Gear Abby: Kilian Jornet, Bidet Beta & All About Alpha!
- colin7931
- 3 minutes ago
- 41 min read
In the latest episode of Gear Abby, host Shawnté Salabert and producer Colin True explore everything from elite mountain running to backcountry bidets and dog-friendly tick prevention then wrap with a deep gear dive into a very fuzzy fabric.
Pre-Question: Mindfulness, Meditation & Messy Feeling
The show opens with Shawnté confessing that she’s back in therapy and newly into meditation... sort of. Colin teases her about doing it once and declaring herself enlightened. Their banter sets up the theme for the episode: taking care of yourself in the outdoors includes your body, mind, and, as it turns out later, backside.
Question 1: Becoming a Mountain Runner (ft. Kilian Jornet)
Listener Nico B. asks how to blend trail running with technical climbing to cover more peaks in less time. Shawnté taps none other than Kilian Jornet, fresh off his 31-day “States of Elevation” project (3,200 miles, 400,000 feet of gain, 72 peaks), for advice.
Kilian’s takeaways:
Skills before speed: build climbing and mountain knowledge before cutting weight or ditching gear.
Train tired: finish runs on technical terrain to mimic real fatigue at altitude.
Strip gradually: lighten gear one piece at a time; never compromise safety for ounces.
Plan for chaos: visualize the worst conditions and stay ready to adapt.
He also reminds Nico that “we are not visiting nature, we’re part of it.” Shawnté calls it a philosophy worth stealing for life outside the mountains, too.
Question 2: The Backcountry Bidet
Several listeners wrote in asking, quite bluntly, “How the hell does a backpacking bidet work?” Shawnté, resident bidet evangelist, delivers a detailed primer featuring products like the Happy Bottom Portable Bidet, Kulo Clean, Holy Hiker, and Igneous Bottle Cap.
The appeal: cleaner, chafe-free, and zero TP waste.
Her process:
Dig a proper cat hole.
Rinse with the bidet (sun-warmed water highly recommended).
One drop of unscented Dr. Bronner’s.
Final rinse, sanitize hands, bury responsibly.
Colin mostly groans, but listeners now know: practice in the shower first.
Question 3: Ticks, Dogs & Garlic
Listener Halley writes in asking for natural tick-repellent ideas for humans and pups. Shawnté offers a practical breakdown:
Physical barriers: long sleeves, pants tucked into socks, and post-hike checks. Dogs can rock booties, vests, or even mesh suits (if they’re into that vibe).
Topicals: cedarwood or geranium oil diluted with witch hazel or alcohol, plus a dash of apple-cider vinegar for extra deterrence.
(Cats need not apply; essential oils are a no-go.)
Internal remedies: garlic might repel ticks but could also repel friends and upset dogs’ stomachs. Colin closes with the pragmatic reminder: “Use the vet stuff. It actually works and keeps ticks off you, too.”
New Segment: What’s In My Pack?
The debut of a recurring segment where Shawnté gets personal about gear. First up: Polartec Alpha / Alpha Direct.
What it is: a lightweight, open-knit insulation originally developed for the U.S. Special Forces—warm when still, breathable when moving.
Alpha vs. Alpha Direct: the latter is toughened for next-to-skin wear.
Why it works: it traps air like fleece but vents heat like mesh—ideal for high-output missions.
Shawnté swears by her Sambob Alpha hoodie and Farpoint Alpha pants (“Cookie Monster blue”) for cool-weather trips, pairing them with a simple wind shirt at camp. Colin, ever the fabric nerd, confirms the tech is real—and that it was literally knit on machines once used for lingerie.
The Takeaway
From high-elevation advice to low-angle hygiene, Episode 9 of Gear Abby proves that outdoor wisdom can be both useful and unfiltered. Whether you’re chasing summits, perfecting your bidet aim, or just trying to keep ticks and trauma at bay, Gear Abby remind us: there are no dumb questions, just smart, occasionally sparkly-clean answers.
Episode Bings (aka Footnotes)
Michael Jordan is the GOAT. If you say Lebron is the GOAT just know that you are 100% incorrect. Conversation over.
Shawnté and Colin have an interesting history with Mamoa. Click here to find out what!
Not sure if a butthole can sparkle but let’s not ruin the illusion for Shawnté.
Sadly there is no Thru Hiker Trail Name database, but here is a good place to learn more about trail names.
Find all of the bidets on GGG by clicking here.
Weirdly, Glacial Freeze for your Butthole Gatorade didn’t sell very well for them.
It turns out that ticks do indeed bang. I’m sorry that you now know this info too.
Apparently just 1-3 cloves per day!
Listen to the Full Episode
This recap only scratches the surface, listen to all of Gear Abby Episode 9 here or just click the player below.
If you’ve got your own gear dilemmas, want to safely discuss how you like to smell your outdoorsy underwear, or just want Shawnté to settle a debate, send your questions to deargearabby@gmail.com, they just might land in a future episode.
Episode Transcript
Shawnté Salabert
00:00:00.160 - 00:00:47.830
Winter's unpredictable. Mild one week, freezing the next. I grew up in the Midwest and every inch of snow was exciting until it melted into a soupy mess.
And then to make things worse, it would refreeze on the driveway, making walking across it impossible. Going outside became its own adventure, and that includes choosing what to wear.
That's why people have trusted Fjallraven jackets for more than 50 years. Born and tested in Sweden, they're made to handle everything from everyday cold to true arctic extremes. The philosophy is simple.
Build outerwear that performs, protects and lasts.
From the KEB GTX jacket to the expedition pack down hoodie, you'll find something to suit the winter conditions you know are on the way for your neck of the woods. Get ready for winter and make cold optional by heading to fjallraven.com.
Colin True
00:00:52.230 - 00:00:52.710
Youm Got.
Shawnté Salabert
00:00:52.710 - 00:02:32.380
Questions going out of your mind. Someone with answers.
Now that's hard to find, like the what and the why in the how stuff works or just where to go to avoid all the jerks she's Gear Abby Gear Abby Gear Abby Advice that doesn't suck.
Gear Abby hello there my outdoorsy friends, and welcome to Gear Abby, where we tackle the controversial, weird, obscure and taboo topics that other outdoor podcasts refuse to touch.
I'm Chante Salibair, an outdoor educator, writer, former school social worker, and absolute karaoke fiend who's hiked, run, climbed, paddled and adventured across the United States and beyond.
And here on Gear Abbey, I channel all that experience and more into answering your burning questions about our relationships with outdoor people, products, places and pastimes. Because remember, my outdoor loving pals, there are no dumb questions, just smart advice. By now, here we are, deep in, deep in the woods.
I don't know where we're deep. We might be in a swamp. I don't want to you know, we're in the Northwoods somewhere, possibly in Maine, maybe even in Canada.
At this point, I can't tell you. It might be a secret. But you know how this works.
You're going to send questions to Dear gear abby@gmail.com and I'm going to pick my favorites to answer here on the show. And at this point, we're getting some great questions and we're getting a lot of them. So please be patient.
