The Residences on Marine is being developed by Atti group and will be a boutique mid-rise building. Located at 1327 Marine Drive in West Vancouver, the Residence on Marine is centrally located at the entrance to the Ambleside community of West Vancouver, featuring Ambleside Park and Beach, as well all the shops and services along Marine Drive including its popular Farmers Market on the weekends.
The Residences on Marine will provide its homeowners to the best of the North Shore and Vancouver. With single-level living, featuring modern, open floor plans, attention to detail and high-quality craftsmanship.
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This is not an offering for sale. No such offering can be made without a disclosure statement. E.&O.E.
Crest is Lonsdale newest development being built by Adera, the multi-disciplined organization known for creating homes with West Coast style. Crest is located in the heart of North Vancouver Lonsdale corridor on the corner of 8th and Lonsdale at 150 East 8th Street.
Crest will include 178 one, two and three bedroom homes (including 17 townhomes) with underground parking over two buildings all designed in a West coast modern design and architecture that Adera has become well-known for. Some homes will feature Private roof top patio, stunning views of the north shore mountains and and downtown Vancouver
Building amenities include a bike room, guest suite, party room, fitness studio, billiards room and much more. In addition to great condos, the location offers easy accessibility to golf, local parks, restaurants and other entertainment sites, too.
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E. & O. E. This is not an offering for sale. An offering for sale may only be made after filing a Disclosure Statement
Back in 2011, developer Ledingham McAllister bought the old Safeway distribution centre and dairy plant with an ambitious vision in mind. It isn’t often that a fully masterplanned development like Southgate City comes to a major city like Burnaby. This new condo development will become an integral part of the skyline in South Burnaby. As envisioned, Southgate City will include up to 20 condo towers of between 24 and 46 storeys in height, and a variety of low- and mid-rise buildings, all of which combined will consist of about 6,400 residential housing units that will support a population of 20,000 people. The pedestrian- and public-transit oriented development is planned around a five-acre central park that will serve as the Southgate City’s core feature.
The 60-acre development also includes numerous smaller parks, creek-side greenways and open areas, all of which are designed to help foster interconnection between all of its residential and commercial elements. This planned interconnectedness also includes easy access to the rest of Burnaby, and greater Vancouver, via road upgrade connections, pedestrian/bicycling paths, and its proximity to the Edmonds Skyway Station. Proposed commercial ventures include a gourmet grocer, cafés, community shops and restaurants. A new community centre is also included in the plans. The final result will be a stunning community developed from the ground up.
Southgate City will rapidly become one of the most exciting places to live in all of the lower mainland.
With the first building, Precedence, starting sales soon; home buyers will have the opportunity to secure their view of what will become the definition of master planning. Residents will be able to wake up and look out to the green space, fountains, and inviting public spaces. Driving to the hottest restaurants and shops will be a thing of the past with the best that Burnaby has to offer just steps away.
What sets Southgate City apart from other developments is the attention to detail put into every aspect of the design. There are plenty of new condo developments to see in Burnaby and surrounding areas but few, if any, offer the total and complete lifestyle that Southgate City will offer. A new community centre is just one part of the plan that aims to provide residents with a superior living experience in the heart of South Burnaby.
This will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting, inspirational, and popular new condo developments in Burnaby and the entire lower mainland. Stay tuned for more news and developments about Southgate City as construction moves ahead.
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This is not an offering for sale. No such offering can be made without a disclosure statement. E.&O.E.
Main & Twentieth is a collection of 42 boutique one bedroom, two bedroom, and loft homes with stylish interiors, open layouts, generous outdoor spaces, and a beautiful, lush central courtyard. Located at the corner of Main St & E 20th Ave, Main & Twentieth is surrounded by all the eclectic shops, restaurants, schools, transit and diverse community resources that Main Street has to offer.
PARK HILL is a new community coming soon to Langley’s Willoughby neighbourhood, located off 68th Ave and 201 St, in a peaceful residential neighbourhood giving you room to breathe. This boutique collection of 2 & 3 bedroom townhomes and contemporary 1, 2 & 3 bedroom condos is located in a quiet residential area nestled against 1,200 acres of lush parkland and community trails. Park Hill has two phases of development. Phase I is over 80% sold and moving quickly. Register now to have our team contact you with details about our remaining inventory, and for priority access to Phase II.
