The previous review was written by me, and I am retracting it. The review was really for the previous year's Glacier pack -- not the one I received. I liked last year's a lot (see review), but this year's is being sent back. First off, it's so small that it looks like a purse on my back. That's the main problem. Actually, that's the big problem. A small problem was that this year, they don't actually have a fleece pocket like they had last year. But I don't care if it was lined with golden fleece, it's going back because it looks like a purse. Dakine, good job not making fanny packs, but don't make purses for guys either. Come on now.

I have about 30 days on these pants this season, with high praises and a few minor complaints. The fit is great and the belt system rocks if you lose some weight. If you're athletically built and eat steaks and drink beer occasionally, arcteryx will fit you. If your tall and eat 6 gram of granola a day (only), patagonia will fit you.

Onto the problems. First, the chord that tightens the bottom to keep the snow out always loosens. I am about to tie it in a knot, but then it won't be adjustable so I haven't done it yet. Second, the side vents come open at the top after a full day-- slightly annoying and didn't happen with previous arcteryx pants. Why not 3 zippers? Then it could be all three be zipped down to the bottom.

All in all, quality is great as you would expect from Arcteryx and you won't be disappointed. Highly recommend.

Dakine definitely nailed this one. This is a great inbounds pack. It really does have a fleece GOGGLE pouch, which works great by keeping moisture and scratch makers away from your spare goggles. This pack has the best hydration system there is-- even better than my Black Diamond 32L Avalung. It's insulated and easily accessible because the zippers are very smooth to open and the mouth thing doesn't move around more or less than you want it to. The Black Diamond is great, too, but always takes two hands because of a tough zipper and improper compartment sizing. The bladder is just the right size, too-- you don't really want more than 70 ounces on your back even for a full day at the resort. I say stop by the water fountain during the day once or twice for additional thirst. The main compartment is perfectly sized for an extra layer, lunch, camera, wallet, keys, etc. Another thing-- this works better than a bigger out of bounds pack because it doesn't have all these loose straps hanging everywhere on your back, that inevitably tangle with the lift chairback. Also, this works better than a fanny pack, too, because fanny packs look so lame. Great work Dakine! Thanks for not making one great pack and for not making fanny packs!

Yes, I snapped the laces after 12 days. What's more disappointing is that these boots seem to completely hurt my feet on the outside fronts I have never had this happen with any other snowboard boots or any footwear for that matter. No heat molding. Without heat molding, you have to break these in, but by the time they're broken in, the laces snap. Disappointing. I have bought other boots and I am sending these back to Burton. Yes, these things are the stiffest things out there. I am an expert and could handle them, but these are not beginner or even intermediate boots in my opinion. I am going with something a bit softer that's more comfortable.

I demoed these, Fischer Wateas, Rossi Scratches, and Volkl Gotamas. I really like the Gotamas, too, but I wanted this ski to do everything and the Gotamas seemed a bit too wide for my skill level (approximately 7/8). I have skied these (185s) in all conditions including deep powder. I definitely think I made the right choice except I could use more width in deep powder. That was to be expected though, so I am very happy. I also weigh 190, so these would provide more float for a lighter skier riding 185s. I like the twin tips because I sometimes need to go backwards when stuck in a tight tree/rock situation on steeper pitches. I think these are more of a bridge between regular skis and fat skis than they are a bridge between fat skis and park skis. Anyone looking for a fat, but not uber fat ski, should have a look at these. You don't need to have any experience in the park to appreciate these. Graphics are really nice.

I really liked these boots-- great comfort and fit and flex -- but I broke the lacing system on the first day. The flex is supposed to be a 9 out of 10 on the 32 scale, but the Forecast is much stiffer, and even it is nowhere near as stiff as the Burton Driver X. This is really a medium to stiff flex at most-- I don't think you can really crank BOA hard enough to have a stiff flex. The BOA system literally came out of the boot when I broke it, so it was unfixable. Sent them back. I am not sure what happened here-- I am 190 lbs and very strong and ride very hard on double blacks, but I am also not hucking 25 foot cliffs like Travis Rice who rides DC BOAs for 290 days a year. The adjustment mechanism was really great-- I just wish it was stronger. I ordered the 32 Prime, which has bullet proof regular laces. If you do 50+ days a year and are a big strong hard rider, I don't think I can recommend BOA. If you're lighter or a more mellow rider, and you want the much easier adjustment system, this boots for you if you want a medium to stiff flex. BOA works for Travis Rice though, so who knows, if you're light, acrobatic and crazy, it might work for you. You won't be able to get it replaced as easily as Travis though if you break on day 30 or season two. I do know that laces have been working perfectly longer than snowboards have been around.

I have two pairs of these and lots of replacement lenses. I moved to these from the SPY Orbit, which are smaller and seem to therefore obstruct more of my vision. I have a big head though. I really like the gemini system on these lenses-- apparently, the space between the lenses is a vacuum so no moisture can get in there. Moisture between your lenses is like the blue screen of death for goggles. I don't know if it's true about the vacuum, but the guy at one of the ski shops around here told me about it and he seemed pretty credible. I can tell you I have never fogged these things between the lenses though, and I have POC Iris X's that I fogged between the lenses walking fast from the parking lot on a powder day. I can say these are 5 stars, but I don't love them because changing the lenses is always several minutes of pure frustration. I always bring 2 pairs to the mountain in case I face plant and/or fog the inside of a pair. That means on sunny days I have to change out and bring mirror and orange, and on powder days I bring yellow and orange. So I am always changing these things out. Should I buy one more frame and have a mirror, yellow, and orange, or should I wait until goggle manufacturers figure out that changing lenses SUCKS. I think I'll wait-- I've got it down to 4 minutes now. Wash your hands before changing lenses, you don't want to smudge your lenses. Also, they say never to touch the inside of the lenses-- I would like to see someone change a pair of goggle lenses without touching the inside of the lenses. Seriously, YouTube it.

I really like these shirts. I have 3 and I cycle through them as I ski and outdoor. The zipper really does well-- it never slides down even a little bit, which is a problem on lots of zippers-- if your a zipper-neck wearer you know what I mean. It also never yanks on my 4 day beard, which is nice. The warmth is great, and these never get smelly. I don't get smelly in general (I smell better as the days go, I am not kidding, they should bottle me), but this shirt doesn't even take on my good smell after several days. Odorless totally. This shirt is also good for working out. I don't work out in it, but I look like a fatty in it if I don't work out and I look totally ripped if I do, so it's a motivator. Also the zipper comes all the way down to the middle of your chest, which is very functional for letting the heat out, or attracting the ladies if you've gone down enough double-blacks to put some hair on your chest. I also like that the shirt is a little long so you can tuck it in and it doesn't come up. Great overall. Very durable-- I have washed and worn these many times and they still look new.

I bought this jacket to wear under my gore-tex shell on cold days snowboarding or by itself on warm days snowboarding. I have ended up wearing this jacket every freaking day so much that it's a little weird. It just always makes sense to wear it. I wear it to snowboard in, I wear it to work, I wear it to coffee shops, I wear it to parties, I wear it to the hardware store, to the post office, to hike in, to the gym, to shop for other jackets, I wear it in my apartment in front of the mirror to see how I look in it since I wear it all the time. I'm like a Linus with his blanket with this freaking thing. If you like to wear a variety of jackets for different occasions, this is not for you. If you want one jacket that works perfectly for all conditions, is durable, weatherproof, warm, cool, and does not have an in your face logo on it, this is for you. I don't know what will happen in summer, hopefully I won't carry it around.