If you're writing in, I promise you we will get to you and as always, the moment you've been waiting for. Joining me today is my partner in gear, the producer of Gear Abby and the man who drove.
I mean, inspired me to Start therapy again after a decade, Colin. True.
Colin True
00:02:32.700 - 00:02:35.700
It was all those text messages. You're like, I can't handle it anymore.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:35.700 - 00:02:43.340
Too many damn text call and I must talk to somebody about this. But not you. You know why else I might sound happy? Not just because of therapy.
Colin True
00:02:43.340 - 00:02:44.140
Oh, why is that?
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:44.460 - 00:02:51.100
I started meditating like maybe at this point six weeks ago. Yeah, this is like.
Colin True
00:02:51.100 - 00:02:52.700
You meditated once six weeks ago.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:52.940 - 00:02:55.220
Just the one time. And then I was like, screw the shit.
Colin True
00:02:55.220 - 00:02:56.260
It's like, that worked. I'm good.
Shawnté Salabert
00:02:56.260 - 00:03:27.640
It was. Yeah. One and done. One and done. I wish therap was like that. Yeah, I, I'm kind of in this phase.
I, I'm going through my own personal heartbreak Hotel right now. And so I, I decided, I was like, you know what, Damn it, you don't need to be stuck in the dumps. You are going to try to find.
You know, basically it's me throwing spaghetti at the wall and being like, what? What shall stick? And so I. Surprisingly enough, meditation has stuck. I like it.
I do it every morning before I start the day and I feel like a little zhuzhed up version of myself.
Colin True
00:03:28.520 - 00:03:34.600
So you're heartbroken and your head hurts with emotions and your decision is to spend more time in your head.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:35.400 - 00:03:40.040
No, I'm just trying to get everything out of there. It's like a giant. It's a cleaning house.
Colin True
00:03:40.360 - 00:03:44.200
You're like in meditating. You're just picturing you inside your head with a little like shark vacuum. Like.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:44.200 - 00:03:46.280
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Like an industrial vacuum.
Colin True
00:03:46.280 - 00:03:49.720
And I'm like, right, like, nope, no more of that. No more. That person.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:49.800 - 00:03:53.480
Yeah, it's like one of those brooms that the janitor used in school.
Colin True
00:03:54.280 - 00:03:55.960
It's a big wine broom. Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:55.960 - 00:03:56.520
Get out of here.
Colin True
00:03:56.980 - 00:03:58.260
Of the hallway in one swipe.
Shawnté Salabert
00:03:58.500 - 00:04:03.300
Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I. No, I like it. I don't know. Have you, have you done, have you meditated at all?
Colin True
00:04:03.380 - 00:04:10.260
I have meditated, yes, once. But it's. It's that time. Yeah, no, it's. It's. It's a lot of hard work, you know?
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:10.660 - 00:04:13.860
It is a lot of hard work. Damn it.
Colin True
00:04:14.100 - 00:04:16.660
It's another thing that I'm supposed to do.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:16.660 - 00:04:24.180
That's right. You're not supposed to. It's really like, do you want to? Then you could consider doing it. I don't know. It's either that or just scream into the void.
I mean, you pick.
Colin True
00:04:24.680 - 00:04:44.040
Well, that sounds pretty good. I mean, I think that's what. There's the, the. Well, the note for the wellness industry. Like, you Know, make it a.
Make it appealing and like, you want to do this? Usually it's like you gotta do this. Are you not do. Are you not meditating? What the is wrong with you? You know, like, oh my God.
Every time you open up reels and it's like, are you not stretching your hips this way?
Kilian Jornet
00:04:44.200 - 00:04:44.600
The.
Colin True
00:04:45.000 - 00:04:47.000
You're like, oh my God, I gotta do that now too.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:47.000 - 00:04:54.190
I hate the algorithm, man. I won't ever. I won't ever pop up onto your real skin screen and be like, colin, why are you stretching your hips like this, man?
Colin True
00:04:54.830 - 00:04:55.630
Please do that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:04:56.270 - 00:04:56.870
Maybe I will.
Colin True
00:04:56.870 - 00:05:00.190
It'll be G Rabbi here to tell you how to pack your bag.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:00.350 - 00:05:02.830
The post will get zero engagement outside of you.
Colin True
00:05:03.390 - 00:05:09.150
Oh my God. Love that. You've got to have like your Joey, but a Fuko pants on with like a bandana, you know?
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:09.150 - 00:05:18.070
Wow. I'm gonna leave everybody with that image I, you know, wearing. If they were Zubas, I think I would be in a very zebra print.
Colin True
00:05:18.150 - 00:05:19.510
Joey, but a Funko Fanta.
Shawnté Salabert
00:05:19.510 - 00:05:29.990
They're like the zebra print. So I feel like I've slipped on my metaphoric Zubas and we're both feeling very Zen. I think we're ready to kick this thing off. Let's dive in.
Colin True
00:05:30.390 - 00:06:24.360
I'm already picturing the footnote for Zubaz on the online companion, which, by the way, if you're not checking it out, we put a little web companion on Rockfight Co for every episode of Gear Abbey, which has footnotes for all the little bings that you're hearing in the background. So please check that out. Alright, first letter today is.
Dear Gear Abby, I'm a trail runner and climber interested in getting more into mountain running.
Basically linking up more technical peaks while I'm running as a way to really maximize the time I get to spend in the mountains and see what I'm capable of. Whoa, overachiever. Maybe this person needs to meditate a little bit.
I'd like to figure out how I can accomplish longer days on trail and stay safe while climbing without having to bring a bunch of heavy equipment. Do you have any advice on how I might want to change my mindset, training and gear setup?
This person's asking a lot of you gear because, I mean, seriously, what have you heard so far that makes you think that this is the place? You should be coming with this question.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:24.360 - 00:06:25.440
Rude, rude. Colin.
Colin True
00:06:26.800 - 00:06:35.760
Sorry to become more of a mountain runner, or is it better just to push myself separately as a climber and runner? Signed Nico B. Great name, by the way. Nico's kind of an underrated name.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:35.760 - 00:06:36.640
I feel like it's a great name.
Colin True
00:06:36.720 - 00:06:37.320
It's a cool name.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:37.320 - 00:06:48.080
It's very, you know, of the Warhol era. Well, honestly I, I personally like your multi level, multi level marketing scheme, your multi level question, your multi layered question.
Colin True
00:06:48.400 - 00:06:50.320
Also sign up for this pyramid scheme.
Shawnté Salabert
00:06:52.000 - 00:07:05.520
It's Gear Abby's Gear Garage. Garage Grow Gear Abby. No, I. Nico, I really love that you want to be both thoughtful and intentional about this.
So even though Colin is a naysayer, I am actually a trail runner. I am a climber.
Colin True
00:07:05.520 - 00:07:06.000
You are.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:06.080 - 00:07:06.920
Thank you, thank you.
Colin True
00:07:06.920 - 00:07:11.440
But all those mountain link ups that you have in your FKT document. No, this is the thing.
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:11.440 - 00:07:16.000
This is the thing. I have zero desire at this very arthritic stage of my life to combine the two things.
