The headlamp is kind of ugly looking compared to the refined designs of more expensive lights, but it is functional.  The primary issue I have with this light is the plastic mounting bracket that holds the light assembly.  There are two plastic clips that snap around the battery compartment and allow the light to swivel up and down, sort of.  These clips don’t seem very durable and I’m always afraid they will break when I remove or re-attach the light.  Luckily, there is only one reason to actually remove the light, and you only need to do it a couple of times when you first get the headlamp. (Edit: one of the clips broke while taking pictures for this review)

The main issue with the clips is that they don’t stick out far enough, which causes the back edge of the light assembly to hit the base plate when turned to certain angles.  This is an obvious design flaw, and I’m really surprised the headlamp went into production like this.  However, I was able to use a Dremel to grind away part of the base plate and allow the light to turn more freely.   This is a required modification in my opinion, so plan on taking some time to do this if you purchase one.

The runtime on a single AA Energizer Lithium Max battery is almost 7 hrs on medium.  That is great for a single AA cell, but will not get you through an entire night.  The ease of replacing the single battery helps mitigate that annoyance, though.  I have replaced the battery in the dead of night without taking the headlamp off of my head, or using a second light source.  You just unscrew the cap, let the old battery fall out, insert a new one with the positive nub sticking out, and replace the cap.  Very quick, and very easy.

The runtime on high is not so good, only a couple of hours at most.  The difference between medium and high is not that great during real use, so the extra output is not enough to justify the increased battery drain.

The low mode is only bright enough for easy hiking and reading, in my opinion.  I almost never use low mode during a race.

The headband is not quite as comfortable as the Petzl Myo XP that it replaced. The plastic base plate doesn’t seem to conform to my forehead as nicely, and can become very slightly irritating after wearing it for a full night.

The Fenix HL20 does not come with a top strap, but has a place to attach one. I prefer using a top strap, because it allows me to wear the headband more loosely and still feel that the headlamp is secure. I removed the old strap from my Petzl, and it has worked just fine on the Fenix.

The diffuser lens attaches more securely than it appears in the stock photos.  There is a small “fin” of plastic on the inside of the clip that fits into a groove around the light and prevents it from slipping forward, and off the lamp.  From just looking at the product photos,  I was afraid it might fall off during bushwhacks.  It has proven to be a non-issue though.  I never worry about it falling off.  (Edit: this also broke while removing for a photo!)

The lens does an adequate job of diffusing the light, but is far inferior to the Petzl.  The design can cause a glare from the bottom of the plastic lens, which is distracting.  I suggest using some black paint around the bottom edge of the flip-down lens to subdue it.  A black sharpie will also help a little bit, if you don’t have paint.

When storing this headlamp in a pack, you should partially unscrew the battery cover to prevent the light from being turned on.  The switch is not protected, and it is very likely you will have a dead battery if you don’t take this precaution.  The cover can be unscrewed enough to prevent the light from turning on, but not fall off, and the o-ring will still keep it sealed from the elements.

After 6 to 8 months of use, I started having problems with battery life.  Instead of 7 hours, I was only getting a little over three.  This is the runtime I would expect if running the lamp on high, but I was using medium.  I’m not sure what happened, but battery life is consistently bad these days.  I think the warranty would probably cover it, but I couldn’t find a U.S. warranty address, or my receipt.  At $40, it seems easier to replace than to warranty.

The light still works fine, but the reduced battery life makes it inconvenient for racing.  I’m not sure if I will get another, or try a different light.  If not for the runtime issues I encountered, this would be a great low-cost and light-weight light for AR.

Pros

• More than 7 hours runtime, on medium, with a single AA Energizer Lithium Max battery.
• Lightweight (75 grams with diffuser and top strap, no battery).
• Cheap.
• Nice, relatively smooth beam with good throw for its size (like other Cree XP-E R2 lights I’ve seen).
• Very easy to change the battery, even in the dark.

