The Outdoor Parent is a collection of surfers, climbers and skiers who have embarked the greatest adventure — parenthood — and lived to tell about it. Stories, perspective and reflections on parenting, children and the outdoor lifestyle.

As I recently became a father, I expect I’ll be pouring over all these articles.

I suspect many of you are in the same position, so let me know if there are any other great resources out there like this one.

The post The Outdoor Parent Blog first appeared on All Climbing.

There’s been numerous articles recently written on the problems that have surfaced regarding Nalgene bottles. Since most climbers own one of these, I decided to look into what is actually going on.

I was in the REI in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia recently and I didn’t see a single Nalgene bottle on the shelves. A foreboding sign itself. There’s usually an entire row of shelving with the now ubiquitous bottles in all shapes and colors.

Following the move made by Canada’s MEC, REI has now pulled all Nalgene bottles from their shelves. Nalgene has announced that they will stop making bottles out of polycarbonate.

Polycarbonate contains a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) which has been linked to numerous health problems including breast and prostate cancer, brain damage, endocrine system disruptions, higher levels of testosterone in men and women, recurrent miscarriages, and chromosomal defects in fetuses.

The National Geographic Adventure blog has some a few pointers on what to do now that you know the problem exists:

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY BOTTLE HAS BISPHENOL A IN IT?
Look on the bottom of the bottle for a number surrounded by three arrows. Polycarbonate bottles are categorized as number seven. Note that seven is the catchall “other” category for plastics—all polycarbonates are seven, not all sevens are polycarbonates.

WHERE DO I BUY A BPA-FREE BOTTLE?
REI has the new Tritan Camelbak bottles and BPA-free Nalgenes in all its stores. Elsewhere, stainless steel bottles from Guyot, Klean Kanteen, and Sigg are options, too.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER PLASTIC BOTTLES?
Nalgene’s old-school bottles, milky colored and soft-sided, are made of high-density polyethylene and free of BPA. Thin-walled, soft plastic bottles like Evian uses are plain old polyethylene.

It appears the key to finding out if your bottle is made of polycarbonate is to look for the number 7 on the bottom of each one. For a full listing of the seven types of plastics check out this chart.

Nalgene’s website has a section with all the relevant FDA and health data as well as their own FAQ on the issue. In addition, the company has set up a new site called Nalgene Choice that will help consumers pick new bottle from their product line.

And on a final note, Trailspace gives us some ways to reuse our old polycarbonate bottles.

The post Time to throw away your Nalgene bottles first appeared on All Climbing.

I was introduced to Nau by Andrew Hyde during my trip to Boulder in March. During a brief chat at the TechStars office, Andrew recommended I stop by the Nau store in Boulder before leaving. He praised the quality of their sustainable clothing and fact that the company was founded by former Patagonia employees. So I figured I should check them out.

I did manage to stop by Nau and was very impressed by their clothing. In particular I saw one fleece on the sale rack that had it been in my size I would have bought in a heartbeat. Some of their pants made for climbing or other outdoors activities were quite impressive. I made a mental note to come back and shop when I returned this summer to live in Boulder permanently.

So I was a bit shocked to see the news that Nau is closing. From their blog, Nau’s explanation for closing:

In the current highly risk-averse capital market, we simply could not raise the necessary funds to continue to move forward. We believe this is not so much a reflection of the viability of our business, but the result of an unfortunate confluence of events. Just as we could not have predicted the sudden groundswell of environmental consciousness that blossomed at the time we launched our business, we did not foresee the current crisis in the capital markets. At this time, investors are loath to invest in anything; especially, it appears, a company like Nau that has the audacity to challenge conventional paradigms of what a business should be.

It’s interesting to see how fast the market can change for any type for product. I’m personally in the process of closing down a company I founded three years ago, so I know first hand how this goes.

In the end, a good team of entrepreneurs will not be held down, so I look forward to the next great idea from the Nau founders and employees.

The post Outdoor clothing store Nau closes first appeared on All Climbing.