Colin True
00:07:17.280 - 00:07:18.240
What do you want me to do?
Shawnté Salabert
00:07:18.240 - 00:08:13.200
No, thanks, I'm good. So here's the thing.
I had to call in an expert on this one and I decided to call in the Michael Jordan of mountain running, Kilian Jornet, to tackle your question. So Killian, when we spoke, we spoke right after he was fresh off his absolutely wild and inspiring states of elevation project.
He spent 31 days covering nearly 3, 200 miles and over 400000ft of elevation gain. Climbed 72 14ers in the continental US 56 in Colorado, 15 in California, including smashing the supported FKT of Normans.
13 in the central Sierra, in and of itself an amazing feat. And ending with Washington's Mount Rainier. And.
And in case you're wondering, he biked and ran to cover the distance between each peak, keeping the whole thing human powered.
And the spirit of his Killian Journey foundation, which promotes building more sustainable relationships with mountain environments and the communities surrounding them.
Kilian Jornet
00:08:13.360 - 00:08:13.880
We do.
Colin True
00:08:13.880 - 00:08:16.720
We have what. Since when have we had the budget to get Killian Jordae?
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:16.800 - 00:08:21.080
For some reason he decided to come on for free. So I really. Yeah.
Colin True
00:08:21.080 - 00:08:23.680
Oh, good. Never mind. Withdraw. Question withdrawn.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:23.680 - 00:08:25.770
Quest. Pull it back. I think.
Colin True
00:08:25.850 - 00:08:26.570
Pull it back.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:26.650 - 00:08:52.450
I think it's cool because here's the thing. I'm gonna, I'm gonna bring Killian on now. But I think it's really cool that athletes are always asking.
Well known athletes are asked the same questions constantly in interviews.
As somebody who's done a lot of outdoor journalism, I know this and you know, to be able to have a chance to share your expertise with somebody like Nico, I think is super cool. Thanks for joining me today, Killian. I really appreciate it. Welcome to gear Abby.
Kilian Jornet
00:08:53.080 - 00:08:54.600
Yeah, thank you very much for having me.
Shawnté Salabert
00:08:55.000 - 00:09:08.600
Yeah, well, you probably know better than anybody else at this point, considering you're kind of a bionic Pyrenees mountain goat in human form. How can Nico be smart and thoughtful about merging their love of trail running and climbing?
Kilian Jornet
00:09:09.320 - 00:11:28.960
It's a very good question, actually.
And it's something that I love to do just to link summits and to do like, yeah activities and merging the trail running that allows to move from peak to peak and like the climbing techniques that allows to climb those summits.
So I would say first is just like when we move in mountain environment is not just about the physical capacities, but it's about the technical skills and the knowledge. So like to elevate his knowledge on that. It's key to be safe and to stay on the comfort zone.
I think it's very important to have always a margin of comfort when doing these activities because basically what he will be doing is to do like very light mountaineering, which means that he will be climbing peaks with very light gear. So often like that compromise a bit the safety. So he needs to maintain this comfort zone.
So I would say first like elevate his climbing game and then to start to see, okay, if I take off this piece of gear, do I still feel safe and go. Yeah, getting lighter and lighter from that point of view.
Be never trying to go too light and then like feel unsafe in the mountain, but the opposite. And I think when it comes to training it will be kind of the same.
Just like keeping the trail running shape and getting more used to be in mounting conditions and doing technical peaks when he's tired. Because that would be the big difference to like that when we he will arrive to a summit, he will be more tired.
So like to often like when training probably to. To do some technical activities at the end of the runs.
So he starts to develop this feeling of like being on technical terrain when he needs to be alert and needs to. To develop his technical skills when he's very tired.
But I would say mostly like, yeah, first develop the mountaineering skills to feel safe and start to take gear off like slowly like at first, like it can be starting to climb with running shoes instead of like climbing shoes and see if he feels safe. And then like if he feels like okay of down climbing instead of grappling like upseiling down to that. But yeah, just going very careful like to.
To take things off like one by one. But first mastering all the alpine techniques.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:29.280 - 00:11:44.720
Oh, I love that. It's being methodical and really intentional, I think. I also wanted to ask you about mindset. Since Nico asks about this.
I. I remember seeing a video on your Instagram while you were moving through the Palisade traverse. I'm actually in Mammoth right now. I'm about to go into the Sierra.
Kilian Jornet
00:11:44.720 - 00:11:45.600
Beautiful place.
Shawnté Salabert
00:11:45.760 - 00:12:09.500
Oh, it's gorgeous, right?
Y. I mean you were there in snowy conditions and then of course you finished this whole endeavor on Mount Rainier, which is challenging in the best conditions, but you were there in shoulder season. So like mindset is important.
How should Nico, who maybe did not spend their childhood eating 3000 meter peaks for breakfast, think about building a different mindset for mountain running?
Kilian Jornet
00:12:10.540 - 00:14:36.370
Yeah, I think it's adapting to the conditions and to have this mindset of like expecting than expected. Because when we go to mountains like many times, like we picture ourselves like in the best conditions possible.
Like we picture, oh, it will be like it's, I don't know, like 5.6, like climbing great. And I can climb that and it will be nice and rocky and it will be just like sunny.
So you picture yourself that you can do that because you have been doing that on those conditions. But it often happens that condition change. And as you mentioned, like when I was in the Palisades, it was all icy.
So like the five point, the middle five grade, like it became like much more harder. And that means that often like on the mindset, I would say to just visualize yourself in the worst case scenario.
Like imagine if you are up there when it's like a storm, if you are having some problem, you still feel confident on that. You still feel like that you have the skills and the knowledge to go through that.
And I think that's a good exercise on knowing if we have the capacities for it to imagine that, okay, if I'm up there and it's bad conditions, do I know which road alternative route can I take down to escape or can I don't climb with big globes in case if it's snowy.
So I think that's important to imagine, to visualize all the worst case scenario situations, to anticipate them and then just to accept, then expecting to just go up there and just take wherever it comes and just not stick to a plan of saying, okay, I will do these times and I will go this route because that change all the time with conditions. So just be open to that. And I would say those activities, those longing caps in between summits that Nico wants to do, it's about problem solving.
So it's about arriving to a place and seeing the conditions and solving this problem to continue. So to work the mindset and the brain on just being open to take whatever it comes.
Shawnté Salabert
00:14:37.170 - 00:15:08.460
Oh, I love that. That's really. That's really nice. I think I might use that in my everyday life, so. Thank you.
Just one other question, and it's the idea of you talk about with your foundation being in basically good relationship with the mountains. And so it's.
Is mountain running, like, can Nico keep this in mind as well when they're out there, this idea of having a sustainable relationship with the mountains. Is mountain running in particular a good way to be in relation with the mountains? Yeah.
Kilian Jornet
00:15:08.540 - 00:16:10.250
I believe all the other sports brings us to this connection with the, with the landscapes and with the, with the other elements of nature. And I think, like, we often think as, as humans that we go busy nature and like, the reality is, no, we are part of it.
