Saturday, June 17, 2006

I'm a sell-out. . . Or just a sucker for blue.

I sold out. I bought the Cat's Meow even though I have a North Face boycott in place. How did my life get reduced to this? To buying North Face products???

I had debated in my heart for a long time regarding sleeping bags. Down? Or synthetic? Each have their strengths and weaknesses. I had finally decided on getting the Arroyo sleeping bag made my Marmot. A while ago I sat in on a gear clinic (back in the day when Meagan Scriven and I were allowed to go to gear clinics) by a Marmot rep. He preached the good word of Marmot down bags and I became a believer. So what changed my decision?

After the DTGR talk with Keith Albertson I decided I'd give the Cat's Meow a shot. We set up the tent in my wildnerness area (because it still needed to be aired out anyway from his Alaskan sabbatical) and I slept there for two nights. It's true, the bag was pretty nice. But I was still conflicted in my heart. What really made the decision for me were two factors: price and color.

Okay, okay. I'm a sucker for blue. I love all the shades of blue (it's my favorite color, lest you thought hot pink was. That's a close second.). And who doesn't love a cheaper price? Especially when you're poor! The Arroyo bag only came in grey--which although is a very nice color, just not my preference--and was practically a hundred dollars cheaper. Not to mention the fact that it only came in standard sizes (regular or long) and not a women's specific fit. I am also a sucker for women's specific products, because hey--I am a woman. So all those factors combined in making my choice for the boycotted brand of The North Face.

I've slept in it once already. I'm sleeping in it again this weekend. I really love the two-toned blue. It goes well with my hot pink therm-a-rest sleeping pad. Now I know camping isn't a fashion show, but what good is doing something if you don't look hot doing it?

No comments: