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So last Monday, I explored Recreational Outdoor eXchange or R.O.X. at Bonifacio High Street and discovered some things on sale that really caught my attention. I bought a The North Face (TNF) Base Camp Bento Box but left behind another bag that I also liked. So last Friday, while I still have the time (and the budget), I went back to R.O.X. to see if the orange bag that I liked last Monday was still there. Unfortunately, it’s not. But there’s an orange TNF Shifty Messenger Bag in place of the original bag that I liked, I thoroughly examined the Shifty bag if I would like it as much as I liked the appearance of the other bag. I found the other bag prettier because of the mesh design in front, but the Shifty bag looks good and functional as well. I was having second thoughts about the Shifty bag because that’s not why I came back to R.O.X. in the first place so I checked out other stuff instead, while making my decision about the bag.

I was looking at the Keen products and found a cute Mary Jane shoes. I have always wanted to get a new doll shoes again, but could not seem to find the perfect pair. I’m a little picky with doll shoes because I truly loved the last doll shoes I had – I got the pair from Maphisto when I was in high school. The shoes have thick soles with wood sandwiched in the heels, And I just loved its form, it’s good for pants, shorts, skirts, with or without socks! ANd they were not too girly at all! Gosh I missed those shoes! I wish I could find another one like that. But not after I’ve worn out the new Keen Midori MJ shoes that i bought.

I was just looking at the shoes in rust and green and the next thing I know, I was already trying the black pair on, walking on it, and liking it. I think would also look goon on shorts, pants and skirt. And it’s made from Keen’s environment-friendly products of organic canvas, natural jute rubber and renewable nubuck leather. The first time I knew about Keen was about three years

Now going back to the Shifty bag, I asked a stire staff to stuff the bag so I could see how it would look, and I realized how big it was. It’s like as big as a medium duffel bag when fully stuffed so I bought it because I love big, versatile bags.

Now I’m thinking if I should just bring my Bento Box and a small backpack (maybe my Hedgren backpack) on my next trips, instead of bring my 65L TNF pack. And now I’m using the Shifty bag as my everyday bag. :)

I love my new gears and I just cant wait to go out and explore some more!

Related Posts:

Never Stop Exploring, R.O.X. Bonifacio High Street – part 1/2
My Hedgren Great American, HGA 16 Function Travelgear
Other posts under Gears and Gadgets

Recreational Outdoor eXchange or R.O.X. at Bonifacio High Street looked like it’s going to be a happy place for me and I’ve proven it just this week!

I have only been inside the store a few times and a few months ago, I went inside to look at some The North Face bags and drool on everything I see. Then discovered that there’s a registration booth on the second floor that gives out flyers for marathons and runs. And of course I picked up the reg forms for the marathons that were to come soonest since I missed Ayala’s Run for Home where my sister and brother in law joined.

Anyway, Amrei and I were in a client meeting last July 12 at McKinley Hill and decided to walk to BHS. I was wearing boots and carrying my laptop and it was a twenty-minute walk that made us sweat so much, but I enjoyed it just the same. I was so thirsty when I got to BHS but I saw R.O.X. so i passed up the drink and instead drool over some swell gears. Amrei got a beautiful TNF Surge backpack while I checked out every pack that TNF has to offer. I found myself adoring a TNF Base Camp Bento Box on sale. It’s still a bit pricey even on sale but I loved the red bag and thought that it would make for a good hand-carry luggage. I still needed to look for something else so I did not immediately buy the bag until after I checked out other stores in BHS! Save the best for last, right?

I checked out some Salomon and Deuter products but I did not like their hydration items. I also checked out Nike, but did not find what I was looking for.

