utah whatchamacallit

My closet is full of arc'teryx so i love their stuff-but the newest iteration of the gamma mx misses the mark.

This shell is way to wind permeable. My Gamma Lt is way more wind resistant than the new MX which is sad- I formerly regarded the Gamma Lt as the jacket for milder weather-not so sure anymore. The old powershield version was more wind resistant, thats for sure. I only took this jacket ice climbing a couple of times-wind blew right threw it much easier leaving me chilled much more than the old version. It is not as water resistant as it was either with powershield.

Pros: looks awesome-very high construction build. The hood swallows any helmet. Longer arms for climbing which doesnt expose the wrists.

Cons: Not wind resistant at all-regarding wind resistance it is between
the Arc'teryx acto and the Gamma lt-Im thinking about just selling this and keeping the acto because they are so similar.
the material also is thinner than the old version with a lighter fleece-not much warmth at all is provided.
Bottom line: dissapointed-one of the former best softshells, IMO has been neutered. i wouldnt want to take this jacket in mixed weather like I did hundreds of times with the powershield version.

Unfortunately I made the mistake of selling my powerstretch Mx so I could buy the new fortius version-sad mistake.

I have had my pair for two years-love them. One thing I like about them is that they are low profile-they dont have huge cargo pockets. Consequently they are low resistance and you can run in these very well as well as climb, kayak, hike and downhill bike.

I also own the Prana zions and while they are sweet, the seams on these are much more minimal (less bulky) so I wear these running and would never wear the zions. The zions are great too-but not for fast forward high intensity, high sweat activities like trail running for several hours as these are.

These show little signs of wear after continual, hard, hard use. These are my go shorts for pretty much everything-but I am getting some arc'teryx palisade shorts so we shall see how the two compare.

Bottom line-when you want a minimalist short with tons of stretch that breathe well-these are hard to beat.

These have been fracturing on climbers for the last couple of years. This is well documented and BD fails to address the problem. All the marketing by BD regarding the benefits of SS is just that-marketing. Chrome moly is stronger than SS and will stay sharp longer.

BD is using subpar materials to save money.

Dont get me wrong, I have owned two pair of Non SS BD crampons and loved them-the sabretooths are a great design-but comeon BD, get your act togethor.

just one of the sites

> http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2012/02/it-is-dead-horse-more-on-stainless.html

These look sweet-but IMO they fog up more than the flak jackets. However, I have only used them primarily ice climbing as I got them this winter. That being said, I have used my flak jackets for several seasons and while they would fog up sometimes-the fog would quickly evaporate.
Not so with these-I have done several climbs where the fog just did not clear through out several pitches.
Also, they arent as good for climbing due to the frame below the lens. I knew that going in-but just wanted to try them out.
Overall-they look sweet-but for really high output, but relatively stagnant activities (not high speed), id definitely get some of the vented lenses.

I am personally seeing a trend on how i view arc'teryx gloves. Great construction of course, awesome dexterity, burly and rugged construction. But im not convinced they are worth double the money what other gloves are.

I had the OR stormtacker before these-and the construction is clearly not quite as good as these-but the dexterity is for sure. But on the other hand, these are a thicker and warmer glove-so somehow arc'teryx gave you awesome dexterity with a more burly build.

Being windstopper they arent the most breathable-but they are more element resistant. I still sweat them out on some ice climbs.

overall-you arent getting much with these that you dont get with the stormtracker and other lightweight windstopper gloves.

i have a love/hate relationship with these. These are the only gloves I could find fitting me needs-
1. Moderate warmth-300 to 400 grams of insulation.
2. Full leather palm
3. Under 8 ounce weight
4. Shorter cuff length than full mountaineering mitt.

