20k waterproofing…10k breathability…taped seams…what does that even mean?  Shopping for your kid’s winter jacket or ski pants you may find yourself stumbling over very technical features and descriptions that seem like a foreign language.  Coming from a family of non-skiers with no former introduction to the world snow sports it was all news to me.  Now with some hands on experience of my own, I wanted to shed light on this for the other lost, confused soles out there.

Waterproof Rating – usually varies between 5,000mm and 10,000mm and more.  Thousands of millimeters of what? 5,000mm means the jacket has been tested and can withstand 5,000 mm of rainfall in a 24 hour period before water permeates. So, the higher this number the more waterproof and the longer your kiddo can run around in the snow without getting wet.

image from www.patagonia.com

Breathability Rating – this is usually the number right next to Waterproof rating (seen like this most often 5kmm/5kgm).  Measured in grams, the snow jacket or pant’s breathability rating is determined by testing how many grams of sweat per 1 square meter can escape a jacket within 24 hours.  The higher the number on this one the more breathable it is.

What’s all this talk about seams?  When it comes to kids ski pants/jackets I found a lot of mention about seams…taped, critical…it seemed important.  There are two types. Fully taped means that all of the stitched seams on the jacket have been taped with waterproof tape to keep the water out. This is the higher quality type of seam sealing.  The other type is Critically Taped seams.  Critically taped seam sealed means that just some of the seams are taped to protect from snow/moisture.  But this usually gets the job done and is a less expensive option.  Great unless you plan on being out there in wet/cold weather for super long periods of time.

image from www.columbia.com

Insulation – this is measured in grams and lets you know how toasty warm it will keep your kid.  Pretty straightforward here, the higher the number the warmer the kids jacket.  This number can be anywhere from 30 grams to 800 grams.

image from www.orage.com

While navigating AxlsCloset.com kids ski jackets and pants but sure to look for the product videos.  These will contain a lot of the detailed information about insulation, waterproofing, breathability and more you are seeking.  Here’s one for your viewing pleasure:

Orage Kids Ski Jacket Product Video

Are there other features of kid jackets and outerwear that you have questions about? Leave your inquiries and comments here for our kids gear expert to answer.

As you enter the middle of what looks to be a fun and exciting summer for all, you may start to hear the sounds of boredom from your kids. Not boredom already you say!  Yes, it can happen quickly in the lives of my 8 and 11 year old sons. They have been to summer camp, swimming at the pool, trips to Montana and Oregon and yet still the “I’m bored” phrase enters our lives. But, hold on to your hats, I am about to tell you about the number one boredom buster of the summer.  Are you ready? Geocaching!  What’s Geocaching you ask?

Geocaching is a modern day version of treasure hunting or hide-and-seek. This sport has been around for 11 years and geocaches can now be found on all 7 continents. A “geocache” is usually a waterproof container with a variety of items inside which finders take and replace with other trinkets they have brought. Participants in geocaching use aGPS or Global Positioning System to find geocaches. The geocache coordinates are posted online on various listing sites such as geocaching.com.  This is a particularly fun inexpensive day out for the family.

Thanks to their grandmother, my boys each received a GPS and geocaching guide book last Christmas.  Recently, they were able to test out their skill for the first time in Montana. They checked online to get a few coordinates, packed up some trinkets of their own and off they went.

After no time at all they found their first geocache. It was right where the coordinates said it would be. They were amazed, excited and ready for more. The second cache they looked for was not there. Sometimes vandals or unknowing individuals will remove the container.  This only adds to the thrill of the hunt. They moved on to their next one and found it!

Montana Geocachers: Cam & Rory

After two days of geocaching in Montana they boys have found 5 geocaches and collected 2 notebooks, a knit cap, baseball and football cards, and a wrist watch. They are hooked and are asking when they can go again. And the good news is they can go anytime! Montana, Utah, Oregon wherever they may be this summer, there is sure to be a geocache nearby.

Cam & Rory’s Mom

As soon as school ends each June, my wife and I pack up the kids, find a sitter for the cat, fire up the out of office replies and head for our favorite vacation spot, Watercolors, in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

For several years we have been eyeing a day camp held at the same beach run by a team of college aged beach dwellers and their ringleader, a thirtyish beach boy straight out of central casting, Ryan Devore.

After careful consideration we decided that this was the year the kids were old enough and strong enough swimmers to get the most out of this remarkable camp and we decided to give RYNO’s Kidz Beach camp a shot.

Day one was unbelievable. They started with an early morning sea kayak that ended with them anchoring way out away from the beach in about 50 feet of crystal clear water, perfect for learning how to free dive and snorkel. Although I think they were a little spooked by the depth and how far out they were, after a couple of hours they had taken to diving and snorkeling like true water rats and had lots of sea souvenirs to prove their new found skills.

Its fun to watch your kids learn something that you didn’t have the opportunity to try until adulthood, and I’m always

Jack, Logan and Axl after a long day in the water

amazed to see how fast they pick up new skills without having the “Yikes!” reflex that we seem to acquire as grownups.

After the long kayak paddle in, the group catches their breath and works out their wave-catching technique on the sand before going out for a very entertaining hour or two of surfing lessons.

In fairness, we have been trying our best to practice surfing each year on our own, but this was a breakthrough year for both Axl and Lola. Although they can’t yet paddle into the waves and catch them completely under their own power (Axl is 7 and Lola is 9), they are now able to paddle back out to us once they ride the wave in to the beach.

This was a major victory for the Dad’s in the group, and freed up one of our hands for a relaxing frosty beverage instead of having to march in to shore to retrieve a shouting child from the impact zone after each ride. Way better.

The balance of their day is spent learning to skimboard, stand up paddle board (SUP if you’re beach-cool) and practicing any or all of the activities they learned during the day. This is supposed to be a half day camp, but in the week that we were there, Ryan seemed more than willing to keep it going as long as the kids had the energy.

The rest of the week is rinse and repeat with the focus shifting from activity to activity pretty equally unless there was something in particular the group wanted to do.

As a parent, one of the coolest features of the camp is that you can sit casually on the beach and watch the entire day from the comfort of whatever chair you’re in or you can go out in the water with them and aqua-spectate. We would typically alternate between the two, but Ryan and his crew do a very good job of being casually inclusive to the parents. It’s hard not to get sucked in to the water after an hour of watching the kids have all of the fun.

Ryan is a natural waterman and has such an easy way with kids that he is able to hold their attention and share his love of the ocean (well, it’s really the Gulf, but we count it as Ocean) with them in a manner that is both infectious and inspiring.

If you’re heading to the Seaside/Watercolors/Destin area, look him up, you’re kids will thank you for it.

P.S. Check out the video Ryan shot of two whale sharks that decided to come to camp in 2009. Those are campers in the video with him.

Talk to you soon,

Axl’s Dad