The 2005 version of the Spoonbill is my all-time favorite ball cap. Close and adjustable fit, a nylon fabric that dries quickly, sheds both rain and snow, keeps the sun off. The long bill that keeps the sun out of your eyes. Can get a bit sweaty when I'm active in hot weather, and has the stains along the crown to prove it. But overall a nice outdoors hat: a simple piece, nicely rendered.

The '09 version of the Spoonbill, now the Vented Spoonbill, replaces the nylon in the sides of the hat with some sort of mesh. This is chillier in cooler weather, but does ventilate better when it's hot. The mesh is fine enough that you won't sunburn through the mesh, and it seems pretty sturdy.

My main gripe about this version of the Spoonbill is that the fit has changed. The cut seems to favor those with rounder heads, whereas my longer front-to-back head seems to constantly be distorting the hat slightly. In a breeze the fit has to be really snug to keep the hat from flying off, to the point that it leaves an impression in my forehead. Not pleasant.

So, an OK hat, biased toward warmer weather use, but not (my opinion) as good as the earlier version of the hat. I'll be interested to see what the next version of the Spoonbill looks like.

This shirt slots into the same category as Patagonia's Capilene 2 - loose fabric that moves moisture really well, dries quickly, but seems less sturdy than whatever Patagonia uses for the Cap 1 line.

As to the shirt itself, I like the fit, the fabric feels comfortable against my skin. Like Cap 2 this shirt has the feeling that wearing it it is literally drier than bare skin. This shirt, with its aerated weave, is less protective against the sun than is Capilene 1, and as the air cools down any breeze gets right to you. But for those warm days where getting the sweat off your body is paramount this shirt is great.

Used these for snowshoe outings, ice climbing, and bashing in to ice climbs. Reasonably warm, stay pretty dry, good leather palm and fingers. The outer shell is not softshell, so dexterity is not what it could be, but that keeps them lighter and makes snow slide off. Grip is excellent. They don't dry especially fast, but not bad. I'd prefer to have a removable inner glove for faster drying. No foam armor, so I dinged fingers while ice climbing. BD don't bill these as ice gloves so I knew the risk. Overall a very usable glove for all sorts of winter activities.

These gloves have an incredible fit and great dexterity. The softshell makes them just cling to your fingers. Nice gauntlet, light removable liner. No waterproof barrier, but I've become used to using (and drying) softshell gloves for the backcountry. I've actually been looking for gloves like the Pursuits, but actually these have a fatal flaw - no leather up the fingers. Not even one! Not only is this a wear issue, but the smooth softshell fingers decrease the dexterity. You only need to have a carabiner squirt out of your fingers a couple times before you stop using these. A shame really because the Pursuit has a lot to like otherwise. I'm hoping BD will come out with an improved Pursuit 2 next winter.

Design is simple and clean. Shell material is snow-shedding and at least a little stretchy. No insulation, just a light wicking lining. Used for bust-ass skiing or snowshoeing, spring skiing, summer mountaineering these are wind-resistant and comfortable. The leather palm and fingers give solid grip, but otherwise is problematic. The leather absorbs water much more readily than other gloves I've used and takes a long time to dry. I treated with Nikwax glove treatment, and found no improvement. Further, the leather hasn't proven especially sturdy, at least not compared to other gloves I've used. Because of this issue I can't recommend them, but they do have their good points. If you find a leather treatment that CAN make the leather water-resistant you might well have a decent utility glove.

These are brilliant ice climbing gloves - the fit is snug, well-placed foam armor, waterproof-breathable insert, removable warm liners, sturdy softshell outer with good leather on palms and fingers, and excellent precurve to the fingers. I wanted to like them so much! I've been looking for an ice glove with a removable liner for a while now; these seem to be perfect. Unfortunately they're just too bulky for me to handle gear in them. But if you CAN these are great ice gloves.

This is a comfortable, close-carrying pack for a day out climbing, hiking, etc. Light fabric to keep the weight down, good shaping for a close fit, clever attachments for ice tools or trekking poles. No crampon attachment; I added some stretch cord to the back using the sewn-in tabs, and this works just fine. The foam back pad is too small and too thin (my opinion) for a bivy pad, but does shape the back nicely and protects my back from getting jabbed by pointy things in the pack. Top liid is a little small. This fits with the overall streamlined lines of the pack, but I prefer more space for organizing stuff for ready access. Support is what you'd expect from a light frameless pack, but shoulder straps are nicely padded without getting bulky. I like it.