Wendy’s Picks
Trekking Poles Add Stability,
Boost Workout

Walking poles are designed and used for different purposes. The most basic is a stick used to add a single point of stability during a steep climb or descent. While these can be “found objects” — a sturdy stick picked up along the trail — it is more reliable to bring your own.

Using two trekking poles further improves your stability on uneven ground and boosts the intensity of your hike. The pole handles are designed with a flared top so they can sit between your thumb and index finger and you can flick them forward and backward with minimal motion. The comfort of the grip is a key factor in choosing a trekking pole that is right for you. Trekking poles are typically adjustable for length, since hikers may want to shorten or lengthen them when going uphill or downhill, or collapse them to stow in a backpack.

Leki Enzian Trekking Poles
I bought these basic trekking poles when I was on a mountain walking vacation and realized I needed more stability on rocky trails. These three-section poles can be adjusted for height. The positive angle grips are comfortable and have a strap so they don’t slip off. The poles telescope down enough to pack in a suitcase for travel. They come with removable snow or trail baskets so you can use them for snowshoeing in the winter.
www.leki.com

Exerstrider AT/S All-Terrain Poles
These are two-piece adjustable/telescoping fitness and trekking poles. This model features a carbide-tipped ferrule for use on ice, packed snow, gravel, or wilderness trails, and cushion grip tips for use on pavement. They come with removable small baskets for walking on gravel roads, sand, and wooded areas and for fording streams, and large baskets for skiing or snowshoeing. The included manual and video help you learn all of the ways to use the poles. These poles do not have a security strap.
www.exerstrider.com

Black Diamond Contour Trekking Poles
These poles collapse down to 25” for packing. The handles have non-slip foam grips and padded webbing for comfort. The FlickLock adjustment system is highly rated by users for securely changing the height of the pole. The handle has an attached strap.
www.blackdiamondequipment.com

Masters 5.11 Antishock Grip Trekking Poles
This adjustable-length design puts shock absorption where your need it — in the dual density ergonomic grips. Wrist straps make sure your poles don’t take off without you. They come with four-season tips and include a trail basket, snow basket, hard carbide tip, and a rubber fitness tip.
www.masters.it

—Wendy Bumgardner
www.walking.about.com

New Balance Portland Adds Three Stores In Washington State

Gimre’s Shoes, Inc., an Oregon tradition since 1892, recently expanded into Washington State with three New Balance concept stores. Brothers Jon and Pete Gimre now independently own and operate a total of five New Balance apparel and shoe stores in both the Portland and Seattle metro areas, plus two Gimre’s Shoe Stores.

Gimre’s Shoes, Inc., is one of the oldest retail shoe operations in the western United States that is still owned and operated by the same family. Sven Gimre, a cobbler from Stravanger,
Norway, began making shoes in Astoria in 1892. The business is now owned and operated by Sven’s grandsons, Jon and Peter Gimre. Conrad and Maxwell Gimre Wolfard are the fourth generation to work in the family business. The Gimre family has provided quality customer service and expert fit in Oregon for the past 114 years and four generations. Gimre’s Shoe Store has been awarded Small Business of the Year in the past by Autzen Awards and Oregon State University.

New Balance Stores are located at Pioneer Place in downtown Portland and Bridgeport Village in Tigard, OR. The new stores are located in downtown Seattle, Bellevue Square in Seattle, and the Alderwood Mall in Lynwood, WA. Gimre’s Shoe Stores are located in Hillsboro and Astoria, OR. For more information, visit: www.gimresshoes.com or www.newbalanceportland.com.

Quite a Handful: New Sports Bra Gives Small Women a Boost

The Sportssiere, a sports bra manufactured by Portland, OR-based Handful, is designed to “flatter, not flatten,” the curves of smaller breasted women (cup sizes A-C).

With a sassy look designed to move from workplace to gym, the Sportssiere anchors a solid back band with stylish criss-cross spaghetti straps, creating a comfortable, no-slip, no-chafe, fit.

The bra is the brainchild of Jennifer Ferguson, a fitness instructor who waited 20 years for the industry to design a sports bra that met the needs of small-breasted women.

“I got tired of waiting and decided to be proactive,” she explains. “I came up with the basic undergarment I’ve been looking for — one that could be used for yoga, dance, all forms of movement.”

The bra’s gathered front eliminates gaping and the overexposure that can happen just by bending over. It’s a great design for cyclists, a woman doing push-ups, or nurses leaning over patients, Ferguson notes.

The Sportssiere comes with molded, removable — and replaceable — pads, a feature that not only creates a more curvy silhouette, but eliminates the peek-a-boo that comes from too-thin lining and perspiration.

Case in point: Ferguson herself was wearing the “No Headlights White” bra during a recent Hood to Coast Relay. When she got sprayed down with cold water at an aid station, her first instinct was to look down at her chest — and then she let out a cheer: Her design worked.

The bra’s universal design allows a woman to get dressed once: The Sportssiere can be worn alone in the gym, beneath a fitness top, or layered under everyday wear. It’s also a great starter bra for young girls, with the pads added later to increase confidence, Ferguson says.

The Sportssiere comes with its own laundry bag, the bra, and removable pads. The bra is currently available in two colors: Booya Black and No Headlights White. Other colors will be available later this year. For ordering information, visit www.handfulinc.com.

New Safe Umbrella

The Walk Safe umbrella was developed in response to the death of Sara Cogan, a Portland resident and personal friend of ShedRain® owners, the Blauer family. Cogan was struck and killed by an automobile
in a pedes–trian-oriented neighborhood.

The new Walk Safe umbrella features a reflective pedestrian crossing caution symbol on its “safety yellow” canopy and has reflective binding around the canopy’s edge. By pointing the opened umbrella at approaching motorists, pedestrians can deliver an important message, “I’m here.” Adding to the safety elements of this product, the umbrella provides four clear, see-through panels to assist with visibility. “It’s a new way for pedestrians to take safety into their own hands,” said Blauer. For more information and where to purchase the Walk Safe unbrella visit www.shedrain.com.