Cons

• Angle adjustment is poorly designed and has a minor defect, requires modification of the mount to work properly.
• Not enough runtime to last all night at medium level.  One battery change will be required.
• Diffuser lens is adequate, but also requires modification to reduce glare.
• Too easy to accidentally turn on the light when stuffed into a pack. Pulling it out and finding a dead battery is likely, unless you partially unscrew the battery cap to keep it off.
• Plastic pieces are easy to break when removing for review photos.  It’s best to put these pieces together and leave them alone!
• Possible reliability issues with the LED driver?  No U.S. warranty location?

Neutral observations

• Very utilitarian design.  Not as refined looking as a Petzl, Princeton Tec, etc.
• The headband is not assembled or attached when you take it out of the package.  I had no problems threading it, but can imagine some people might not get it right on the first try.
• Mount has an option for a top strap, but none is provided.  It is lightweight enough to do without, but I added one and prefer it that way.

Uwharrie Mountain Run (40 mile) – 17th overall (7:22:16) – I rarely compete in ultras. I’ve run a lot of them over the years, but usually as adventure runs or “fun” runs.  Uwharrie is the exception.  I’ve run it several times, but always seem to have a relatively poor performance.  This year wasn’t much better.

North Georgia Adventure Race (30hr) – 1st three-person male - I think we were 3rd in the overall rankings, but can’t remember for sure.  NGAR is known for fun, challenging courses, great competition, and absolutely nasty weather conditions.  2010 was exactly what everyone has come to expect.  I was a last minute replacement for an existing team that I’d never met before.  My teammates, Eddie and Rafael, were from Brazil and spoke Portuguese for much of the race.  This was probably a good thing, because I couldn’t understand what they were saying when my navigation mistake sent us on a bikewhack through hell.  This little mistake had us dragging bikes for over an hour, through terrain I wouldn’t even want to hike through.  It also cost us a shot at the overall win.  We had a fun time though.

Odyssey Endorphin Fix (50hr AR) – 2nd coed team - This was my first race as a member of the ImOnPoint.org/Odyssey Adventure Racing team.  The E-Fix is a classic multi-day adventure race in the southeast and never disappoints.  This edition created a bit of controversy, however, due to an optional orienteering section placed early in the race.  All the top teams were fighting it out with each other and attempting to clear this optional section, when they should have been more concerned about fighting the race course and the upcoming time cutoffs.  In the end, only one solo racer beat all the cutoffs.  Dima of Calleva skipped most of the optional section (a smart move) and had time to complete the full course and take the overall win, dropping us into 3rd OA.

Pisgah 36 (formerly known as The Most Horrible Thing Ever) - 2nd overall – Have you ever wanted to explore all the mountain bike trails in the South Ranger district of the Pisgah National Forest, but just haven’t had a few months of free time? Don’t fret! All you have to do is enter this 36 hour mountain bike race.  You’ll get to see almost everything!  Well, you might possibly miss a few of the awesome views during the night stages.  This race was only 5 days after the finish of the 50 hour E-Fix.  I was feeling kinda beat and almost quit half-way through, but Eric (the RD) convinced me to keep going.  Thanks Eric!

Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race (PMBAR) – 5th overall – Kinda like the Pisgah 36, but with less horribleness and less suffering.  Still considered epic by most folks though, so don’t underestimate it!  A local classic, and seriously cool event.

Atomic Adventure Race (24hr) – 4th overall - This was where my bonk-of-the-year occurred. There was some strong competition at this event.  Unfortunately, my digestive system was not feeling equally strong.  During the second half, I could not get any calories to stay in my gut and we dropped back from the lead pack.  During the last trek, Jen carried my pack and Eddie towed me while I tried not to puke and fall flat on my face from exhaustion. Thanks to my badass teammates, we held on to a 4th overall finish.

