Jan. 5, 2008: Pink jackets for Susan G. Komen

Ever have an idea that threw you out of bed way too early on a weekend? Usually it's for a reason like "I'll invent a toothbrush with the toothpaste already in it" (fyi a patent attorney told me that's the most sought after claim to fame in the world). But hear me out, and tell me what you think of this one...

Beyond Clothing will donate customized jackets to Susan G. Komen for the Cure! Obviously specifics are many cups of coffee, a meeting or three and some phone calls away, but why can't we make custom fitted jackets in lilac (close enough to pink, don't ya think?) as part of SGKC's tour around the country?

Or how about a fancy stain-resistant white Beyond jacket with a pink ribbon on the chest?

Or a pink zipper??

Or a white toothbrush with pink toothpaste already in it, and...oh, YOU thought of that already? Sounds like someone is a little testy from waking up too early!

Jan. 4, 2008: -18 degrees F...and that's the high!

We're looking forward to the results of a few product reviews.

Beyond outfitted a National Guard Captain for his trip to Bethel, Alaska, for some cold weather exercises. Beyond founder Scott Jones selected the PrimaLoft 5 jacket and pant from the Camber Layering System. We'll have to wait until the March issue of GX: The Guard Experience, but from the saved message on Scott's answering machine we're confident the PL5 did a great job of keeping the family jewels toasty in the -18F air.

The other review is coming from none other than Military Morons, arguably the most thorough and critical (in a real-world, good to the last drop sort of way) gear abuser, er, user around. There's no sugarcoating from this guy, and that's exactly the reason we let him put our tactical gear to the test.

Jan. 3, 2008: Resting heart rate - about 40 higher than Jeff's

One of the Beyond-sponsored athletes (I think the official title is "Gear Ambassador," but no one can say that without thinking of Parliament, NATO or even the recent page scandal in Washington DC so we're sticking with the former) in 2008 is Topeak Ergon Racing Team member Jeff Kerkove. Now, now, don't go visiting his site until you've finished reading our rant cuz once you're gone from here and go over there, chances are you won't be back.

And that's exactly why we want our blog to grow up and be like Jeff's blog. He has pictures. We don't yet (due to an error message...but we've done nothing wrong!) Following-up on the comment prior to this, people want to either laugh their asses off or they want to feel like they're in on the bestest secret in the whole wide world. Hopefully people will get so distracted by our wit and insight into the world of highend technical outerwear that they'll totally forget they're supposed to be studying for the MCAT to achieve their dream of having their own professional proctology practice or working overtime to raise enough money to sponsor their long-lost cousins from Cambodia in hopes the entire family will be able to go on "Deal or No Deal" or that Amazing Race show. Hmmm, PR note to self: how do we get an Amazing Race team in Beyond Gear???

So go on and visit Jeff's site. Be in awe of his resting heart rate and bouts with gastritis. Be gone, we don't need you *total lie: we need you like Richard Simmons needs short shorts. Come back.

Oh, for the record, Jeff wears the following...
Steel Shock Jacket
Steel Shock Pant
Steel Soft Shell Pant
Grid Pullover

Jan. 3, 2008: Sage anonymous posting advice

We posted. We passed it on. To friends. Some of whom can read. They are all brutally honest even without the thinly-veiled hopes of getting a Pro2OH Gore-Tex jacket in return. That's why they are in the circle of trust. Here's one...

"Here's my unsolicited advice about your blog. One route it to make it damn funny, like Steep and Cheap. My wife reads it almost daily. I will check it out if it's juvenile or prurient enough for my tastes. Today's was about puking, which is right up my alley.

The other is an "inside baseball." I want to know shit that I couldn't find elsewhere because it's too insider or too esoteric. So what is the difference between Schoeller fabrics and Gore-Tex?

Make it something you would want to read and trust your gut instinct that there are others out there who are interested in the same things you are."

Jan. 3, 2008: The Beyond Beta

7:07 Seattle time: Technically it's not even the start of the work day so if this virgin sample copy entry gets hosed up, please do not hold it against Beyond Clothing, any of the sponsored athletes, outdoor enthusiasts or special forces personnel who think everything we do rocks like no other.

Coffee awaits. Beyond promises more. Truly.

(fast forward 17 minutes)...

Mmmm! Welllll, hello! It's good to have you back. You're probably in a cube, passing yet another day reading yet another blog in hopes quitting time rolls around even faster than yesterday which in turn means you can go on your bike/hike/run/swim/climb/chairlift. As for us, Beyond is super stoked (hey, 1994 called, it wants its phrase of the day back) to go mainstream...even if it is a few years late. We can now count ourselves among the 8 billion bloggers!

So what's on the agenda for January 3rd? Taking a look at the Must-Do sheet, it reads:

a) triple check that the 2-day hangover is indeed legally over (who knew stumbling out to the mailbox sans pants was a misdemeanor!).

b) thumbtack list of our favorite magazine editors to wall, and spend a few days touching base to say "Hey, yeah, so about OR..."
http://www.outdoorretailer.com/or/index.jsp (more on OR later).

c) make daily 10am conference call (note to editors and product testers: 10 to 10:30 am pst is NOT a good time to call, okay?) to reiterate how OR is the priority.

d) get haircut.

OR, aka Outdoor Retailer, is basically THE biggest expo for anyone or any bidniz in the outdoor recreation/manufacturing/industry. And that obviously means Beyond Clothing will be there for the entire week rubbing elbows and doing secret handshakes with the best and coolest. I'd say it'll be epic and sweet, but there's a limit to how many early 90's Cali-inspired pleasantries one can handle in a morning.

Things will be hectic from now until OR in late January (and then we're on to SHOT in Vegas), but we'll learn how to post a bunch of pretty pictures and links and stories about our, and your, trips to places near and Beyond (wait, was that a play on words??).

And what about the haircut? We keep it longer.

More later...