For casual water bottle needs and the day to day, this bottle does the trick. For expeditions, especially with cold weather, I would go for just a standard cap because if you've taken Camelbak nozzles into the snow, you know that they are problematic with freezing. The same goes for this bottle.

Unfortunately the tab that helps flip the spout open broke off so it's harder to open the spout, but it still works. It leaves no taste in the water. It's BPA-free if that's important to you, though I'm not sure I buy into the whole BPA-free craze because I'm not sure what they're replacing the BPA with and whether that's really any better. I'm sure we'll find out in a couple years.

To be honest, I'm not a fan of the 0.75L size (it was a gift). If I were to buy my own I'd get the 1L. Not much bigger and the extra volume is worth it.

It is a joy to drink out of. It's basically an adult sippy cup, and for those of us that would drink out of actual sippy cups if it were socially acceptable, it's perfect. No spills, even when driving or walking.

In my experience Smartwool socks are worth it. These are warm and cozy and just feel great on my feet, even for a full day of hiking or mountaineering. when combined with sock liners they're fantastic.

I found them true to size, though for socks that's usually pretty easy. I wear a 12(US) and the XL is great.

They have been very durable for a three and a half years of use with almost no wear to date. I have three pair and rotate them, so they do get a pretty light duty cycle. One pair did pill when I forgot to turn it inside out before putting it in the dryer, but it's still very usable and that was my fault. Normal wool sock care still applies: turn them inside out and use gentle wash cycle and avoid the dryer when possible. I line dry these whenever I can.

I have two pair of these and love them. My feet are much more comfortable after a long day in the ski boots. They're even great for BC skiing and skinning. They pad all the right places and aren't too bulky, but are still nice and warm. Combine them with sock liners and my feet are in heaven. Can't recommend enough.

They have also proven to be durable over the past couple seasons. I turn them inside out and avoid putting them in the dryer when I can. I have put them in the quite a few times and they were still just fine, but I avoid it just to be safe.

I have size 12/eur 46-47 feet and the XL was just perfect.

I converted the missus' board into a splitboard over the summer. She hasn't used the board yet so I can't say much about the functionality of it (though three of our BC buddies have converted boards and absolutely love them). This review for now is just for the conversion process:

The instructions were ok, but not great. There were things they probably should have said but didn't, so I'll dock it a star for that. I found these instructions very helpful: http://splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5801

The hardware was all solidly built and the pieces were all there, with the exception of a single bolt missing for the T-nuts. I found that a standard snowboard binding bolt fits just fine so I used that. In the end it took a an hour to cut the board on day, a night for the inside sealing to dry, and several hours the next day to mount everything. It wasn't too bad a job, provided you have the right tools (drill, countersink bit, boring bit, good saw, etc.). I was skeptical of the whole splitboard idea because it seems forced (why not just learn to ski? honestly!), but Voile has done a bit of clever engineering here and I have to admit that this system is well designed. In the end it was cheaper than either a "real" splitboard or lightweight snowshoes, and now the board is BC ready. Can't wait to get out there this winter and see how the missus likes it! I'll update this review later in the season.

I covered the process in my blog, with pictures: http://socalmountainadventures.blogspot.com/2009/08/splitboard-for-carie.html

I've had this helmet for four seasons now. I originally got it because I had a different helmet that was uncomfortable from a different brand, and no more! I wear it all day without problems, even mountaineering and BC skiing. It was true to size; just use a measuring tape to measure your head and order the one that fits right for you.

It works great with goggles or glasses. For lift-skiing I usually use goggles and for BC I use glasses and both are plenty comfortable.

The venting is not the best, but it's for snowsports. I mean, come on. I still wear it mountaineering and on the ups when I'm BC skiing and I don't overheat. I guess if you were getting too hot you could take the ear covers off, but I've never done that. Conversely, it keeps my head warm in most conditions, though sometimes a helmet liner is necessary for the extreme colds, but a thin polypro liner or balaclava fits underneath just fine.

I especially like that it's toughly built; it has a nice and sturdy ABS shell and is not just a modified bike helmet like many other ski helmets out there. I have whacked my head soundly on many a low hanging tree branche with this thing but it protected great and lived to protect again.

I love this jacket. It's comfortable and fits very well. I have a medium and I'm 6'2", 150lbs. It's long enough but not too loose. Looks great in nearly every setting.

I use it for most of my skiing and all of my ski touring and climbing. It's nice and warm and holds its own against water. The taped seams help quite a bit. The water resistant zippers for the pockets are a nice touch. The inner fleece is very soft and feels great. As a softshell it's a little bit light to use in extreme cold, but wear several layers underneath and it does plenty well. I have yet to try it as a midlayer under a heavier shell, but it would work great fit-wise. We'll see if the coming winter pushes me to that.

As a very minor quibble, after two seasons of keeping the cuffs loose the stiff side of the velcro is wearing the softshell material a bit at the inner edge of the flap for the cuff cincher. It's very minor and some fabric tape will take care of it, but it would have been nice if OR already did that.

