Isaac Silverman

Love this thing. Works great as a warm mid layer on icy cold days. Also great for cold days with no wind as an outer layer as it breathes really well. The slightly breeze blows right through it though.

I like how it looks (in orange) and and I get lots of compliments. People will also spontaneously pet you. This can be good or bad. It's mostly good.

THe only downside is that it doesn't pack down terribly well.

I like this softshell quite a bit.

The good:
It's comfy, breathes well, and holds up well to snow, wind, and light rain. I like the wrist pocket (I keep my chapstick there). Hood is very good--fits my helmet and cinches down tight if riding without. Everyone burns differently but I've been comfy touring in just this and a superlight merino layer down to the teens.
Durability seems good so far.

The "it depends":
Fit. This may or may not fit how you want it to. I'm in a medium (5'8" with an athletic build) and it's pretty snug. I can just barely fit a MH monkeyman fleece underneath for COLD resort days. A large would be way too long.

The bad:
My biggest gripe is the lack of pit zips. If it had pit zips I'd give it 5 stars. It breathes well but nothing replaces pit zips.

MInor gripes:
Pockets aren't usable without disconnecting hip-belt. Not the end of the world.
Wrist openings are a little snug.
No pocket for skins.

I like this softshell quite a bit.

The good:
It's comfy, breathes well, and holds up well to snow, wind, and light rain. I like the wrist pocket (I keep my chapstick there). Hood is very good--fits my helmet and cinches down tight if riding without. Everyone burns differently but I've been comfy touring in just this and a superlight merino layer down to the teens.
Durability seems good so far.

The "it depends":
Fit. This may or may not fit how you want it to. I'm in a medium (5'8" with an athletic build) and it's pretty snug. I can just barely fit a MH monkeyman fleece underneath for COLD resort days. A large would be way too long.

The bad:
My biggest gripe is the lack of pit zips. If it had pit zips I'd give it 5 stars. It breathes well but nothing replaces pit zips.

MInor gripes:
Pockets aren't usable without disconnecting hip-belt. Not the end of the world.
Wrist openings are a little snug.
No pocket for skins.

Incredibly easy to use and yields fast search times even for novices and those out of practice. (Relatively) Affordable. These are very important characteristics and make the tracker a very good choice for your first beacon and those who are price conscious.

This beacon would have received 4 stars with only minor gripes (slightly shorter range than other options, uncomfortable harness, bulkier than peers) It only gets 3 stars because the first Beacon I got started acting up after two uses and required me to whack it in order to get it to turn on. It was promptly replaced at no cost to me and this unit has been totally solid ever since, but those kind of malfunctions aren't acceptable in safety gear. It seems as if it is an isolated problem as friends have used Trackers for years and none have reported any problems.

So now that I've got a few hundred miles of technical singletrack on these I feel like I can give a fair review.

First off, these run LARGE not small. My friend's 43 Sidis are just barely too small for me and the 42s from NW fit like a glove.

Strengths:
1) It's stiff. Power transfer is good.
2) Roomy toebox. I have wide, relatively high volume feet. They fit well.
3) Good traction. I'm confident when hike-a-biking or scrambling around on a variety of terrain.
4) Buckle is easy to use and very adjustable. I love the 1-click looser feature.
5) They look decent.

Minor quibbles:
1) Buckle strap is a little high for my bone structure. On long technical downhill sections I feel it pushing into the front of my ankle. It's not a matter of tightening or loosening the strap as I've tried both, but actually where it is placed on the shoe. I was able to alleviate the problem significantly by fine tuning my cleat placement, but it is exerts pressure at times. Probably wouldn't be an issue for someone with smaller bone structure in their ankles.

2) I get hotspots under the cleats on long (2 hr +) rides. Not unbearable, or even that uncomfortable, but not ideal either.

3) Decorative white pattern isn't teribbly durable. I scraped off a sigfnificant section in a techy granite rock garden.

Unanswered questions:
1) Durability. I banged the left buckle on a rock. It still functions perfectly, but the impact did loosen it up a little. I worry that it might not survive a few more impacts like that (which happen with some regularity in the course of taking tight rock gardens at speed). On the other hand, tread wear seems good and the uppers appear relatively indestructible. If I do break the buckle I'd consider buying the 3 hook-and-loop strap version.

Bottom line: Damn good XC/trail shoe particularly for those who need a roomy toebox. An amazing value as well(I got it off this site for less), but would pay close retail if I had too.