The construction of course is exceptional-very burly and robust build. Dexterity is phenomenal for a mitt. But the just cost to much money. In comparison to clothing, where I feel arc'teryx is obviously vastly superior to most other outdoor brands-i dont feel these are that superior to hestra, Black diamond etc. That being said, when I went to buy these I tried on north face nuptse mitts, and many others. Compared to the Nuptse, the Nuptse felt vastly inferior and honestly flat out cheap.

the shell is a stretchy softshell material-its a tight weave that feels and has proven very durable. But i've felt similar construction with other mitts.
The Mitts are great-ive used them rapelling and belaying for ice this year and they function great.

Pros: Love the construction- Love the leather carabiner hanger. The desterity is far superior to many others.

Cons: Im not a fan of the construction of the thumb tip-its rather boxy with a bit of excess leather and when I go to "pet the dog" when boarding I am always scared I will blow out the tip like other thumbs have.

Overall-I dont know if id buy them again-id be very tempted to save the thousands of pennies and buy the BD virago mitt or something similar. My review may change with time though.

ive used these gloves to about Zero degrees so far this winter.

They are really, really thick and huge. they are So thick I cant really effectively rappel or belay with them-you just dont feel whats going on with the rope in your hands very well.

The gloves are very warm-with out a doubt, If people find these arent warm enough in temps above-10, see a doctor.

i owned the BD mercurys before these. the mercurys are noticeably smaller and have less insulation (but greater dexterity).
I may end up buying a lighter mitt because these are so big and warm-but we will see.

Pros:

Very warm-cost effective compared to similar BD gloves, Outdoor Research Altis etc, the MH masherbrum. if you want the warmest mitt for the dollar-these are likely them.

the material is rather light in areas-the gauntlet is a lightweight material which is kind of nice because it packs easier and compresses smaller. the necessary leather is in all the right spots and feels durable so far.

cons;

Very thick-difficult to do rope work at times-but that comes with the territory of thick gloves. No removalbe liner which definitely bums me out.

This is a great alternative to a down jacket. The jacket has a lower profile than most down jackets so you can actually climb in it briefly (but i wouldnt suggest for a long this due to you will overheat).

i have the medium and am 5/9 and 155. it fits well over the softshells ive been wearing. i put the theta SV that I own over this and it actually fits okay even though the theta SV is a small. But there is no need for that-the shell on this is great.

The mesh pockets are fantastic for storing gloves, energy bars, water cameras and what have you-much more user friendly than zippered internal pockets. That being said, I wish there was a zippered pocket for audio equipment/phones or just small items you want better secured.

The shell material is nice and waterproof-you can feel they taped the seams as well.

Overall a great jacket. Definitely not as warm as my down jackets such as the montane north star and no where near the warmth of the frostline by montbell (obviously).

pros: warm and wind/waterproof. Lower profile. The helmet swallows any helmet.

Cons;

The hand pockets arent lined on both sides so they dont provide much warmth-not a refuge. No internal zippered hand pocket.

the benefit of having a synthetic jacket is being less worried about the jacket-just stuff it in the pack with all the ice gear with out a compression sack-this is so expensive i wont stuff it ln the pack like i would my former montbells or mountain hardwear compressors.

The quality of course is normal arc'teryx.

These tools rock. They are so light and the pick angle is great. The first time you swing these you will notice how much lighter they are.

Also they look awesome in the carbon Fiber.

The pick has proven durable as I have pounded early season ice-or sometimes rock. The bend in the shaft is great and atleast for me allows you to pivot your hand in a couple of different positions.

Whenever i go climbing with someone that hasnt used these tools-they are super stoked and love them.

Cons:

They are carbon fiber-so they can get marred and scratched.
I wish there was a bigger hole for more options when attaching alpine leashes at the bottom.

overall-for me these are the best pure water ice tool and as grivels best kept secret.

These gloves are a much better fit than the old stoics I have tried. For me they arent warm enough for much below 15 degrees unless I am doing aerobic activities.

The gloves have great articulation. The liners are cool feeling-but not a real comfortable fleece like Hestra or black diamond for example. They are breathable for real cold tours-but obviously not like a powerstretch glove. The leather seems top notch so far as well. I appreciate the Goat leather instead of the cheaper cow leather.

