My name is Jabon and I am a wilderness explorer and photographer now living in the Phoenix area. I have spent my entire life exploring. Starting as a child camping with my family in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, I later relocated to Colorado Springs. Colorado is filled with epic adventures and I quickly got hooked on climbing 14’ers (14,000 foot tall plus mountains). I was deeply bitten by the summit bug and have climbed the highest mountains in Colorado, California, and Arizona. Now living in the warm desert of southern Arizona, I have discovered the mystique of Indian Ruins and petroglyphs left behind by the native tribes of the Hohokahm, Salado, and Sinagua to name a few. I spend hours investigating images and leads to hidden gems of the southwest then plan excursions in to the wilderness to find them.
While in Colorado I worked as a fireman and assisted in search and rescue cases. I also worked a few major wild land fires including the biggest in Colorado’s history. I relied heavily on very diverse and specialized equipment to perform my job with confidence and to explore in comfort. Having used a wide array of outdoor gear, I have learned to become especially critical of my choices before each purchase. This is what led me to the Italian footwear company, Zamberlan.
The first premium hiking boot I ever purchased was a pair of leather Zamberlan boots. I had previously avoided slushy spring time hiking to avoid inevitably cold, soggy boots. When I was ready to make my purchase, I walked into a local sporting goods store in Colorado Springs and reached to the top shelf for a rugged looking boot named Zamberlan Civetta. This began my love affair with Zamberlan boots. Over the next ten years, climbing and hiking more than 1000 miles in the Colorado Rockies, these boots always did what I pushed them to do allowing me to focus on the trip and destination. This suddenly changed when I realized I had worn my boots out! The Vibram lugs were worn smooth. The leather uppers, which I had religiously waterproofed every season, had become paper thin from countless scuffs and abrasions. I was in denial and tried to keep these old boots alive with glue but they had finally succumbed to the abuse.
I then began the quest to replace my favorite boots and was impressed with the new features and advances Zamberlan had made. There are many new models to suit any footwear need. I laid my eyes on the Vioz GT and read through the specs. The Zamberlan Vioz GT represents cutting edge technology carefully crafted with age old techniques dating back to just after World War I. Giuseppe Zamberlan began shoe production in 1929 after a short time as a shoe repairman and the design and manufacture of these products reflects his love of the mountains. Zamberlan was an early adopter of Vibram soles for his footwear and these technologies come together with time tested synergy. The full grain leather upper treated with HydroBloc and the Gore-Tex lining make these a truly waterproof boot.
True to form, my second pair of Zamberlan boots has carried me to high mountain peaks and scrambled down red sandstone to splash in the rivers bellow. The Zamberlan Vioz GT’s are equipped with the toothy Zamberlan Vibram 3D soles which are made of a softer rubber than the old style Vibram sole, therefore they grip with more assurance. These new soles bite into any surface allowing me to climb virtually anything that stands in my way, fulfilling my childhood comic book superhero fantasies.
Each and every Zamberlan product is made entirely in Italy and are designed and tested by the Zamberlan family. The modern technology such as Gore-tex membranes, Hydrobloc leathers, and Vibram 3D rubber soles are on the long list of features Zamberlan incorporates in their footwear. User comfort is ensured by minimal torsional flex and a solid heel cup. This is noticeable when walking on grapefruit sized rocks as the stability of the boot reduces stress on the ankle. I have found the factory laces have to be double knotted or they loosen up. However when replaced with a simple flat lace, they stopped creeping on me.
Even after 14 hours of pounding feet along a trail, these comfortable boots are the last thing I take off before zipping up the sleeping bag. I have now owned the Vioz GT for 3 years and have worn them in 115 degree desert heat, summited Arizona’s Humphrey’s Peak in the rain, and hiked in cold, snowy canyons all in perfect comfort. Every time I lace up my Zamberlan boots and point them towards the next adventure, I can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic, walking on more than 80 years of Italian tradition and quality.
I will admit, in putting the kit back together in the tubes, I did have some trouble getting everything to fit just right. I had to unpack and repack it several times to get the Pod lids to screw back on properly. This, more than likely, is entirely a user generated problem. It clearly fit just fine when I got it. There is little room for error in the Survival Pro kit though, so pay attention when unpacking it so you can insure that it gets repacked properly. If the fit is off or you can’t get the lids screwed on right, the Pods are no longer going to keep out water.
Since I got the shoe’s in late January, I have put over 30 miles of trail running on them. I also started using them for my street runs to see if I could tell if there was a performance difference on pavement (also, I was growing to like them and wanted to wear them more).
The outsole design has two specific features that are part of what makes these shoes unique. According to Brooks, the Toe Flex (a split in the outsole to isolate the movement of the big toe) and the Ideal Heel (designed to shift your stride forward) are key features of the PureGrit that allow for greater stability, control and better form. I really have not noticed much benefit from the Toe Flex feature. I’ve even been wearing toesocks with my PureGrit runners in the hopes that it would allow me to feel more of the intended effect of the Toe Flex feature, but I don’t notice it. The Ideal Heel design, however, does seem to have altered the mechanics of my stride. I do feel a difference when wearing these as compared to my other running shoes.
So at the Houston REI, while I nervously debated buying a brand new JetBoil for the trip, Merelyn found the Original Pocket Stove from Esbit. At only $10.50 (versus at least $100 for a new JetBoil) it sounded like a halfway decent idea. For this trip, we really just needed a little something to boil water since we were going to cook our dinner over a campfire (see mini-review at the end of this post). I, of course, jumped at the opportunity to try out a new piece of gear…especially inexpensive gear! We bought the 
The Pocket Stove is basically a small, folding metal stand that will support a cooking receptacle about 1.5″ above the fuel tab. There are two cooking positions depending on conditions and how focused you want the flame. It weighs in at about 3.25 ounces without the fuel and, when closed, the stove stores up to 6 fuel tabs inside. According to the box, the solid fuel works well at any elevation and boasts a boil time of 8 minutes in most conditions. The REI website specs actually list average boil time at 14 minutes which is probably closer to the truth.
We also purchased the Halulite Ketalist 
We set up camp on the beach outside of Galveston and, as it was incredibly windy, I dug out a 
The 
I’ve only had it out on the trail once so far and I loved it. It was just enough padding to soften the rock outcropping I used it on. It also packed easily, I simply folded it in half and then rolled it like a bed-roll and strapped it in to the pack where the bed-roll would usually go – perfect! I imagine being able to use it as an extra layer under an inflatable sleeping pad on overnight trips. It would protect the inflatable from potential puncture issues and the grip would keep things from sliding around in the tent. And it would be there waiting for me in the morning for some nice tent-side
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