Review: Hiplok Z Lok Security Tie

First off: the Hiplok Z is NOT a lock that you should use to secure your bike when you leave it for any length of time out of your sight. They don't even really call it a lock, but a "security tie". It's designed as a secondary lock, or one you use when you only need the bare minimum of security to dissuade those opportunistic thieves who don't necessarily have bike lock cracking tools on them.

For the gram-counting roadie types out there, this is a great option, as it's very light, coming in at 20g. (yes, you read that correctly--less than an ounce) The Hiplok is also fairly short, so you may not be able to use it through your front wheel & frame--it doesn't fit around that space on our Yuba Mundo, but it does on my commuter. However, because they're so small, these locks are extremely easy to pop in a pocket or a bag when you're on the go.

Think beyond cycling for a minute--yes, I do occasionally think of things other than bikes, it's surprising, I know--to some other ways you could use a little security for your stuff.

We used one when we were camping on Newcastle Island last year to keep the infamously persistent raccoons out of our food cache box, since the little buggers have figured out how to knock sticks out of the hasp.

Hiplok can provide just a little more security to attach almost anything to a rack or railing--think snowboards, strollers, kayaks at the dock, kids scooters, or skateboards when they're not using them at the playground.

Back to biking, I use it to attach my helmet to my bike & to immobilize my rear wheel. Hiplok can help attach bikes onto car racks, as well as keeping other kids off your kid's bike at the playground.

You can pick these up at your local bike shop, like Velo Star Cafe. $29 for a two-pack

Disclaimer: I received two Hiplok security ties from VeloStar Cafe to review. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. The words & opinions are my own, as always! 

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Gear Review: Abus Montrailer Ace MIPS Helmet

Abus Montrailer Ace: Stormtrooper Style?

This review has been a long time coming! I got the chance to test out the Abus Montrailer Ace mountain biking helmet in the summer, & got it in time for our camping trip to Newcastle Island. I wore it for two longer days of riding (note: long for me means I was wearing the helmet for two to three hours) in warm weather, as well as a little rain. I wore it to work some more in the fall & meant to write about it before winter hit... but then I got hit by a car.

I was wearing a different helmet that day, so can't give real world crash test results for his one! Sorry! The resulting concussion meant I needed to drastically reduce screen time from late October into December to recover. So here we are into February & I'm finally getting out from under the pile of things on my to do list.
Off we go! Let's start with style, shall we?

When you're wearing a bike helmet--let's be honest--they all look somewhat dorky. If you're going to wear one (not getting into that debate here) it's basically a choice of what kind of dorky you want. Sporty/Space robot dorky? This one is for you! The Abus Montrailer MIPS gets bonus points for unique style. The air vents & overall shape create a space age look in a matte black. It also manages to look a lot less bulky than other Abus helmets; giving you less of a "mushroom head" when wearing it.

Minimal mushroominess!

The visor, which flips up into several different positions to accommodate goggles (I don't ever use them, but you can see a pic here of how the Montrailer helmet does this), is quite large, solid & translucent to block sunlight but doesn't come that close to your face to impede visibility. The Abus Montrailer comes in six different colour schemes: black, mostly white, or black with turquoise, yellow, red, or pink accents.

Okay, enough about looks, how does it feel on?

The Montrailer features a dial adjustment at the back, which is easy to use on the fly. The chin strap adjusts the usual way but I found it a bit short. Though I don't have a particularly long face, there is a bit less than 2cm of slack left in the strap. The side part around the ears was a little fiddly to get adjusted but both the side straps & under the chin stay put well & haven't moved in the time I've been wearing it, unlike many other helmets I've had. The buckle is the lateral sliding magnetic type, which generally avoids pinching the neck.

Does it ponytail? YES, IT DOES

This helmet is definitely designed for a more oblong shaped head, I'd say--longer front to back than side to side. It's higher at the back than the upright city cycling helmets that I typically wear, so if you have a more forward leaning riding position on a drop bar bike or sporty mountain bike, this helmet will allow for that without getting pushed forward when you hunch your shoulders. This helmet also comfortably allows for a ponytail or braids to come out the back. I could have actually had my ponytail higher than shown in the pic here.

