SmartWool Arm Warmer and Sock Review

In some ways, the athletic apparel industry is coming full circle in its approach to fabrics.

It wasn’t that long ago when conventional wisdom held that man-made materials were far superior to anything Mother Earth could provide on her own. Natural fibers were considered old-school in comparison to synthetic innovations that came down the pipeline with astonishing frequency over the past two decades.

However, a funny thing happened in our rush to improve what nature created: several companies realized that those original materials could work just as effectively – better, in many cases - as anything built in the lab. And in the era of increasing eco-awareness, using natural materials is not only a quality measure, but the responsible thing to do. (Thankfully, many lab geeks have turned their focus to utilizing post-consumer content in their clothes - which is equally great news, but not necessarily pertinent to the topic at hand.)

That’s why we’re seeing companies incorporate a remarkable variety of sustainable materials – bamboo or hemp or coconut fibers or crustacean shells, just to name a few – into their apparel, and that’s also why we’re seeing a resurgence in good old-fashioned wool. However, there’s one caveat to the modern wool phenomena: performance fabrics can’t use regular old wool; their wool has to be smarter.


That’s where the story of SmartWool begins – or rather, where it began 15 years ago, after a pair of New England ski instructors struggled for years to perfect a process of manufacturing that would preserve wool’s natural benefits - insulation, moisture-wicking, and odor-resistance chief among them – in a style that was also comfortable (wool is notorious for being itchy), durable, and easy to care for.

In the mid-1990s, this was a difficult sell, but the business grew by individual product testers and word-of-mouth recommendations (just imagine if there were bloggers back then!) until larger magazines and vendors began to take notice. Since then, they’ve won numerous awards, gained worldwide distribution, and expanded their product line to include socks and apparel for runners, skiers, cyclists, climbers, hikers and any outdoor endurance athletes.

To assure maximal comfort and performance, SmartWool committed to using only the finest wool in the world, from New Zealand’s merino sheep. I’ve reviewed other products that use this fabric, which is the softest, strongest, most dynamic and odor-resistant wool on the planet. This winter I had the opportunity to try two items from the SmartWool line, as detailed below.

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SmartWool arm warmers

These are constructed with a blend of 63% merino wool, 32% nylon, 5% elastic, and with seamless construction so you don’t have to worry about lining up the hems along your skin. A 1”x1” rib at the top and bottom openings keeps the warmers in place.

SmartWool’s warmers provide great temperature control when you’re starting off in cool conditions, and great breathability when it gets warm later. They’re very comfortable against your skin, much more so than traditional lycra or nylon fabrics.*

(*I’d like to attest to these claims personally, but in truth they were provided by my wife, who started using the arm warmers about 3 days after I received them, and has yet to return them to me. She’s either extremely impressed, or bucking for a promotion to become an Associate Product Tester for Running and Rambling. Probably both.)

SmartWool arm warmers retail for $25 from the company website (link above) as well as other online vendors.

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SoftWool PhD Running Micro Socks

“Micro” refers to the height of the sock - this gets a bit confusing, as they offer micro mini, micro crew, and mini crew, among others – and this sock is designed as a low-profile mild weather trail runner. It’s built with something called WOW (wool on wool) technology in high density impact zones, which makes the sock more abrasion resistant and increases its overall durability. A 4-Degree Fit System keeps the sock in place with bands across the arch, ankle, and two along the instep. Mesh ventilation zones further enhance the merino wool’s natural moisture-wicking properties for extra temperature and odor management.


For me, the sock performance bar has been set pretty high by Drymax, and while Smartwool’s offering is comfortable, I wouldn’t use them in place of my regular Drymax trail runners for a long outing. However, if you like the same comfortable feel of merino wool on your feet as well as the rest of your body, they might be worth a try. There are a lot of styles and colors to choose from on the Smartwool site.

SmartWool PhD Running Micro socks retail for $14 from the company website (link above) as well as other vendors.