These are great-really warm for gloves. Not as warm as the the Seth Morrison 3 finger glove or the Burton Ak mitt-but those are mitts.

The construction is great and should last a real long time.

One complaint is that they seem to have less insulation than the previous model and the cut is a little bit thinner-and I have fat fingers so i had to size up begrudgingly from the previous model. But this may just be my impression.

ultimately they are great gloves, probably still the warmest under cuff gloves around. The build quality is great. I wish BD would offer these in mitts too.

utlimate

These are the warmest undermitt glove around-atleast on backcountry.com.

I used them several days lately with temps in the morning around 0 Deg Farenheit.

The mitts are great. But there is some flaws IMO. First-Burton has placed a slit/cut for articulation in the thumb which leaves the the inner shell exposed. Consequently, this area has very little insulation. The first ride with these mitts, as soon as I gathered any decent speed I immediately felt the cold and wind penetrate the shell and immediately chilling my thumb.

In addition, the cut in the thumb creates a pocket which definitely begins to accumulate and trap ice and snow which exacerbates the cold thumb problem.

Second. Obviously Burton is not a company with a mountaineering background. That being said, this is their AK line-and to me they are not built Burly. Compared to several hestra gloves, Black diamond, Outdoor research and marmot gloves that i own these seem fragile. the shell material in spots is thin. In spots where there should be leather, there is nylon.

Ultimately, the gloves are the warmest undercuff mitt around. They are even warmer than my Hestra Seth Morrisons. That being said, im anticipating the hestra Seth Morrisons will last a lot, lot longer. Hopefully I will be wrong.

This jacket does not match the description in my opinion. Based upon outdoor researches description of the main body being a hard fleece, I was expecting a material like polartec hardface fleece. The main material is a very hard face-not fleecy at all. The main body feels like the OR credo jacket or like a super burly version of the Better than naked jacket by the north face. The main body is not just wind resistant but completely windproof-also seemingly waterproof. The under arm and back material is like power stretch.

The main material on this jacket isnt all that breathable-I have used it trail running four times so far-in temps from the teens to the low 40s. the main material had water beading up on the inside of the jacket while running-felt like a hardshell. It breathes better breathing than a hardshell-but not as advertised in my opinion.

To see how water resistant the main material is I placed a pool of water on the jacket main body-the water did not penetrate at all for several minutes-any material this water resistant is not going to breathe extremely well-not nearly as good as I was hoping.

I was hoping for a jacket to be more breathable than the mountain hardwear effusion I own-this is more breathable but not by much.

I will probably buy the arc'teryx acto because I really want a hardface fleece. Then I will actually have received the product I wanted.

This jacket is burly. The jacket should withstand some foul weather. The jacket has a nice fleece lining for some warmth. This shell has short sleeves compared to arc'teryx, rab and so forth. Consequently, When I lifted my arms as if swinging an ice tool, the jacket left two inches of my arm exposed from where short gloves stopped. But for activities where you aren't raising your arm all the time above your head, it should be great.
The helmet compatible hood is large. Seems on par to Arc'teryx size. My Smith Variant brim helmet fits with no problems as well as the petzl elios.
I havent worn it enough to comment on breathability.

This jacket is great for running in cold and mixed, drizzly weather. I've only used the jacket once so far but it breathes better than the old windstopper version. The sleeves are long which I like. The material has a bit of stretch in it as well. I wear a medium and am 5'9", 155 pounds and there is no room underneath except for maybe a t-shirt if you wanted to wear one.

THis hat is great. The stretch material is fantastic. I love the ferossi material. THe Ferossi shorts I own are going on two seasons (much better than the prana zions) and still look great. this hat is the same. The hat is alot more durable than the OR swift hat (which lost its shape quickly and begins to look fugly). This hat also seems to not be as easily discolored from the electrolytes you sweat out as other running hats I have purchased. THis hat is alot better looking as well. On the downside, the hat may be a little less breathable than the OR swift-but not by much at all. Last of all, when you may be sweating to hard or just want the hat off, fold it in half and put the hat on the side of your pack for a bit. Love it.