If you're buying one of these online, & can't try one on in person, I'd highly recommend sizing up a bit. The helmet comes in just two sizes--medium 55-58 cm & large 58-61 cm. Despite following the measurements on the website, I found the Abus Montrailer medium to be tight fitting because the MIPS inside takes up a bit more space. The MIPS is intended reduce injuries from rotational sort of impact--for more details on that technology, see their website here.

A look inside at the Abus Montrailer MIPS 

I assume because of the MIPS the Montrailer is somewhat heavier, weighing in on my kitchen scale at 438g. I don't find this particularly heavy, however, & tend to prioritize durability over weight when it comes to helmets.

Which leads me to my next question, what about quality?

The Abus Montrailer feels well made. The exterior shell is bonded to the foam & the various parts are precisely made & fit well together, including the sturdy hinged visor. The visor is actually one of the things that helmet companies often seem to skimp on, but Abus hasn't here. That thing is not going to break off & end up in the gutter on a ride. The more durable exterior coating extends around the underside of the edges to protect the foam when you're putting it down. The X-Static pads inside seem good quality & have padding everywhere that your head is likely to contact the inside of the helmet.

The Abus Montrailer Ace is the top in a line of three Montrailer helmets, with the Montrailer & Montrailer MIPS. The range varies from $225 for the Montrailer up to $300 for the Montrailer Ace MIPS (in Canada).

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Book Review: Walking in the City with Jane: A story of Jane Jacobs

Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs is an engaging picture book aimed at kids aged 6-9. Author Susan Hughes provides a fictionalized retelling of the life of Jane Jacobs. If Jacob's isn't a familiar name to you, she's one of the world's greatest urban thinkers & activists. The book is a great introduction to the ideas of civic engagement & city planning through the lens of urban life, as well as touching on the history of New York & Toronto.

As an advocate for active transportation, I love that this book helps explain the idea that cities are living, breathing entities, & it's possible for ordinary people to influence how they work & make them better for the citizens who live there. There are so many small details that can serve as a jumping off point for further discussions about how cities work, like the mechanics of gas, water, steam, electricity, sewage.

As with most picture books, the artwork is crucial & this one does not disappoint. Stylized illustrations by Valérie Boivin perfectly evoke the eras covered by the story, with a muted watercolour palette. The last pages of the book include a brief biography of Jane Jacobs.

Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs is published by Kids Can Press, available in hardcover for $20 CAD at bookstores & online.

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Vancouver Spray Park Challenge

Our cargo bikes parked at Connaught Spray Park in Kits

Earlier this summer I was poking around the Vancouver Parks Board website & came up with the idea to make a list of all the spray parks in the city & try to visit every single one this summer. I made a checklist (of course--I love checklists!) which you can grab from the Vancouver Family Biking Facebook group in the Files section, if you want it.

We haven't made a huge amount of progress, despite the summer being half over. Here are the spray parks we've been to so far.

Connaught Park

Geese having a drink & pooping at the edge of the Connaught Spray Park

This one is a bit off the beaten path for us, but we trekked over to Kits to see it after going to the Let's Go Biking Book Launch event along the Arbutus Greenway. It is right along the 10th Avenue Bikeway, so it's quite nice to ride to.

It is a cute little spray park with painted concrete surface, several different sprayer things, no water guns & SO MANY GEESE. The geese mostly stayed away from the kids, moving back & forth from the field to the edge of the spray park while we were there. Until the water sprayers turned off after the kids took a break for a while. While the kids were playing in the adjacent playground, the geese invade the middle of the splash pad & POOPED all over it. Bleagh.

Linny runs through the water spouts in Harbour Green Spray Park

Harbour Green Park


This is a park we often bike through on our way to & from Stanley Park, but we rarely stop at. The spray park is very minimalist, no rainbow coloured pipes or giant ladybug things to climb on, but more like a fountain. Nonetheless, the kids looooved running around between the spouts of water. There are plenty of shaded benches on either side & the mist from the water blows over toward them intermittently, which is fantastic on a hot day. The park also has public washrooms on the south side of the spray park & it's easily accessible by bike as it's right along the seawall.