Chelsea Mews is located in a prime area of North Vancouver with views of Lions Gate Bridge. Situated on a quiet cul-de-sac, it’s just steps away from public transportation and Norgate Park, plus our homeowners will only be 10 minutes from transit connections that will whisk them to the heart of downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park. Chelsea Mews is also conveniently situated within a 10-minute radius of many attractions and neighborhood amenities such as Park Royal Shopping Centre, Capilano Mall, Grouse Mountain ski resort, Save-on-Foods, and Steve Nash Fitness World.
When a major-player in the backpacking market like Osprey decides to make an ultralight backpack you can be sure that there’s going to go a ripple through the scene. I was lucky enough to receive a Osprey Levity 45 backpack in August 2017 for testing and have put the pack through it’s paces in the last six months. Here’s what I liked & didn’t like about the new ultralight backpack from Osprey.
Disclosure:This article has been supported financially and with gear from Osprey. As you know: I’m keepin’ it real and tell you how it is - I maintain full editorial control of the content published on Hiking in Finland. Read the Transparency Disclaimer for more information on affiliate links & blogger transparency.
tl;dr
The Osprey Levity 45 is a great lightweight backpack which carries loads up to 10 kg in comfort. The Airspeed back frame should be especially useful for hikes in hot environments, while the highly water-resistant material of the pack has kept my gear dry while backpacking for a week in Scotland. I would have wished the front and side pockets would have been more stretchy, but other than that this backpack is well made and should be an ideal choice for those who have used heavier backpacks in the past and look to lighten up. For all the details watch the video and read the review.
The function of a backpack is to carry your gear in comfort from A to B. The idea behind an ultralight backpack is that it isn’t weighing 2+ kg empty, but significantly less, making the hiking part of a trip more comfortable. The backpack also should protect your gear from the elements and allow fast & easy access to important pieces of gear which you need on the go.
Features
Straight out of the Levity and Lumina (the Lumina is the female version of this backpack) Owner’s Manual, here’s the features of these pack:
A fixed top lid with one zippered pocket
Two removable side compression cords
Dual access fabric side pockets
Bellowed front fabric pocket
Top lid cord loop attachment points
Sternum strap with integrated safety whistle
Internal main compartment compression strap
The pack is made from two materials, the Main material is a NanoFly™ 100D Cordura Nylon x 100D UHMWPE Ripstop while the accents are a 30D Cordura Silnylon Ripstop. Both materials seem to have a DWR coating.
Technical Innovations
I’m hard pressed to give Osprey here any points: Ultralight backpacks have been around for many years, using equally or more advanced materials (like the material still commonly known as Cuben fibre, Silnylon, XPac and mixes thereof). I could say that the Airspeed frame, which allows for air circulation between your back and the main compartment of the pack, is an innovation in such a light pack.
Quality
The pack is well-made as you would expect from a brand like Osprey - they know their trade and how to make backpacks. So expect when you go to the store to get a Levity that it will hold up to many years of backpacking.
Weight
My Levity 45 weighs 751 g in Size M. Please keep in mind that this is a pre-production model and the ones hitting the stores are expected to weigh 810 g on average!
In use
The Levity 45 is with its 45 l volume a good pack for long weekend trips or one week-long backpacking trips without resupplying, as in carrying all the food for one week. It’s going to be a tight fit at the beginning of a trip, even with a UL baseweight, but the more you eat the lighter it gets 😜. The main compartment swallows all my gear - shelter, bivy, mattress, quilt, stove, spare clothes and puffy jacket - with room to spare for food, an extra lens and the Mavic Pro Drone. The shoulder strap is not too wide, which means I can attach my Capture Clip to the pack and have my camera always at the ready.
When packing the backpack it’s important to pack smart, as the main compartment is not a round barrel but has two corners at the bottom which can stay empty if you don’t pack with a system - I stuff my bivy and some socks into these fins, and then come quilt, mattress, etc. If you don’t do that you’ll end up with empty space, and if you go out with a full week worths of food then that empty space might be needed. So pack smart! On the inside you also find a reservoir sleeve for a hydration system if that’s how you roll, I haven’t tried that as I use 1 l Platypus bottles and a Kuksa for water.
