I also own the Vasque Velocity - the Blur has a far better fit with more room on both sides of the toe box and a well-designed, non-slipping heel fit. The Gore Tex works great - super for wet running. I also use them snowshoeing (very comfry with the Atlas' strap system), and they're great for winter backbacking - just add a pair of OR Rocky High gaiters. The fit is SO stable and very secure around the arches. Excellent for a normal to wider foot, in the normal sizing. Impressive tread.

I already owned Vasque Velocity - NOT GTX. I thought Velocity GTX would be like its non-Gore-Tex counterpart. Sorta. The ankle area is puffier due to another layer in construction. I soon noticed the left shoe had to be tied a half inch closer together than the right. After four days,I started to have pain due to the booties forming a number of lumps around the inner shoe perimeter. Thereafter, I encountered significant snow - waterproof aspect was outstanding. They are well designed and sturdy. The shoe last is a bit curved and for someone who needs extra toe box room, the little toe may feel a bit impinged.

The Active Hipster briefs are as advertised. Excellent waist construction is smooth and works well under pack belts (no bumps). Dries very fast even washed backcountry and dried by sleeping with them (days 40s, nights well below freezing). Wick as well as patagonia's "mesh capilene." Excellent product.

This is a windstop type fleece WITHOUT a barrier layer (I spoke with Patagonia directly about this). The advantage is that it dries quickly ( windstop fleece with films dries very slow, generally). In fact, I got these glove quite wet recently in snowy conditions. That night, temps were about 0 degrees. I slept with the gloves and further dried them on my warm cooking pot. The windproof fleece on the back of the glove actually dried much faster than the "expedition" fleece on the palm side of the fingers. The next day, temps. in the teens and with a breeze, the gloves, slightly damp , actually did well keeping my hands warm. That day was sunny and my body heat had them dry at the end of the day. Glove also has an excellent fit.

These platy bottles are excellent. One of those rare AWESOME additions to the backcountry arsenal. I wouldn't have tried a "Folding" bottle unless a friend had used them a lot and loved them. They are counter intuitive - it seems like they'd crack or wear, folding and scrunching them. Not so. They weigh 1/8th of a nalgene liter bottle, for the same volume. Excellent way to have extra capacity on a hike or backcountry trip. I use an MSR water filter, so I carry only one nalgene to pump into (the pump fits on that size mouth), then empty a bottle at a time into the Platypus. When they're empty, I roll them up and they take up less space than a cany bar. In very cold temps (single digits), the small opening may freeze and fill with ice, but this is easy to deal with compared to other bottles - the lid material is thin but durable, and if you hold it in your hand a few seconds, it will release, and you can get the lid off. Just dip the opening, now, in hot water (while cooking) and the ice "plug" releases. Excellent product.

A thin, low cut, stretchy gaitor. Really only for GROOMED track skiing or trail running in mild snow. I needed something heavier and returned these. The material is about as heavy as a heavy pair of tights (thought certainly more durable. Maybe a great product in the right conditions, since in general I've found OR to be a good company.