*Products provided by Polartec
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

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The Mensch of Malden Mills

This weekend’s video post is only tangentially related to material that came before it - but as you should know by now, that’s never stopped me before.

I’ve been fortunate to review several products supplied by Polartec recently – such as this Cloudveil vest and this Marmot shirt, and an amazing Patagonia jacket I reviewed on FeedTheHabit. In researching the company a bit, I came across this little tidbit on the "About Us” page:

The company acquired the assets of Malden Mills Industries, Inc, providing employment to its workforce and continuing the tradition of fabric innovation for performance apparel and accessories.

It was the former company’s name that rang a particular bell in my mind: Malden Mills … Malden Mills … of course – the Mensch!

Several years ago, 60 Minutes documented the incredible generosity of Aaron Feuerstein, former President and Chairman of Malden Mills, the company that invented Polartec fabric. After a devastating fire leveled his factory in 1995, Feuerstein financially sustained his entire workforce – more than 3,000 employees – with full salary and benefits for the six months that it took to rebuild the factory.

Although it was amazingly uplifting, the story of Malden Mills didn't have a fairy tale ending: Feuerstein’s out of pocket losses, combined with the huge debt incurred to rebuild the factory and the predictable cash flow problems in the wake of essentially starting the business from scratch again, eventually resulted in bankruptcy in 2001. One of the first orders of business by the new creditors was to force Feuerstein to step down. However, this saga took place during roughly the same time frame as the Enron collapse and other shocking examples of Corporate American greed, so Feuerstein became something of a folk hero among blue collar workers for placing his workers' welfare over personal gain.

From time to time in the midst of our country’s current economic meltdown, I’ve wondered if any modern-day captains of industry would have the same kind of integrity and courage under fire (a bad choice of words, perhaps … but sort of fitting as well) that Feuerstein demonstrated. I've also wondered if the long-term prosperity of those employees was preserved by his gesture, or if he merely spent $25 million of his own money to briefly postpone the inevitable tragedy of layoffs for most of his workers.

Since all of this took place nearly 15 years ago, it’s uncertain how many former Malden Mills employees persevered to its modern reincarnation as Polartec, which has emerged as one of the most dominant players in the athletic apparel industry. For their sake - and because I like to cheer for happy endings - I hope that a lot of them made it to better days.


"The Mensch of Malden Mills", from 60 Minutes, revised by ARTzeinu (click to play):




And finally, a glimpse of the modern-day company that rose from the ashes of Malden Mills ...

"We Make It Possible" by Polartec (click to play):

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Cat Stories

The following stories are true – but unfortunately, I have much better documentation for one than the other.

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Part 1 (the part I can prove): While my son and I were changing clothes and gearing up for our weekly mountain bike ride, we had the following exchange …

Son: Dad, why do you always bring your camera on these rides?

Me: Just because … you never know what you might see out here.

So we headed off to the trails, where I took some pictures very much like the vast majority that I take: shots of him from a distance, with a bit of landscape in the background.

Click to enlarge ... and don’t let his shirt give you the wrong idea – we’re still in California. He picked it up during this vacation last summer.

As luck would have it, later in the ride we saw this guy crossing our trail:

A pretty good-sized bobcat walking softly through the brush, quietly stalking some little snack. Almost immediately after I snapped this photo, he pounced into the nearby bush, but came up empty. He briefly glanced our way as if to shrug off the missed opportunity, then continued ahead in search of the next one.

The photo quality is pretty bad, but it’s the first bobcat I’ve ever captured on film. As for my son, it was the first one he had ever seen in person – so I’m glad I had the camera to remember the moment. Because you never know what you might see.

