CW-X compression socks: a review and an attempt to explain compression clothing.

I recently purchased some CW-X compression socks. I like them. You should buy them. they work well, they feel nice, they have not ripped yet.

After that terrible review (seriously, great socks, work as told), I'm going to dive into compression clothing as a training modality.
Looking at a study by Kemmler, compression stockings (think socks), actually affect running anaerobic, aerobic, lactate threshold, BUT not VO2 max. Essentially, the let you suffer for a little bit longer on the run. They don't really help you raise your horse power, but they give you a little more gas. With a sprinting test on moderately in shape runners, athletes were able to pump for an extra 1.41 seconds. Doesn't sound like a lot, but that really adds up in the long term.

Black Diamond Windweight Gloves Review

I"ll air my grievances first. The seams inside the gloves are a little annoying and I don't like how the fleece attracts hair. Now that we have the dirty business ironed out, I can extol the good graces of the Black Diamond Windweight Gloves.

Marmot Summit Hat. You will be sorely missed...

 Mrs. J steals the Marmot Summit Hat, Denali National Park

Last winter I lost a dear friend, my Marmot Summit Hat. He fought through the washer valiantly, but somehow managed to sneak into the dryer. I can only imagine the pain of being dried as a wool hat, but I gather that it can't feel good. He currently resides in box somewhere, waiting to be worn by my son when he eventually grows a head somewhere between the size of a toddler and a 12 year old.

Vest help

I'm looking for some advice on a trail running vest for this coming winter season. To give you an idea, my body runs like an absurd furnace when I'm actually moving, but as soon as I stop, things get pretty chilly. It makes for some crazy layering questions winter hiking, but things are pretty straight forward running. Typically I rock shorts, longer wool socks, gore-tex shoes, a tech t, then a long sleeve tech t. This works great until wind or precipitation hit. I then go to either my Marmot Gravity softshell or my Precip. These both tend to have me overheated in about... 10 minutes of running, even with pit zips wide open. I also run in light gloves, and hardly ever a hat. This is for long runs too, looking at 12-16 miles plus.

I'm looking at the Mountain Hardwear Transition Vest, but I'm curious to hear other input. I'm not really looking for a windshirt, like the Marmot DriClime, but am open to suggestions. I'm also open to free stuff. Free stuff which I will review and extol it's good graces. This statement will probably never reach the desks of people who could potentially make that happen, but none the less, as a broke medical student with a baby on the way, free stuff is the bestest!

Thoughts on a vest for running and mountain biking? Needs to be highly visible, breathable, windproof, and DWR'd.

Hit me with some suggestions!

Marmot Exum. Only One Complaint.

I've been putting off writing this review for a while. Why? You know when you love something so much that your heart hurts to say something bad about it, especially in public? It's just hard to say something mean about anything you love so much. I'll get back to that point after I extol all of the Exum's good graces.