Personal Gear & Apparel

Practical Sailor tested foul-weather jackets and pants from seven manufacturers: from Gill, Gul International, Helly Hansen, Henri Lloyd, Ronstan, Slam, and Third Reef from West Marine. Each set included a jacket and a pair of bib trousers designed for coastal cruising and light offshore sailing. All foul-weather kits were priced under $500. Testers examined the sets for wind- and water-resistance, reflectivity, and wearability, and tested the zippers and fasteners. With well-placed reflective patches, a fluorescent peaked hood, and plenty of pockets and abrasion-resistant fabric, the Gill’s Key West gear stood out in field of well-designed sailing apparel.

Italian sailing gear-maker Slam has recently come out with a new laptop backpack, a water-resistant tote for that all-important lifeline to global communications and keeper of all things digital. Like the Oceanracing.com backpack that we reviewed in the January 2007 issue, the Slam bag is specifically designed to carry a laptop in the marine environment. The Slam backpack has two front-accessed, zippered pockets, and one zippered, front mesh pocket. There are also mesh pockets on the sides.

Following Tevas top-ranked performance in the womens athletic-style sailing shoes test (July 2007), Practical Sailor editors decided to try out the latest mens Tevas and Tevas new Sunkosi for women. Teva, the California-based firm known for its strap-on sport sandals, manufactures seven different lines of water shoes, including four sneaker-style varieties. At 11.5 ounces, the mens Teva Helm 2 shoes are lighter than any other mens shoe tested (June 2007), and they offer good drainage. There are mesh openings built into the shoe under the heel, behind the heel, beneath the ball of the foot, and on either side of the toe. Like most of the shoes we tested, the Helm 2s foam insole is removable. It also is perforated with 1/8-inch holes to speed drainage. The shoes upper uses unibody construction, with a laminate of foam and three different kinds of mesh reinforced with synthetic leather in the toe, upper tongue, and heel. The tongue is attached only at its base.

Testers evaluated 25 different flashlights. Among these were products from Inova, Underwater Kinetics, Tektite, Sea Fit, Streamlight, Garrity, Pelican, Dr. LED, and IQ Lights. The goal of this test was to find a flashlight that was compact, light, and provided superior spotlight and wide angle illumination for objects in close range. Unfortunately, no light we tested answered all of these requirements. The winners proved to be units that excelled at one. We also discovered that size still matters, and more batteries means more power, more light, and more life. The best marine flashlight is one that suits your needs. A well-equipped sailor needs a few different flashlights to cover all the bases: one thats a dedicated spotlight, one that lights up the lockers, one that serves the needs of bright, wide angle floodlight, and lastly a tiny pocket light used for in-the-cockpit chart reading or other instances when you need a quick light but want to preserve your night vision.

We pitted the Nikon 14x40 Stabil-Eyes against the Fujinon TS 1040 Techno-Stabi binocular, which beat out four competitors-priced from $500 to $1,300 and with magnification factors ranging from 10x to 16x-for the top pick in December. This time, the two nearly identical binoculars carry the same 14x magnification rating but do vary a couple hundred dollars in price. Performance-wise, testers consider these two units to be equals. We found no advantage to the Nikon for its extra operating mode as it proved to be of little use on the water. We did find significant advantages for Fujinon in two areas: its superior carrying case and its lower price. However, for normal day-to-day use onboard, IS binoculars are no substitute for a quality 7x50 binocular with compass.

All year long, wooden boat worshippers can drool over pin-ups of the worlds classic beauties, thanks to two calendars that spotlight these works of art (and elbow grease). The Wooden Boat Festivals 2008 calendar, by Gumbo Publishing, chronicles the annual Port Townsend, Wash., event of the same name. With photographs by well-known photographer Mitchel Osborne, the calendar offers a glimpse into the world of wooden boat groupies. Photos of schooners under way dominate the pages, but Osborne also captured the details that make wooden boats what they are. From cane-backed seats and impeccable varnish to tan-bark sails and a busty figurehead, the photos tell the unique stories of the boats that make the Wooden Boat Festival an annual homecoming for people from around the world.

If youre in the market for a carry-all or soft-sided cooler, check out the classic-looking SailorBags line. Practical Sailor recently picked up one of the SailorBag tote bags, and testers have found several uses for it: ferrying items to and from the boat, the beach, and the grocery, and storing dry clothes in a wet dinghy. The Vermont-based company offers three different sizes of tote bags, round and square duffel bags in varying sizes, two sizes of stowbags, and three sizes of foam-insulated soft-sided coolers.

The three hand trucks-Roleez Folding-Wheel, Sea Bowld, and Dock Dolly-were nearly identical, with telescoping handles and flip-up bases. The four others-the Roleez Sports Caddy, Pack N Roll, Wonder Wheeler, and the Foldit-ran the gamut from a very compact, crate-style cart (Pack N Roll) to the large, workhorse Foldit dock cart. Testers considered each rolling carts performance on and off the dock. They also loaded onto the carts items that are often carried to and from the boat-a 12-volt battery, cooler filled with food, and a duffel bag of clothes. Testers also noted how easily each was stowed and how much room it took up.

Late last year, Practical Sailor published an article about devices that keep iPods free of moisture, sand, and dust (see Practical Sailor November 2006). Only one of those products came with speakers instead of earphones-the iFloat from Brookstone-but it didnt have a water-resistant speaker, and the sound quality diminished significantly once the speaker got wet. Now weve discovered a worthy replacement: the Ego Waterproof Sound Case.

The high-tech materials found in underwear and outerwear are making their way into the towel market. The Wick-er Warmup towel, made by Discovery Trekking Outfitters in Vancouver, is a polyester fabric that wicks water away from the body and then dries almost as fast as you can get it on a clothesline. The lightweight towel is made with Silver, an anti-microbial technology that kills bacteria, so the towel will not develop a smell, no matter how often you use it or how rarely you wash it. This Silver lining is permanent too; it wont wash out.