a shorter or longer ski.

Reasons to size your skis shorter, closer to your chin:

  • You are a beginner or intermediate skier
  • Your weight is lighter than average for your height
  • You like to make short, quick turns

Reasons to size your skis longer, closer to the top of your head:

  • You are skiing fast and aggressively
  • You weigh more than average for your height
  • You plan to do the majority of your skiing off the trail
  • You are purchasing a ski with significant rocker in the tip
A shorter ski will be easier to turn yet not as stable as a longer ski.  A carving ski with skinnier waist and a smaller turn radius can be skied at a shorter length than an all mountain or a freeride ski with larger, longer turn radius and fatter waist width.

CLICK HERE for selection of Liberty Skis

CLICK HERE for our selection of Icelantic Ski

 

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At Least 30% off Jacket Sale and other items. Check back often

30% Off

Patagonia Mens TorrentShell Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

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Patagonia Womens TorrentShell Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

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Patagonia Womens Super Cell Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

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 Patagonia Mens Super Cell, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

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Patagonia Mens Adze Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

30% Off

Patagonia Womens Adze Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

30% Off River Salt

 Patagonia River Salt Fly Fishing Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

30% Off

Patagonia Womens Simple Guide Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

30% Off

 Patagonia Mens Simple Guide Hoody, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

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Patagonia Womens Simple Guide Hoody, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

30% Off

Outdoor Research Womens Panorama Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

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Outdoor Research Mens Rampart Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

30% Off

 Mountain Hardwear Womens Runoff Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

30% Off

Mountain Hardwear Mens Runoff Jacket, 30% Off…CLICK HERE

Find all our 30% off items RIGHT HERE…more products added almost daily so keep checking back for more great deals

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Pangea Organics Review-Italian Geranium & Yarrow Shower Gel

Review Provided by Next Ascent Product tester, Laurie Boscaro.

Pangea Organics Shower Gel

Italian Geranium & Yarrow

 

I have to admit when I first saw this shower gel, I thought “Seriously, $16 for a small bottle? You’re kidding, right?!”  But after I used it, I thought “What scent should I try next?”. Here’s the low down…

This shower gel is dense. Think of it like the new concentrated laundry detergents where you only use half the amount you’re used to so suddenly a seemingly small bottle lasts just as long as the bigger sized bottles you are used to. Place about a quarter sized amount of this shower gel in your hand or on a wash cloth and you’re covered. According to the bottle, it should last 90 days. I’ve used mine for about a month now and have used only about 1/3 of the bottle so 90 days is a pretty accurate estimate. When you break it down this way, you’re looking at under $.18 per shower, or at it’s current sale price of $11.99, under $.14 per shower. And let’s face it, sometimes it’s worth paying a bit more for products with all organic ingredients. This body wash has no petroleum, sulfates or detergents, or artificial colors or fragrances so it’s great for people with allergies. I love the smell. It’s earthy and not too flowery. Since it’s feel is so smooth, it is ideal for shaving. It leaves you squeaky clean without making your skin feel stripped like bar soaps sometimes do. Seeing that three of it’s first four ingredients are coconut oil, olive oil, and jojoba oil, it leaves your skin feeling moistened. With it’s all natural ingredients, you can feel good about putting it on your skin and if, like me, you live in Colorado, you can feel good about supporting a company from Boulder!

Pangea also makes Lip Balms, facial cleansers, and others

I rate this product 5out of 5 stars- I really tried to think of some cons for it but other than the cost (which I later decided wasn’t so bad) I couldn’t come up with any.

Additional comments by Eric Graham:

We are always on the lookout for distinctive products either by brand recognition, popularity, sustainability, Colorado based, or any number of reasons to bring into stock and sell.  When I originally came across Pangea Organics, I thought “Are organic body care products really related to the outdoor gear business?”  In my mind it”s resounding yes.  The main reason is that I view outdoor enthusiasts as being eco-friendly and sustainable.  And we all have to clean up after a big day in the mountains, a stream, on a bike, or wherever your pursuits take you.  What better way to do that then with a local brand who is doing their part to save our planet.  And yes, I too have used these products and I am always blown away at how clean I always feel.  Squeaky clean like no other bath gel without leaving you feeling dried out.  These products are also safe on the environment so you can feel good when your lather gets washed down the drain our planet will be no worse for the wear.  They are even safe enough to use right in a river or stream without any after effects on the environment.  My personal favorite is the lotion.  It instantly revives worn hands. face and elbows after several days on a crag, camping, fishing, or whatever you do.  With ingrtedients like Blood Orange, Chamomile, Basil, Dandelion Root, and Grapefruit how can you go wrong??