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Part 2 (the part you have to take my word for): While I was doing one of my customary 6-mile loops through Carmel Valley two mornings ago, I saw this guy crossing my trail:

Photo from National Geographic

OK, so that’s not an actual photograph I took – think of it as more of a dramatization. It was dark (at about 5:30 AM) and raining heavily, so I left the camera at home … but I sure-as-shooting saw a full-grown mountain lion; he was walking across the path ahead of me when I caught a glimpse of him in my headlamp beam. He stopped in his tracks and stared at me, and we stood there face to face for about 10 seconds. And since we’re doing dramatizations, here’s a good depiction of what was going through my mind right about then:

The Scream, by Edward Munch

Fortunately, the lion wasn’t overly interested in me, and I finally remembered the conventional survival wisdom to wave my arms and make some noise to discourage any aggression. He finally decided I wasn’t worth his trouble, and shrugged me off to return into the bushes. (Maybe he chose to wait for the next runner.)

In all the years I’ve been running these roads and trails, I’ve only seen two mountain lions in person. Both times, I’ve come away with an almost electric charge at what awesome creatures they are, as well as a strange feeling of thankfulness at the opportunity to glimpse one up close. Of course, “close” is a relative term, and I certainly wouldn’t like to be any nearer than the distance of my headlamp beam for future feline encounters like this one.

However, I might rethink leaving my camera at home on these pre-dawn runs of mine – because you never know what you might see.

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Dimensions of Compatibility

If I may ask a personal question … have you found your perfect partner in life? Someone who completes you - the yin to your yang, the cheese to your macaroni – and makes you whole? Or are you still seeking that special someone to share your future with?

In either case, last week’s Monterey Herald column is for you. Maybe you’re currently involved with someone, but still holding out hope that a Prince (or Princess) Charming will come and sweep you off your feet. Maybe you think you’re happy, but you wouldn’t know any better because you’ve never tried anybody else, and you don’t really know what the criteria would be for making a long-term commitment anyway. Maybe you don’t even know what you’re looking for to begin with.

However, before you get the wrong idea about all this: yes, we’re talking about running ... because anything else would be WAY too complicated.

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Running Life 01/14/10 “Dimensions of Compatibility”

Don’t laugh when we say this, but picking a running partner is nearly as important to your overall wellbeing as picking a spouse. (Well, maybe you can laugh a little bit.) Accordingly, we’ve developed a runner’s “eHarmony” test to rate your potential running mates.

For the sake of brevity, we’ll assume that you can handle the logistics of meeting times and locations. The rest of the profile gets more subjective, and that’s where the rating system comes into play. So get out your scorecard, and let’s get started!

Timeliness: Is your partner always a few minutes early for the meeting time? Score 10. Always on time, score 5. Always late, score 0. Unpredictable -sometimes early, sometimes late - minus 5.

Pace: The best partners help you become a better runner. If your partner’s comfortable pace is slightly faster than yours, score 10. Same pace, score 5. Slightly slower, score 0. Significantly slower, minus 5.

Versatility: Give your partner 5 points for each type of running terrain they enjoy: Roads. Trails. Track. Adjacent treadmills. 20 possible points.

Attitude: If your partner has a positive and enthusiastic demeanor, score 10. If it seems like he (or she) is just logging the mileage, score 5. If he frequently talks about his injuries, score 0. If he’s a constant whiner, complainer, and a downer, minus 5.

Reliability: Will your partner show up when the weather is nasty? For a partner who’s never intimidated by foul weather, score 10. For someone who takes on anything short of a hail storm or typhoon, score 5. For one who says he’ll show up only if it’s not raining, score 0. If he bails whenever there’s a 30% chance of rain, minus 5.

Low maintenance: If your partner knows all the roads and trails in the area, and always comes prepared with the right gear, score 10. If he knows where to show up to meet the group every morning, score 5. If he always asks for toilet paper or a sip of your Gatorade, score 0. If he calls you late every evening to ask you what’s going on tomorrow – minus 5.

Sense of Humor: If your partner brings new jokes and laughs at yours, score 10. If he tells the same funny jokes a lot, score 5. If he tells jokes that aren’t funny, score 0. If he tells the same unfunny jokes a lot, minus 5.

Worldly: Does he or she watch the news and know about current events? Score 10. If he likes to discuss other topics besides running, score 5. If ALL he talks about is running, score 0. If he’s overbearingly political, religious, or dogmatic, minus 5.