The side pockets as well as the front pocket (which is bellowed, that means it does expand a bit) are not stretchy, which means you’re limited in terms of how much gear you can stuff in them. Of course the pockets on the Levity are more durable than mesh, but if you like to carry some extra stuff on a trip that doesn’t fit into the main compartment then mesh outside pockets were usually there to accommodate that stuff, but not here. For that the Levity has some loops on the lid, to which you could attach some extra gear. I haven’t tried that, and also imagine it’d be difficult to attach some apples or other fruits to these loops 🍎🍉🍒😄.
Back to the pockets, these were fine to carry my water bottles, snacks, a big-ass tripod and extra clothes. The side pockets can be accessed from the top or the side, I can so for example get my Kuksa out of the side pocket when I want to drink and put it back in. As they don’t stretch it can sometimes be a bit difficult to stuff gear in the side pockets when the main compartment is already filled with your gear, so keep that in mind if you carry a tripod. The zippered lid pocket is fantastic, has a keychain hook inside, and swallows an incredible amount of gear - I carried my GR1 pocket with batteries and cables in it, plus some more stuff - all goin’ easily in there.
The Airspeed backpanel does it’s job well, with the aluminium frame keeping the mesh to your back and allowing for airflow. What I really like, though, are the shoulder straps and hipbelt. These have been really well designed and are very comfortable, also if the pack is fully loaded with 10+ kg of gear & food. The foam which is wrapped by a mesh is pretty durable and adapts well to your shoulders and body, making for a comfortable carry all day long. The same goes for the hipbelt, which is pretty minimal but wrapped nicely around my hips and helped transfer the weight to them. I think the carrying frame system of the Levity 45 is very well made, and if you hike in very warm environments then I think this pack should be nice, as with the Airspeed backpanel and the airflow it allows it should possibly make you sweat less.
The side compression cords which are on the pack felt a bit useless to me, I still think that the compression system of the ULA Ohm is one of the best ones out there. The compression strap on the inside is a nice idea, but I tend to forget that the inside strap needs to be connected to the buckle on the inside, so sometimes I just don’t use it. The drawcord works well, though the point where the cord exists the fabric looks a bit weak to me and could be a point of failure.
The material of the Levity seems to have a DWR coating, especially the not transparent material with the white grid (see here) kept the rain at bay, while the transparent material started to let some water seep through after a week in the Highlands. To be 100% safe I still would recommend to pack critical gear (quilt, down jacket, dry socks) in a waterproof drybag.
Could be better
I will repeat myself here, but: I wish Osprey would have made the side and front pockets more stretchy so one can easier get things in & out of them or over-stuff them.
Competing Products
I have reviewed half a dozen backpacks here and used probably more than triple the amount in the last 10 years, but there’s just a handful of UL packs which have a ventilated backpanel, like some of the ZPacks packs (which are a bit lighter but more expensive), and of course you just could go with the Osprey Exos which also has an Airspeed backpanel.
Bottomline
Does the market need another ultralight backpack? If that’s a question which is in your mind after you read this, let me say: Yes. We ultralight backpackers life in our own little UL Bubble, where we don’t see a problem with ordering a pack off the internet from a cottage manufacturer halfway across the globe - but we’re really not the majority. The Osprey Levity brings ultralight backpacks into the big stores and so in front of the eyes of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts who will love this pack - not only because they can choose from three different back lengths, but also because they can try the pack on before they buy it! I remember me ordering my first pack online some eight or nine years ago, it was quite an adventure to find out the right length I’d need, getting it through customs and all that. It’s not a process that many people want to go through, and hence it’s amazing that we have a lightweight backpack like the Osprey Levity now in stores across the globe.
And yes, the Levity backpack itself is also really, really good. It has some things which Osprey can improve upon when the next version of the pack comes around in a couple of years, but overall Osprey has done their homework well and has produced a very good backpack which will satisfy many backpackers. It’s lightweight, made of durable and water-resistant materials, has Osprey’s All Mighty Guarantee which lets you send in a damaged pack and get it repaired, and is also very comfortable to carry with a 10 to 12 kg load. It has everything an ultralight backpack needs as well as a backpanel which increases airflow, which should make it perfect for those super-hot summers we are getting these last years across the globe.
Where to buy it
The Levity is still so new that you right now only can pre-order it at Bergfreunde and Alpinetrek.co.uk. I’ll update this post once other stores start to have it in stock, but expect them to hit stores soon. And yes, please go try the Levity at your local Osprey Shop so you get a feel for what an ultralight backpack feels (I promise, you’ll love it!).
Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this article to help finance the website. Read the Transparency Disclaimer for more information on affiliate links & blogger transparency.
