Black Diamond: X-Alps Sponsor!

Getting the mail was like a second Christmas today when my gear from Black Diamond arrived....many thanks to Bill Belcourt and Black Diamond for their race sponsorship!    In the box were headlamps and trekking poles.

I love these trekking poles already, and they're not yet out of the box.   Black Diamond's Ultra Distance Trekking Poles are super light.   A pair of these 110 cm z-poles weighs a ridiculously low 10 ounces.  They're packable too...they quickly fold into three sections of only about 14.5 inches.  It will be easy to stow them in my harness while I am flying, and yet they will help me power up the hills to get to launch.

Also some needed gear were headlamps...I'll be hiking in the early morning and late at night during the X-Alps.  I won't need tons of light, just enough to see the trail ahead of me, but I want consistent light and bright enough to see intersections and route changes.  The Storm Headlamp and Spot Headlamp will be great for that.  They both have a high power beam that shines well ahead on the trail, yet the batteries last for hundreds of hours.  Best of all, they have a battery indicator, so no need to switch out the batteries when they are still good, or have them go dead on the trail.  The Storm is waterproof, so if the weather turns horrible, I'll still have light down the trail.

I was so excited about trying these out I got up at 4 am this morning and went for a night run....the Spot Headlamp stayed on my head and gave me great light down the trail.   The dimmable light allowed me to choose exactly how much light I needed, and turns on and off easily.

Thanks again, Black Diamond!