Brad Mullins

Question for the CW-X rep, could you upload a photo of the chamois? I'm assuming it does have one...?

They're water resistant, but only if you don't go over the top of the shoe, and nothing will be totally waterproof if you're out all day. These are probably about as good as it gets though.

Once you get in all the gear that you need for 1 night, adding more nights is really just adding food. If you can do 1 night, 2-3 will be pretty easy. That's what I've found anyway.

These boots have a totally rigid, crampon compatible sole, and they are designed for technical mountaineering in moderate temps (ie...not Denali). I'm not sure that this would be the boot for you unless you are planning on needing to wear crampons. Hope that helps!

They actually will come apart. Just open the flip lock, and pull it out. I had to take mine apart to get them packed for a trip.

I would advise against the GTX. It is much hotter and it won't dry nearly as fast as the non-GTX version. The GTX really only helps if the water is below shoe line. Otherwise your feet will stay soggy longer. Keeping your feet happy is one of the most important things in ultras. Hope that helps!

I'm 6', and I always buy the long. Sometimes I can get by with the regular, but the long is always a better choice. That way you can put some of your clothes and a nalgene down in the foot of the bag to help make the morning a little more bearable. Just my 2 cents. Hope that helps!

I am 6'0 and when I weighed 195, I wore a large. Now that I'm down to 170, I had to buy a medium. Hope that helps!

This shell has wool in the fabric blend. Probably thrown in there to help naturally cut down on that softshell stank more than actually insulating. I hope that answers your question.

The solution has a thinner sole, its slightly more curved (not noticeably so), and is kind of a velcro/slipper hybrid. The Testarossa is a lace. The Testarossa's lacing allows you to dial in the fit, and they are slightly less sensitive underfoot. They are all-in-all a pretty similar shoe though. Hope that helps!

The hood rolls down and then secures with a strap on the inside of the collar. It works pretty decent, but I never roll the hood away. It looks funny, and in my opinion there's no reason to. It lays very nicely on the back and never gets in the way. Hope that helps!

The other big difference between the NeoAir and this, is that this pad is "self-inflating", whereas the NeoAir you have to blow up every time. I put the quotes in because you'll still have to do some blowing up of the pad, but far, far less than with the NeoAir. Hope that helps!

For your first question about the boots, they will fit if you get the binding sized correctly. Boots are boots, and these bindings will fit them. I'd go with the smaller bindings first, and see if they fit well, if not, send them back for the larger. As for the baseplates fitting a Burton board, they should fit if they come with the adapter plates. I'd ask a gear expert if they can check that out. Otherwise, you can probably buy them separately. Hope that helps!

I have this pack, and I would definitely say no to using it as a mountain bike pack. Its not too bad for just commuting and stuff, but I wouldn't want to use it for mountain biking. Go with the Raptor. That pack is great for riding in. Hope that helps!

I would say no to this boot. If you need crampons at all, then you should go with a more rigid boot. If you go with a flexible boot, when you step, you run the risk of stepping out of the crampon, which can be deadly in the alpine environment. Go with a rigid boot. Its worth it in the end. Hope that helps!

I'm 6' 175 lbs and I wear a medium. I would recommend going with a large. Hope that helps!

I have this board, and with a standard 8 ft ceiling, there is no way to use it over a doorway to do pullups. I had to take mine to the garage and hang it from the rafters in order to really be able to use it the way its intended. Hope that helps!

I'm 6' and 175 lbs, I wear a medium in all of the Arc'teryx jackets I've ever worn. I think it will really be a matter of personal preference. Try them both, and see which fits better. Hope that helps!

This shoe tends to run a bit small, almost half a size small. It has a medium arch height, and it is fairly supportive. I'm assuming that mid distance for trails is 6-12 mile runs, and for that, this shoe should be plenty for what you have described. I hope that helps!

I have these boots, and they are probably too soft for crampons. You want your crampons to be really tight if you're using strap style, and I think that you would definitely feel them digging in through these boots. I hope that helps!

I am 6'0" 180, and I would never go larger than a medium. If you go larger, you will have more dead space to warm up and get caught on things. If you want to fit huge layers underneath (ie. huge puffies), then go large. Otherwise, I think a medium will fit a lot better. Hope that helps!

These pants would be great for bouldering and climbing. I have lots of Prana stuff and I love it all. Hope this helps!