This jacket rocks. It is made of 30 denier so on the more durable side for montbell. The down is very lofty and soft. The jacket is fully baffled so very warm.
I wear a medium, I am 5'9", 155 pounds and the jacket layers well over an arc'teryx gamma mx and mountain hardwear alchemy. A large would have been to big.
I also own the Outdoor research megaplume (similar to the Mountain hardwear sub zero Sl), this jacket has maybe half an inch less of loft for alot less weight.
Out of the main brand companies, montbell is ruler-Western mountaineering, Feathered friends are Emperors. Buy montbell down, you will love it.

The material on these are pretty nice. The material is stretchy and warm. However, there are some design overlooks in my opinion.
The hand pockets are not zippered. WHY? thus when you fall or sit or whatever, snow just gets in the pockets. It seems every other winter tour pant has zippered hand pockets. Arc'teryx gamma sk, Patagonias, Outdoor research pants all have zippers.

The leg cuff barely fits over snowboarding boots. The pants were a pain to zip up. While I understand that most tourers are skiers, I would think you would give more space for skiers as well. The boots fit over my scarpa F1 boots, but not with much space.

lastly, I dont know why there is not a gaiter. why not integrate a mini gaiter of some sort. They are winter pants meant for snow.

If you get the pants cheap, they will do the job. For full retail, I would prefer the Arc'teryx gamma sk or Outdoor research Credo for some extra money.

these are nice gloves. i went to pick up a pair but the fingers are really long. I had to go down over one size from every other Outdoor research glove I own to make these sort of work. But, at that smaller size the fingers were to skinny so I ended up not getting them. The leather appears great. ultimately, if you have long fingers and want some warmer temp undercuff gloves, these may work for you.

This is a good jacket for the price. ITs about the same weight as a 200 polartec. I like the grid pattern; traps more heat and more crush resistant thus more durable. Not wind resistant obviously. I am 5'9", have a medium and the fit is great-not like The north face with way to much room around the stomach area in a size medium. Sizing is more in line with arc'teryx

I love these gloves. The dexterity is among the best there is and the fact that they are all leather means excellent durability. I buy the colored gloves (not black) so when I drop them I can more easily find them. I dont use them for winter skiing, not warm enough except for fall and spring days, but I have cold hands.

I love these tools. I think they stick better than the Petzl quarks. I had more consistent, single swing placements than my petzl quarks. They look freaking great.

My only complaint-made in china, while grivels and most of petzls products are not.

These used to be my favorite tools. I owned them for a while but sold them and bought the grivel quantum techs. The quantum techs are noticeably lighter and have a better angle for me. I think the quantum techs are the best kept secret regarding ice tools.

Works great as a wax and smells great. Youll put the stuff on your board or skis and think, man that smells good.

I love this pack. It breathes great on the backpanel and the pockets in the waist belt and the shoulder are great
The side pockets actually will hold a 1 liter bottle on each side as well-for those of us that hate camelbacks/water hoses. My only complaint, as with all osprey packs, is that they wear out under the spring frame on the bottom pretty easily and they are not meant for abuse. And i wish there was two ice tool slots for those odd days when you want an ultralight, small, breathable backpanel pack but will be climbing steep couloirs.

This tent has been great thus far. Ive used it snow storms, in the tetons in horrendous thunder storms with heavey hail/wind rain. The tent has kept me dry no problem at all. The goal of this tent is to save weight and considering its weight- you are going to have to baby the thing..(dont step on it etc..realize the fabric is thin.)
I have never used the golite center pole-just Use the BD trekking pole link and shave off over another half pound and save more space. But the BD Trekking pole link can be hard to find, so buy exras.
IT is a single wall tent, so condensation does build, but its better than being in the storm. Just bring a small towel.You really do have be willing to sleep on the ground and see the bugs crawl around you etc. You may also need to dig a moat to stop the rain from coming in if your not using a floor.
So, maybe a particular type of camper/mountaineer is needed.And for what it is worth, marmots can crawl right under the tent and eat all your food while you are dozing off for a few minutes (first hand experience)

Pretty cool shorts, but seemingly small thighs. If you bike alot or do any mountaineering on a regular basis, where your building your thighs alot, these may get small feeling. Or maybe im just getting fat. Probably fat. These are ultra durable, you can skid your arse on rock(rock climbing, down hill biking etc) all day without really worrying about it. My kid took the picture way up on Timpanogos.

