Matt Oliver

I got myself on a pair of these mounted to some BD Warrants and I enjoyed them. They didn't feel as solid as my Markers for inbound skiing, though with the tandem weighing in at a scant 6.1 kilos they were perfect for ski mountaineering!

I have fit these to just about every kind of boot you can imagine: AT boots, XC boots, Mountaineering boots, Duck boots, and they have a perfect fit every time. The only downside is the 10 miles of extra strap that comes on these, but that can be very handy to wrap the two together so I can overlook that.

These gaiters are not just another tube of Gor-tex. With a scalloped design these fit to your boots better and with a taper at your ankle you get an all-around great fit! This is the same innovative design used by Black Diamond, but with Mountain Hardware’s stretch panel added into the back. In addition; the extra security of the upper snap and lower Velcro tap guarantee these aren't coming undone halfway up the route. Throw in the inverted laces hook which won't pop off and you are looking at several key features that most of the other leading gaiters don’t have individually, and none have collectively… This is why I bought a pair even though they are about 2 inches shorter than all the other gaiters on the market. The later will be why I will be returning these gaiters. They are great, but have a tendency to end up around your ankles in deep snow because they just don’t reach over my calves enough to stay put.

I love this thing so much. Size, pockets, fit, everything. This is my main go to pack for everything from simple days at the sport craigs, to mountaineering trips and even ski tours. I can fit eveything I want in it with the extendable main compartmet, or I can sinch it down for the light weight summit pushes.

This pack is perfect to fit all the esentuals in for a day at the craig, and yet doesn't bog you down once you are on the wall. The high and tight fit is so perfect I don't even feel it.
I bought this for my girlfriend and loved it so much I had to get one as well.

This is my go to rash guard for every water adventure from water skiing, to canyoneering. The thick neprene keeps my core warm, but it still vents heat through the lycra sides. Add to that the sun protection and you can't find better. I even use it to slip 'n slide down Old Main hill at USU.

I did a lot of shopping this time around when it came time to buy a new harness. It came down to the Corax and the Adjama. (This wasn't just between Petzls either) The Adjama was lighter, but I really loved the Corax’s extra waist buckle and it was more comfortable the hang in. I have put down about 500 feet in it so far this summer and couldn't be happier!

I am so in love with this thing, seriously wouldn't ever climb without it! It doesn't matter if it is cleaning single pitches or a hanging belay; the versatility in length makes this the perfect fit every single time!

I am so in love with this thing, seriously wouldn't ever climb without it! It doesn't matter if it is cleaning single pitches or a hanging belay; the versatility in length makes this the perfect fit every single time!

Don't waste the $15 on the biner.

Love the texture and the light weight cotton this shirt is made out of. Feels great and fits amazing. One singular drawback is that the sleeves stretch out quickly! Don’t pull them up unless you want to be fighting to keep them up the rest of the day.

No extra frills or pockets to weight you down. A medium inseam put these shorts just above your knee, and when combined with a gusseted crouch gives you a full range of motion without the binding up that you might get from a longer pair of knickers. The elastic waist also means you aren’t packing around the belt you used to keep them on for the approach when bouncing from route to route.

First off this book was copy written in 1996 and it is extremely out of date. Second, in an attempt to fit as many climbing areas in one book as they could, they included as little information about each area as possible well still resembling some functionality. They failed! The descriptions are poor at best, requiring you to use obscure markers like signs that no longer exists and a trail with stairs that washed out years ago. There are very few maps and the ones that are included are of whole canyons. The topo’s for climbing areas are hand drawn and that is if there is one at all. I found no use in this book what so ever.
Do yourself a favor, go to sharpendbooks.com, and get the local book for your trip. Yes you will probably have to buy four or five books over the years, but it will save you hours of head ache trying to find routes with this book and then having to go buy the local book to try and save your trip.

I absolutely fell in love when I saw this pack online. ...Then I started looking at the stats, this bag is TINY and so are the lame excuse for pockets and the postage stamp for a tarp. I passed it up and stayed with my trusty Rope Ranger.
Well my friend bought one last week and I had a chance to use it... It was just as god awful as I had feared. This pack is a super cool idea, but it needs to be much bigger, like double...