Buy Pangea Organics RIGHT HERE

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Alite Designs Mantis Chair review

Next Ascent Outdoor wants to welcome their newest product tester, Laurie Boscaro from Gunnison, CO.  CLICK HERE to read her bio

Alite Mantis Chair

Alite Mantis Chair

Pros:
This chair is lightweight (2 pounds) and compact (fits in the outside pocket of a backpack, where you may place a water bottle) so it’s easy to take along with you on your outdoor adventures, whether backpacking or to music in the park. The metal frame of the chair is all one piece so you don’t have to worry about losing a pole. The set up is quick and easy (about 15 seconds and your ready to sit). The material (ripstop nylon) seems to be of high quality and can stand a beating as well as handle up to 250 pounds. It’s very comfortable as the sling like design is body hugging and the slight back angle allows you to sit back and relax. Lastly, seeing as it is made of nylon, it dries quickly.

Cons:
While this four-legged design is surely more stable than it’s predecessor, the Monarch Butterfly (which only has two legs) it can be a bit unstable on certain terrains due to it’s short legs. For instance I recently took it camping where the camp hang out area was on a rocky river bed. While full sized camp chairs stood fine on this terrain, I really had to work to get a balanced stance with this chair. Also, due to it’s low level, I often felt like I was at the kids table when sitting around the circle with other’s in more traditional camp chairs. You can’t use it to sit in while prepping dinner at a traditional camp table but can always get creative and use something like the cooler instead. Lastly due to it’s lightweight nature, you wouldn’t want to leave it set up at camp while you weren’t sitting it in or close by as a gust of wind may quickly take it for a ride.

Overall:
The fact that this chair is so portable and easy to assemble it is a great purchase for relaxing in your yard or taking to a concert. As for backpacking, I’m not completely sold as a tree stump sure suits me well for sitting on without carrying any extra weight or a Crazy Creek chair serves two purposes (you can sit in it and then sleep on it later). As for car camping, so long as you’re on solid terrain and don’t mind being close to the ground you will be happy with this chair. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

Additional info provided by Eric Graham:  I have used many of Alite’s chairs and products and generally I really like all of them, but that said most have their place.  The Mantis is no exception.  Because the legs are so close together it can be slightly unstable on uneven surfaces.  But with a smaller footprint on the legs you also give up some weight which is generally a good thing.  While this is not necessarily an end-all-be-all chair, it does a great job when you need to conserve space and weight.  After all, no one is ever going to haul a typical 5-10 lb. Coleman camp chair in their backpack on a 6 mile trek.  The setup of this chair is mostly intuitive, similar to snapping poles together on a tent.  These chairs are good for camping, but they are great for outdoor concerts with level ground, walking a golf tournament, and reading the newspaper or magazine while your kids are tearing it up at the local park.

Find more items from Alite like the Monarch Chair RIGHT HERE

Click Here for all our products

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SockGuy Wooligan Sock Review

SockGuy Wooligan-Black

Sock Guy Wooligan Review  by Next Ascent Outdoor Product Tester and Mountain Bike Racer Chris Driscol

There’s nothing like waking up on race day to overcast conditions, cold temperatures, wet trails, and the probability of heavy rain.  Conditions like these are what makes mountain biking fun, unless you have the wrong gear, then it’s downright awful.

I’ve been in enough wet races to know that having the wrong sock can lead to a very uncomfortable race, and can even be very painful if you’re having to hike your bike up the steep muddy inclines.  That was the case for me last year during a wet race – I thought I had all the right gear, until I finished the race with a lot of pain on my heels.  I took my sock off to uncover about 2 inches of skin peeled back from my heel where I had formed a blister during my ride.. ouch!  Those socks cost me 4 days of riding while my heel recovered.. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

Fast forward to my first race of 2012 and the conditions were not ideal.  It was very wet from an overnight rain, clouds filled the sky, and rain was imminent.  Instead of worrying about my feet, I was actually a little excited, this was a perfect time to test out my new Sock Guy Wooligan socks.  I had actually been waiting several weeks to try the socks out in wet conditions, now I had the perfect opportunity.

SockGuy Wooligan-Charcoal

The socks held up remarkably well during my 3 hour race.  The colder temperatures in the morning were no issue – my feet seemed to stay very dry and very warm.. awesome!  Riding the muddy uphills were out of the question during the race, so I was pleased to find out that my socks had enough padding and protection to not rub any blisters into my heel as I ran up hills.  After my race, I removed my shoes, peeled the socks off, and was very surprised by the lack of moisture in the sock.  I’ve known wool socks were great with moisture control, I just never expected it to work so well over the course of a 3hr race.  If you’re riding in the wet or cold, you have to get a pair of these Wooligan socks, you will be very pleased!

SUMMARY

Pros:

-WOOL!