These skins work well enough. They climb and grip well, even if they don't glide as well as mohair. The glue is plenty sticky and has held up for two seasons, though I hear that it doesn't last forever and re-gluing is perhaps not worth it. The actual skins are the standard in the industry, though a certain upstart company founded by the designers of the original Ascensions sells better skins online for much cheaper. You probably know who I'm talking about, and after buying those for the missus' splitboard, I can say the hype is true and they are significantly better than BD skins.

The clipfix works well in theory though there are major drawbacks. You have to size the skin length right, which is no big deal. It even works fine with twin tips. If you live in a place with dry snow, as I was when I bought these (northern NM), it works just fine and you can forget about it. If you experience wet snow, as I did when I moved so SoCal and as I do when I visit the family in the Pac NW, you will discover the shortcomings of the clipfix. When skins get wet, they stretch. On my 175cm skis they stretch as much as 1-2cm when wet, allowing the clipfix to just slide off the end of the ski as if it weren't there. I bought an STS tail kit, though I haven't gotten around to putting it on yet. Not pleased with the clipfix in wet snow.

Also, like most people my trim tool broke when I was trimming the skins and I had to finish it off with a razor blade.

Even so, when the glue on these gives it up I'll be eschewing BD and buying "climbing skins direct" from that other company whose glue is better, who has better attachment systems, and whose trim tool doesn't break.

I saw these on Bonktown for the same price as normal bottles, so I thought I'd take the plunge and see what the fuss was about. When you first start using these, you probably won't notice a difference. You might even be disappointed, like I was. It's not like the bite valve on a Camelbak bladder, it's basically just self-sealing valve so you can squeeze water into your mouth and not have to worry about opening and closing the top.

When you will notice how great these are, however, is when you go back to a normal bottle and have to open and close the top. It's amazing how fast you get used to the ease of the Podium and get annoyed by the annoyance of the valve on normal bottles. I can't go back now.

Some have said that they're too stiff to squeeze; I found them to be just fine. They are stiffer than other water bottles, but because of this they stay in the cages better, even when mountain biking.

They're not dishwasher safe and the valve is kind of a pain to clean (the long thing brush for cleaning the Camelbak hose works great for this), but it's absolutely worth it The taste is absolutely perfect: not a trace of plastic. And like I said, once you get used to it you won't put up with your old water bottles.

This bag fits my sabretooths just fine, even with the long center bar. Grivels have that accordion thing which makes them less compact, but BD crampons are great for this. It protects other gear nicely and the daisy chain is great for tying it on outside of the pack, which is where I like to carry my crampons. Drainage is fine, though I still store my crampons out of the bag for drying.

Note: You need to put your crampons point-to-point for this (or nearly any) bag to work well. Points will obviously go through the mesh and can go through the walls with a little effort. That's not a drawback of this bag, that's just a consequence of not using a metal box to store your crampons.

I've always used All conditions wax. All conditions means it's got to work in at least one condition, right? I've used both this and the Swix and find them comparable, with the Dakine significantly less expensive. It also doesn't adversely affect my skin glue, which is a plus. Either way, waxed certainly beats the pants off unwaxed. Whenever I find that I seem to be getting worse at skiing, I rewax my skis and find that it was the skis, not my skill level that was deteriorating.

First, mine broke after a few uses. The plastic snapped on half on one side, allowing the file to simply fall out. I kept it in my closet when not in use and did not carry it with me, so I am inclined to believe it was poor construction. Some marine epoxy later (amazing stuff) and it works again. I filled a fair amount of the ribbing with the epoxy to strengthen it against future breakage.

That said, it works great. Much easier and more precise than a plain file, much less expensive than a professional edge tool. My edges are pristine now with very little work.

I can't wholeheartedly recommend it because it broke so easily, but when it does work it works well.

These were my first pair of crampons and I loved them. I used them mainly for ski mountaineering but have done plain snow travel on them as well. They fit on alpine and AT ski boots as well as mountaineering boots just fine. In addition to moderate slopes, they actually handle steep snow very well. I tend to just keep them for the steeps and skin on the shallow. I have used these for front-pointing up 45-50 degree couloirs and they performed flawlessly.

Any of the Raven series ice axes are great. The heads are very comfortable, fitting in the hand perfectly. No other ice axe is more comfortable to carry. My friend has the Raven and it's a good axe, but the Raven Pro is lighter weight while still feeling just as solid. I have a 50cm axe because I use it for ski mountaineering and it only comes out for the steepest snow slopes. It's great for stability and self arrest.

This beacon is incredibly easy to use. Put it in the hands of someone who's never used a beacon before and they'll figure it out in two minutes. Practice with it regularly and you get incredibly fast.

It has lackluster support multiple-burial situations (the importance of which is a hot debate I won't go in to here), just be warned if that's important to you. Otherwise make sure to read the manual and turn off beacons as you find them.

The harness is much improved over the old version. It's a little bulky, but not uncomfortable.

Bottom line, I use this and all my partners do as well. I'm willing to trust my life to it and so are they.