My street shoe is a 10.5, occasionally 10. After climbing in Katanas (41.5) for the past six months (loved the fit, hated the lack of durability on the rand), I tried out 5.10 Galileos (9.5), 5.10 Anasazi Verdes (9.5), Evolv Pontas (9.5), and Evolv Optimus Prime (10). As has been noted by others, the Primes are very tight. I literally can not get my foot inside a (9.5), and the (10s) are still incredibly snug, but, i think, due to the symmetrical toe, not incredibly painful. I am only using the Primes inside, and I've kept the Anasazi Verdes for outside, since I would give that shoe the nod for edging ability (asymmetric toe and all). But the Primes stick to everything I've wanted them to inside and somehow manage to be extraordinarily snug while reasonably comfortable. So far, no signs of trouble with durability -- we'll see. So check these out - just don't kid yourself into thinking that you'll down size these much, if at all. And if the Primes aren't a good match for you, might want to check out those Verdes....

I love Black Diamond, but i feel like this is the first product of theirs that i've used that hasn't delivered. Bottom line: a glove this big needs to be really warm, and it isn't. If it was lower profile, with great dexterity, then sacrificing a little warmth would probably be worth it. I exchanged these for the Hestra Heli gloves, and those are probably the best combination of warmth / dexterity i've ever found in a gauntlet glove.

First of all, this ski is simply called the "Trouble." Don't know why backcountry has the name wrong. This ski is the same as the Dynastar 06-07 Trouble Maker, just different graphics. In short, I use the ski for bumps (it's my favorite all time bump ski) and jibbing, though I love the ski in the trees and tight chutes on packed powder days. I'm 5'11" 185 lbs., and I ski the 175 cm. If you just want to rip groomers, keep looking (it can get chattery at speed), but it's a great choice for bumps, park, jibbing.