This hat is warm like others have said. THe only thing I wish they would do different is place windstopper thruout the hat. In essence, the ears/ ear band is windstopper but the colored part is not. So wind goes right thru the part that is not windstopper. The top of your head is completely exposed to the wind. If you want a completely windproof hat with ear flaps, look elsewhere.

These are real easy to put on and adjust. My only complaint is that I received a pair where the bail wires were broken at the welding. Got a new pair,but you would think that voile would notice that before shipping them off. I think that having the toe bail adds a bit more precision too. Sweet

These are perfect, They climb great, are light and have an adjustable finger rest that is easy to adjust. They are great for technical mountaineering where a negative pick is necessary. One of my favoite features is that the pick is replaceable. The pick comes to ya pretty sharp as well. These tools feel great in the hand. Buy them, youll be happy.

I love arc'teryx packs. When I buy Any pack that i anticipate being abused, I will buy arc'teryx. A couple of things I wish they would change though. Why not place a hip pocket on the waist belt like osprey. Everyone has cameras, GPS ipods, food or whatever that they want real accessible. Osprey places some pockets on the waist belt, I just wish arc'teryx would.
There is no adequate water bottle holder either on the outside. I dont like camel backs and i think it blows that water bottle pockets arent integrated.Also, i wish there was some hypalon, or some durable material surrounding the ski holders. I usually use a split, but when I am booting up the mountain and carrying the board a frame, the material rubs some. Other than that, the material is bomber, the lining is nice and bright for easy visualization inside the pack. The waist belt is good, except not having an accessory pocket of sorts.

I got this real cheap, so i figured i would try it out. ITs great for routes you dont plan on falling on and where there arent any real long rappels. Ive rappelled in this and while its not the most comfortable, its not horrible. If saving weight is one of your primary concerns, you cant go wrong. Ive used the loops on the side with locking carabiners to hang my gear from and it works good. The harness is surprisingly comfortable for what it is. The material is thin, but I would be confident it will hold a fall. Its not so thin that you put the harness on and feel uneasy.

These are similar to the Grivel rambos but are so much easier to adjust. They climb great and are ultra durable. They arent as stiff as the rambos but you have more versatility with these. These are easier to do long distance approaches in etc. If you want a great, all around crampon that will literally excel at everything, these are a great choice. And they are not made in China like so many others are.

These are great for us snowboarders. These are among some of the few crampons that will fit snowboarding boots. They are ultra durable, very easy to adjust. Mine dont have any significant rust on them after several seasons. Ive walked on dirt and rock to many times to count with out worrying about trashing these. Most of Grivels gear is made in Italy, not china which is a huge advantage for me. Youll be happy with them.

Forgot to mention, these have no nose wipe. If that is important to you, you might want to look at the extroverts. Every time I wear these, I ask myself why the crap didnt OR place a nose wipe on the thumb. The material is not soft and you will find your self missing the nose wipe that is on most other gloves if thats a feature you use.

I havent used these much, however the snot wipe material on the thumb wore out really prematurely. The material actually just started flaking off and left the base shell material underneath. There was no abrasions to the area, they just wore out. As far as dexterity is concerned, they are okay. They arent real snug so they wouldnt be my choice for mountain biking etc. Good for backacking. maybe I just had a lame pair.

This is great for the price. Durability is good. The jacket is not breathable enough for active pursuits so I wear it around town. Its warm and looks good, but not for technical use in my opinion. I am 5'9" and weigh 155 and the medium fits kind of big around the stomach. But I usually wear arc'teryx, montbell etc which are much more streamlined.

