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Giving Back: 1% For the Planet Donations
As members of 1% For the Planet, we donate at least one percent of annual sales to environmental organizations. We think that along with gearing up and getting out, we all have a responsibility to be good stewards of the wild places near and far that we enjoy.
Now you can visit Trailspace’s “Giving Back” pages to see whose efforts we’re currently supporting. There also are lists of our 1% For the Planet recipients for each fiscal year. See which environmental organizations we supported in 2007.
Want to suggest a favorite environmental organization? Tell us about it and we’ll consider it for future 1% For the Planet contributions.
1% For the Planet Donation Winners
Congratulations to Radé Svorcan (aka mountainman333) and to the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. Radé’s December 11th review of the Leki Makalu Antishock trekking poles was randomly selected as the winner of our first 1% For the Planet donation contest, which we held at the end of 2007.
Radé selected the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) as the recipient of a $250 donation from Trailspace in his honor. Through science and stewardship, Y2Y seeks to ensure that the wilderness, wildlife, native plants, and natural processes of the Yellowstone to Yukon region continue to function as an interconnected web of life.
Radé is an engineer and lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. When he finds some free time he likes to spend it in the mountains, doing anything from mountaineering to photography. So far he has fit in trekking trips to Patagonia and Peru, and climbs up Mt. Whitney, Rainier, and peaks in the Rockies and Andes. Unfortunately Radé has been working off-site and couldn't send us a photo to share from his many adventures.
Congratulations, Radé! And thanks for helping Trailspace support a worthy cause.
1% For the Planet Donation Contest Reminder
Don’t forget to write that gear review. Now through the end of the year, Trailspace is holding a 1% Percent For the Planet donation contest. Here’s how it works:
- Write a valid gear review on Trailspace now through December 31, 2007.
- We’ll randomly select one reviewer out of all the valid entries.
- The randomly-selected winner will tell us which environmental group, out of more than 1,500 in 1% For the Planet’s worldwide network, deserves $250.
- We’ll send that approved environmental group $250 in the winner’s name.
This is your chance to do some good for your favorite environmental cause, on our dime.
1% For the Planet Donation Contest
Here’s your chance to do some good for your favorite environmental cause, on our dime. Now through the end of the year, Trailspace is holding a 1% Percent For the Planet donation contest. Here’s how it work:
- Write a valid gear review on Trailspace now through December 31, 2007.
- We’ll randomly select one reviewer out of all the valid entries.
- The randomly-selected winner will tell us which environmental group, out of more than 1,500 in 1% For the Planet’s worldwide network, deserves $250.
- We’ll send that approved environmental group $250 in the winner’s name.
So who should it be? Leave No Trace, the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance, the Prickly Pear Land Trust? It’s winner’s choice. Write a review and you could decide. We’ll announce the winner and the environmental group they selected in our January newsletter. For review writing tips check out "How To Write a Killer Gear Review."
As a member of 1% For the Planet, Trailspace donates at least one percent of annual sales to environmental organizations. Learn more about 1% For the Planet at www.onepercentfortheplanet.org.
How to Write a Killer Gear Review
I’d wager I’m the only person who’s read every single one of Trailspace’s 11,800-plus and counting gear reviews. That’s a lot of opinions on outdoor gear, clothing, and footwear, and I’d like to think I’ve learned a few things in the process, like not only what gear to avoid, but also what makes a good gear review.
The best gear reviews, whether positive or negative, come from thoughtful, observant gear users who put themselves and the details of their experience into their reviews. Good reviewers need not be the most experienced outdoor enthusiasts, but they always keep their audience in mind and anticipate what gear questions their fellow hikers, backpackers, and climbers want answered.
To help everyone write great gear reviews and share their experiences with the rest of us, I’ve pulled together some tips on “How To Write a Killer Gear Review.” Read it over. Write a killer review. And help your fellow backcountry enthusiasts gear up and get out.
Read “How to Write a Killer Review” »
Starry (and not so) Starry Reviews
We know that sometimes a pair of trail hikers isn’t a 3 star shoe or a 4 star shoe. It’s really more like a 3.5 star shoe. And maybe you think that tent that leaked on you all weekend, fell over at the first gust of wind, and came without all of its poles doesn’t even deserve one paltry star, gosh darn it.
Well, rejoice, for now your gear reviews can range from 0 stars (useless) to 5 stars (don’t leave home without it), and we’ve added half stars in between too. So go ahead. Write a review and tell us exactly what you think of your backcountry gear with half, whole, or no stars at all.
New Feature: Post and Review Editing
I'm pleased to announce the launch of a long-overdue, and much-requested feature here on Trailspace: the ability to edit your forum posts and gear reviews.
For up to two hours after posting, you'll be able to edit your message to correct typos, add a thought or two your originally forgot, or retract something you didn't mean to say.