Park House is a new development with two 6-story buildings in the Cambie Corridor location. Between Winona Park and Langara Golf Course in South Cambie neighborhood. Marine Gateway, Oakridge Centre, and a future proposed Canada Line station are just steps away. Park House will offers 86 condominiums 1-3 bedrooms. It will raise the bar for luxury with Italian kitchens, featuring Miele and Gaggenau appliances, hotel-inspired interiors.
I love winter, skiing and my family. So naturally the best thing is to combine all these things into one week of family fun and head to Vuokatti!
Disclaimer:This trip was made possible with the help of Visit Vuokatti who arranged accommodation and activities for us. This does not influence the article as I maintain full editorial control of the content published on this site. Read the Transparency Disclaimer for more information on affiliate links & blogger transparency.
Off to Vuokatti
For the third time in a row - after a visit to Pyhä and Hetta in the previous years - we packed our winter gear, warm socks and skis and travelled North to experience a proper Finnish winter. Though while in the years before we travelled really far we didn’t want to put that stress on us and our kids of then 1 and 5 years, so after some research we found out about Vuokatti, one of the most snow-secure ski resorts in what we still consider Southern Finland (technically it’s probably the South of Lapland, but lets just say it ain’t as far North as Ylläs, Hetta and Saariselkä).To Vuokatti from Vaasa it are only 400 km which you can drive in a day with some proper planning and keeping the kids entertained, which made it the perfect destination for us. Vuokatti actually is also very easy reached by train and bus, and with many accommodation options being within walking distance of the slopes you can also get around without a car.
Vuokatti is a fantastic destinations for families that want to ski together but don’t want to sit 12 or more hours in the car to get far up North. The 13 slopes in Vuokatti are wide & easy, there’s a Fun park with a Halfpipe and some nice big kickers, a Snowboard Tunnel and of course you can rent all the equipment right there so don’t need to travel there with all the gear along. Here’s the slope map to give you an idea; what I missed is some Lähi offarit - lift-accessible backcountry runs through the forests, but that’s really just a case of getting rid of some trees to make that possible 😜!
Lets go skiing!
Did I mention that I love skiing? Ah yeah, right there at the beginning 😄. Well, my son learned to ski at age 4 in Levi and enjoyed a short refresher with one of the wonderful ski teachers at the Vuokatti Ski School and then hit the slopes on his own. We decided to not push him and go at his own speed, which we found was the right way for us because so he gradually wanted to try bigger & bigger slopes and became more confident skiing them. It’s just beautiful to see your child share the same love for an activity you have yourself, and we are very blessed that our kids love to be outdoors and active as much as we.
It also was the first time for my wife to stand on Downhill skis, and she too enjoyed the great teaching of the Vuokatti Ski School - which is the 2nd Oldest Ski School in Finland! After a couple of days of being taught the principles of skiing whe was skiing down the hills, getting more and more confident and loving the experience. The best thing probably was after that week that she told me “I now understand why you love skiing so much!”.
And while there were some really small kids skiing we shared the parenting of our one-year old daughter, and I was taking care of her in the morning while my son & wife were skiing, and then when it was lunch time we ate a small snack at the slopes before the rest of the family went home for naps, playing Lego and relaxing I went skiing. The slopes were for me quite a good training, it was after all only the 2nd season that I stood again on skis after a break of around 16 years! Skiing in a resort is excellent for that, ingraining these movements into ones body and mind. I usually started on one side of the resort and then skied every slope till I reached the other side, where I could step out of the skis and walk with the skis on my shoulder in ten minutes back to our accommodation at the Vuokatti Suites. There’s three main lifts which all bring you all up the slope, with some shorter connecting lifts which help you to get from one end to the other one. This is how a usual day on the slopes looked according to my Suunto Spartan Ultra.
Kids Love Vuokatti!
After skiing in the mornings we enjoyed family activities in the afternoons, it’s how we roll and really like it. The highlight of the trip for our son was most definitely at the Angry Birds themed SuperPark Vuokatti, it’s a memory he looks with a smile back to and he regularly come sup to me and says “Dad, we need to go back to the Angry Birds Park, it was so fun!”. It’s memories like these that makes travelling with the family so beautiful, I myself have these kinds of memories of travelling with my parents and siblings, and it just gives kids so much more than some tangible thing.