Like, we are another being there. Like, we are another mammal that we need to like. Yeah, we need like other species to stay alive. Like, we cannot live isolated for nature.
So like sports like trail running, that brings us to those, to those landscapes. It reminds us of this connection with nature. So I think it's.
That's the beauty of those sports is just to feel like small and to feel like part of it. And I believe that the more we are in those places, the more we want to preserve them and to respect them.
And that's why, yeah, we want to take care of what we love. And when we are to those places, we start to love them.
Shawnté Salabert
00:16:10.970 - 00:16:22.990
Yes. Oh, that speaks to my soul. I get it. I understand it. And I hope Nico gets it too.
Before you go, I have to ask, which mountain range did you like better, the Rockies or the Sierra? And why was it the Sierra?
Kilian Jornet
00:16:23.550 - 00:17:06.770
Yeah, no, like, I loved it all. Like, and I love the deserts in between, even if it's not a place that I would spend a lot of time.
But yeah, I would say the Sierra, it was kind of like the best rock and like the biggest playground, like the Moral Pine. Very nice. Yeah, it was. It was pretty incredible. All the possibilities. Like, it's just a playground that you.
I want to go back and explore more and more because it's the endless possibilities. But I would say now that I'm here, north, like, it's pretty cool also with the volcano, so, like, a bit, yeah, probably the Sierras.
And here in the, in the north is where I want to explore a bit more in the future.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:07.250 - 00:17:28.440
All right, well, come back. We'd love to have you. And the Sierra are very special.
The Cascades are pretty great too, so lots for you to do here, Kelly, and I don't think you're done here in our mountains. So thanks so much for taking time today. I hope you get to eat a lot of food. I know you just finished yesterday.
We're recording this early, so eat some food, get some rest, and thanks for inspiring us all. I appreciate it.
Kilian Jornet
00:17:28.920 - 00:17:29.800
Thank you very much.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:31.880 - 00:17:45.160
All right. We are so excited to welcome the official Gear Garage of Gear Abby. That's Garage Grown gear and oh, my gosh, that is a tongue twister.
Garage Grown gear. AKA say it ggg.
Colin True
00:17:45.160 - 00:17:45.560
Say it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:17:46.170 - 00:18:11.010
Colin knows I just don't like saying chi chi chi, but I'm gonna.
I'm gonna say it because here they are supporting Gear Abbey and they want to make sure all of Gear Abby's outdoorsy friends can get the newest outdoors stuff that they need for their next adventure.
When we're saying stuff, we mean stuff like leave outdoors Alpha 90 hoodie, Nobo water bottle, but igneous or even footwear from brands like Altra or Topo Athletics Ultra.
Colin True
00:18:11.010 - 00:18:12.280
And Topo is on Garage Groom.
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:12.910 - 00:18:13.710
You put that in there.
Colin True
00:18:13.710 - 00:18:15.390
Okay. I'm leaving this in there.
Kilian Jornet
00:18:15.390 - 00:18:15.710
Yeah.
Colin True
00:18:15.710 - 00:18:16.830
This is. This is part of it.
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:16.830 - 00:18:21.230
This is what I'm bantering call it. Right. Oh, man.
Colin True
00:18:21.230 - 00:18:22.790
That was actually surprising to me. I didn't know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:18:22.790 - 00:18:55.640
I know. Garage Grown carries so much cool stuff. I have to say. There's actually one of the pieces we're talking about in today's episode.
I'm going to mention a couple things I got on Garage Grown gear. Honestly, Garage Grown Gear and Gear Abbey are the perfect outdoor combo. So get shopping by heading over to garagegrowngear.com. right. Meow.
Actually, right after you listen to this episode. Ooh, Colin, I think. I think we really set the bar high with that last question. So no pressure.
I think we've got to make our banter top notch here for the rest of the episode.
Colin True
00:18:55.720 - 00:19:04.320
I think so. And it's definitely an announcement to the rest of the outdoor world, if you have any notoriety whatsoever, you've been beat. You've been got.
Killian got here first, guys.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:04.320 - 00:19:06.360
That's right. That's right. Jason Momoa.
Colin True
00:19:06.360 - 00:19:07.560
I think he's going to start co hosting with us.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:07.560 - 00:19:28.650
Yeah, he might. Momoa. I'm just, you know, listen, if someone's got a question for Jason Momoa, send me. Dear gear abby gmail.com.
send me every single Jason Momoa question you could think of until he answers. Oh, man. All right, well, with that, I feel like I hope we come in strong with the second Question. Which. Which one do we have?
Colin True
00:19:28.650 - 00:19:44.090
All right, here we go. It says, dear Gear. Abby. I keep hearing about people taking bidets on backpacking trips. How the hell does this work? Signed.
I'm confused because I'm actually Shantae, because there's no way that you didn't write this thing because it's your favorite thing to talk about. No, dude, it's backpacking bidets.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:44.090 - 00:19:44.610
Listen.
Colin True
00:19:44.610 - 00:19:46.450
No, Oda, you wrote this question.
Shawnté Salabert
00:19:46.450 - 00:19:56.370
No, I got three separate questions about bidets. I'm not joking with you. I've been holding on to them for a while because we've had so much poop talk on the podcast.
Colin True
00:19:56.370 - 00:20:10.540
Well, then that's fair. We definitely know there are some people in our audience who have opinions about that. But that is actually amazing.
You've sat on three questions about bidet. I know how much you like bidet, so I. I withdraw my criticism. That's incredible. You guys know who you're writing into?
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:10.620 - 00:20:16.300
Thank you. Yes, the people are starting. We're seven episodes in. People are. No. What are we now? Nine episodes in, I think.
Colin True
00:20:16.300 - 00:20:18.540
So here to talk about this is. Is Killian Journey.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:19.180 - 00:20:24.140
Come back. So good to have you. Uses a very fancy European bidet.
Colin True
00:20:24.620 - 00:20:25.260
Absolutely.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:25.340 - 00:20:45.440
That's just conjecture. I feel like I have to say I don't actually know about his bidet habits.
But no, I picked of the three separate bidet questions, they were all pretty similar, like, how do they work? But I liked that this one was just short and succinct to the point because confused. Sounds like confused.
Was wondering how the hell people are carting entire toilet apparati. Apparatuses. Apparatuses out on the truck.
Colin True
00:20:45.440 - 00:20:50.160
If you've only ever experienced the indoor bidet, it seems a little odd. How are you removing.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:50.160 - 00:20:51.680
You're taking it off the seat. What are you doing?
Colin True
00:20:51.680 - 00:20:55.800
Where's the real heavy? Yeah, they have a special bear can for that. You shove it in.
Shawnté Salabert
00:20:55.960 - 00:21:22.400
Yeah, it's a big thing. You can probably find it on Crush Crone Cure.
You know, I did promise a few episodes back that I would talk about bidets, So I am excited to finally clear up this confusion and set you on the righteous path of a sparkling clean butthole. I was about to say, let's dig in, but maybe, maybe not. Oh, I. I made. I got a groaner out of common. That's. Is it.
