In honour of our “The Rain Stops Here” sale, we decided to ask the Novack’s staff about rainwear. We asked them the very personal and potentially life-changing question: “What do you look for in a rain jacket?”

As expected, most of the staff thought immediately of words like:“breathability”, “light weight” and “compact-ability”.

For Glen and Kyle, making sure that a jacket is waterproof, and not just water-resistant is a crucial distinction to make when buying.

For sales associate Mel, versatility is key – as both a hiker and cyclist, it is important for her to ask, “how many different activities can I do with this jacket?”

Warmth plays a part in Madison’s decision. As does style – she prefers more fitted styles for women – something a little more up-to-date than the traditional box-shaped yellow raincoat.

When it came to specifics, John said that he prefers a full-length shell (which goes over the hips) with 3-ply Gortex membrane. And Glen named the Marmot Essence as his favourite pick because of its combination of compactability, lightness and the “pit vents”. Tristan mentioned how raglan sleeves were important to him. That refers to the lack of stitching on the shoulders, which is better for wearing when you are wearing a pack. He also appreciates a good hood brim.

We also asked Novack’s buyer Mike what he looks for in a rain jacket when he is ordering product for the store. He said that he looks for functional features (like venting options), the performance of the fabric, what degree of waterproofing and breathability it is (because it can vary greatly), a good warranty (because Novack’s stands behind its products) and good value. When trying a jacket on, he reminded buyers to try on the hood, making sure it fits well. Crystal added that as a bike rider she checks to make sure the hood is helmet compatable.

When we asked Novack’s owner Paul he, like many others, stressed the importance of weight. When he wears a rain jacket, he doesn’t even want to know he is wearing it. He also mentioned that when wearing a wind proof fabric, it creates a 40% insulation factor so that you can get multiple seasons out of your jacket.

Tell us! What do you look for in a rain jacket? Have a favourite brand you have fallen in love with? How did you weather your first storm together?

Travelling in different countries can be quite the experience. As a traveller visiting a foreign country it is imperative that you learn to adapt. You must learn to adapt to new cultures, new languages, new food, and odd looking wall outlets?!? Yup, we are talking about adapters for your electric appliances such as shavers & hair dryers, or electronic chargers. The cultures and languages may take time and effort, but the wall outlets are easily adjusted to with the proper information; which is what we are going to give you today.

There are two items on the agenda: Adapters & Converters. Let’s start with Adapters.

Adapters

Depending on the country you plan on visiting, the wall outlets will look different than the ones here in North America (NA). In most of Europe, for example, the wall outlets require plugs with round pins, making it impossible to plug in a North American appliance with a flat 2 pin prong. Therefore, in order to use a NA appliance in a European country the first step is getting the right adapter.

There are two types of adapters: 2-pin & 3-pin. 2-pin polarized adapters will allow you to use appliances such as hair dryers and shavers; 3-pin polarized adapters will accept 2-pin or 3-pin grounded polarized appliances. The term polarized simply refers to a prong configuration that allows for only one way of inserting it. In NA, the left prong on a 2-pin is larger than the right.

All you need to do is know which countries you are heading to when you come in, and we can match you up with the correct adapter or adapters.

Converters

In NA we use 110-125VAC; conversly, Europe uses 220-250VAC. VAC simply stands for alternating current volts. Because of this difference, it is necessary to check if the appliances you plan on bringing with you are dual voltage.

For most small appliances, such as hair dryers and straighteners, there will be a switch to convert to 110-125VAC or 220VAC.

For larger electronics such as laptops, you will need to check the power adapter to see if it is dual voltage. Most new laptops will have the ability to handle 100VAC to 240VAC. If all of your electronics are dual voltage, you are set with just the correct adapters that we discussed already. If not, then you will need a converter in addition to an adapter.

Hi/Lo Converters will allow you to convert the voltage, thus allowing you to use 110-125VAC appliances in 220-250VAC countries like most of Europe. One item to note is that converters are not designed for continuous use, rather, short intervals. With that said, there are high current appliances that don’t work with converters such as ceramic hair straighteners. So if you have a single voltage appliance, it would be best to do a bit of checking to see if you can even use it with a converter.