Running Life Fans: If they mention a Running Life column during a run, score 10. If they know we write a running column, score 5. If they’ve never heard of us, score 0. If they’ve written a nasty letter to the editor about us, minus 5.

OK, maybe that last category was self serving … but it’s time for the results! Check your compatibility score and place it in one of the following groups:

80 to 100: As good as it gets. Let’s grow old together.
65 to 79: I’m mostly happy, but it feels like I’m settling.
50 to 64: This is OK for now, but I’d still like to see other people.
40 to 49: We need to talk. This isn’t working out.
Under 40: Have a nice life. Maybe you should get a dog.

Best wishes to everyone in seeking the ideal running partner.


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Postscript: the day after this article ran in the paper, I met my two primary running partners for an early morning trail run. One of them arrived 5 minutes late, the other forgot his headlamp, and my own headlamp battery died halfway through the run. I guess that means we deserve each other.

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Marmot Lightweight Long Sleeve Crew Top Review

Considering the product that is the focus of this review, it feels a little awkward to say this … but for me, the first thing that comes to mind when someone says “marmot” is the critter, not the company.

Marmots are big fat squirrels that live abundantly throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They are especially prevalent in Yosemite National Park, and have absolutely no inhibition about approaching you, whether you’re strolling through the valley floor or grabbing a snack atop some rocky outpost in the midst of a 10-mile hike. They’re so bold and persistent that they’ll practically tug on your socks if you're slow to offer a piece of sandwich crust or trail mix - and as my wife can attest, they're almost never content to get just a single bite. They inhabit one of the most beautiful places in the world, and never have to work a day in their lives for food; if ever there was a member of the rodent family who seems to have the Good Life figured out, it’s the marmot.


So I guess it makes sense that an outdoor clothing and equipment company would use as its namesake a critter who is completely at home in the mountains – because Marmot's mission is for its customers to feel exactly the same way. The company was founded by two UC Santa Cruz students who started a “Marmot Club” of members who had climbed glaciated peaks together. They also created prototypes of apparel and equipment that would eventually be sold as the initial offerings of the Marmot Company in 1974.

After the founders made an early connection with the developers of Gore-Tex material, Marmot became one of the first adopters of Gore-Tex in the outdoor equipment industry. They are also heavy proponents of Polartec performance fabrics, one of which is the primary material in the baselayer top I’ve been testing this winter.

Marmot's Lightweight Long Sleeve Crew is made from Polartec’s Power Dry fabric, a super-thin material that is highly effective at pulling moisture away from your skin. (And if the name sounds familiar, that’s because the same material is used as a secondary component in the Cloudveil vest I reviewed last week.) It’s a normal-fitting (not form-fit) top with a tag-free neckline, and the Polartec fabric has a 4-way stretch capability for improved comfort and fit. All the seams are made with flat-lock construction, but this was the source of the only drawback I experienced in field testing: the seams of the shirt felt slightly rough on the exterior when wiping sweat off my face. Comfort against my skin wasn’t an issue, so when I wore this shirt under a full jacket, the seams weren’t a problem at all – but under a vest, I had to be a bit careful.

The Power Dry material also features Cocona technology: coconut shell carbons embedded into the fabric for improved wicking ability and natural odor control. Cocona technology is becoming more prevalent lately, with a handful of manufacturers now incorporating it in their apparel construction. From personal experience, the odor control aspect may be slightly overbilled – it’s nowhere near as effective as merino wool, for example – but the “funk factor” after a hard workout is somewhat diminished compared to old-school tech shirts that I own.

Overall, this long sleeve crew provided nice insulation for its weight, and would be a good baselayer for a variety of outdoor activities. It retails for $42 from the company website, with a good selection of colors and sizes discounted to $30 at REI.com.