Colin True
00:21:22.400 - 00:21:24.360
Is it squeaky clean or the sparkling clean?
Shawnté Salabert
00:21:24.360 - 00:22:29.520
I mean, it depends on your butthole. I don't know. Don't answer that. All right, let's just. Let's gently slide it. Nope, nope.
Let's start by clearing up any misconceptions you do not saving. I'm saving myself from myself right now. You confused or call in anyone.
No one has to lug the entire tushy device you bought during the pandemic for your home toilet. You're not lugging that out into the back country.
There are actual portable devices that will do the trick, and we will get to those in just a minute. But for first, let's. Let's just cover really quick. The. Why. Like, why would you use a bidet?
We talked about it a little bit back in episode six, a little teaser, if you will. And the idea is that this is a device that allows you to squirt a stream of water at your bits after going to the bathroom.
That means there's no dirty TP to carry out with you. And as a bonus, you're going to reduce the possibility of butt chafe.
And you'll feel a lot cleaner, you know, when the rest of you is coated in dirt and you have this very sparkling. Your business is sparkling. I love it. It does help a lot with morale when I'm on a backpacking trip. Just to feel a little bit cleaner.
Colin True
00:22:29.520 - 00:22:35.920
I just checked the Through Hiker database. Apparently no dingleberries is available to any as a trail name. So, you know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:38.080 - 00:22:40.640
Oh, where is this? Is this on Rock Fight co.
Colin True
00:22:41.520 - 00:22:43.800
It probably should be. We'll get producer Dave on that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:22:43.800 - 00:24:18.700
Yeah, I feel like that's a producer Dave thing. Well, if you are willing to consider converting to bidetism, as I like to refer to it just now, this is the only time I've referred to it that way.
You got to pick out your weapon of choice. So earlier this year, I was absolutely delighted when writer backpacker through hiker through cyclist Sam Shield. Yes.
The same guy who talked about sniffing his wool undies on the last episode. When Sam asked me to contribute to a backcountry bidet roundup that he wrote for Treeline Review.
This was truly one of the most thrilling assignments I've ever had. I got to wax poetic about my favorite bidet, which is called the Happy Bottom Portable bidet. I mean, it's just got a guarantee. I almost. I'd say 99%.
You know, there's always going to be that 1%. But anyway, this. So the happy bottom, my friend AJ bought it for me as a joke a couple years ago, and the joke's on her because I love that thing.
I am an absolute freak for it. It's got a lightweight sort of squishy bottle reservoir. That's pretty part of it.
And then a telescope, a telescoping telescopic nozzle that doesn't just shoot out the perfect amount of pressure, which is important, but it also keeps your hand, you know, further away from your business during the whole process, which I personally like.
But as part of Sam's story for Treeline, I also got to test some super lightweight bidets, all three of which I think my editor procured from garage grown gear. Like I said earlier, we. We get our gear there. It's no joke. These three are the holy hiker. That is not. It's not religious. It's just got holes in may.
May be a religious experience when you are squirting.
Colin True
00:24:18.700 - 00:24:19.860
Can only use it with holy water.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:19.860 - 00:24:21.580
You can, yeah. It's got to be blessed.
Colin True
00:24:21.580 - 00:24:22.620
It's tough to come by on the.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:22.620 - 00:24:25.860
Trail, you know, but if you've got a priest hiking with you, you should be fine.
Colin True
00:24:26.260 - 00:24:26.740
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:26.820 - 00:24:27.940
Something to Caprice.
Colin True
00:24:27.940 - 00:24:29.540
Is that another product for garage growing gear?
Shawnté Salabert
00:24:29.540 - 00:25:18.480
Caprice, made out of Dyneema. So holy hiker. The Kulo clean, which always reminds me of Kula cloth Kulot clean differently, though a little different.
And then the igneous bottle cap bidet, which sounds absolutely volcanic. So I've tried all three of them. I took the.
The bottle cap bidet out on the trail this summer and they all either kind of screw onto a standard threaded water bottle or they plug into the, you know, mouth hole of the water bottle. There's no nice way to say that. So Sam's top pick was the Coolo Clean, which is a very popular portable bidet. It's the high. The high powered spray.
He measured. Yes. He measured the spray. This is science, folks. He measured it as going the furthest at 16 and a half feet.
Colin True
00:25:18.800 - 00:25:19.400
Oh, God.
Shawnté Salabert
00:25:19.400 - 00:27:10.960
So I guess for efficiency, that means you can spray your butt and then aim it at the person. One cat hole over Fun for the whole family.
Well, anyway, to wrap things up here, even though I don't want to, we could do a whole episode about bidets.
I'm actually deleting the other two topics we have and we're just going to keep talking about this, but no, yeah, just I want to go over a little how to without getting too graphic here. Maybe this will be my reel for this episode is. I'll try to demonstrate. I'll get like a peach or something. Try to demonstrate on the peach.
Oh, no, Sorry in advance. So, so here's what I do. I gather all my supplies. I've got a bidet filled with water. Theoretically, you want to warm it up a little bit in the sun.
Unless you want just like a glacial freeze coming right at your butthole. A tiny dropper bottle of. I use unscented Dr. Bronner's. It's just easier when you're in bear country. A trowel and hand sanitizer. So that's.
That's my main setup. Do my business. I use my dominant hand. I. Since this is so much detail. Dominant hand, you're gonna. You.
You're gonna squirt, you know, get some water there in your area.
You might wanna practice that in the shower first so that you do not soak your pants through, much like the standup p device we talked about in an earlier episode. Then I use just one single drop. You don't need to. Suds up your butt a whole bunch, guys. Just one drop on your non dominant hand. Okay.
This is the hand you're not eating with. And do a quick sudsing. Do another. Rinse off, wash your hands, bury it, and boom, there we go.
There's a much fuller description in the piece that Sam wrote for Treeline. And what I like is that he gives his perspective and then I give my perspective on how to use these.
We have different anatomy, so really you get the full scope of potential bidet magic. So, Colin, how. Now that we've discussed bidets and I'm riding a real high, how long do we have to wait till we could talk about poop again?
Because I think I've got another three poop questions people have sent.
Colin True
00:27:12.000 - 00:27:15.640
Sorry, I was distracted. I was trying one of these out while I was recording. While you were speaking.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:15.640 - 00:27:16.320
I hate that.
Colin True
00:27:16.800 - 00:27:24.640
I think we might have to. Is there a. Is it a three episode freeze after every three episodes? We're nine in, and I feel like there's been a lot of poop.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:25.280 - 00:27:28.200
Listen, here's the thing. I'm answering the questions you people send me.
Colin True
00:27:28.200 - 00:27:28.720
That is true.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:28.720 - 00:27:33.330
So if you send me some questions that are not about poop, I will keep answering those two.
Colin True
00:27:33.650 - 00:27:44.490
No, that's a good point. And if people think that we're just making these up. We're not.
So, I mean, that's why I was actually kidding when I said I thought you just wrote this yourself because I know you. Bidet is a passion, a topic of passion for you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:27:44.490 - 00:28:01.650
Yeah. Please write in about things I'm passionate about, like Jason Momoa. All right, Colin, I feel like question three. Here is a chance to start anew.