I have a friend that climbed a 6 pitch, WI3 route in these. I tried them and loved them. They are great for general mountaineering as well as long as you dont anticipate excessive walking on rocks. On long distance routes where weight is pinnacle, on moderate ice routes where you are carrying 60 pounds already, these are Perfect. The steel front points penetrate well and the aluminum last surprsingly well. CAMP makes first rate products.

This tool is absolutely great. It is really sharp, the material is very durable. This is not a workhorse axe, but an axe for mountains with non technical lines like rainier, shasta, mt andromeda etc that, yeah you need an axe but you will not be bashing gear, not a huge fear of falling etc. In other words, this is a great axe for 'slog' routes. You can easily save 8 ounces with this axe over many others. Save the weight, get this. Youll be surprised how sharp the pick is too.

these are the stiffest crampons ive used. I have sabretooths, petzl sarkens and have used cyborgs. These are the stiffest and seem to penetrate the ice the best. Mono points are the best in my opinion and i have never climbed with these in dual points. They are easy to adjust and I like the anti ball plates. I dont mind walking in them for short distances, but I wouldnt want to go up rainier in them.

I love these. great for every season. My only complaint is the binary locking mechanism. The system gets difficult to push after several months use. I got rid of the binary system and placed flick lock on my lowers because flick lock is so much easier. It was a pain to try to collapse the poles every time i used them. No probs with flicklock though, Just tighten occasionally with a screw driver.

I love this shovel. Mine has been absolutely abused and the paint is scratched off but who cares. The saw is pretty decent and ive actually used it snowmobiling when some friends crashed into some trees. THe blade can bend on bigger limbs when you get going fast. Overall, it beats carrying a separate saw and shovel for space and weight. Ive never had a problem with the spring clip.

great watch, no complaints at all except I should have gone for the T4d. The benefit of having the suggestion of when to exercise after a work out would be nice. Not that I cant self gauge, its just a nice feature to have to compare to how you are feeling. When in doubt with watches, buy the product with more features.

i got these as a gift. They are great for cold dry weather. They are pretty much the OR vert gloves on steroids with much higher quality. The vert liner is much thinner, and the leather on these is top notch, while i am not really impressed with the leather on the vert. Not really water resistant for any extended period of time. They breathe much better than a laminated glove and are still warm.

Great for the price. Abrasions developed from pack wear prematurely which bummed me out. Nice and stretchy and nice price though.

Granted everyone has different shaped hands. I didnt find them to be baggy. But for me, these represent a better value than the OR gripper glove, specifically due to the full leather palm. I found dexterity to be great and not to baggy. Warmth about the same. Better grip due to the leather palm.

I rarely use these due to excess warmth. Granted the majority of use for these is in the wasatch so its not super cold. People may complain about water proofness, but these gloves are designed for temps way below freezing, thus you shouldnt have water problems most of the time. Heavy snowfall has never penetrated the mitt when ive used them. Nor the occasional direct water contact.

Ive used these for ice climbing in mild conditions and they have surprised me how long they lasted. Only rarely used to belay and rappel, mainly for climbing. The palm endured more than i anticipated. great dexterity. I will buy again.

the only thing i would change about this axe would be to place a steel tip at the end of the shaft (bottom). My tip has dulled significantly due to aluminum construction. The pick has rust in spots-but its been great. After several years of use, ive never filed the pick and it has proven very durable (forged picks are much stronger) The pick has proven to be very durable compared to former BD mountaineering axes ive had. But its double the price of some axes, so it should be more durable.

I dont like the swiveling hanger. I bought three of these for that feature and ended up selling them and buying grivels. In my experience, to try and clip in when the screw is half way ends up twisting your daisy and makes the hanger more difficult to twist. I ended up not using the hanger to twist the screw in but used the arm instead which eradicates any hanger advantage and decreases the level or torque placed-so I sold them.