*Product provided by Polartec
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

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Life, Dreams ... and Mountains

"I'm heading for a land that's far away beside the crystal fountains -
So come with me we'll go and see the Big Rock Candy Mountain."
- Harry McClintock, "Big Rock Candy Mountain" (video in post)


This week’s review of the Brooks Cascadia 5 shoe led me to recall something that happened during the first year I had a website, which caused me to remember something else, which reminded me of a third thing … and you know how this stuff goes. I’ll try to keep it brief.

I’ve mentioned several times that I was a hack writer long before I had this website. Before my blog existed, my wife spent an unbelievably generous amount of time building a web page the old fashioned way: typing the code in manually, including link pages and photos, over and over again for every separate page under the domain. Needless to say, it was an enormous time drain that required the kind of patience and attention to detail that would have left me whimpering after about 10 minutes.

It went on this way for nearly two years. Even knowing how difficult the task was for her, the excitement of actually having a location on the Internet – open to the public!! – where people could read my (in hindsight, quite immature) ramblings was almost intoxicating. I had dreams of getting discovered by a major publisher who would demand that I quit my day job and accept a million-dollar advance for a collection of everything I had written to date. Or something like that.

The reality, of course, was far different. I think about 20 people purposely visited my website on a regular basis, and every now and then someone would stumble across it accidentally while looking for something else. It wasn’t going anywhere, and if it weren’t for the advent of idiot-proof Blogger websites, I’m certain that 99.9% of you would never have heard of me later.

One of the bright spots – and maybe the only one, come to think of it – was the day I got an e-mail from a Brooks rep, who said she liked my website, could tell that I had a passion for running, and would I please help her promote a video she helped produce. Someone found me! Someone in the industry! Who liked my website! Once again, the potential of my impending fame seemed limitless.

Eventually I realized that she was just a PR person doing her job – drawing as many eyeballs to her product as possible – and the dream of discovery died another death. However, I really did enjoy the video; it’s clever and funny, with a catchy little tune, and at some point in my life, I've been nearly every one of the characters involved - and it's probably only a matter of time before I become the rest of them. So I linked to it (rather, my wife did) and told all 20 of my readers to go check it out.

I had forgotten that video until doing my homework for the Brooks review this week – and thankfully, nowadays I can just embed the video here.

“Life”, by Brooks Sports (click to play):




Of course, seeing that video again reminded me of the follow-up piece that I liked even better; it was equally clever and funny, with just as catchy a tune, but captured more of the laid-back, limitless world of boundless energy and endlessly positive spirit that I was discovering in the world of trail running.

“Dream”, by Brooks Sports (click to play):




And finally, the folksy/perky tune and dream-like cartoon reminded me of one of my favorite songs of the 2000s: Harry McClintock’s timeless “Big Rock Candy Mountain”, written as a hopeful hobo's description of an imaginary faraway paradise. Originally recorded in the late 1920s, it was re-introduced to modern audiences by its inclusion on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Watching the two videos back to back this week, it’s remarkable how similar they are in concept and style.

Harry McClintock, “Big Rock Candy Mountain” - video by Boulder Media (click to play):



I'm not quite a hobo, but I'm definitely an ultrarunning bum, and my Big Rock Candy Mountain is out there as well. It’s anyplace on the trail where I feel carefree; where I feel boundless optimism, dream big dreams, and celebrate life. Best of all, it's neither imaginary or faraway; all I have to do is lace up my shoes and head out the door, and I'm halfway there. It was a nice thing to be unexpectedly reminded of this week.

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Brooks Cascadia 5 Running Shoe Review

Shoe companies are somewhat notorious for discontinuing successful models, or revamping them to the point where they’re no longer attractive to the same runners who made them successful to begin with.

On the other hand, some companies know their audience, identify what works well for them, and have enough wisdom (and restraint – designers can be impulsive folks) to leave a good thing alone. One of those companies is Brooks.


