James A. Welch

Excellent goggles. Upgraded from the Smith Phenoms due to my face being a little larger and needed a bigger goggle. I have them with the Platinum Mirror and Sensor Mirror. Platinum for Sunny/Partly Cloudy days and the Sensor for Cloudy/Snowing days. Great peripheral vision and very little fogging.

Got the Heritage Navy Evolve. They fit great with my Vantage helmet and feel great with a hat. Bop it!

I have the 09/10' model of this ski that has no rocker, normal camber. With that being said, I absolutely love this ski. I have the 182's mounted with Barons and use them for my everyday and touring ski. I have used them in as much as 8-10" of pow at Vail. They preformed great and were almost as fun as m Volkl Kuro's since they are smaller, more faceshots. The 'powder hull' gets lots of comments on the lift but honestly I am not sure if it is doing anything in terms of float performance.

Overall a great ski. Use them on the groomers, they rip so hard. Used them in my PSIA ski maneuver examinations and passed easily. Get em!

Great earbuds. Stay firmly inside my ear. I don't notice the cords around my ears anymore. I feel better when I wear these compared to regular earbuds that don't go around the ear. Sound is excellent. Use them mostly to listen from my iPod nano and Blackberry Pandora and have zero complaints about sound quality. Great bass and very little distortion.

Only downside is that the little skulls on the outside of the buds have fallen off. I suspect it is due to the fact I typically wear them under a hat and the repeated removing them from my ears under the hat has caused them to be torn off. Has no effect on the sound quality or feel of them, just don't look as steezy now. Highly recommended.

I have grown fond of this jacket. I wear it as an underlayer under my shell on most days including negative degree days with only a base layer underneath. It keeps me pretty warm. Also have used it on a 45+ degree day on its own with a t-shirt underneath. Feels so great and still breathes. I have the Deep Metal/Lime. I get lots of positive comments on the jacket, especially the color of the zippers.

Overall an excellent jacket as a underlayer or on its own. I wear it on my walk to work everyday in single and teen temps with only a baselayer underneath. Great warmth. Nice large hood that easily fits my helmet. Highly recommended.

Great shovel. Fits nice inside my Arc'teryx Silo 30 pack in the shovel pocket. Metal blade seems very durable as well as the handle. I like the idea of the handle sliding into the blade to prevent a lost handle. You can also take the handle completely off if desired. Orange and intense, darker than the picture backcountry has. 1111!!!

Used many times from campground camping to backpacking. Feels great, durable, awesome kangaroo pouch. Backpad can be used as emergency sleeping pad. Lots of room. The side zipper is super useful in grabbing something quick out of the main compartment. DO IT!

Use it everyday! Water still tastes excellent after 2 years and barely cleaning the inside. Changes temperature based on the water inside very quickly. I love the dents mine has accumulated. They are battle scars.

Used this pack a couple times so far. I got the regular and it fits me good. Just followed the sizing chart via Arc'teryx.com. Hiked with the pack and my skis for about 4 hours total. I am on the Volkl Kuros, which are 132mm underfoot. Pack has no problem fitting the size on the side for the A-frame carry. Have not tried the diagonal carry. Waist belt is pretty decent. Would prefer to be a little more beefy for extra support on the waist, but this pack is smaller to begin with resulting in the smaller waist belt. One thing I don't really like is the compression system. Wish it was just normal instead of the weird buckle wrap things. Tried to remove them but was left with too much slack in the straps leaving them too long. You will get use to them, just a little odd at first. Overall a good pack.

Pretty damn good boots. My foot is close to E width, more so a wide problem in the toe box, so it took a couple bumps to get it just right. Took about a week for them to break in completely. The foot bed shock absorber does well. I use them with my Volkl Kuro's in the deep fresh and they feel great. Plus they look baller, not to mention the fleece liner. Talk about a hole in one.

Awesome pants. Not super baggy with a great fit. The blacks look great. Perfect size for around the boot. Lots of pockets. The ClimaPRO material does a good job of repelling snow and keeps out wind. The vents in the crotch are a bonus! Highly recommended.

Goggles are pretty nice. Got the Platinum Mirror lens and have used it in sun and snow. Obviously works good in the sun but in the snow it can be a tiny hard to see. One thing that I am noticing is a small wind leak possibly right and left of eyes. Not sure if it is due to my face shape or the lens is not in correctly but it is not terribly bad. Overall good ventilation and fog free pwnage.