I wear a 11.5 street shoe, and I sized my Testarossas at a 42. You don't want these shoes to be loose or sloppy at all, and even though they are lined, they stretched quite a lot. I would not have gone any larger with mine at all. They are perfect. If I was you, I would with a 41.5, or even smaller. These shoes are super aggressive, and should be sized as such. My advice would be to try a bunch of sizes on, find the one that feels the way you want it to fit, then downsize 1.5 sizes. If you want a more comfortable shoe, you should go with something less aggressive. There is nothing worse than a sloppy climbing shoe. I hope that helps!

There are a ton of good replacement insoles. I usually always pull out the insoles first thing and put in new ones. There are several great options here on backcountry. I really like the Sole Dean Karnazes footbeds. The link for all of the footbeds is

http://www.backcountry.com/footbeds

Hope that helps!

I have the Stabilyx version of these, and at 6'1", and I get the gap with the large. My advice for you would be to live with the gap by going with a taller sock. Hope that helps!

I'd say Medium. I'm 6'0 190 and thats the size I wear. Hope that helps!

Here is a link to the Hestra website.

http://www.hestragloves.com/#/us/handskar/accessories/hestra_leather_balm/

The balm is $10 for a tub of it.

Hope that helps!

I would probably recommend the Cloudveil jacket. The outer fabric is burlier, and its made of windstopper fabric. I think it would probably hold up better in an urban environment. Its more what the jacket is designed for. The fabric is more durable than on the Ama Dablam. The Ama Dablam is more of an ultralight belay jacket. Its built for light weight and because of this, its not quite as durable even though its still a really nice jacket. Hope this helps!

This jacket is definitely burlier, and much stretchier than the alpha sl. Also, I'd say that the fit is quite similar to other Arc'teryx products. Its a great shell. My go to for everything. Hope that helps!

My sis is 5'5 115 and she wears an xs in Cloudveil stuff. Based on this, I'd say go with the small. Hope that helps!

When I started climbing, I was about your size. I had the Momentum AL, first in a Large, then in an X-large. I found out the problem is that, in the US, a 34 in pair of pants is really closer to a 36. I traded the L in for an XL, and it fit great. Hope that helps!

I'm 6'0 180, and I wear a medium. In my experience, OR products tend to run a little large, so keep that in mind.

According to the Hestra website, a Men's large is a 9 in this glove.

I have this jacket, and I love it. Its super warm, and I would think that the Absolute zero would be overkill. I've belayed long windy pitches in weather down to -15 F and was plenty warm. If it truly gets too cold while you are sitting around at camp, you could always just grab your sleeping bag. I think that this jacket would be a much more versatile choice for you. Hope that helps!

Yes this binding will work with any boot. It is like any normal snowboard binding, but the back flips down so that you can slide your boot in. As for if it will work with a K2 clicker boot, I would think that it will, but it would work best with a normal boot. Hope that helps!

1. The heel lifts are to improve performance while traveling uphill by raising your heel so that your foot is in a more natural position. This is accomplished by flipping up the heel lift wire with the powder basket of your trekking pole.

2. I do not believe that these are designated for right or left foot.

Hope that this helps!

No, you didn't use too little. Just use as much as it will absorb, and save the rest for next time. You should reapply every so often to keep the leather supple and more water resistant. Hope that helps!

First I'll start with sizing. It sounds like you and I are built exactly alike, 6'0 195lbs as well, and I wear a large. I have the Stabilyx insulated version, and I wear it all winter, on runs down to 0 degrees. However, they are probably to warm at least for me to wear above 40 degrees if its not windy. But above 40 without wind, I usually run in shorts anyway. I really like the compression that the Stabilyx offers, and I don't think that I would go with anything else. I really do love these tights, and I've had them for three years and they still look new. I hope that helps!

I have seen it in an REI store, and it is much more yellow than green. Hope that helps.

I know that for Men's stuff, MontBell tends to run pretty slim and athletic. I had a friend that wanted this jacket, but she had to end up going with a Men's version because the women's didn't have long enough arms for her. I would think that you would probably be okay, and if not, backcountry has a killer return policy. Hope that helps!

Jon,

According to Metoulius' website, the dynamic elongation is 34%.

http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/monster_10-2mm_dynamic_rope.html

Hope that helps!