Equinox Traverse (48hr AR) – 4th overall - The first day involved a lot of paddling.  This was a strength of our team and we used it to our advantage.  However, we later misunderstood the rules of how certain CPs had to be obtained, and took a MUCH more difficult route than was necessary.  We lost a lot of time, wasted a lot of effort, and had one teammate succumb to heat exhaustion when we attempted to regain a position among the leaders. Fun race. Another lesson learned.

Sheltowee Extreme (24hr AR) – 1st overall – Very fun and very scenic race. Highly recommended. The river was running a little low for my taste, but the views made up for it.  Mark and I swapped the lead navigator role a few times, which resulted in a bunch of lost time due to miscommunication during the hand-offs.  We made up for the mistakes with a blazing pace and somehow managed to take the win (much to our surprise)!

Odyssey One Day AR (24hr) – 1st overall – At registration we were told that this race was going to be “old school”.  In the context of Odyssey events, this brings to mind early courses designed by Don Mann that made you suffer just to see how much suffering you could take.  I didn’t think it was going to be a true “old school” course, but I was wrong.  No one, not even us, finished the entire course, and we crossed the finish line with mere seconds left on the clock.  Team SOG had gone after extra CPs to get ahead of us, but failed to make the finishing cutoff and was unranked.  I had a great time racing against them, though, and was amazed at the speed they maintained at the end.

Lionheart Adventure Race (24hr) – 2nd overall - I hadn’t raced in PA before, and it was fun to be in a new area.  There were a lot of off-limits roads which made the course seem a little contrived, but it forced us to use some fun trails and roads to complete the race.  Unfortunately, there was a “surprise” time trial section in the middle of the race that was very poorly implemented.  The way the rules were written, the winner of the time trial would end up winning the entire race.  Besides making the rest of our efforts meaningless, it wasn’t obvious on the maps what the fastest route would be. We came in 2nd on the time trial, which locked us into 2nd overall in the race.  When everyone had finished, the RD admitted the mistake and assured everyone it would not happen in any future events.  So, I’d probably race this one again, but was a little disappointed how it turned out this year.

NCARS #3 (24hr AR) – 1st overall - This race was held in the Grandfather district of Pisgah.  That fact alone is why I wanted to do this race.  I fell in love with this area during the legendary, and now defunct, Overmountain Extreme race several years ago.  The NCARS team did a fantastic job of taking racers through many of the highlights of this region.  If you get a chance to race here, do it.  The terrain will kick your ass, and you will be thankful for it.

Tidewater Traverse (24hr AR) – unofficial/unranked – I usually race in the mountains, so navigating a coastal event was a much different experience for me.  We got off to a very rough start, but after a couple of hours I figured it all out and we had a great race.  Well, maybe a few things weren’t so great, like the 150 meters of bushwhacking through a nearly impenetrable wall of razor wire (a.k.a super nasty brier patch that was beyond description).  Many four letter words were tortured out of us, and much blood was shed.   Worse still, we lost our passport.  We backtracked several miles and spent hours looking for it, but it was gone.  We decided to leisurely finish the course unranked.  Despite the bad luck, I had a great time racing with Ronnie and Michelle for the first time this year.

Checkpoint Tracker National Championship (28hr AR) – 1st place – I’ll sum up this race with one word: Moab.  Well, maybe more than one.  How about: Moab, slickrock, awesomeness.  Nah, there aren’t words to appropriately describe this area. You just need to see it and experience it for yourself, but you can read the full race report if you like.

Oh yeah,  we also had a masters team take first in division at the USARA national championship race, which put us in 1st place for the USARA points series for the year!  In the Checkpoint Tracker points series, we were 2nd!  Not bad for the first year!

Today, it occurred to me that the KML file I used to create my GPS tracking map also contained elevation for each of the points.  I hacked up a quick script to parse all 12,000+ data points and add up the cumulative gain.  After triple-checking the logic in my script, I felt this really, really terrible sinking feeling in my gut.  I just stared at the screen in disbelief.

