Saucony Excursion TR 16 GTX

This morning (12th December, 2023) my Saucony Excurssion TR 16 GTX arrived from Amazon. It cost us Rs 8K. We certainly didn't pay cash for it but used Monisha's gift vouchers given by the bank on completion of her 30 years with them.

It's supposed to be a trail running shoe and I loved it right away. The grip of the soles feels fantastic. It's Saucony's own sole and not Vibram. The fit is really nice and neutral (I take size 8). Fits me like a glove. It's also pretty light unlike other trail running shoes which are typically a little heavier than normal running shoes. I am sure it can be easily used for low altitude treks. I have added it to my list of gear on Garmin Connect and it will be automatically added to my runs - if and when I do.

I got it mainly because I loved the price and also with a view to ultimately replace the very old Quechuas, which I use for all sorts of rough adventures including daily cycling. I will not go cycling in the Saucony - at least as of now. This pair will be used for other adventure outings like this forthcoming motorcycling trip to Darjeeling etc.

For cycling I have my new Bata Power. I think that Quechua pair is going on for the last eight years or so. I got it repaired from Mr Mochi at least 3/4 times. It should be given an honourable retirement now. Next time I go to the mountains I will take it with me and give it away to a porter. They are usually very poor and would love such a free gift. 

My Timberland has also given way after several years of rugged use. I will give it away to the young boy across the street who always asks me to get him a pair like that. I think he has some developmental issues and isn't quite normal. They aren't very well off also. 

So this Saucony and Power are going to replace my Quechua and Timberland. The Power is very el cheapo. I think I paid Rs 1200 for it.

My immediate reaction to the Saucony is - I love the pair. One of the best sneakers I have ever bought. Even the lace feels very nice and not nylony (which feel like they wouldn't sit tight and might slip lose). I shall have to see how long they last. I will go for a short run soon with them. 

The price is simply great. Such a pair should easily cost Rs 12K. Amazon is selling it for 8K. On the Saucony India website it is available for 7K. But I cannot use my gift vouchers on that site. The non-GTX version is even cheaper. I think 5K. 

So, here I am with a new pair of shoes that fits me fine, comes at a great price, has fantastic grip and looks great. What else do I need?

But the true test of a pair of shoes comes from its longevity and durability. I would expect it to last me at least for five years before it needs any repair. Let me see how it goes. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

14th December, 2023

First Walk Impressions

Went on a 5 km walk around the house for the first time in these shoes this evening. They are pretty light and very comfortable. The right foot is a little loose as usual for me because that foot is a tad smaller. I have to live with it.

JBL Flip 5

 Bought it on September 30 at 6.5K off Amazon. 

Rab Venant

19th September, 2023

For my 59th birthday I got Monisha to gift me a pair of Rab Venant trousers. I bought it off Amazon because we have a lot of Amazon vouchers available with us. Monisha got them as gift from her office on completion of her 30 years with them. It cost us Rs 5950 and frankly if I had to pay it in cash I don't think I would buy them. I have never worn trousers that are these expensive. And this is after a good discount. The actual price is more than 9K !!!

I bought it in size 30 and colour cummin. It fits me quite well. Both around the waist and length. It feels very stretchy. Even the pocket material feels stretchy. It has one vertical pocket with a zip on the right leg and four other regular pockets. One of the hip pockets has a deep side pocket with it that has a loop on top. I have no idea what that is for. Actually these are positioned as rock climbing pants. So perhaps they have some technical utility. I am not sure. One of the belt loops on the back also has another loop. Again I am clueless why. You could perhaps hang a few carabiners from there. There is one other loop kind of thing on the left leg of the pants. Again I have no idea what that is for. 

What I like about this pair is that it's very very light and should dry fast. I have a Marmot that I use for trekking. But the only problem with that is it's very very large for me on the waist. I have reduced around my waist since buying them plus they are at least one size larger than they should be. I mean if this is 34, I would need 28 perhaps. 

This Rab fits me fine. It has an elastic kind of waist with two buttons in the front. They are small and you have to pay attention while closing them. But that's okay. 

Being rock climbing pants I am hoping that they will be tought and durable. They feel very comfortable. I will add more comments when I do at least one trek in them. I guess these will be my principal trekking pants now, with the Marmot going as a spare. 

RE Vamos Gloves

 

My Rynox gloves didn't last me for more than 10,000 kilometers and two and a half years. I had to finally discard them and went for a pair of RE Vamos in brown colour. The gloves came in yesterday (5th September, 2023) and I started riding at 11,420 km. From Amazon (with voucher) and cost me Rs 2940.