It's like Owen Comerford. If you were listening to this episode. You probably blanked out on that entire second episode.
Colin True
00:28:01.650 - 00:28:02.170
Oh, he's gone.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:02.170 - 00:28:14.830
He left already so you could come back. Owen. Owen is not a fan of. He will not be sending us poop questions. But. So. All right, we're going to start fresh. We got a third question here, Colin.
Let's tee it up.
Colin True
00:28:14.990 - 00:28:29.070
All right, here we go. Question 3 for this episode of Gear Abby.
And the question is, dear Gear Abby, what are some natural strategies or products to mitigate ticks for humans and pups during the months when they are active? Signed, Hally.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:29.570 - 00:28:52.330
Oh, look at that. That is a good question. It's not at all about bodily functions. I know.
So we're a bit deep into the fall right now, but, you know, those literal suckers can stay active year round in a lot of places and, you know, up until it begins to freeze, generally. And much like bears, they're basically looking to lay down some epic feasts before they go dormant for the winter down.
Colin True
00:28:52.330 - 00:28:56.370
Here where we live, like, we're coming up on tick season. Like, February is tick season for us.
Shawnté Salabert
00:28:56.370 - 00:29:34.800
Oh, yeah. So it really. This is. You know, some people might be listening, thinking this is summer question, but honestly, this is a.
This is a question that's pertinent for a lot of people year round. And in fact, the one and only time I've had a tick bite me was actually late fall down here in Southern California.
I was on the pct, and people don't think of ticks being a PCT issue. It's certainly not like the at out east. Y' all definitely are very ticky. But I. So I was out for a hike.
The grass is kind of dry and long, and I discovered this tick burrowed uncomfortably close to my delicates when I got home, yeah, absolutely frozen, freaked out, in a panic. I'm just kind of scratching at this thing. And of course, it just goes in deeper.
Colin True
00:29:35.040 - 00:29:35.800
Oh, dear God.
Shawnté Salabert
00:29:35.800 - 00:31:40.470
Yeah, so I ended up going to the. Going to the doctor because I'm like, please help me so I don't die. I ended up testing positive for Lyme disease. And did you realize I had.
I had a full panic attack? Because I know. I know several people with Lyme, and it is no joke. That is a. That's pretty serious.
But, yeah, my doctor said a lot of false positives come up, so they tested me again a week later. I was fine. But I do feel like that whole experience shaved a week off my life. So tick prevention is a worthy topic.
Well, Hallie, you mentioned the phrase natural strategies, so I assume you are not looking to coat yourself or your canine buddies in a veil of 100% teat, which was, if you're wondering, originally developed in the mid-40s, not for everyday use by people like us, but rather to be used as an insecticide for army soldiers stationed in the jungle. So let's talk about some things that might be a little friendlier to our bodies.
And to do this, I'm going to kind of go through a couple categories of tick repellency. Physical, topical, internal. And so let's start with physical.
To physically repel ticks, you have to create a barrier that prevents those little eight legged jerkwads from accessing your tender flesh. So at home, this means doing things like keeping your lawn mowed.
This, it's not a euphemism if you have a lawn and then clearing piles of dead leaves where they like to cozy up, stuff like that. But honestly, the environment is the thing you can kind of control the least.
And so this also means opting for what is termed mechanical protection, which just sounds like you have a robot out there, like karate chopping ticks. Good job. But really, it just means wearing.
You know, for humans, it's like wearing long sleeves, looking like a big old dork with long socks pulled over your pants. But your dog can also dress the part. Probably looks a lot less dorky and more adorable. You can outfit them in booties, bandanas, gators, vests.
I have even when I was researching this, I even saw full mesh bodysuits. So if your dog is into a BDS and M vibe, go for it. Naughty ticks.
Colin True
00:31:42.390 - 00:31:44.070
Oh, my God, the banging animals are back.
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:44.390 - 00:31:49.960
I didn't say it. I didn't say it. Is the ticks, Is it the ticks that are banging this time?
Colin True
00:31:50.120 - 00:31:50.840
Do they bang?
Shawnté Salabert
00:31:50.840 - 00:32:02.360
I don't. That's something I'm not going to Google. I feel like the more, the deeper we get into gear. Abby, Colin. There's more.
There's like less things I want to Google in this world. That's saying a lot.
Colin True
00:32:02.360 - 00:32:03.240
Fair point, fair point.
Shawnté Salabert
00:32:03.800 - 00:33:45.500
All right, so we got, we got the mechanical. Mechanical out of the way. We are not talking about ticks banging anymore. We are just talking about preventing entry for now.
For now, Colin's saving up all of his tick puns for the end. You. Okay, the other thing you can consider here, topicals.
So you could buy premade natural options that don't contain chemicals like permethrin or deet. I actually use a brand called Wonderside for my cat, and it seems to work pretty well, actually. And it actually doesn't smell bad.
You can actually just make your own topicals as well by diluting essential oils into a spray. Although you definitely don't want to use that on cats. Never, ever, ever use oils on cats. They just. They. Their body can't handle it.
But your dog is into these sweet topicals. So you could mix geranium oil, cedarwood oil or 2. That works super well for humans and dogs.
And you want to mix basically an equal amount of each, maybe like 10 to 12 drops in about 2 cups of water, give or take.
And since we all know that oil and water are mortal enemies, you want to add in a small amount of something like alcohol or witch hazel just to help all of it mix together. Um, and you can even add a little bit of apple cider vinegar to drive the ticks a little more crazy because they don't really like acidity.
So you could spray this on yourself, spray it on your dog, and you can spray it on clothing for both of you as well. The final thing I think I talked about the internal remedy, which maybe that's just meditating on how you're fine with ticks. They're actually fine.
I'm not getting attacked by ticks. No, I mean ingesting things. And in this case, this is probably the least effective way to prevent ticks.
But perhaps the tastiest is you can treat them like little vampires.
Colin True
00:33:45.500 - 00:33:45.900
They are.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:45.900 - 00:33:49.220
And just go to town on garlic. They are.
Colin True
00:33:49.220 - 00:33:50.700
Okay. How much are you supposed to eat?
Kilian Jornet
00:33:50.700 - 00:33:51.180
I don't know.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:51.180 - 00:33:54.740
There was no. I couldn't find a recommendation. So you may want to take this.
Colin True
00:33:54.980 - 00:33:58.180
Nothing from garlic for 24 straight days, and you'll be ready.
Shawnté Salabert
00:33:58.180 - 00:34:05.640
There is actually, there's a restaurant here in L. A. Or there used to be called the Stinking Rose. And my mom is a big garlic fan, and I took her there and she was in Holland hog heaven.
Colin True
00:34:06.360 - 00:34:07.880
Nice. And no ticks.
Shawnté Salabert
00:34:07.880 - 00:35:02.680
No ticks, yes. Just tick free since then. But yeah, you might also repel some people, but maybe you'll get rid of some blood suckers along the way.
