This shovel has served its purpose well. Its burly and relaiable but the neck has now become a problem. If you plan to place the shovel on the inside of your pack (truely the safest place as a avy slide would rip externally placed gear right off in an instant) then you may want to consider the G3. G3 is one of the very few who have removed the neck of the blade. For my BCA Stash pack the neck protrudes inward or outward and interferrs with other gear. Once I buy the G3 it will solve the problem but in the mean time I am always bothered by the inconvenience of the neck. See picture for example of problem

This is NOT a great townie hoody unless you like wearing purely technical gear for non-technical reasons. It is however the VERY BEST technical hoodie I have ever found other then the Lowe Alpine Ninja Hoodie of old that I suspect this was taken from. The fit is, shall I say, Fitted! the Hood is ninja like and the reason that people tend to break into a ninja pose when they zip this sucker up. the offset zipper at the top makes for a strange lay of the flaps when not fully zipped but like I said its a purely technical piece. Its function is superb. Its warmer then any other hoody I have tried. Cloudveil, and older styled OR.OR now makes one that looks very similar to the R1. I suspect that the local CO OR rep listened to my complaint when I said OR needed one too. I have a medium and I am 6,1. The fit is great but the sleaves could be an inch longer for me when using the thumb holes. I don't think I would like the balk of a Large. The bottom thin fabric is perfect for tucking into pants to stp drafts. A must have

Shoe fit and preference is very personal so everyone has an opinion. here is mine on these ill designed "runners". I like Keen the company and have an excellent pair of leather trail/work shoes, but the Powerline was a disappointment. They quickly became an everyday all-around jeans shoe. I bought them for the stone bruising plate but that seemed non-existent and I felt every embedded rock on my local open space "natural" surface trail. if I only ran on crushed gravel trails then this would be ok for this aspect of the shoe but I run on small rocky terrain and need protection on the forefoot. Next is that the show is wide and sloppy feeling. I have narrow dogs but usually like mid-width shoes. These are silly wide to me. I think it might be due to the mesh not providing any real structure and lateral stability. When tightened, the laces actually stretch away from the mesh. When pulling on the back heel tabs, the mesh actually rips. Next, the tread is not at all aggressive and does not provide good traction. There were stranger pressue points under the tongue due to the folds of the fabric and the top of the tongue often slips outside of the laced sections. These shoes were simply not what I was hoping for. maybe you will have better luck.

Great durable pant. Resists ski edge scuffs big time. Roomy but not baggy. Picture is with down pants on under during long Avy class day in subzero temps....shown jumping on a test pit (rochebloc test)

who can knock a jacket that you can sweat like a monkey in during righteous backcountry powder sessions, yet wear it to a decent dinner establishment that night...and repeat, repeat, repeat for over two years now without a wash. No smell and dirt don't seem to stick to it. Breathability is excellant for a jacket that keeps me warm up on Berthoud Pass in negative temps. Fit is superb! The hook and loop cuffs kinda suck for location of velcro but that is it for Cons. Its all pros after that. Buy it and you won't regret it! Look at the pic and see that it also is very abrasion resistant when random breackable crust eats your lunch in the trees :-)

While no one other then avy dummies owes their life to my probe...it has survived many a practice run and avy training courses. I have witnessed carbon fiber probes snap in half when jammed into hard snow and other have difficulty putting theirs together quickly but with the BCA 240 I simply toss it out in front of me and yank the cable tight. Presto! its together and ready for action. Not overly expensive either.

I have not experienced the problems others have with this jacket. It breaths well enough for a H2O proof coat and the pit zips are the factor that sold me on it. the cut is great and the hood fits and adjusts well. Its doesn't rain much here in CO so I have not been able to test that aspect but for high altitude backcountry skiing in spring/summer/fall it does the job well.

Bought this pack for the insulated harness to stop water from feezing. PROS: The space-aged material works excellent in the backcountry when accompanied with uphill slogs but the tube freezes pretty quick if ridig a lift in sub-zero temps. Otherwise the pack is comfy and after a hard 12 consecutive months of skiing, still shows no sign of wear. It holds skis well in both positions. CONS: The back holds heat and sweat somewhat, the zippers feel like they may fail but have not, the water bladder sleave sucks!...its simply too hard to access and the hanger is a joke. The tool sleaves are not that well designed but work well enough. Despite these cons, I like the pack because the water doesn't freeze in the BC---plain and simple.

While I could have squeezed a few more miles out of my rusted old 48 inches bars despite transferring them to three different trucks over the last 12 years, the time finally came when my gear demanded more space on top of the 02 X-terra. So I boned up for the 66inchers. Now, with careful planning, I can fit on two bikes, a wide-arce kayak, and a space box with just enough room to open the box. Saved my road trips from monotonous boredom.

Man these are the best caps for Yakima bars available....these end caps really cap the ends and are better then rags and tennis balls...although the tennis balls add more flavorflav.