I chose 2XL a size that is more than my normal size. I have a feeling the tight fit of the Rynox is one of the reasons why the gloves tore off. Near the finger and also near the palm protector.

The Vamos looks nice but it is done in a more cheapo way than the Rynox. The palm protectors are from Knox all right but they seem a little smaller than the ones used by Rynox. The velcro straps on the wrist are also much smaller. 

However, the knuckle guards here are original Knox, while Rynox gave some other brand. 

Otherwise it looks like a well made pair. While the Rynox had mesh on the sides of the fingers, this is a pure leather pair all the way. The touchscreen compatibility of the Vamos works better than my Rynox and it's available on both the hands. This is a definite plus. 

The inner stitches are a bit rough, particularly at the tip of the left index finger. I am hoping they will settle with use. Of course the larger size is also a reason why I can feel it. 

Let me see how long they last. I use it for my daily rides.

SKS Cycle Pump

 

After buying my first bike (in my adult life) a few years ago - the red Merida road bike - my first purchase after a pair of flat pedals was a pump. This was a solid piece of advice given by Supratim Pal, a fellow journalist and an avid biker himself. I bought a Firefox pump with a built-in gauge. Supratim asked me to make sure the pump had a gauge as this would make life easier. 

I was very happy with the pump and dearly missed my long departed father after the first use. I remember how he encouraged me to have my own pump and tyre repair kit when we got a bicycle as a gift for Deoghar, back in the 70s. He was very disappointed that the pump was pretty muh useless and would need a lot of improvisation to get it to work. He would certainly have been very happy with this pump. It just worked. 

I soon realised that such things these days all work very well. You don't need to struggle any more to get the damn air in. They all lock very well on the valve. 

Before long I got another bike - my Surly LHT. Luckily both have the same Presta valve. And I was very happy with my pump. The pump could be used for both Presta and Schrader. However, to change from one to the other you would need to open the chuck and do a few things inside. It takes time. Being naturally curious, I learnt how to do it, though I never needed it.

In the meanwhile Mezda got a pump for himself. An Ice Toolz one. This has a flickable key to change from Presta to Schrader. It's very easy. Soon that kind of pumps became the norm. I got a small portable Lezyne pump brought in from the US and it also had an easy to change system. But it was small and would take a long time to pump up a normal tyre. 

Enter the Surly Bridge Club and now I have both Presta and Schrader valves. I made do with the Lezyne to pump it and kept the Firefox for the LHT and the Red Roadie. But back of the mind I knew I would switch to a more convenient pump that can be easily used on both types of valves. 

Two weeks ago I went to Rito's Stay Tuned to get the Bridge Club tuned - this  was my first visit after getting the bike made by him. There he had stock of the SKS pump at a little more than Rs 2000. I spent no time to delay the purchase and bought it promptly. 

It's a made in Germany pump. This fact is advertised prominently on the packaging. Though that may not necessarily mean that all the parts are made in Germany, it does carry its own weight. And it was available at a price well below the Taiwanese Ice Toolz. I also loved the matty black colour. These days the Western manufacturers advertise the origin of their products rather proudly, knowing fully well that people pay a premium for it. However, made in Germany or Swiss Made etc may not necessarily mean anything much. Incidentally many of my cycling accessories are made in Germany. My Schwalbe and Continental tyres are. The Tubus racks are. The plastic mudguards are. 

The chuck of the pump has two holes side by side. One for Presta and the other for Schrader. Depending on your valve type you just clamp the correct hole on the valve. The lock is just the opposite of the Firefox. While there you had to undo the key to jam it. Here you press the key in to lock it in, which is more intuitive. 

The black barrel is a little larger than my Firefox's which means I need to pump less. The gauge, though prominent, has a small problem. It has both the metric and FPS system but the metric unit is more prominent. We are more used to PSI. It's not a major issue but just a small bit of inconvenience. 

But the most striking difference is in the way you take off the chuck from the valve. In my Firefox that was a major task and I had often injured my palm trying to do it. I once even broke the head of a valve in the Merida. In fact I used to do it with my white cotton gloves on.

The SKS is a dream to take off the valve once done. My Lezyne incidentally is a screw on type one, which I think is the best. 

So I am very happy with the SKS pump and I had to take the unfortunate decision to sell off the old Firefox, which was in perfectly working condition.

I offered it for Rs 800 on Cyclop and it found a taker in Calcutta almost immediately. An association of triathletes took it from me. I am very happy for them. I hope they use it for many years.

So this is my third item from SKS. I have their mudguard on my LHT and the chainstay cover. The pump completes my collection. 

Comments On 12th December, 2023

After using the pump for a few times I have the following observations on the pump. 