:~/Desktop/BMT$ ./calc_elevation.pl
Total gain = 22325.804708 meters : 73247.3908856141 feet

In my past experience, GPS units have had notoriously large margins of error when it comes to elevation readings.  I can only hope that a little bit of that error is inflating the result.  If not, this might take a little longer than I have originally estimated!

Almost 40% of my calories will be coming from the new Caffe Latte flavored Perpetuem.  Yes, it REALLY is that good!

The rest of the calories will be comprised of various solid foods and a few bars.  I tried to strike a balance between finding items with relatively high-quality ingredients and tastyness, but with tastyness receiving a slightly higher priority.  The average intensity of this effort will be much lower than most other events, so I should be able to digest foods that just wouldn’t work for something shorter (24-48hrs).

I briefly considered an all liquid nutrition plan, but I could be out there for up to a week and prefer to supplement with solid foods during really long efforts.

Here is a list of what is in the bags, for those who are interested:

• Caffe Latte Perpetuem (the most important of all!)
• Organic Toaster pastries (aka pop-tarts)
• Bear Naked granola
• Snyders multigrain pretzel sticks
• Snyders pretzel pieces (BBQ flavored)
• Trail mix (whole grain wheat thins, raw almonds, cranberries)
• pre-cooked bacon (2 pkgs)
• freeze-dried pastas (3 pkgs)
• a few slices of bread
• Bear Valley MealPack (natural energy bars)
• Kashi cereal bars
• Genisoy protein bars
• Luna bars
• Ginger chews (spicy apple flavored)

My rant on the demise of the original Montrail Hardrock

I was fortunate enough to have local über-underground-ultra-runner Adam Hill encourage me to try using a more minimalist shoe. I did a lot of research, tried a few more pairs of “real” trail shoes (Brooks, La Sportiva), but eventually settled on running in a pair of road racing shoes – Brooks Racer ST‘s. It took several months to fully make the transition. My muscles needed to adjust to the lower heel, feet had to toughen up, and adjustments had to be made to my stride, but the result was amazing.

I’ve since done several 24hr+ adventure races, a 24hr rogaine, and run another SCAR traverse using only these road racing shoes, and my feet have never been happier. The only downsides are lack of durability and poor traction in leaves and thick mud. A little shoe goo can extend the durability, but not much can be done about the traction. [well, Adam could customize them, I suppose]

Along the way, I’ve become convinced that modern shoes cause just as many problems as they try, or claim, to solve.

One of the easiest to observe examples is that a lot of people heel strike when running. Why? Because the shoes they wear tend to encourage that behaviour. I would bet that if you take the average heel-striker and make them run barefoot on a hard, flat surface, they would quickly learn and prefer a mid- or forefoot strike instead.

The thick heel cushioning in most shoes reduces the bone-jarring impacts of heel landings and cuts off the natural feedback that would normally discourage a person from running that way. Another modern design characteristic which seems to encourage this bad behaviour is the lifted heel.

I’m not sure why, but all running shoes place the heel higher than the forefoot. So, even if you naturally have your foot in a flat, mid-foot striking position, you will still land heel-first due to the extra thickness under the heel of the shoe. The heel rise is usually less on racing flats, which is a big reason that I prefer them. Switching to a shoe with a lower heel changes how the muscles are used when running, so give yourself plenty of time to adapt. You are likely to have sore calves when making this transition.

Oh, all of that motion-control and stability crap…well, I bet that is only necessary because the shoe is forcing you to land on your heel and it is very hard to keep everything aligned when rolling from heel to toe without some assistance. A better idea is just to land mid-foot and not have to worry quite as much about all of that. As a bonus, your shoes will be a few ounces lighter without it.

I also read an interesting post on Joe Freil’s blog about pronation. It talks about several runners being videotaped and evaluated.  One, an elite level marathoner who had “excessive pronation”, but never had any injuries.  Another was a runner with a “perfect” neutral foot with a “significant history” of injuries. They found that the hips stayed level on the healthy runner, but dropped on the runner with the injuries. It was determined that good core strength was keeping everything aligned on the “pronating” runner, and poor core strength was the cause of injuries in the “neutral” runner. So, next time you go to a speciality store that has you stand barefoot and walk back and forth, and then tells you what kind of runner you are, just be aware that such a shallow level of assessment could be meaningless for you. Video analysis while running on a treadmill is better, but you may just be applying a band-aid (type of shoe) in an attempt to fix a more fundamental running technique/core strength/muscle imbalance issue.