6/8/11 Ok so I used it again after like a year and actually packed it in a good mile or so approach, and it was wonderful to carry. Put my Rope Ranger to shame in that way, but was still god awful at the crag!

It is a bit valve cover... It doesn't do much. Yet what is does is an invaluable service. It keeps crap off this thing you are constantly sticking in your mouth.

The name says it all, what more can I say? The bottle is durable, the top is solid and the designs are great. The one and only down side is not being able to fit ice throw the mouth, but I do enjoy not spilling water all over myself well trying to drink on the go, so it is only a small annoyance.

I am not bagging on this pad. It is high quality. Does its job like a pro and is made out of top of the line material, but it isn't anything special. It is a little slow to inflate and the fancy pants side rails don't do anything what so ever. I like the shape more than the Therma-Rest Pro-Light+ (an equivalent pad) and it rolls up super tiny, I really like the two of these that I bought, but at the end of the day, they are just another pad...

I am not bagging on this pad. It is high quality. Does its job like a pro and is made out of top of the line material, but it isn't anything special. It is a little slow to inflate and the fancy pants side rails don't do anything what so ever. I like the shape more than the Therma-Rest Pro-Light+ (an equivalent pad) and it rolls up super tiny, I really like the two of these that I bought, but at the end of the day, they are just another pad...

The bag is warm and super light. I am still amazed how small the down packs every time I pack it into the compression stuff sack and cinch it down. The draft tube and collar keep warm air in and cold air out. The only thing that was a disappointment was I had bought the bag to mate with a Lafuma GR 1400 Lady STM that I had purchased for my girlfriend. Both bags said they were mate-able and all signs pointed to it working until I got the bags in the same room. The zippers were not only not the same length or in the same locations, despite being right and left zip bags both the zip pulls were on the top side of the zipper, meaning they were inverse of one another and not compatible. I still love the bag and am keeping it. My quest for a mate-able set will just have to continue…

What can I say more than that? The bottle is durable, the top is solid and the designs are great. The one and only down side is not being able to fit ice throw the mouth, but I do enjoy not spilling water all over myself well trying to drink on the go, so it is only a small annoyance.

These don't have the highest quality sound, but with the 11 mm driver you get a pretty serious bang for your buck. The braided cord is solid and doesn't get as tangled as the rubber coated cord of my Smokin's. Bottom line, get them on steep and cheap and you will be more than happy.

I bought these for my iPhone but found that they work well with my iPod as well. The mic button will start and stop music without unlocking my iPod and I can even use the mic for voice control. The metal breaded cord is a little stiff and can get kinked well stuffed in my pocket. I still love it though, cause these have a shorter cord that are literal they exact length form my ears to the bottom of my pocket, which prevents it for getting caught on stuff like the extremely long cord on my smokin buds.

I love this jacket. I'm a bit of a tall slender guy at 6'1" 185 lbs and have always had a bit of a hard time finding jackets that aren't a tent around my mid-section. Mountain Hardwear's slim athletic fit fits me perfectly, like nothing ever has before even Arc'teryx. Add to that the Kramer's combination of hard shell where you need it and soft shell where you want it, throw in taped seams and waterproof zippers throughout and you have a shell that can't be beat!

I was quite suprized when I ficked this lamp on for the first time. I was temporarly blinded for at least a minute from looking strait at it when it came on. Then it proceeded to out shine my more expensive Mammot, Petzl and BD lamps. My only suggestion would be to get the new modle, they added a 4th LED. No weight gain, loses 14 hours burn time (at low) but jumps from 15 Lumens to a listed 43 Lumens, and no price hike. :D

You've all read the discription above, so I don't need to go on and on about how it will lock down on it's self or how it has that awesome tension release loop. What I will say is this thing is built to catch! I've never seen a multi-funtion device give such easy catchs as the Reverso3. I almost have to fight it to let my climber down.