Great jacket for the right price. The arms are cut alot bigger than arc'teryx so they flap in the wind on a motorcycle or road biking. My main complaint is durability. The back of the jacket around the arse wore out just due to rubbing while wearing a pack. So the jacket was returned becuase ive never had this one my arc'teryx, mountain hardwear or rab softshells.

Great jacket, the seams can get irritating. The seam in the arms gets annoying (around the elbow) when wearing a short sleeve shirt. The seams stick up a bit and not completely flat like arc'teryx
The competitor is the arc'teryx venta. If you have the money go arc'teryx, more durable and the seams are perfect. But for the price, this is dang cool.

Just forgot to mention-the arms are shorter than arc'teryx. When I lift my arms in this jacket, some of my wrist is exposed when ice climbing. This doesnt happen with the gamma mx or venta jackets.

I was surprised when I first got these-really thin and stretchy. The material has lasted far longer than i even remotely anticipated. The stretch makes a huge difference when trail running and climbing. Due to all the stretch, wear a belt when kayaking or getting wet, they will fall off. Sweet>

these are great-my only complaint is on the fingers. OR cut out sections of leather and placed soft shell material in the spaces. Great for dexterity, my only complaint, is for ice climbing that means more sewing holes for water to get in. Simplicity is key for me. Great dexterity.

I forgot to mention, dexterity in these are great, I use them for winter paragliding. With all the lines you are pulling when launching your wing and so forth, you need as much precision as possible, these deliver.

These are the warmest undercuff gloves ive personally tried. when you put the glove on for the first time you can feel the primaloft on the top of your hand-still have good dexterity too. has all the reinforced leather in all the right places-dont expect to wear them out for a long time. I bet the insulation will be worn out well before the leather. Black diamond makes some great gloves. FOr the price, in my opinion much better than arc'teryx and most brands.

These are so burly-i use them as belay gloves for ice climbing when its not real cold, for boarding, whatever. you will have a hard time wearing the gloves out. One thing i like is that the leather caps the thumb-an area ive consistently worn out on mountain hardwear and marmot gloves. They arent the warmest-but they arent meant for horrendous and very cold condtions. Love them.

These have a lower profile than the half jackets-thus they fit under a motorcycle helmet better. Also they have bigger lenses offering you more protection. Sweet

these are a lot lighter than i anticipated. The leather palm is weirdly sewn, some of the seams are sewn out. Not much water resistance, but great for touring, biking etc. Cool gloves, but prefer the mountain hardwear torsions. We will see how they perform ice climbing and follow up. Dexterity is great, on par with the outdoor research stormtracker.

great, but expensive. The dexterity is great, but i think you are kind of limited use in my opinion. The softshell material is water resistant but not intended for continuous moisture like ice climbing or wet snow. Probably among the best gloves ive felt for dexterity, but expensive. Also, when your hands arent cinched, or grasped tight, there is an excess of material over the knuckles that I have not observed in any other gloves. they are thicker than you realize also, best for really cold, dry activities where you need hand protection-in my opinion. I returned them due to lack of water resistance.

these are nice gloves, but I prefer the outdoor research stormtracker. The stormtracker is just a couple dollars more and you get a full leather palm. Dexterity is great in both, probably better in these, but I kept the stormtrackers and returned these. For me, if im wearing windstopper gloves, the weather is to crappy or its to cold to wear a softshell, either way I will probably be holding an ice axe, ice tool or something-thus I want a full leather palm. But great for trail running in really cold conditions- I would prefer power stretch or windpro gloves though due to to the enhanced breathability.

these screws have a longer handle, thus you can place more torque on the screw and place the screw quicker/easier. The older version had a problem where the handle could pop out of the hanger, but this is fixed on the new versions. Where the hanger crimped the handle, the crimping (or what ever) would come apart and thus the handle would come out-really a pain in the arse. The new versions arent crimped, the handle is completely surrounded by hanger material. Even with that problem (which you easily fix at home) these are my favorite screws.

pretty cool-really thin material. Even thinner material than some of montbells. This jacket doesnt feel like it has much down in it-but granted its only 16 ounces. However, due to the jacket being so light and not baffled, but sewn thru, there seems to be a good amount of thin spots with little insulation. For the price, i think you get a better product with montbell. I own the montbell alpine down (baffled) and this-I am thinking of returning this or selling it and buying another montbell. The montbell alpine down weighs one ounce more, is baffled and has thicker shell material-hard to argue that this is a better product. Oh, and the montbell is cheaper. Montbell is the company to beat and mountain hardwear lost here. Sorry mountain hardwear.