On another day we went to play bowling at Vuokatti Bowling, which is again a memory our son recalls with joy - actually just this morning he told us the scores from our visit at Vuokatti Bowling (Him: 148, my wife: 120, me: 84 😄). The bowling alley in Vuokatti was also really child-friendly, they had a playing room for kids which had large windows which allowed our daughter to play inside but always see us. The staff was friendly and helped me figure out the “complicated” bowling computer (you’d think I’d know these things being a geek!), and the best thing is that the bowling allies are child-friendly as when our son bowled rails went up which prevented the bowling ball going into the gutter. All in all this was a great experience and we might just need to have a visit to a bowling alley with the kids again soon!
And then we went one afternoon to the Spa and swimming pools at the Holiday Club Katinkulta. Going to the Spa with the kids is all about sharing the time of who watches the kids when, so that both parents can go in piece to the Sauna, Jacuzzi or swimming. Happily our kids love water and there was both a small kids pool and a slide, which made watching the kids easy & fun. So while one of us was relaxing the other one was taking care of the kids, and after a while we high-fived and switched!
But this isn’t everything! We enjoyed some afternoons just exploring Vuokatti on foot (you can for example drive up the slopes from the other side and walk to the Café on the top!) and walking on the frozen lake in front of the hotel and watching the sunset. You also can go on a Husky Safari in Vuokatti, enjoy the massive XC skiing tracks or check out the Vuokatti Ski tunnel. There’s definitely more than enough options for none-skiing activities in Vuokatti, so just have a look at what is possible!
Hungry? Here’s where to eat in Vuokatti!
We loved the breakfast at Vuokatti Suites where we stayed (it was hands-down the best breakfast I have eaten at any Hotel) but where lucky enough to not needing to cook in the evenings as we went to eat out. Vuokatti gathers to many different tastes, from high-class Menus like we enjoyed at Restaurant Kippo and really good and tasty food at À la Katti and O’las Restaurant to more basic but good food at O’Learys, Ravintola Messi and Amarillo.
Would we go again?
We loved our stay in Vuokatti, and so did the kids. The memories we made as a family are more worth to us than a car, TV or other tangible goods - we try to raise our kids and show them that you spending time with the ones you love is the best use of money & time. It’s thus no surprise that family holidays are high on our list, and a perfect family vacation like we experienced in Vuokatti gives you memories for a lifetime. The small town just had it all: Great slopes for beginner skiers, fun and versatile activities for the afternoons, comfortable accommodation and tasty food. Add in that the people we met in Vuokatti - from the Ski instructors over the Café and Restaurant Staff to everyone else - was super-friendly and great with kids!
We stayed at Hotelli Vuokatti & Suites and had a gorgeous Suite with lots of space for us four. Our son had his own room and our daughter slept with us in the big bed, which meant in the evenings we parents could have a glass of whine on the comfortable Sofa and watch a movie on TV (which we can’t do at home as we don’t own a TV!). There was a fully-equipped kitchen in which we prepared our afternoon coffee and evening snacks for the kids, and we had our own Sauna in the Suite which was used almost every evening. The Suite had a drying cabinet which we used to dry moist ski boots, gloves and hats, and the view from the balcony over the lake was beautiful. And if the room was an indication for the whole operation, the breakfast we enjoyed each morning at the main Hotel building was just the best ever. Kids can be tricky with new foods, but at Hotelli Vuokatti & Suites they served everything we’d have at home plus some. The delicious fried eggs, Karelian pastries and lots of fresh fruit made for a good start into a new day, and the coffee was good, too!
How to get there
As I said, you can travel by train & bus to Vuokatti and stay close to the slopes and use the free Vuokatti SkiBus so that a car is not needed. That being said, a (rental) car does make things a bit easier if you come with two kids and ski gear or want to eat in the town in the evenings. From Vaasa it is a 400 km drive to Vuokatti, which takes with breaks in winter around six hours. You also can fly with Finnair to Kajanni via Helsinki and take the Airport shuttle bus and then use the aforementioned free SkiBus around town.
The Residences by Polygon at Nobel Park offer convenient everyday living amid an environment of academic excellence. Embedded in the award-winning masterplanned community of Wesbrook Village, this collection of contemporary apartment residences and concrete family townhomes is surrounded by green spaces, large playgrounds and a tree-lined greenway for the enjoyment of residents. Just down the street, the village square is animated by a growing mix of restaurants, boutique shops and services offering everyday conveniences.