I’ve learned that less shoe is better. At least for me. Fixing deficiencies in technique  and eliminating muscle imbalances has done more for my running than any shoe ever has.

I still remember the agony I experienced after visiting my first “professional” running store. They fit me in big-ass, clunky, motion-control shoes due to my “pronation problem”. My running that year was terrible, but I told myself that I just needed to give my body time to adapt, and the shoes were probably helping overall. That was complete B.S.! Since then, I’ve visited several high-end running stores and physical therapists to be fitted and analysed (including three video analyses). Over the years, my “pronation problem” has miraculously faded away. The last treadmill video analysis at a local running shop even declared me a perfectly neutral runner. How did I go from being a moderate/severe overpronator to perfectly neutral? Well, as I’m sure any good shoe company will tell you, it must have been the shoes!..and that we all should go out and buy another pair of their most expensive models after the next 300 miles!  Hopefully, I shouldn’t have to point out the stratospheric level of sarcasm in that last statement.  There are actually a few reports suggesting that the cheaper, less technologically advanced shoes cause fewer problems than the more expensive models.  I doubt you’ll find the shoe companies advertising that fact, however.

Although I enjoy running in my road flats, I still occasionally wish for a shoe with some trail-specific features.  Inov-8 is a trail shoe manufacturer whose philosophy I can get behind. I recently picked up a pair of Inov-8 295 trail shoes as a grippier, more durable alternative to the road flats. The 295 is the lightest shoe Inov-8 makes with their Endurance last. The lighter models all use their performance last which is too narrow for my foot.  So far, I’ve been pleased with them.  The heel cup doesn’t seem to conform to my foot as good as the Racer ST’s, but the grip is amazing.  Having a bit of toe protection is nice also, for those times when you get a little sloppy and have a high-speed toe to rock collision.

I highly recommend that everyone experiment and do their own research into the potential advantages of  minimalist shoes and barefoot running.  Just be sure to experiment carefully, slowly, and listen to your body along the way.

REQUIRED READING (these links were in the article, but if you missed them, click now and read! And do some Googling for similar articles…there are plenty more out there!)

• The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?
• Joe Friel: Running and Core Stability

I had originally planned to skip this race (as a solo) and focus on the Benton Mackaye speed attempt instead. But when Checkpoint Zero lost a teammate and asked if I’d like to join them, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to race with a strong, competitive team.

However, in the time-honored tradition of mentally bludgeoning a team before they reach the starting line of a multi-day AR, fate still had a couple of more blows to deliver.  With only a week to go, another teammate was lost.   Meanwhile, a nearly identical beating was be delivered to team ROAM/Inov-8, who had replaced a team member only to lose another one with mere days remaining until the start.

A last minute decision was made to combine the teams and race as a “six-headed monster“.  Officially, we will be separate 4-person and 2-person teams, but plan to stick together and race unofficially as a 6-person team.  Keeping six folks together over 3+ days of wilderness racing is going to be a challenge, for sure, but should also be a fun and interesting experiment.

And not to be done yet, fate delivered one more kick to the nads last night when I discovered that my CatEye LED light for the bike was missing, and my big-daddy MOAB HID had given up the ghost.  After some tinkering, I finally put the multimeter on the battery and measured a dismal 0.05V.  Far from the 11.1V it should’ve been.  I ignored the warnings of fire and explosion in an attempt to open the casing, but it was a rugged sucker and I gave up before getting out the power tools (it was getting late anyway).  Hopefully the LBS or REI will have a decent, cheap LED that I can pick up this afternoon.