Really great pair of socks. The padding is just enough to maintain a snug performance fit on the boot. The light thickness lets it breath more and when they say they don't smell they are right. Wear them 5 days at a time during Ski School and they don't smell at all. Warmth is good for the most part when properly insulated in the core. Overall a great sock. GET IT!

Used this skiing today. Weather was in the mid 20's. I was doing some agressive skiing. Jacket breathes pretty good. Pit zips open fully, no mesh. Jacket feels very solid and durable. I am 5'11" 180lbs, athletic build. Went with the large and it fits great. Enough length on the chairlift where it wont ride up. Also, the pockets are in a great spot, had my backpack on all day with waist strap and cold fully access both pockets no problem. Recommended!!!

Pretty awesome looking bindings. I have them mounted on 185 Volkl Kuro's. No pop out issues, have been doing some jumps but not super big.

One issue that lead to me giving them 4 stars versus 5 was that after skiing them for the first two days on my Kuro's the backplate came loose on both skis. Took them back to the shop where they were mounted and the owner put some screw retainers on both back screws of both back plates. They are very solid now. Most likely an issue with the original tech not tightening them enough, but the owner commented that he has seen this problem before on a pair of rockered Armadas in which the whole back plate came of with some Baron bindings. Just thought I would throw this out there to see if anyone has had similar issues.

Overall a very bomber binding. I don't see any future problems coming up. Great looking and preforming on my Volkl Kuro's!

Finally got to ski these sheenaws in some powder yesterday here at Keystone. They own, plain and simple. Hiked up the bowls to find over 2ft of hidden powder on Bergman Bowl. They float like crazy, maybe even a little too much. No tip diving and they cruise like a GS ski on groomers, yet with powder hitting yo face.

I am 5'11" 180lbs and went with the 185cm mounted with Jesters. I feel like I could go to the 195cm but that's just me. I had an issue with the back plate of the Jesters coming a little loose only after skiing them twice. Took them back where I had them mounted and the owner put in some screw retainers on both back screws of the back plates. Most likely due to the tech not tightening them enough. They are bomber now though, but just keep in mind to check your bindings after you ski them for the first couple days.

Overall an excellent ski. Great simple top sheet graphics that still get looks when heading up the lift. Can handle groomers, bumps, any chowder without and problem. I had never skied a rockered ski before so it takes 1 or 2 runs to get use to if you aren't on powder right away.Highly recommended. You will fall in love!

Got these puppies yesterday in the Brown color. Wow they are gorgeous. Used them all day skiing powder as well as night skiing here at Keystone in Colorado. They kept me perfectly warm, no sweaty hands or cold finger tips. After applying the leather balm they look even better. A nice dark rich brown leather. Bad ass if you ask me. They fit so nice and the wool inside feels orgasmic. Great pole grip! These are modified from the racing style Hestra glove so as a past racer "I like it lot." Get em while they're hot!

These pants are awesome. Used them for 30 days straight in the Talkeetna's trekking in all sorts of weather. They are super comfortable in both pants and shorts mode. They dry out wicked quick and hardly ever get dirty. Back in civilization, I have been wearing these in both modes almost everyday. They never need washing as you just rub off anything that gets on them. Very durable and can easily withstand bushwhacking. Highly recommended!!

This thing frickin owns. I wear it everywhere. I use it as a mid layer for skiing and just by itself in the spring and fall. Super waterproof. The water just beads off when I pour it on the jacket. The breast zipper is great for skiing because it provides a nice warm spot for my phone. Highly recommended!

Great helmet. I wear it 8 hours a day to teach skiing. Pretty warm and the venting is a great feature. My only complaint is that I can feel wind hit my ears on cold windy days. Other than that a great helmet. I like the brim because it helps keep the goggles from falling back down to my eyes.

Sooo light and compact. Used it in Alaska for a month straight camping in the Talkeetna's. Woke every morning with lots of energy and ready to rock and roll. I am 5'10" 180lbs and have the regular. Fits me great. No problem sleeping on my side. Highly recommended.

Super durable and super lite. Fits nice and easy inside my Hubba Hubba tent sack.

I have the Hubba Hubba, not the HP. Regardless the tent is amazing. SOOO light and so easy to set up. I use it for any time of 3-season outside sleeping I do. Tons of room for 1 person and just enough room for 2 people and gear. The vestibules are super nice. People always comment on how cool it looks!