I've never found a good pair of climbing pants that have that freedom of a large range of motion that look good out side the gym, until now. I love these pants! 98% Organic cotton 2% Lycra so they feel great, look great but totally stretch and don't bind up on you legs and knees. I might just have a new favorite pair of pants. :)

My girlfriend got me these for christmas. For some reason she thought I needed Large rather then the Medium I am. So I had to return them and BC is sold out of Mediums. Even though they were entirely to large, I loved these! The fabric is soft and light, doesn't bunch up around your knees. (Even being three inches to long.) The adjustable waist is sweet for under the harness, can't even feel it, but holds them up where you want them well bouldering. I can't wait for BC to get them in stock.

Great fit, great feel, great looking. PrAna hits it out of the park yet again!

Very light fabric and looks great as you expect from prAna, but it fits loose compared to my other prAna organic cotton shirts and the polyester is itchy. (That might just be me; I've never liked 100% polyester...) Plus I'm a little scared it will end up like all my other polyester shirts before I know it, you know staticy as hell and develops those little lint like balls all over...

Do you have little hands? Do you have a hard time one hand opening other quick lock biners, but still want a wide gate and HMS shape? Then this is the biner for you! The only down side is that unlike it's big brother Jake it does not come in key lock gate style. Not that hook and pin are unsafe or anything, they just have a higher chance of catching on stuff. It is still a great biner with a great ergonomic shape and handling.

The slim athletic fit works wonders for my slim athletic build, and the graphics aren't too shabby either!

You got to love a good looking retro T. Backcountry never disappoints.

I'm not normally a fan of the comic strip T's. Not that I don't get a chuckle out of them. I just normally am laughing more at the idiot wearing the shirt more than the joke. It might just be that I'm the idiot this time, but I find this shirt quite amusing and just had to have it. The fit is great, as always from Patagonia, and the organic cotton is top notch.

I have help two different girls, with two different body shapes, shop for harnesses and both picked this harness. We quite literally tried on nearly every harness on the market, I believe you need to feel all your options to make a good choice. So going to every store that caries climbing gear on the Wasatch front, both tried on countless harnesses, after making there decisions we came to backcountry and got a good deal. I've even warn this harness once to belay, it is really comfy! I would recommend this to anyone who wants good solid comfort.

If you want light or cheap these are for you. I can't say they are my favorite quickdraw, but they are pretty darn good. And at $4.91 less per draw then my Petzl's, well you know why I own quite a few.

Yes they are a little pricey, but it is easy to see what you are paying for. First thing that stands out is the beefier sling. More meat doesn't always directly equal more strength, but other thinner slings will twist or swing a lot more making clipping harder, and who wants that? There is also some subconscious reassurance to hanging your life on a little more meat... Next is that huge rubber grommet. Other slings are just tighter on one end, still allowing biners to move somewhat. I’ve gone to clip other draws that will remain nameless and the rope side had been completely turned around well bouncing about as I climbed. If it had happened in a more precarious spot, I might have had a major problem on my hands. With the Spirit Express your biner aint going nowhere, hangs solid EVERY time! Moving on to the carabiners, the first thing you notice is color coded biners. This might not be the most techinacl of selling points, but it might be my personal favoret. One color to the rock, one to the rope, how much easier could it get? These biners also have keylock gates which not only make them basically snag proof for clipping and cleaning, I've been told they are also a safer design then the old pin and hook design still used by “other” companies. The old man at REI might have been pulling my leg trying to make a sale, but it worked. I feel hundreds of times better taking a big wipper on one of these bad boys, than any other draw I have in my arsenal. Bottom line is, this is your life we are talking about. Should you really be ok with cheaper protection??? I say "heck" no!

Easily stowed with one beaner, easy selection of length with its large loops, and the added safety of individually sewn loops; I wouldn't use anything else!

I love this shirt. The heavier fabric is great outdoors compared to other organic shirts that feel so thin that I am afraid to wear them anywhere outside city limits. The length took some getting used to but I like it. I'm 6'1" and fairly slender, anything but a medium just drowns me. So it was odd to have a shirt actually come past my belt. But once I got over that it might be the best fitting shirt I have ever owned.

This is quite possibly the most comfortable shirt I have ever worn. The fit is great and the fabric feels heavy duty, but soft as can be. My one and only complaint is after a few go rounds in the wash (hang drying mind you), the fabric has started to collect those little balls you get when polyester wears out. I would still by it again, just be a little more careful with how much you wash it.