The Moved By Bikes Dog Runner: a splendid use of half a bike-mounted surf rack!
Got a special recreationista on your list? Get that boy or girl something good this year! We’ve got stuff related to biking, surfing, backpacking, climbing and seeing in the dark. Plus enjoying a cold one after a long day on the trail. Check it out:
Moved By Bikes Surf Racks & Dog Runner
Grommets, dog owners and grownup surfers living the dream will turn backflips when Santa leaves a Moved By Bikes Surf Rack or Dog Runner under the tree. Constructed of aluminum tubing with smart details, including quick-release capability, these super-stable bike-mounted racks keep surfboards close and galloping dogs from barreling across the front wheel. Stability’s the name of this game, and this Santa Cruz-grown startup has it figured out. Find Moved By Bikes racks at most Santa Cruz surf shops or at Moved By Bikes.com. $135 (Surf Rack) and $85 (Dog Runner).
Pat’s Backcountry Beer Concentrate
Your favorite beer-swilling backpacker will thank you when you present him or her with this nifty lightweight solution to the terrible backcountry problem of no beer. Just fill the BPA-free container with water, carbonate it using an Activator Packet and—just like the astronauts would!—add a packet of Pat’s specially brewed concentrated Black Hops IPA or Pale Rail. Read about it on GarageGrownGear. At REI or liquorama.com. Carbonator bottle $40; 4-pack of beer concentrate $10.
Fynd Fredum Chalk Bag
Chalk bags are to climbers as good socks are to hikers: They’re really not optional. Every indoor and outdoor climber, from beginner to master, needs one (or several), and luckily for the gift-givers, a chalk bag is affordable and easily shippable. With the wide variety of colors, patterns and materials out there it should be a cinch to find the perfect bag for any climber. One of our favorites, the SLO-based company Fynd Fredum, has handmade, eco-friendly bags made from recycled materials like old climbing rope and upholstery scraps. Throw in some chalk and you’ve got yourself a killer gift. At Pacific Edge Climbing Gym, 104 Bronson St #12, Santa Cruz. From $20 to $30.
Grit Nightshift
The colorful silicone Grit Nightshift, designed in Santa Cruz by active people with good taste, melds playful styling with tough but simple design to house all the light a person might need on a two-wheeled adventure under dense canopy or fading daylight. Comes as a kit with a 36-lumen flashlight or alone so you can fit something brighter into its cartooney but seriously functional form. Great for kids too. Nightshift $24 (kit) or $18 (light carrier alone).
Read more at Hilltromper.com.
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