I have always wanted to get a waist pack or a hydration  belt because I always lose momentum in running when I have to stop to grab a drink, and my form is poor, so a hand-held bottle would tire me and make my form worse! Too bad there’s a basic hand-held bottle (with straps) at TNF at an affordable price! So since I was already at BHS, I checked out Runnr, a shop that obviously specializes in Running gears. I was lucky that Runnr has one hydration belt that has a 22 oz tumbler, since most hydration belts they sell are those with multiple 500-calorie/5-ounce flasks.

I use two tumblers – one is a 1.5L tumbler which I use at work, and a 750ml tumbler that I use for jogging and shooting (like in commercials, movies, not the one with guns, ok?) and I lost the 750ml just recently at a Serendra shoot. Now though this new tumbler is the smallest I ever had, it’s currently my favorite and I use it at work as well!

Mine is a Nathan Elite 1 Plus from the Race/Elite Series, so it also has one flask. And since I’m not a hardcore runner and I don’t buy gels and the likes, maybe I’ll use the flask to put chocolate drink in it. ;-)

So after buying at Runnr and getting a power cord adapter at iStudio (because mine is already busted and over heating), I went back at R.O.X. to buy that gorgeous red TNF Bento Box. I was disappointed to see that there’s another bag on sale — an orange messenger bag with a laptop divider and mesh design in front! I was disappointed because I do not want to buy two bags at the same time and because the discounts do not make a big difference and I’m not one who impulsively buy things. So I only bought the Bento Box and went home happy.

I was happy because I can already cross out the hydration belt on my “to buy” list. Finding the TNF bag was accidental but buying it was absolutely intentional. I was also happy that I truly explored R.O.X. and the other shops at Bonifacio High Street and found out all these interesting items that they sell. I only used to check out Speedo and Stoked when I go to B.H.S., or look at tents and backpacks at R.O.X., and occasionally I would go inside the Nike store, where I found my first Nike running shoes two and a half years ago!

So R.O.X is right all along, we should go inside the store to get outdoor. And TNF’s motto is one that’s really for me – we should never stop exploring.

Recreational Outdoor eXchange / R.O.X. is located at Bonifacio High Street, B1 ROX Building, Taguig City, Philippines. Contact them at +632 8564639.

Related Posts:

Never Stop Exploring, R.O.X. Bonifacio High Street – part 2/2
My Hedgren Great American, HGA 16 Function Travelgear
Other posts under Gears and Gadgets

Buy a 50+” flat screen TV and get a 17″ tv free. Xbox games at 80% off. $10 off for premium external hard drives every other hour. Ipod touch bundles with $78 worth of freebies.

Literally thousands of shoppers — the escalator from the ground floor to the second floor was manned by staffs to regulate human traffic. Advisories were flashed on big screens telling guests to come back in an hour — due to the number of people that flocked the Suntec City Mall convention center at one time.

Laptops and Ipod Nanos were flying off the shelves like toothpaste. Laptop bags and gadget purses at 40-60% off. And if IT products weren’t enough to sate the appetite of bargain shoppers, Jean Perry linens were also sold for slashed prices. There were also underwears, sneakers, chocolates, and clothes.

At one part of the exhibition, there’s a dispenser of delicious milk tea in mini cups!

I said I would not buy myself anything, so I only brought money enough for food and transportation. But I ended up eye-ing a Hedgren laptop bag at $20 off. And, seeing bargains at irresistible prices, got myself a White 320G My Passport Essential portable external hard drive.

People went there to shop. At really low prices. So no one went home empty handed, so to speak.

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I’m ready for my next adventure.

When I went to Singapore, I got myself an Olympus Stylus 1050 underwater camera and an Adidas watch that can go down to 100 meters.

I have a new Samsonite camera travel bag with pockets enough to carry the Victorinox Swiss pocket multi tools that Amrei gave me as Christmas present. I’ve been wanting this since long ago.

I also bought Billabong and Voodoo Dolls bikinis to match my new Kycs swim shorts.

Tomorrow, I’ll start walking with my new Adidas Ayuna 2W slippers.

I don’t know where I’m going yet but my gears are sure to take me there.