Don't want to stick to your favorite sleeping bag after a long day's trek? 

Need a warmer bag, but don't want to part with your current rig?

Want to keep your down-bag clean without having to take it to a dry cleaner?

If you answered yes to any, or all these questions then a Coolmax cocoon liner is for you! In the backcountry it's only a matter of time before your bag gets a funk. When you finally hit a trail town are you really going to fork over 20 beans to get it dry-cleaned? Would you want to miss out on 20 dollar-menu items at McDonalds, or a round of celebratory beers for you and your buddies. No? Thought so, hence using a Coolmax cocoon liner...

Soho in New York City is the last place you'd expect to find anyone remotely outdoorsy. However, this is far from the truth. It's becoming Manhattan's outdoor mecca. Within five square blocks there's an EMS, Patagonia, North Face, Icebreaker, and in the Fall, a three-story REI.

When the Icebreaker store first opened this Fall I was eager to give it a try. I have had my eye on the brand for a while, but after the Appalachian Trail Smartwool had always been my go to. I looked around the store and was immediately turned on by the showroom's personality, humor and curiosity. During its opening Icebreaker had a guy walking around with a giant ram's head and a big sign that read "get it on here" with an arrow pointing to the dressing rooms! Once inside the nice, large dressing room you see a wall covered by a scenic view of New Zealand (If you look close at the picture you'll notice a naked guy standing up with two legs popping out of a small bush!).

It’s a big enough challenge to gear up a production crew for a diverse shooting schedule, but it’s a different story when you are blindsided by the biggest snowstorm in fifty-years. This is what happened when The Wild Within traveled to the Scottish Highlands for a truly epic shoot.

There was going to be a lot of exciting elements to this episode. But, we also knew we were heading into a potentially harsh environment. After researching the Highland’s present weather patterns and climate history I predicted a mid-thirties, freezing rain type shoot. But, when my team arrived it developed into a very different experience- snow, snow, snow and more snow! Because of the surprise weather some gear worked and some didn’t.

Yesterday’s horizontal rain and low 30s temperatures made for a narsty walk home from work. But, if you’re on a budget and want to avoid the NYC subway than walking is the way to go.

Finally reaching my apartment, I shook off the cold and shot up the elevator. When I reached my floor a massive brown box greeted me. It was about hip high and required a hefty double-arm grab to move inside.

After de-layering, I focused my attention to the box’s label:

To: The Dusty Camel

  From: Patagonia