So far, the weather looks relatively nice for three days of playtime in the woods.  I’m hoping the water sections will be as fun as previous Beast of the East races, or the EFix a few years ago near Seneca, WV.

You might be able to view our progress at the Checkpoint Tracker site.  But so far, Odyssey hasn’t really updated it and has warned that comms won’t be great across the course.  So, updates may be few and far between.  I’m sure there will be a report or two following the race, though.  Heck, I might even write one…maybe…probably not, but it could happen…

Ernie, Pete, Beth, and I only had the opportunity of racing together twice as a full team. Once at a 3-day event in Texas where we took first place, and at PQ where we managed a respectable 21st out of 89. Since then, the distances from each other and various other circumstances have kept us from all competing together again. I think we had a lot of potential and hope to eventually get those guys together for another big event some day. I really miss all of those team bonding experiences at Denny’s, the debates over whose WAG bag smelled the worst, and learning how to be a pipeline manager (you had to be there to understand).

To 24Seven: I miss you guys! I hope you are all doing well! When are you all going to move closer!!! ;-)

Here is the latest gem I found while searching for spare batteries for the Pitchell adventure run tonight.  Can you guess the ingredients that made up this tasty morsel?

If you’re looking for a small, basic GPS at a low price, then the Garmin Foretrex 101 may deserve a slightly better rating than I gave it. Although I didn’t buy it for athletic training purposes I was hoping that it might serve a dual purpose. If you primarily run in a straight line in open areas or along roads then it works pretty good for recording distance ran or biked. However, here in the hills of western North Carolina the cumulative distance counter was significantly off the mark on almost all outings.

My testing was done on mountain trails with roughly 1500ft of elevation gain/loss and under tree cover, though all of the leaves had fallen and the only thing blocking a signal would have been the bare tree limbs. I don’t know how often this unit records position for determining distance traveled, but I can only guess that it is missing the many turns encountered on an average singletrack trail. I ran and biked the same trail and recorded a distance of 6.75 miles with the Foretrex, while my bike computer (recently calibrated) showed nearly 8 miles. Additionally, based on my usual training pace, the 8 mile result seems more accurate. That makes the Foretrex result almost 20% low! While biking along relatively straight forest service roads, the difference was closer to 10%. One thought is that maybe it is not computing the added distance created due to elevation gain and loss? I’m not sure, but the discrepancy is too much for me to consider using it as a training device.

When used strictly for determining coords while standing still, I can’t find any faults with this unit. The only negative thing I can say is that I’ve never seen any benefit to the WAAS mode. It is supposed to allow much greater accuracy, but it has never worked during my testing. I guess I’ve just never gotten the signal for the WAAS in the areas I’ve used it.

Although it is designed to be worn on your wrist, I found it to be uncomfortable at best. When bushwhacking through the forest it became very painful when I had to put my hand down to brace myself. The unit extends beyond the wrist and digs into the back of your hand when your wrist is bent back. The additional elastic strap for wearing on the upper arm was much better. The bike mount is very secure and seems bombproof.

The 101 model uses two AAA batteries, which allows easy field replacement. Rechargeable AAA’s seem to give me about 4-5 hrs of continuous use.

My primary use for this gadget has been navigation training and confirming CP placements for training/mock races. It works just fine for these purposes, but not much more.

What a disappointment and let-down to everyone whose ranking was potentially affected. Sorry guys. I feel your pain, disappointment, and frustration. That sucks. If there is one thing that will kill this sport (for me at least), it is the problem of mis-placed CPs. AR has a horrible track record with this. I’ve only known of one Orienteering meet to have this happen, and their points usually require much more precise placement than AR. That O-point was only 30m off. The Nationals point was 450m, and I’ve done races with points as much as 2km off! Come on AR directors! Get your sh** together or don’t even bother to hold an event….or one of these days myself (and maybe others) will just stop bothering to show up.

Ok, I think I’m finished ranting for now. Maybe. Yeah, I’ll stop here :-)