But yeah, as you know, one thing to keep in mind, Hallie dogs have very sensitive tummies. So people do sometimes give tiny amounts of things like garlic or apple cider vinegar to their dog. But just run anything like that. Don't do it right.
Like, talk to your vet, man, I. I saw a lot of weird remedies on the Internet. This is why I'm here to discuss dispel some of those. Don't just start feeding Your dog, random people shit.
Because your dog could get a whole lot sicker than a tick might make it. So talk with your vet if you want to try anything that you're not so sure about. And, and yeah, I think, I think that's, that's all I got.
Colin, you are a dog owner. I mean, I'm over here with my cat who's just giving me the side eye 90% of the time, and she could care.
Care less what I'm preventing happening in her life as long as I feed her. So any, any other dog insights I.
Colin True
00:35:02.680 - 00:35:31.240
Don'T shy away from just the, the strong stuff that the vet gives you or you can get a Petco or whatever. I mean, it works.
And the, and I understand if you're a little more adverse to that or don't want to put it on your body, but, like, at the end of the day, it's not just the dog, it's you.
Because anytime, like if I kind of misjudge when tick season is starting, and now I'm waking up in the middle of the night with a little tickle on my leg and, oh, there's a tick. Right?
Because the dog's sleeping in the bed or whatever, which we, you know, that's, you know, that's, that's what you're really preventing is more ticks on you.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:31.640 - 00:35:34.120
Really good point. I hadn't even thought of that, honestly.
Colin True
00:35:34.120 - 00:35:45.920
Right. The dogs will end up probably being fine. You pull them off, you know, whatever.
It's not that big a deal for the dog, but I don't really like waking up and finding ticks crawling all over me. So, yeah, I just go for the hard stuff. Typically with the dogs, you don't want.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:45.920 - 00:35:47.240
Ticks banging on your body.
Colin True
00:35:48.040 - 00:35:50.840
No, no, no. I don't want to host a tick orgy.
Shawnté Salabert
00:35:52.680 - 00:35:59.930
I am excited because we are introducing a new segment on the show called what's in my Pack?
Colin True
00:36:00.490 - 00:36:03.530
Yeah, you gotta sell it. You gotta really sell it. What's in my pack?
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:04.490 - 00:36:05.690
What's in my pack?
Colin True
00:36:07.130 - 00:36:08.250
What's in the box?
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:08.490 - 00:36:09.930
What the hell is in your back?
Colin True
00:36:10.490 - 00:36:12.650
Do we still play the clip from seven? The intro?
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:12.650 - 00:36:12.890
This.
Colin True
00:36:12.890 - 00:36:14.010
Should it be what's in the box?
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:14.810 - 00:36:16.570
No, it should not.
Colin True
00:36:17.210 - 00:36:18.610
It's Gwyneth Paltrow's head.
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:18.610 - 00:36:19.130
Oh, God.
Colin True
00:36:19.130 - 00:36:23.470
No spoilers for seven. Sorry. If you haven't seen that, nearly 30 spoiled.
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:23.470 - 00:36:26.430
You just did. We don't do movie spoilers on Cure. Abby.
Colin True
00:36:26.590 - 00:36:27.510
What's in my pack?
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:27.510 - 00:36:50.470
What's in my pack? We're going to find out.
So this is a segment because we've also gotten some feedback from various listeners that they want to hear what kind of gear I use. And they also are interested in just gear reviews. So that is something we've talked about doing on the show.
So what's in my pack is a segment where I'll get personal, basically about the gear I use, but not too personal, unless it's a bidet.
Colin True
00:36:51.750 - 00:36:52.910
And so. You already did that.
Shawnté Salabert
00:36:52.910 - 00:37:14.390
I did. I know, but so to kick things off, I am choosing not quite a product this time, not quite a piece of gear, but a material.
And I think it's one you're gonna have a lot to talk about since you used to be Colin, a paid shill for the company that makes it. That's right. I'm talking about Polar Tech's Alpha Direct fleece, or just Alpha Fleece. It just, you know, there's Alpha. There's Alpha Direct.
Colin True
00:37:15.280 - 00:37:15.960
There is a difference.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:15.960 - 00:37:17.280
There is a difference which you can tell us.
Colin True
00:37:17.280 - 00:37:47.290
There is. I am excited about this. Number one, I'm so excited at the moment that Alpha. Alpha in general, but also Alpha Direct specifically is having.
Because when that fabric launch was right, when I got time, I got hired at polar tech in 2013 and there was a lot of like, what are we supposed to do with this? So it's nice to see it having a bit of a moment and showing up in run brands like Satisfye.
You know, we mentioned the brand at the beginning of the show. I mean, it's all over. Garage growing. Garage grown. Garage grown gear.
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:47.290 - 00:37:49.290
So you can't even say it. It's a tongue twister. I can't.
Colin True
00:37:49.290 - 00:37:55.010
Twister Garage Polar Tex outfit. You want me to give you the rundown of what it is?
Shawnté Salabert
00:37:55.010 - 00:39:08.530
Well, I mean, I want to give a little background since it's like what's in my pack. I'll explain. And then. Yeah, I'm going to ask you because I, I truly don't understand how this. The magic of this stuff.
But so I, you know, I basically spent the first 16 years of my backpacking career feeling what I was told was that wool is superior. It's the superior insulation. I believed that. I tried synthetics. I considered silk, whatever.
But wool, I always felt was kind of like, okay, I get this. It's a natural fiber. It wears pretty well over time, keeps you warm when it's wet. This does the trick.
But then I was swayed by the cult of ultralight, and I took a risk and decided to replace it with some Alpha Direct fleece.
So out on trail this summer, my base Layers actually consisted of this beautiful mint green hoodie from Sambo that I have gotten so many compliments on.
There was actually a person at a VVR when I was on the trail this summer at one of the resupply places on trail who came up and took a photo of the back of my hoodie because it's got the little Sam Bob loco. And then was like, oh, sorry, I want to look this up when I get home. So shout out to Sam Bob for making some good looking hoodies.
And then I have a pair of bright blue pants from Farpoint also in the Alpha direct that make me look like cookie monsters.
Colin True
00:39:08.690 - 00:39:10.570
So I probably do.
Kilian Jornet
00:39:10.570 - 00:39:10.970
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:10.970 - 00:39:47.140
So this is what I want you to explain because for people who've never seen this stuff, it has a very open weave. It's pretty see through. It's covered in a bunch of like wispy little fuzzies. None of which translates in in your brain to warmth.
When you look at it, you're like, there's no way in hell that that's keeping me warm. And I was worried, I'm like, am I going to freeze to death at night? Because it's gonna be cold where I am. But honestly, crazy warm.
Super soft on my skin. Really comfortable. So since I have the benefit of having a former Polar tech insider right here, how the hell does this stuff work? Is it witchcraft?
It's spooky season, so just tell me it's witchcraft.
Colin True
00:39:47.620 - 00:39:52.100
Well, I want to correct you. First of all, it's not a weave, it's a knit. And there is a difference between the two.
Shawnté Salabert
00:39:52.340 - 00:39:55.060
Nerd. Nerd.