Relaxing in the shade as the kids play in the "stream" at Prince Edward Park

Prince Edward Park

This is our default spray park, only a few blocks from home. It features a small splash pad with a variety of sprayers & water guns, a bioswale artificial "stream", public washrooms, plus a large shady area right next to the spray park that has a couple of picnic tables. There is a good playground with lots of swings, as well as a small community garden & a playing field--definitely a place you could spend the day with kids.

I'll post again once we've visited a few more spray parks in the next couple of weeks. Have you been to any of Vancouver's spray parks? Which one is your favourite?

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Review: CozyPhones Kids Character Headband Headphones

Recently we had the chance to try out one of the cutest sets of headphones out there: CozyPhones.

These kid-specific headphones are a soft, fleece headband that has a pocket inside which holds flat speakers over the ears. CozyPhones Kids Character Headband Headphones come in all sorts of different animal styles, including unicorn, bunny, fox, panda, frog, monster, & cat. There's also a set of Paw Patrol characters if you have any small fans of that show in your home.

I actually came across CozyPhones about a year ago when I was looking for something I could wear to bed to help me sleep without having anything inserted in my ears. This is basically the origin story of the CozyPhones company: Paul, a veteran, had trouble sleeping & getting back to sleep at night, so he was looking for something to wear in bed to listen to podcasts or music. After finding a lot of expensive & fragile options out there, he decided to design his own & CozyPhones was born. Along the way, he added a children's line, with characters designed by his daughter. CozyPhones have also become a useful alternative to earbuds & headphones for children with cochlear implants, or for kids with sensory sensitivities.

The Kids Character Headband Headphones work the same way as the adult ones, with speakers inside a band that lays flat around the ears, so they're comfortable to sleep in, even for side sleepers.

I like the fact that they're mostly soft for durability. B is very hard on electronics & has broken other styles of kids headphones in various places. The flexible fabric band of CozyPhones is something she can't break, thankfully!

The headband comes in one size, which fits my biggish-noggined kids (age 4.5 & 7.5). The braided cord is about 90cm long, coming out the back of the band & the stereo plug is the usual 3.5mm.

If your child sleeps with headphones, or you travel a lot, these headphones are pretty fantastic. The main downside is that they could potentially be too warm for kids who 'run hot' or warmer climates. The headphone part inside the headband is also not fixed--you can easily adjust the position of them, but you can also pull them right out of the band at the opening in the back.

CozyPhones Kids Character Headband Headphones currently retail for $18-22 (US) online.

For more information on the kids headphones, or the adult version, visit the CozyPhones website, & check them out on Instagram.

"My son has cochlear implants and with the placement of them we thought it would be impossible for him to be able to use headphones. Thanks to cozyphones that’s not the case! Thank you so much 😊" - Maria C.

A post shared by cozyphone (@cozyphone) on May 28, 2018 at 9:55am PDT

Disclaimer: I received a set of unicorn CozyPhones Kids Character Headband Headphones to facilitate this review, but was not otherwise compensated for this post. Opinions are my own!

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Review: The People's Poncho

Vancouver is a rainy city, with about 150 to 200 days of rain per year. Since biking is how we get around the vast majority of the time, we need to have decent rain gear. I've gone through many many iterations of cycling rain gear over nearly two decades of biking for transportation. My current setup for most short rides--like the commute to school, or getting groceries--is a rain poncho & rain boots.

I'd been using the poncho I bought from The Bike Doctor several years ago, which did the job, but a few things about it annoyed me. I'd been looking online at Cleverhood as well as The People's Poncho & thinking of getting myself one for my birthday later this year. After a few conversations about the two brands, I'd settled on a People's Poncho, not the least because of the price.

The People's Poncho has a big, adjustable hood

I was surprised to get a FB message from Johnny, the guy behind The People's Poncho, offering me a free one. Wow! I headed over to pick it up at Sidesaddle Bikes, which is currently the only place you can get them in Vancouver. I can't say I usually look forward to rain, but I was eager to try this thing out! Then the temperatures dropped five or ten degrees below seasonal average, it snowed a crap tonne (for Vancouver), & I was more concerned about warmth & staying upright while riding.