-more padding than normal cycling socks

-keeps your feet really warm, even when wet

-many styles to choose from

Cons:

-likely only a cold weather or wet weather sock

NAOS (Chris) Overall: 5.0/5.0

Purchase these and other SockGuy products RIGHT HERE

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Super Full Moon rising Saturday May 5th, Photographing a Full Moon

Surely you’ve heard about the Super Moon coming tomorrow night, May 5, 2012.  If you haven’t, we’re here for you. Here is an excerpt from NASA about what is traditionally called the “Perigee Moon”:
The full Moon has a reputation for trouble. It raises high tides, it makes dogs howl, it wakes you up in the middle of the night with beams of moonlight stealing through drapes. If a moonbeam wakes you up on the night of May 5th, 2012, you might want to get out of bed and take a look. This May’s full Moon is a “super Moon,” as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons of 2012.
The scientific term for the phenomenon is “perigee moon.” Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon’s orbit. The Moon follows an elliptical path around Earth with one side (“perigee”) about 50,000 km closer than the other (“apogee”). Full Moons that occur on the perigee side of the Moon’s orbit seem extra big and bright.
Such is the case on May 5th at 11:34 pm Eastern Daylight Time1 when the Moon reaches perigee. Only one minute later, the Moon will line up with Earth and the sun to become brilliantly full. The timing is almost perfect.

Okay, the Moon is 14% bigger than usual, but can you really tell the difference? It’s tricky. There are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full Moon can seem much like any other.

The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects. On May 5th, this Moon illusion will amplify a full Moon that’s extra-big to begin with. The swollen orb rising in the east at sunset should seem super indeed.

Here are some great tips and rules to Photograph the Moon:

How to photograph just the moon
To photograph just the moon by itself, without any objects in the foreground, you will need a long telephoto lens like explained above to magnify the moon and try to fill as much of the frame as possible. Even with a good telephoto lens setup though, you will most likely be cropping the final image, simply because only a telescope would be able to provide enough magnification to fill the entire frame. With your telephoto lens mounted in your camera, secure it on a tripod and point at the moon. Make sure that your tripod is good and stable enough to accommodate and hold your lens and your camera. When it comes to shutter speed, aperture and ISO, here is what I recommend for general use:
Camera Mode: Set your camera mode to full Manual Mode.
ISO: Set your ISO to 100 if you have a Canon DSLR and to 200 if you have a Nikon DSLR (basically, whatever base ISO you have in your camera). For most other brands, the base ISO is also 100. If you have a point and shoot camera, see if you can find a menu setting to set your ISO to 100. Make sure “Auto ISO” is turned Off.
Aperture: Set your aperture to f/11.
Shutter Speed: Set your shutter speed to 1/125 on cameras with base ISO 100, and to 1/250 on Nikon DSLRs with base ISO 200.
Lens Focus: Set your lens to manual focus (either through a switch on the lens or on the camera) and set your focus to infinity. Be careful while setting the focus to infinity, as some lenses allow focusing beyond infinity. On more advanced DSLRs such as Nikon D300, there is a handy feature called “live-view with contrast detect”, which can accurately acquire focus on distant objects. I have used it many times for my moon photography and it works great! If you do not have such a feature in your camera, then try setting your lens to the center of the infinity sign, then take a picture and see if it came out sharp by zooming in the rear LCD of the camera.

Click Here for great deals on Outdoor Gear

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The Terra Nova Laser Competition Tent keep racking up the accolades.

Terra Nova Laser Ultra 1 Tent

Terra Nova Laser Ultra 1 Tent

We brought in the Terra Nova brand of tents and sleeping bags about 2 years ago and it has quickly become one of our best selling line of tents, and it might be a brand you’ve never heard of. Terra Nova is known for making ultralight tents that are not only setting new standards for tent weight, but literally shattering the figurative ceiling on what is considered ultralight in the tent game. For instance, their Laser Ultra 1 Tent set a Guinness Book of World Records for being the Lightest usable tent on the planet.

Weighing in at a ridiculous 17oz, or the weight of about 2 full cups of coffee, the Laser Ultra 1 has set the bar high in the ultralight category. But not to be outdone, is the Terra Nova Laser Competition line of tents.  While setting new weight standards, these fit more into an affordable tent and can be a great start into Ultralight backpacking and adventure racing.

The Terra Nova Laser Competition 1 Tent

The Laser Competition 1 Tent only sacrifices a few ounces and saves you over $300 over the record holding Laser Ultra 1.  View a copy of the Fact Sheet HERE.  In the newest issue of Adventure Travel Magazine, they gave this tent a rating of 9/10.

The review looked at 10 of the latest one man tents on the market scoring them on weight, pack size, space, ease of pitching and value for money. The Terra Nova Laser Competition 1 tent not only received an overall score of 9/10, the reviewer also gave the tent the much coveted ’Best In Test’ stamp of approval!
The review concluded,
“..this is an impressively light tent that will stand up to all but the most serious conditions..”  
Read the full review in PDF format RIGHT HERE
If you have questions about the Terra Nova line of tents and sleeping bags, email us HERE
To purchase any of the Terra Nova items, CLICK HERE
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