I discovered that the barrel of this pump is plastic. I should've checked it. That's what makes it so affordable. Would I buy it if I knew it was plastic? Probably not. The initial few pumps always feel a little iffy. After some very hard pressure, the dial on the gauge sets in properly and you can pump easily. Before that it feels hard. It also feels very hard after 100 psi. Not that I need anything more than 90 but one must know that it is so.

Taking the chuck off the valve is very easy, as compared to my Firefox. With that I had to struggle a lot and sometimes it would injure me too by pushing my wrist off the valve suddenly and hit my palm on the cassette. I used to use a thick pair of cotton gloves to avoid injury. I once even broke the core of a valve and ruined the tube. Here taking off is a cake walk. 

Via Terra Medical Kit

 

September 2, 2023

I bought a small flat medical bag from Via Terra for a little more than Rs 400. It is very well made and fits most of the stuff I carry in a medical kit during my trips. So far I was using a Lowe Pro dry bag (it's not dry at all) with a roll top. That is a little round and more bulky. This is flatter and more sleek. 

Via Terra sells it as a toileteries kit. I have a Deuter for that. 

I quite like the Via Terra things. They are well stitched bags. I have a cycling seat post bag from them that is going strong for a long time now.

This medical kit has a bunch of basic tablets. A couple of Electrals. A ball of cotton wool, a gauge, plaster tape, several band aids, a pain spray, Dettol and a tube of Boroline. I had to take off one gauge and a tube of antiseptic cream because otherwise it was becoming fat in the middle. I shall see if I can get a smaller cotton wool ball. That might allow the second gauge to go in.

I normally carry one pack of Electral for every day's walk/ride plus two. For a long trek like an EBC this will have to be carried somewhere else and not in the medical kit. 

Via Terra has a medical kit bag also but it seemed too small and basic for my purpose. 

My regular medicines will not fit in this. That I have to carry in another small packet. This is more of a first aid kit.

Power Sports Shoes

My Asics gave way for the second time during our trip to Baharampur last month. Instead of repairing them for the Nth time, I went for a new pair of general purpose sports shoes. My Timberland had already given way for the second time when I replaced it with the Salewa hiking boots last month. 

After much deliberations among the various brands like Asics, Adidas, Nike and Puma I decided to go cheap and got myself this Power. Let me see how long they last. They cost me a little more than Rs 1200 off Amazon. I wore them only once so far to go to Exide for a chat with Satyaki. 

On the way I got stuck in the rain and had to stand like an adjutant for about 40 minutes. I got severe cramp in my calves and hip flexors after that. I don't know if that was due to the new shoes. 

Compared to my Asics these are not that comfortable. But one has to remember they are about a tenth of the cost of my Asics Gel Cumulus. So ...

On second thoughts, I might experiment with a pair of insoles and see how comfortable they get.

I remember buying my first pair of Power Joggers as a  student way back in the 80s and almost floating home from the Lake Market Bata store. It was a pair of ash coloured shoes that I wore and wore and wore for years. Another such favourite pair of sneakers was my black on black Reebok Classic. That was in the beginning of this century and I wore it everywhere. In the early 90s I used to wear a lot of white leather Lottos. 

This Power is a bit greenish. I bought it because it was the cheapest.among all the colours.  The sticker price is more than Rs 1600.

Salewa Hiking Boots

My Meindl suddenly crumbled a few months ago. I had bought it off the Kathmandu store in Amsterdam. The sole came off and the mid sole became brittle and became dust. Very unfortunate that it didn't survive more than five years of very light use. Perhaps that was what did it in. Covid kept us home bound for a long time.

After that I started wearing the Timberland more extensively. It had already gone to Mr Mochi once. But after the North Bengal bird festival it gave in completely. The pasting came off once again. I somehow managed to finish the trek but the shoe will obviously have to be retired off. While I will take it to Mr Mochi once again, I cannot depend on it for long hikes on rough roads. It can at best serve as a motorcycle riding boot where long walks will not be involved. The shoes served me well for about eight years and I am very happy with them.

Incidentally I am keeping the Meindls with me for now. In case I go to England or the US I intend to try and get them repaired. They have highly professional repair shops there, which we don't have here. In fact Meindl itself repairs them - one has to send them through the dealer - but it costs 110 pounds or more. I shall see how to deal with it.

I knew I would buy the Salwa but was keeping it pending. But finally after coming home from Lepchakha I pulled the trigger on the Salewa MS MTN Trainer Lite Mid GTX. The colour is called Brown Bungee Cord and the size I chose is 8. I placed the order on 11th March, 2023.

The listed price is Rs 14000. But it would've worked out cheaper by tweleve hundred bucks due to all the cash back schemes. 

