Hasta La Ideas

Ten tiny gifts from our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide

‘Tis the season of office swaps and knickknack-giving. Acting as an appetizer for the main feast, mini-gifts for a get-together or to stuff the old stocking can often be the most clever treasures of the lot. We’ve reveled in gathering charming, small and often affordable items to give by the bunch for our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide, with a selection of 10 below.

Zippo Handwarmer

The iconic handwarmer provides enough warmth on one fill to keep your digits toasty for up to 12 hours of fishing, hunting, skiing or even just strolling town around during the cold months. Measuring only four inches in length, the warmer fits nicely into your palm while still producing more than ten times the heat as a traditional shake-pack.

Hex Bottle Opener

Seattle’s Iacoli & McAllister perfectly execute industrial design on a small scale with this minimalist tool. Hand-cut from a solid brass hex rod, this bottle opener is one you won’t want to hide away in a drawer when not in use.

Snake Bite Staple Remover

Transforming the mundane office tool into a nicely designed little sculpture, the snake seems to personify what we’ve always imagined a staple remover’s evil alter ego would be. Plus, the weighty pewter accessory dresses up a desktop rather than being relegated to a drawer.

Midori Brass Pencil

Made in Japan with purposeful, sensible design, the brass pencil holder houses a miniature writing utensil and eraser. Though it seems like a complete novelty, it’s quite practical with an old-fashioned feel.

Air Quote Mittens

These ultra-soft merino wool mittens from Kate Spade allow you to communicate skepticism without freezing your fingers. One size fits all hands and quick-wit personalities.

Schluesselwurst im Glas

Roughly translated as sausage keychain in a jar, this cheeky accessory is the ultimate gag-gift or accoutrement for your forgetful friend. The wiener itself is made of lycra for a life-like look and feel.

Click Multi Tool

Seven tools, including five hex keys and two screw drivers, make this portable bike tool a must have for any cyclist. At less than two inches in length, this unbelievably tiny gadget can even be clipped to a key chain. Lightweight, compact and efficient, it’s everything one needs in a bike tool.

Bookman Bicycle Light

In the same fashion as the click tool, this smartly designedminiature lightis a must for city cyclists. With one LED per light—white in the front and red in the rear—the slimmed-down design allows the torch to be affixed to the handlebars or seat post easily using only a small elastic cord.

Monarch Playing Cards

This elegantdeck of cards, while affordable, is fit for a king—or a magician, for that matter. Even better, each deck is made in America.

Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Co.

The beautiful packaging on these small-batch bars give proper presentation to the southern artisan chocolates within. The lucky recipient will have a hard time unwrapping the treats, but will surely be glad once they do.

Keep your digits cozy and usable this winter with touchscreen-friendly gloves

The latest Freehands gloves are now available just in time for winter to come blowing in. As the resident glove of choice here at CH, Freehands was born out of collaboration between our founder Josh Rubin and his father—expert glove manufacturer Stanley Rubin. New for 2011 are a handful of styles featuring new materials and upgraded tech with the same touch screen friendly design, including two new knits and a redesign of the top selling soft shell.

Particularly noteworthy is the new leather collection, with a style for men and women each. These supple leather gloves sport a sleek design lined with a soft knit blend of cashmere, wool and nylon. Like most Freehands gloves, the leather collection features a foldable tip on the thumb and forefinger to allow the wearer free use of touchscreen devices or simply find the right key in your pocket.

Also new is the youthful Hearts and Stripes glove for women. The playful knit is made with a cozy wool and acrylic blend and comes in black, purple and red color combinations. Dots on the palm help keep your phone from slipping and foldable finger tips hold back by magnets to allow for easy texting. Made of the same knitted blend and grippy palm detail, the new Solid Knit has conductive silver thread woven into the index and thumb—instead of the usual caps—for device usage without exposing any digits. Plus it’s available in bright pink and benefits the National Breast Cancer Foundation with each pair sold.

As an update on their top seller, the Soft Shell for men has been redesigned with a “swipe and flip” feature. This hybrid solution has conductive material on the forefinger tip that allows you to swipe to answer with the finger caps on, but still can be folded back for texting or other things that require a bit more accuracy.

Prices range between $18 for the simple knit to $75 for the leather collection. For more details and to see the entire line head to Freehands online.

The first waterproof down jacket from the classic mountain wear brand

Powderhorn has been making premium outerwear for extreme adventurers since the 1960s in Jackson Hole. The tough, performance-focused brand consistently produces stylish and functional garb for the mountains, and their latest innovation, the Gunpowder jacket, is a great go-to in this winter’s down lineup.