Exhibit A in this discussion is the Cascadia 5, in which Brooks took one of its most beloved and award-winning models, and decided to just tinker a bit rather than overhaul the previous model. The majority of the shoe is identical to the Cascadia 4, with a few modifications for improved comfort and performance. In fact, I could probably condense this shoe review to one sentence: If you loved the Cascadia 4, you'll love the Cascadia 5 even more.

(But if you'd like to learn more, by all means, read on ... )

Cascadia’s ultrarunning “creds” come from none other than Scott Jurek, the 7-time Western States champion who works with the Brooks footwear design team on all steps of the design process from reviewing the first sketches to wear-testing the finished product. Jurek has had such a strong influence on the development of this model that the Cascadia 4 had the Western States course profile printed on its insole, along with Jurek’s course record time. They’ve replaced the design for the Cascadia 5, but the sentiment is still there.

(And this seems like decent enough justification to show this picture of me and Scott Jurek again. It really doesn't take much.)

Considering that the Cascadia 5 is more of a refresh than a reboot, let’s start the review with things that haven’t changed. In particular, the low profile midsole and outsole remain unchanged from the previous version, so the same ride and feel that users loved in the Cascadia 4 is preserved.


Cascadia’s midsole is 22mm thick in the heel, and 10mm in the forefoot. It features Hydroflow viscous fluid units in the heel and forefoot for cushioning and shock absorption, and a Ballistic Rock Shield of thermoplastic EVA that spreads out the impact distribution from sharp objects. A pivot posting system uses independent medial and lateral pivot points which enable the foot to stay in a neutral position on uneven surfaces.

The most attractive feature of the midsole is Brooks’s patented BioMoGo, the first-ever biodegradable running shoe midsole material. Introduced in 2008, BioMoGo is currently used in nearly all of Brooks’s performance running shoes, with the intent for 100% of their footwear to use this material in the near future.

I’ve turned the spotlight on eco-responsibility quite a bit over the past year, so it’s worth noting that Brooks was winning awards for environmentally sustainable innovations as far back as 2006. That commitment was the impetus for BioMoGo, a truly remarkable material that decomposes 50 times faster than traditional EVA. Biochemistry geeks will love the way this works: BioMoGo incorporates a non-toxic additive within the compound that encourages anaerobic microbes to feast upon the sole once it hits the landfill, causing degradation into reusable byproducts within 20 years.

Click to enlarge; medial and lateral pivot posts are also visible

The Cascadia’s environmental friendliness extends to the outsole, made of a compound called HPR (High Performance Rubber) Green that is derived from sand instead of petroleum. It’s also a very durable material that provides great wet-dry traction for skid resistance. It’s not as knobby as some other trail dogs, but I’ve worn these on some fairly muddy romps over the past several weeks, with very little noticeable slippage through sloppy patches.

To this point, I haven’t described anything new about the Cascadia 5 – so it’s time to look at the upper, where almost all of the updates from version 4 are apparent. Most noticeably, the midfoot wrap has been improved with a more snug overall feel, and a better connection between your foot and the midsole. This modification makes for greater stability on downhills and technical trail sections. Like the previous model, stability is also enhanced by an asymmetrical lacing system which allows the tightness of the forefoot to be relaxed for wider feet, or increased for narrower feet.


Cascadia’s mesh uppers are comfortably breathable and drain easily after puddle stomping or stream crossings. They feature Element hydrophobic microfibers for weather protection that also help pull moisture away from the foot for rapid drying time. In other words, there really aren’t any conditions this shoe can’t handle.

Apart from its technical highlights, I found the Cascadia to have a very soft, comfortable overall ride. At 12oz, it’s not the most lightweight shoe out there, and it doesn’t have the ground feel of the more minimalist shoes I’ve been trending towards recently, but there’s nothing about it that feels clumsy or cumbersome either. It would make a great all-conditions trail shoe regardless of your skill level – whether you’re a newbie or a Western States champion.

The Brooks Cascadia 5 retails for $100 from the Brooks website (link above) as well as from Amazon.com (with free shipping) and other online vendors.


*product provided by Brooks Sports, Inc.
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

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