Salewa is a German/Italian company that is based in Tirol. Officially the company is Italian but I guess the owners are German. Tirol is in the Italian-German-Austrian border and home to most of the legendary mountain boot manufacturers for more than a hundred years. This area has also produced many legendary mountaineers like Reinhold Messner or Peter Habeler. So mountain and skiing boot makers with any pedigree are all based here. That way Salewa ticks a major box off. Incidentally, designed as they are in Tirol, the boots are manufactured in Vietnam.

The box was delieverd in a day. I had ordered it on a Saturday (I had come backon Friday) and it came home on Sunday. Well packed in the original Salewa box. The first visual imprssion was it looks a tad narrow. I put them on and it fitted just fine. No problem whatsoever. My feet are slightly broad in the front but fit was not a problem for me. I felt a small hump under the bridge/arch of my left foot. Only on the left foot. I will come to that later.

I walked a few steps inside the house on the tiled floor of my flat to check for the basic fit and feel. The sole felt almost sticky. I am hoping the grip would be very good on mountain trails. These are not Vibram soles. They have used soles from a company called Pomoca. This is one of their group companies and perhaps explains why the boot is cheaper. This is my first pair of mountain boots that do not have Vibram soles. Many other companies too do not use Vibram any more, perhaps for their price. 

My Salewa came with Goretex lining though. This is a major requirement for me while buying mountain boots. I think Goretex is worth the price you pay. It makes your boots absolutely water proof (unless of course water sips in throug the top, in which case even a gumboot is not waterproof). Some companies like Columbia have ditched GTX for their inhouse material but I have no experience with them. Not using GTX certainly makes anything significantly cheaper.

On Monday I went for my maiden walk in them. I had a haircut to take and I decided to walk it out and chose the Salewa as my boot. I added it to my gear list on Garmin Connect and made it the default shoe for any recorded walking activity. This means every time I walk with the Garmin on, these shoes will be added to the activity and I can see how many kilometers it has covered. I hope to get at least a couple of thousand kilometers out of them with a good part of that being in the mountains. However, with my current condition of the knees I don't know for how long I will be able to nurture the dreams of walking in the mountains. 

I intend to use these as my main shoes for any walk. Be it in the city, jungles or mountains. That's the best way to keep a pair of boots happy. They are not happy to be kept in shoe racks. This is also true for most things like a car, motorcycle, camera, recorder, computer. Anything that stays idle for a long time develops problems. 

Out on the street I could feel that hump under the bridge of my left foot. I once had plantar fascitiis and this happened. Even the softest and the most comfortable pair of sports shoes were hurting me under the bridge as if the sole had bulged up. So I realised may be my sole is not in best shape after the walks in Lepchakha. But after some time, perhaps less than a kilometer, the hump started to become less pronounced. By the end of the day that feeling was gone. 

I don't know if the shape of the boot adjusted to my feet but it's okay now.

The boots also felt a little warmer than usual. Goretex certainly makes anything warmer. But this particular warmth is perhaps to do with the boots' material and how it is sealed. I am okay with it. Even in Calcutta this was fine for me.

I couldn't feel that grippy stickiness of the sole I felt off the box at home any more on the street. And the boots had no signs of any stiff new boot. It didn't require any breaking in unless that left foot issue was about breaking in. If it is so, then it got broken in within a kilometer. 

The shoes, I must say, are not as comfortable as my Meindls. That sole in my Meindl had a midsole which was quite soft and gave great cushioning. But that is the part that crumbled like dry leaves or cookies and made it unrepairable in India. 

The lace is slightly shorter than I have seen in my other hiking boots. That is not a problem for me though. It's just an observation.

Among other things, the boots have rand around the toes only. Not a full rand. That's fine for me, given that I am not into heavy mountaineering. They also have two loops in the back to hang them, if necessary. They have some technical name that I forget now. I think bootstrap. They have no practical utility except that they give the boots a professional look.

I am hoping  that these boots will serve me for at least a couple of thousand kilometers or more over the next at least 8/10 years. Let me see if they live up to my expectations. I am going to keep a tab. 

Time to retire after eight years

Adventures With The Salewa

May 2023 - Calcutta to Sandakphu driving trip. Combination of self drive (to and from Manebhanjang) and Land Rover taxi. 

Bought a pair of Bata in-soles for Rs 500 before the VoF trek. Improved comfort considerably. 

July 2023 - Valley of Flowers 21st to 26th July, 2023. The boots performed pretty well on wet rocks while going downhill with a 5/6 kg load on back. Not as comfortable as the Meindls but has a good grip. Perhaps better grip than the Meindls. 

At VoF with the Salewas on