Geoff Grzesiak

Got this a couple weeks ago on S&C, been trying it out ever since. Gone on a couple hikes, but have been wearing it mostly around campus. It's kind of chilly in anything below 20F, but once you get moving, the temp doesn't really matter, and when you start to heat up, the pit zips come into play. It's impressively wind-resistant, and water-resistant to keep off the heavy spring rain last week. The jacket is super light weight, soft, and durable, and it fits great. I'm about 6'1" and 145lb, and the cut is pretty snug. I can fit maybe one or two thin-ish layers underneath. People have complained about the hood being large, but I have a freakishly long neck, so it's perfect for me, plus it makes me look like Altaïr from Assassin's Creed. The hood is also wide enough to almost completely shield my face from wind, which is a plus, and you can cinch the hood down when it's crappy out. The jacket comes down past my waist, which has been nice the few occasions that I've been able to ride a bike, and the sleeves almost come down to my knuckles, but I'm totally alright with that. The fuzzy inside is also crazy soft, which is great. But, this jacket is pricey. I would make sure you snag it on Steep and Cheap if it's up, it's a steal.

TL;DR: I love this jacket. All-purpose light jacket.

Got this for my sister on her last birthday. She loves it because it's light and comfortable, and loves the fact that it still has decent pockets, and goes with a lot of her shirts. However, like the last reviewer said, this could be because she's totally still a beanpole. However, if you're very skinny, you'll love this skirt.

I got the normal, not CX, version of this knife two years ago, and it's been a great EDC and backpacking knife. It's light, and I can easily carry it with the pocket clip or the carabiner. The knife locks when deployed, which is nice. I really like how light, and yet sturdy it is, and the fact that it's so bare-bones has been great for backpacking, since I don't need an awl on a regular basis. I bought the additional bit kit, which has been nice to use with my backpacking stove. And the pliers are beefy enough to lift off the lid of my pot, and they're narrow enough that I was able to pull a tick out of my friend's back before with them. The carabiner is also a bottle opener, and while it's not AMAZING, it does the job well enough.

However, the unless you're madly in love with carbon fiber and semi-serrated blades, don't get the CX version. There's literally no difference in weight between the two, and I don't think the carbon fiber does that much to reinforce it. Plus, the regular model is quite a bit cheaper too, so there's that.

My sister got me these as an early Xmas present, so I've been using them almost all winter, skiing, riding my bike to class, or having snowball fights. They're fantastically warm, wind and water resistant, and awesome looking. Everybody who sees them goes "Whoa!" and wants to try them on. And they've been like iron nails so far, lots of use, and little sign of it. However, I do wish that not only it had a removable liner, but that it also had division inbetween the middle, ring, and pinky fingers, to stop them from getting super sweaty from being by each other. However, I solve this by wearing a pair of Smartwool glove liners under the Lobster Mitten, which has worked swimmingly.

TL;DR, awesome and warm glove, totally worth every penny.

I got this coat... two years ago? I usually wear a medium in shirts and jackets, but I'm practically swimming in the thing. That's not terrible, because I can wear a hoodie underneath. I figure I should just exchange it for a small, but I haven't done that yet. I also don't think it's as warm as everyone says, but that also could be because it's so large. It's still only a thin layer of fleece inside, though. But, it's VERY well constructed, no frayed thread or gaping seams after quite a while. I used it a lot last winter with several layers underneath. Overall, I'm not sure it was worth the $100, but it's not a bad jacket.

Got this on SAC, and I've been wearing it a whole lot this winter. It's soft and light, and fits under pretty much any other layer. It's well constructed, and the flat seams are great under other shirts. Its kind of a slim fit, but I'm very skinny so it works, but there's still some room to move. My only complaint is the hand coverings/thumb loops are really long, but they're still really nice to have, and you can always push them up when you don't need 'em. Overall I love this shirt, and I love the fact that it has a lifetime warrenty!

These gloves are warm, fit great, and decently wind resistant. Nothing you'd wear in a gale, but more than enough to wear while driving or walking around. They're a nice fleece, so they've kept my hands warm when it's wet, too. The coolest part is the touchy finger things, which let you use your iPod with the gloves on, and they work a lot better than you'd think. However, although they're great gloves, the touchy finger part kind of seems to wear out kind of quickly under normal glove-wearing use... HOWEVER, with Marmot's awesome warranty, if they DO wear out, you can send them in and get a new pair. Also, the grippy on the palms is excellent, and I wish they had put some of it on the other fingers of the glove.

Bottom Line - Warm, awesome, and functional, but be careful what you touch.

Got these shorts last year, and they've quickly become my favorite pair. They're comfortable, dry quickly, look great, and fit even better. They're great to bike to class in, and they're my go-to shorts for hiking. My gaiters'll fit underneath them, which gives me more airflow than with pants, but more protection than other shorts. And those cargo pocket/vents? Totally awesome. They're not too long, so they don't look like capris or anything, and like I said, the fitting is great. Seriously, these shorts are the bomb.