Finally, a weeeeeek laterrrr, Raincouver was back to normal & I got to try out my new rain duds. First off, the poncho is a lot nicer to put on. Like my old poncho, the neck hole is still too small to pull on over a helmet. The People's Poncho is closed with snaps & has a waterproof gusset--no scratchy velcro like my old one that usually scraped my nose as I pulled it on--which sits nicely over a warm jacket & doesn't feel too snug at the neck.

The People's Poncho has a few biking specific features: loops under the front side to hold on your handlebars, an elastic waist belt to keep it from flying around in the wind, plus a large, adjustable hood that does fit over a helmet. I like the placement of the handlebar loops--they were easy to find "blind" under the poncho were just wide enough for my Bakfiets handlebars. They also sit well on the M-bars of my Brompton. One downside to the loops is that water does seep through the poncho onto my hands where the loops are stitched on. Of course, my hands are still a lot warmer & drier than when I use my rain coat, so I'm happy enough with a drip or two.

Poncho + cane = warm, dry hands

When I drape the poncho over my handlebars, I find it protects my legs down to about the knees. My rain boots are nearly that high, so I don't need rain pants for shorter rides or in lighter rain. This is a huge bonus for me--I hate taking off my rain pants when I get where I'm going. Soooo awkward! If it's windy the rain can blow in from the side from about mid thigh down, but I haven't really gotten damp enough to need to change my pants at my destination.

The belt on The People's Poncho is a little low for me, but I've got a hilariously short back & high waist--this poncho is a unisex fit & since the belt is elastic, I can usually keep it down over my hips well enough.

Unlike my old poncho, which was only for cycling (super awkward to walk around it because it was very long in front, while short at the back & didn't cover my arms) The People's Poncho works well for walking too. There are three snaps along the hem on each side to make it into "sleeves", plus the adjustable hood has a stiffened brim to help keep rain out of your face. Both pedestrians & cyclists can benefit from the reflective piping on the shoulders & hem of the poncho.

MOAR POCKETS

I could see myself using this poncho on a bike with the snaps done up in the summer, when the weather is warm enough not to care about getting my hands wet. I also used it while walking around the Woodland Park Zoo when we were visiting Seattle during Spring Break. My hip was sore that day so I was using my cane & found the poncho to be great for this--my hand stayed dry & a bit warmer, unlike with my trench coat.

My old poncho always stuck to my legs in the front, dripping water all over my shins. I like the length of The People's Poncho & the way it hangs kept me dry when I was walking to & from my bike or wandering around at the zoo. The shoulders are quite wide & rounded & the fabric is somewhat stiff, so it's not necessarily a very flattering fit. I also found that I still got damp shoulders, just as I had with my other poncho, but this is basically condensation from being slightly overdressed, not leaks. I am one of those people who always overdresses--I'd rather be sweaty than too cold! The People's Poncho is made of triple layer breathable membrane, with a waterproof rating of 12,000mm that consists of Japanese polyester, TPU coating, & tricot knit on the inside. Of course, no waterproof gear is really ever that breathable, so I'm not too concerned.

Rain insurance: the People's Poncho + gumboots

The People's Poncho has a pocket on the front of the chest with a waterproof zipper. It's not large enough to fit too much stuff, but do you really want a big lump of your possessions flapping around in front of your chest? For the minimalists among us, who hate bringing a bag or purse if at all possible (raises hand) this is handy for the bare essentials. Most of the times it's kept my phone nice & dry in there, but it did seem to leak once--not sure if the water got in through the zipper or possibly before.

The last thing to mention about this poncho is how compact it folds up. The People's Poncho comes with a small pouch that has a waist belt on it, so you can carry it over your shoulder, strap it to your bike, or wear it as a fanny pack. It's quite convenient to toss into a bag in case of rain.

The People's Poncho is $120 at Sidesaddle Bikes, & with shipping & the exchange rate will cost you about the same online. (hint, hint: support your local bike shop!) The poncho comes in five colours: yellow, red, navy, black, & camouflage.

Disclaimer: I received a free poncho from The People's Poncho to facilitate the review. I was not otherwise compensated for writing this piece. Opinions above are my own, technical specs come from the People's Poncho website.

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