This jacket is great. I use it ice climbing, touring, on the dirtbikes, at the resort, everything. Taped seams, so pretty much waterproof. I love it for skiing and i actually think the hood is better than on some arc'teryx ski jackets for helmets. This has been my primary ski jacket in horrendous conditions with out any problems at all. Great jacket. Could use a couple more internal pockets though. Has been very durable for several seasons-but no as durable as the mountain hardwear alchemy-but this jacket is more versatile.

I love this jacket. Im my opinion one of the best softshell jackets for ice climbing-specifically the neck cinch so no ice chunks dont go down your neck. Not the most breathable-but very warm and form fitting. When Ice climbing, I only wear this and a arc'teryx rho longsleeve shirt underneath. This jacket is much warmer than the arc'teryx gamma mx or ar and much more weather resistant. I also only wear this jacket many times when skiing in 20 degree weather. Great jacket, cant go wrong.

This jacket is great. It is much more breathable than the gamma mx. Less weather protection. Form fitting which is great when on a motorcycle or road biking. This is my spring, summer softshell for low altitude and decent weather. Breathable enough to trail run in when temps are in the 30-40s.

dont waste your money with any other sleeping bag-these are the best. How many sleeping bags can you cross your legs in-indian style-none except montbell. SImply the best. Montbell-for the money is the brand to beat for insulation. No other company can touch montbell for innovation and price. Simple as that.

Great burly pants. Use these split boarding in the wasatch. Pretty weather resistant. yeah maybe a little warm, but they are so burly, the pants look brand new after dozens and dozens of uses. Sweet!

I have to agree with the first reviewer-these are not light weight gloves at all. I love most of arc'teryxs products, but I dont think their mid range (price wise) gloves are the best. In my opinion these are similar to the black diamond patrols-I would prefer the patrols. Less money, greater dexterity brand new.
There is a ton of insulation on the back of the hand-seems like to much insulation except for really cold conditions-and this insulation seems to reduce dexterity. I own the black diamond patrol gloves, prodigy and guides-I still prefer BD.

some have said that this jacket is a better replacement-or cheaper substitute for the arc'teryx hercules. I absolutely disagree. Polartec powershield high loft laminates the fleece lining to the softshell material while the fleece lining of this jacket is sewn in-consequntly the fleece bunches up on you and the softshell material can snag easy. the softshell material doesnt feel like it uses a perforated membrane like powershield-The jacket wet out from light snow the first time I used it-i had to take the jacket off and put my Gamma mx-alot thinner jacket but kept me dry. I spilt some food on the sleeve of the jacket and had to rub the sleeves-where the seams are welded togethor-the welding began to come undone. Arc'teryx doesnt weld any main seams because the company has found that welding actually decreases the materials strength. If welding was so great-why doesnt arc'teryx have any completely welded jackets. the articulation is horrible as well-try on any well designed climbing jacket-while you are wearing a climbing helmet you should be able to look all the way up and all the way down without the jacket constricting you-i could not look all the way up or down without unzipping the jacket. Ive never had to do this in a rab, montbell or arc'teryx jacket. and the hand pockets are not accessible while wearing a harness-what the crap is that about! Why have a picture of a guy wearing a helmet if this jacket really doesnt function as a climbing jacket. Overall the jacket is weak. it wets out easy-even in dry utah snow, the fleece is sewn in, not laminated to the shell material, and the welding is subpar-