Folks here at Ibex sent 41 lbs of used but quality shoes to Souls 4 Souls, hopefully providing some  protection for people still recovering from the earthquake.

Kate, one of our stellar product developers here at Ibex demonstrates one of our training techniques for a few of our 4 legged office mates.

Pictured: Archer the lab, Izzi the clumber, Cooper the golden, and Arthur the boxer.

Our friends, the Yoga slackers and The Gear Junkie are headed down to Patagonia for an adventure race. Down south they are going to be putting some of our merino base layer to the test, and I am sure we will be hearing about how the product held up. But if you want to keep up on the race as it unfolds, read Stephen's column at Outside Online.

To start, here is his opening paragraph:

My plane ticket is booked. The training schedule I've committed to for months is winding down. The great adventure that is the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, a weeklong endurance event through Tierra del Fuego, Chile, kicks off on February 9. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't scared.

BIG Congrats to James for his win at the XC National Championships!
James took 1st in the 30k, looking forward to seeing you in Canada! 

Read more about it on his blog or The Anchorage Daily News for full race coverage

(pic from James' Blog)

No matter what your New Year's resolution is, you should vow not to be the stinky person on the trip.
With Ibex Wool, you can keep that promise! Wool is naturally anti-microbial, which basically means get your base layer as sweaty as you want, throw it over a chair to dry and repeat. No laundering necessary on your next hut to hut trip, or daily routines of workouts and washing.

What allows wool to have this amazing quality? To be honest it is being debated by wool scientists, but we all think it is because of the unique way wool transports moisture. The "stink" of poly pro and other synthetics comes from bacterial growth (the same that occurs when you forget deodorant) on your clothing. With wool those microbes just can't form the same stinky colonies that they can in other more accommodating fabrics. 

So this year do yourself (and the people around you) a favor, wear some Ibex wool next to your skin and get away from the stink!

One of our best partners out in the PNW is Feathered Friends in Seattle. Showing off their non-traditional Holiday Sweater shot, and looking sharp. Go visit our Feathered Friends for last minute shopping, and tell them nice photo!

This is perhaps one of the coolest features of wool, because it's kinda like having super hero powers or something. Wool is unable to hold a flame, -aka catch on fire like some of those other fabrics out there (cough, polypro, cough). Have you ever been around a campfire and had errant spark fly out and hit your old synthetic fleece, leaving your nice pullover with a big 'ol burn hole? Well, not going to happen with your wool on, just tell that garment ruining spark buh-hye.

It's true! We use a variety of fiber diameters to meet the demands of the garments we make. From our finest 17.5 micron Merino, with it's ultra soft cashmere like feel; to our more hearty 21 micron Merino which is better suited to function as a cozy mid layer. Regardless of the fiber type we use for our garments, we make sure it is top quality wool for performance and comfort.

Our distributor in Switzerland was at the telemark Festival on the Stubaiglacier in Austria over the weekend. His report: We had 3 days great weather and best conditions for skiing.

Obviously it was soo good an in-depth report was not submitted this time.

Snow hasn't started falling from the sky for us at Ibex, but we thought why not make an ice sculpture to celebrate the coming of winter? 

Up in Burlington VT - our friends at the Ski Rack gave us the showcase window, trying to tease old man winter into making it snow a little sooner. Bring it on!

Thanks Ski Rack!

On a sales trip in Chicago - Wool Night @ Uncle Dan's! This photo is from a beer tap at a local pub. Cyclist friendly place, Handlebar Bar.