The new jacket, along with the women’s version, the Powdersmoke, is filled with Toray Waterproof Quix® Down—a 750-fillpower feather insulation treated to repel water. Down jackets have traditionally run the risk of getting overly bulky when wet, but the Powderhorn’s Quix® promises to keep the wearer warm, while remaining light and unsaturated in the rain if the Toray Airtastic™ silky nylon shell lets water thru.

Beyond looking and feeling great in the various elements, the jacket is equipped with sophisticated features for the serious mountaineer. The pockets are lined in soft fleece, and one of the two interior pockets has a plush, built-in goggle rag. The jacket comes with effective underarm ventilation and a built-in snow skirt that can be snapped back into the jacket for storage when not in use.

The Gunpowder and Powdersmoke jackets can be purchased in the U.S. for $425 and $400 from Powderhorn’s online store. Otherwise, check the store locator to track one down a nearby stockist.

Découverte du nouveau teaser de la saison 5 de Salomon Freeski TV prévu en ligne à partir du mois d’Octobre 2011. Une présentation des meilleurs épisodes à venir, imaginés par les équipes de Salomon toujours autour du milieu du ski extrême. A découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

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Boots, packs, flannels and more apparel for both on and off the mountain

When tackling Whistler slopes while braving British Columbia winters, wearing the right gear can make all the difference. Find my favorite picks for keeping warm in the final segment of my week-long snowboarding adventure below.

On the mountain

Holden Northfield 3L Jacket and Pants

My go-to performance apparel for a couple years running, Holden’s line gets better every year. Since the beginning they have worked closely with Schoeller to use their C_Change 3-Layer Fabric, a highly technical textile membrane that reacts to changing body climate by opening and closing to regulate temperature. The result is that the Northfield 3L Jacket ($440) and Pant ($360) is perfect in any situation. Even better, Holden is committed to using more environmentally friendly materials, laminates and packaging.

Icebreaker Aspiring Zip

Numbered with a BaaCode so you can track the New Zealand flock from which your jacket’s wool came, the Icebreaker Aspiring jacket ($175) provides non-bulky warmth that doesn’t get stinky.Made from wind-resistant “real fleece” the zip-up jacket works great as an outer layer as well.

Patagonia Underwear

Patagonia’s silky midweight Capilene base layer ($45) keeps you warm but dry, and forward-set inseams allow for more room in the crotch, meaning you can board all day without chafing. (For other styles of long underwear, check out our full list of favorites.)

Burton Buffer Socks

Warm, form fitting and supportive in all the right places, the Buffer socks ($22) also have padded channels across the top of the foot to ensure the most comfort when boots and bindings are cinched down tight. I always pack several pairs of these in my snowboard bag.

Osprey Manta backpack

Staying hydrated on the slopes is critical and having a place to stash a snack, tools and extra layers doesn’t hurt either. The Osprey Manta backpack ($140) comes with a custom-fitted Nalgene water holder. A mesh suspension back does its job to make you never feel like you’re carrying around a sack of water. Adding a magnet to the on-off pivoting bite valve lets it snap to the sternum strap, keeping the tube from flying around while you’re flying around.

Freehands Ski Gloves

Thinsulate lining, a waterproof membrane and wind protecting cuff make these great gloves for the mountain. Being able to flip back the thumb and first finger tips to text on the chairlift makes them Freehands ($45). With improvements on this year’s design the overlap on the “finger hoodie” does a great job keeping air and elements off your skin while the tips are closed.

In the village

Arc’Teryx Veilance Field Jacket

A high-tech reinterpretation of the classic field jacket, the Arc’Teryx Veilance Field Jacket ($995) has an incredible shell, finished with fold-over pocket closures, invisible wrist cinches and a stow-away hood that’s as good as any full-time hood (if not better!). As it’s wind and waterproof and a modernized classic, it actually travels with me everywhere—city or country.

Isaora Insulated Overshirt

Isaora, a new line now in their second year, added a smart evolution to their Insulated Overshirt ($270) this season with a soft, Japanese cotton outer and a hand-quilted PrimaLoft lining, which also happens to be wind resistant. Worn over a t-shirt and even under a shell, it’s the perfect piece to wear around the village.

Limmer Standard Mountaineering Boots

Perhaps the single possession I’ve had the longest, my Limmer boots ($275) are still going strong 18 years later. Built in Bavaria for the New Hampshire-based company, these mountaineering boots are incredibly durable, but surprisingly comfortable.

Bonfire Toasty Wolly beanie

The Bonfire beanie ($25) has recycled fleece on the inside and a knit exterior, offering a comfy twist to the classic cap.