I've never used these specifically, but I have used other Five Ten shoes, and I would say that the shoe should last you a pretty long time. Plus, when it does wear out the rubber, you can and should get it resoled. Resoling shoes cuts down on money, break in time, and waste. There are a few places that do it, and you can pick your rubber that you want. Just google it. Hope that helps.

It is a dynamic rope. The static number is the % stretch you would likely see if you were top roping, or had asked your belayer for a take. The dynamic number is how much it will likely stretch in a lead fall. Hope that helps!

You sound like you are built very similar to my climbing partner, and he wears a medium in this jacket. Also for further reference, I am about 6'1 190, and I wear a large in this jacket. This is both of ours shell of choice. I'm sure you will love it! Hope that helps.

I would say yes if you want the ability to layer at all. I'm 6'1 and about 180 and I wear a large. I think that I could wear a medium, but I decided that if I want to layer at all I would need the large. Hope that helps!

The answer is unfortunately yes, they do get thicker, but they aren't terrible. And they aren't as thick as a lot of gels on the market. They are less thick than Gu, and similar to Hammer Gels. I would recommend that for cold weather pursuits, keep them in an inner pocket. That way they won't get so cold and thick. Hope that helps.

I've used both and in my opinion the Raptor is far and away better. There is so much more attention paid to detail with the osprey. Bite valve doesn't flop around, the reservoir doesn't slosh around as much, you can get it sized to actually fit if you're taller. The MULE doesn't even offer a challenge.

I have a 41 inch chest, and I wear a Medium in the RDW half zip. I would recommend an XL, the cut of new Cloudveil products is not the same sack-like fit of the past. I think that the new management has decided to trim up the pieces a bit and make them more athletic. I think the XL would probably do you well with the new trimmer cut. Hope that helps.

It should be fine. If it was designed to handle the rigors of climbing and mountaineering, it should certainly protect your noggin while ski mountaineering. The thing about helmets is that you're supposed to retire them after a good hit, as they're designed to break on impact. When the material breaks, it absorbs the forces that would otherwise break your head. So I would keep that in mind. If you take a good fall while skiing, you should think pretty hard about replacing the helmet.

I've never tried the Falketind, but the Narvik has very long sleeves. Much longer than the Arc'teryx jackets that I've tried. I'm 6'2 170 with very long arms, and the medium fits me well everywhere. Its worth a shot, but I think if this doesn't do it for you, you may just have to go for the XL.

I know this answer is kind of late, but I am also a patroller. About 60 days per season. I've had these gloves for about 3 1/2 seasons, and they hold up super well. The leather turns a greyish nasty looking color, and the cloth looks gross, but the gloves are absolutely perfect structurally. They are absolutely bullet proof and super warm, and the cuffs are nice because when you take off your gloves to write accident reports, tie cravats, etc. you don't loose them. I would definitely recommend them!

Yes, any crampon should work on these boots. They can accept fully auto, semi auto, and strap, though I don't know why you would ever use strap crampons with these. I use these with the Black Diamond Sabertooths (similar to G12's) and Black Diamond Cyborgs (both fully auto), and the boots perform flawlessly with both.

For super cold temps, and low output activities like skiing where there is a lot of wind, I'd recommend going to the mitten version. The mits are waaaay warmer since all of your fingers are together and warm each other up. Hope that helps.

Everyone has different luck with cold hands, and as 10 degrees is pretty cold, and I'd say that you'd probably have better luck with the mitten version. I personally have both, and use the gloves for everything high out-put and for temps above 5 degrees, but when the winds blowing on a cold winter alpine slog, I definitely pull out my mits. Hope that helps.

I would definitely say to size up. These gloves do fit pretty true to size, but if you're looking for warmth, if its tight it won't be as warm. The dexterity on these gloves is not that great anyway, so I'd say that there would be no benefit to going with the smaller size.

I'm 6'1 190 lbs, and I wear a large with plenty of room for a down midlayer and fleece underneath. My climbing partner is nearly the same size that you are (6' 145 lbs), and he wears the small with plenty of room. If I was you I would definitely not go larger than a medium. Its a great jacket! I'm sure you'll love it!

It uses the same material for the fibers, but the different weaves and textile patterns that they use are different for different materials. The Windstopper is a different looser weave that breathes more fully, but lets in more moisture. So there is a difference in both waterproofing and breathability between their different fabrics.