Background:

I need a pack that allow me to carry a Canon SLR with a 300mm telephoto. And, it need to pack up high so it won't push me out of the lift chair. And, I need to carry all sorts of stuff for my two daughter who are out skiing with me. And, I need a side zipper to get at stuff down low, under the camera, without having to unload the camera.

And, the Borea does the job.

One weakness is that the compression straps compress the sides of the pack. Most of the stuff I carry below the camera is extra socks, gloves and water for my two girls. So, I want to compress that stuff as flat as possible against my back. Also, I want to compress across the back of the pack to keep the camera from slipping down.

But, the nice folks at Arc'teryx sent me some extra plastic buckles that I attached to the loose ends of the compression straps so I was able to compress across the back of the pack.

I own a Northface Steep Tech snow suit I bought back in 1994. It's held up over the last 15 years, but wear and tear started to prompt me to look for a new one. What I can't figure out is why Northface just didn't continue with that model.

Soooo, there's lots of features I like; like a lot of pockets. But, there's still this annoying feature of trying to get the pants and top to fit. If I get a snowsuit that fits the upper body, the crotch of the legs hangs about eight inches below, well, mine. If I get the pants to fit; that is to have the suit's crotch and mine match better, the top is too small.

There's also a potential leak where the zipper that attaches the pants to the top and the zipper for the front of the jacket.

I know, by skiing, I'm so uncool to appreciate the loose snowboarder features of said suit.

I'm spoiled rotten by the steep tech snow suit I got back in 1994. This suit is no steep tech. The large totally bagged out on me. There was no way to cinch the suit on my body. The crotch was practically down to the knees. The medium kinda sorta fit my torso, but the pants were still way to big. The crotch was now only half way to the knees. Lack of zippers to ventilate. No cinching about the waist or torso. Basically a major devolution from the steep tech of 1994. North Face doesn't need to go back the drawing board. Just junk this design and bring back 1994--it still looks pretty cool.