Colin True
00:39:55.700 - 00:41:28.650
I've been waiting a long time for this moment. No, the interesting thing about Alpha is the way it was developed and so everything.
And if you listen to the rock fight or even some of the stuff we say here in gear. Abbey, right. It's all about the innovation comes from a need, right?
It's like when you go outside and you're doing things in the outdoors, what is the problem you're trying to solve? Typically, that's to keep you warm, dry, cool, or safe.
Those are the kind of the four things we were looking at when you're looking at creating something new for an outdoor endeavor.
Alpha was developed actually with the US Military and their special forces division because they are people who are basically kind of military athletes in a way. They are on the move. They don't have time to shuck a lair, right?
So if it's a kind of cool day out and they get up and it's cold out and they put on a puffy. A traditional puffy jacket. And then they get moving. They're in military situations. They can't be like, hey, guys, hold on a second.
I'm a little warm right now. I gotta take this off. Right. And so they wanted something where they could. That was. That had versatility baked into it. Right.
So how can we have something that will keep me warm enough when it's chilly out, but also when I start moving, I won't overheat like you do. Because a lot of those, you know, puffy jackets, the. Either whether it's down or synthetic, fill the fabric.
On the face of it, what you're looking at on the outside of the coat, it's really tightly bound so that the fibers don't migrate out of it. So Alpha is an actual knit structure. It's a piece of fabric that gets knit. Actually gets knit on knitting machines, not circular knit.
I can't remember the name of the machines themselves, but you know what else is made on these machines?
Shawnté Salabert
00:41:28.650 - 00:41:29.850
Shantae. No, what?
Colin True
00:41:30.970 - 00:41:31.770
Lingerie.
Shawnté Salabert
00:41:32.490 - 00:41:32.890
Really?
Colin True
00:41:33.370 - 00:41:33.730
Yeah.
Shawnté Salabert
00:41:33.730 - 00:41:34.090
Lace.
Colin True
00:41:34.170 - 00:41:35.010
Actually, it's like lace.
Shawnté Salabert
00:41:35.010 - 00:41:36.620
Alpha lingerie now.
Colin True
00:41:36.860 - 00:42:30.790
Well, you could make that. Yeah, but. No, but it's like. That's your point. The whole openness of it, it kind of creates this sort of. It's basically fleece. Like, you know, it.
But it's made in a way that it's very open and that. So it can also then be hung inside.
Originally was intended to be hung inside of other fabrics that you don't have to worry about the fibers migrating through. So now you could have, you know, woven. That's a. Woven on the front. Like, that could be much more open now so that the heat could come off of it.
And then eventually some brands. I think Neurona was one of the original ones.
I can't remember some of the other ones, but basically looked at it and said, hey, we want to make a garment just out of the Alpha. But it wasn't built for that. It was built to be encapsulated in something else.
And so the folks at Polartech, the witchcraft people at Polartech said, all right, well, we can't do that, because if you do that, it's not gonna hold up very well. And then you're gonna try and blame us for not looking very good.
So they kind of toughened it up a little bit so that it was intentionally made to wear next to skin.
Shawnté Salabert
00:42:30.790 - 00:42:31.830
And that's Alpha Direct.
Colin True
00:42:32.570 - 00:43:08.740
That's Alpha Direct. And originally it was hung with a Woven on the outside, but worn right next to your skin.
So you lost that kind of sandwich component of a typical puffy jacket to kind of have a little bit less. And now it's just. Everybody's just making. I mean, like I said, it satisfies making a running T shirt out of Alpha Direct.
And it kind of goes back to some of those other base layers you see now, too, that actually have holes in them. Like, there's just.
It's a bit of a mental block, I think, for us to think that, like, in order for us to stay warm in this or to perform, it needs to look a certain way.
And those gaps that you were describing, like, they actually do a lot, because it still will trap the air, it'll still insulate, but it also will shed a lot of that excess heat.
Shawnté Salabert
00:43:08.740 - 00:43:48.880
Right, right. Yeah. I know a lot of backpackers now who just use it as their hiking layer. You know, for me, it's a base layer. I mean, and the thing, you know, you.
You bring up the durability is that, yeah, people do need to know this is not a layer you're probably going to go bushwhack in, and it's probably going to rub, you know, on your shoulder straps after a while. But I. All of my pieces at this point, you know, the. The.
The soft fuzziness does sort of compact a little bit over time, but they're still incredibly soft pieces. But, yeah, so I just. I wouldn't bushwhack in it.
And also, when you're sitting at camp, for me, I'll throw on a little wind shirt over it, because if it's breezy, then you kind of lose that whole insulating factor because the wind is just going in all the little holes.
Colin True
00:43:48.880 - 00:44:17.590
So it's all about versatility right to that point. For if you're backpacking, it makes a ton of sense as a summertime base layer where they're in the heat of the day, you're going to take it off.
But, man, what are the other.
I mean, most other scenarios at a summertime backpacking trip, no matter where you're living, if you're in North America anyway, it's probably going to check most of the boxes of what you need now. There might be some moments you're like, oh, I'm a little too cold, you know. Okay.
But also, you know, you're not carrying on a big kind of heavy, puffy jacket that you don't really need either. So versatility is really the point.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:17.590 - 00:44:27.940
Yeah, no, it's amazing. Thank you.
Thank you for demystifying that for me, because, honestly, as soon as I got it and I wore it out, I was like, this is actually great, but how the hell does it work? Like, thank you, Colin. I love that.
Colin True
00:44:27.940 - 00:44:33.780
You're welcome. And now I'll never get to deploy that knowledge again. This is my one shot.
Shawnté Salabert
00:44:34.180 - 00:45:06.340
Well, yeah, I. Listen, I'm a convert Alpha. If y' all haven't tried it, it's pretty amazing. You can get it at so many places now.
It's kind of wild if you want to look like a Muppet and be incredibly warm, but also, you know, shed some sweat, you know, this is. This is the fabric of your life. Sorry, Cotton. All right, well, there you have it. That is it. For this episode of Gear Abbey.
Until next time, send your burning questions about fabrics, about. Maybe. Maybe hold off on the bodily functions for just a second, but send. Send your questions about your.
Colin True
00:45:06.340 - 00:45:07.340
Unless they're really burning.
Shawnté Salabert
00:45:07.420 - 00:45:58.869
Unless it's actually burning. Then call 91 1, okay? But otherwise, you can send your questions about outdoor products, people, places and pastimes to us@d gear abby gmail.com.
i'm going to do my best to answer them or pull someone in who can. Maybe. Maybe we'll just keep getting Killian Journey on the show. I don't know. I'm sure he's got other things he could talk about.
But in the meantime, head over to your podcast listening service of choice and subscribe rate and review to support the pod and make my day. Also, head over to Rockfight Co for the show Notes, which we have up there every week when the episode drops, are pretty amazing.
And in the meantime, today's episode was produced by David Karsted and Colin True, art direction provided by the amazing Sarah Gensert. I'm Chante Salaver. And remember, there are no dumb questions, just smart advice from your friend, Gear Abby.