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Imagine you read more than a thousand gear reviews each year. Do you think you could pick a favorite? This week on The WildeBeat, the Year in Gear Oh Six.

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News from the Wildebeat, the audio journal about getting into the wilderness.

This is program number seventy one.

I'm Steve Sergeant.

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STEVE: The moderators and editors at Backpack Gear Test read more than a thousand reviews every year. And I asked them, "of all the gear you saw this year, could you pick a few pieces that you thought were the very best?" Three of them responded. Ray Estrella is an editor of owner reviews. Owner reviews are those written by someone who has already bought the product themselves. All Backpack Gear Test reviewers start out by submitting owner reviews.

RAY ESTRELLA: The Nunatak Skaha Plus down sweater... [0:59] ...easily stuff it further down.

RAY ESTRELLA: The second review was from Nunatak again... [1:02] ...It's a pretty neat idea.

STEVE: The remainder of our reviews are from Test Moderators at Backpack Gear Test. Moderators manage the testing and review process for gear provided free by manufacturers. Here's Rick Allnutt.

RICK ALLNUTT: Probably the prettiest piece of gear... [0:55.3] ...

STEVE: Here's Jim Sabiston.

JIM SABISTON: We have the Surefile, L-1 flashlight... [JimSabiston-3.aif; 0:55] ...that bright too often.

RICK ALLNUTT: One of the coolest pieces of gear that I saw... [RickAlnnutt-1.aif; 0:46] ...individual piece of equipment.

JIM SABISTON: The Suunto Vector computer watch... [JimSabiston-1.aif; 1:00] ...and it's just very well done.

RICK ALLNUTT: This was the Six Moon Designs Essence Pack... [1:00] ...is provided by the pad that I carry.

JIM SABISTON: The item is the Exped Wall Creeper... [1:04] ...which makes it a very good summer bag.

STEVE: My thanks to Ray Estrella, Rick Allnutt, Jim Sabiston, and the other moderators at Backpack Gear Test, for making this edition possible. Please remember that these opinions are those of the individual contributors, and don't necessarily reflect those of Backpack Gear Test, or of The WildeBeat. If you want to read the original text reviews of these products, please follow the links on our web site.

STEVE: We'd like to hear your opinion about these reviews, and about your experience with these and similar products. You can call our toll free comment line at 866-590-7373. Backpack Gear Test is looking for qualified testers. To get qualified, you start out by publishing reviews for gear you already own. After that, you could be chosen to receive free gear to review. Find out more at our web site.

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We're taking a break. After taking care of some business for the show, we'll be back on January 18th.

Our official website is WWW dot WILDEBEAT (that's W-I-L-D-E-B-E-A-T) dot NET. Please click on the support link to make possible future editions of this free service. The WildeBeat is produced by Steve Sergeant, with help from Jean Higham, as a public service of Effable Communications.

This has been The WildeBeat, program number seventy one. Thank you for listening.

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