Conclusion

Once you have the proper adapter(s), have voltage requirements sorted for all of your appliances wither with or without a converter, you will then be ready to adapt to the new cultures, languages, and food. However, if by the end of your trip you found it impossible to adapt to anything, you can take comfort in knowing that at the very least you were able to adapt to the wall outlets.

We are excited to announce the arrival of Cushe Footwear here at Novack’s. Cushe describes their style of footwear as something that was created to…

make something a bit different, unique and set apart from the masses, challenging the boundaries of footwear design rather than following trends set by others

The Cushe philosophy definitely shows in the shoe design, and is why we are so thrilled to show off the urban styles that we have brought in. We want you to look good, but also be functional at the same time, and Cushe shoes definitely offer that. We have also brought in a couple of styles that are the perfect mix of urban/travel shoe, and light hiker, for those adventurous getaways that our customer loves to take.

Have a look…

With winter weather finally rearing its ugly head, we thought a quick post about emergency car kits to refresh our memories of last years snow dump that left Highway 402 drivers stranded would be appropriate at this point in time.

The Government of Canada recommends the following for an emergency car kit:

• Food – that won’t spoil, such as energy bars
• Water – in plastic bottles so they won’t break if frozen (change every six months)
• Blanket
• Extra clothing and shoes
• First aid kit – with seatbelt cutter
• Small shovel, scraper and snowbrush
• Candle in a deep can and matches
• Wind–up flashlight
• Whistle – in case you need to attract attention
• Roadmaps
• Copy of your emergency plan and personal documents

CAA for South Central Ontario also adds rags and electrical tape to the list. For the most part, these lists are common sense to carry in your trunk year round as you never know when the contents may come in handy.

While Novack’s doesn’t have an ‘all-in-one’ emergency car kit for sale, we do have some of the items in the above list. In particular, we have the You Can Survive Emergency Survival Kit, and a handy North 49 Emergency Shovel.

The You Can Survive Emergency Survival Kit contains:

• Folding wing stove
• Solid fuel tablets
• Strike anywhere matches
• Poly water bag
• Hard candy
• Instant broth
• High energy drink mix
• Tea bags
• Sugar packets
• Aluminum foil
• Survival instructions
• Resealable top

Despite the lack of larger snacks, the You Can kit packs a lot of essentials into one small can. The best part is that the can can be used as a small pot for melting water, cooking soup, or simply holding candles.

Another item on the Government of Canada recommended car emergency kit is the a windup flashlight. Battery powered flashlights aren’t as effective in emergency situations as batteries can run out rather quickly. The Energizer® Solar™ LED Flashlight is the ideal item for your emergency car kit. Not only can it re-charge through a solar panel on the side, but it also has a hand crank to re-charge the batteries. The Energizer Solar LED Flashlight features:

• Carabiner Clip to hang light where needed
• 5 Hours of full sun powers light for ~2 Hours (solar charging)
• 1 minute of cranking powers light for 4 minutes

As we mentioned, we don’t have a ready made kit to tuck in your trunk this winter in case of emergencies, but we do have some key pieces to any emergency roadside kit. We highly recommend reading the lists of items from CAA, The Red Cross, and Government of Canada to make sure you are prepared for this winter on the road.

Drive safe, and be prepared!

We are doing a 12 Days of Gift Ideas blog post each day counting down to Christmas…for those waiting until the last minute for gifts. You can find previous days here. The posts will feature a gift each day for the Camper and Traveller on your Christmas list, as well as a Unique gift for the person who has everything.

Yesterday was all about the feet, while today, Day 11, is all about the hands. There is only one thing worse than cold feet, and that is cold hands.

We will be back tomorrow with with our last day of gift ideas before Christmas! You can also download our 4 page Novack’s Christmas Gift Guide for 100′s of ideas and 1000′s of items.

A part of the series: Novack's 12 Days of Gift Ideas