How do you use it? In the forums, you'll see an "edit" button in the lower-right corner of your own posts, right next to the "reply" button. For gear reviews, the edit button is at the top, near your byline. Just click the edit button and you'll see a form in which you can edit your post or review. Make your changes, click "post" and you're done. That's it.
This is a new system, so there may be a few glitches we haven't found. If you notice any, please post a comment here or in the feedback forum.
Editing has been the most-requested feature for a while, so I'm psyched to finally get it working. What else can we do to make the forums and reviews friendlier and easier to use?
More Climbing Gear
Just a quick note to let everyone know that we've launched a whole slew of climbing gear categories, including protection, biners and draws, ice gear, big wall gear and more.
What other gear categories would you like to see?
Trailspace Hats
At long last, Trailspace hats are available for purchase! If you enjoy being a member of the Trailspace community, show your support by hitting the trail with a Trailspace lid on your head.
We currently have three models available:
For summer heat and humidity, our favorite is the Trailspace Trail Runner Cap, a five-panel hat with vented sides. Great for long trail runs.
For those of you in the Pacific Northwest and other perpetually rainy locales, check out the waterproof-breathable Trailspace Rain Cap.
If you're looking for something you can wear on the trail and still look good around town, check out the Trailspace Tactel Cap, a collegiate-fit cap made of water-resistant and quick-drying Tactel nylon.
All three models can be purchased from our friends at Gear for Adventure.
Trailspace Joins the Access Fund
If you’re a climber who wants to keep your climbing areas open and conserve the climbing environment (and why wouldn’t you be?) you should know about the Access Fund.
The 1.6 million-member Access Fund supports and represents climbers nationwide in all forms of climbing: rock, ice, mountaineering, and bouldering. To help preserve and protect climbing areas and promote responsible climbing, Trailspace recently became an Access Fund partner. You may have already noticed the Access Fund banners in the Trailspace climbing forum and climbing gear reviews.
The Access Fund works through public policy, stewardship and conservation, grassroots activism, climber education, and land acquisition to support climbing access and conservation at the national and local levels. If you're a climber the Access Fund has your interests at heart.
Want to help preserve and protect your favorite climbing areas? Become an Access Fund member, adopt a crag, get involved with your local climbing organization, or start one of your own.
Calling Chris Ryan
Hey, Chris Ryan, one of the winners of our tagline contest with "Gear Up and Get Out." I have Trailspace hats with your tagline for you, but your e-mail address doesn't work. Please send me an e-mail with your mailing address, because I'd love to send these hats your way.
It’s an Honor Just to be Nominated
Today I found out that Trailspace was nominated to win a Best of the Web Award from Maine’s Software and Information Technology Industry Association. The awards will be presented next Friday night at the Geeks In Black Technology Awards Gala in Portland.
For anyone wondering, I was not in the least offended by the possibility of being publicly honored as a geek. Or maybe it’s honored by geeks. Either way, I was far too easily flattered by the whole thing because it meant that someone nominated Trailspace for an award. That means that someone out there likes our site enough to fill out an award entry form on our behalf. So a big “thank you” to you, whomever you are!
While I know that thousands of different computers visit Trailspace every day—to view gear reviews and product info and submit gear reviews and forum posts—and that presumably most of those computers are being used by real live people somewhere, writing and publishing for the web can feel like working in a vacuum. There’s not a lot of personal feedback once you post an article or spend days reorganizing the product database. Sometimes I wonder if anyone beyond my mother will ever read something I wrote (hi, Mom!).
So when real people, especially people not related to me, talk to me (or call or e-mail) about Trailspace and what they enjoyed or found useful, it’s very exciting. And when someone recommends us for a “Best of the Web Award,” well honestly, it’s an honor just to be nominated.
As for the geeks gala, Dave and I are headed out on a backpacking trip next week. So whether or not we’re award finalists, we won’t be paying $79 a head to wear black tie next Friday night. Instead we will be in our new TarpTent in the woods of western Maine, eating rehydrated mac and cheese and chocolate bars. Sounds like a winning night to me!
Fire Up the Yaks
Yesterday we got this e-mail autoreply from a Trailspace newsletter subscriber:
I am currently in a remote region of Nepal walking through the valleys of the Himalaya towards Everest Base Camp at 17,700 feet. When we stop at the next village I will ask a Sherpa if I can use his computer to check my email. I may or may not be able to reply depending on how fast his yaks can turn the generator. At any rate, I will no doubt read your correspondence sometime in the next few weeks, or months, but definitely before June.
New Feature: Forum Quick Reply
Just a quick note to let you know about a new feature in the Trailspace forums: we've added a "quick reply" form the the bottom of each thread, so that you can post a reply without leaving the discussion. Note: this feature is only available to registered members.
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