Matthew Charette

Been an Oakley fanboy for a long time. I can say Seth and the folks at Oakley have outdone themselves on this years goggles these things look fantastic, the graphics pop, the strap is badass, and the bag matches the whole setup. At the resort a ton of people asked me which model goggles they were, and in the backcountry these suckers are top notch. The crowbar system to me is the best one that Oakley currently has going, the fit is perfect with or without a brain bucket. I use the G30 lenses for most everything though if its a really bright clear day I will toss the gold iridium in them to save my precious eyeballs. Plus they make you like 40% more awesome because Seth endorses them.

I am sure this pack is great for those of you lucky enough to actually heli ride regularly. as far as being a pack that you can use to bootpack/snowshoe through the backcountry, it is not. It has plenty of room for a days worth of safety gear and really is large enough to use as a pack to hike from a base camp of some sort. However it is not built to withstand such use. I usually have no complaints with Dakines products in the durability field, but I feel as though this pack was designed more to hop on the big yellow bus than it was to haul a board, crampons, and axe to a summit and then shred down with snowshoes in tow. After 1 use the snowboard strap on the front was frayed almost all the way through, I was using it for a 3 mile ascent from basecamp. I had my Nidecker Ultralight strapped in and the edges from the board chewed up the low grade board strap in no time, I was almost forced to carry my board luckily it held on long enough to get me to the top, though it will never be able to hold a board properly again (may be sending this one back BC, sorry :(. ) I do like the ease of use with the axe loops however even those are not quite big enough to easily/quickly get a axe with a floating leash, a straight handled leashless axe may fit better. the front pouch is not easily accessible when loaded down and the goggle pouch gets crushed by the board strapped to the back of the pack. The interior of the pack leaves a lot to be desired as well though at this pricepoint I was not exactly expecting a high end organizer. For what it is, you get a pack that would likely hold up to years of heli riding, with the occasional short bootpack, for a school pack this would be just fine though the lack of interior organizing would be a negative for me it is not for many people. I will say that this pack LOOKS great. I dont like to leave negative reviews but I couldnt get over the short comings of this rig.

Every mountaineer should have an ice axe, it could save your life some day. This particular model is great it is very ergonomic and I think I can speak for a lot of people in saying that Camp USA makes some of the best ice axe heads on the market today. This puppy will dig deep and hold. The pick angle is great as well, the floating leash is something that I personally could care less about but it also serves its purpose very well. All around a great tool to have in your bag if the situation to use it ever arises.

Im a big fan of Grivel products. Their crampons are next to none as far as I am concerned. The G12 is no exception. The points are well angled well designed to last for a long time. I have ascended everything from vertical to gradual icy slopes with these and they haven't let me down, the cramp o matic design is great and very secure. These are a must have in just about every winter alpenists gear bag.

Merino coziness with a plentiful helping of technology. This is a beautiful thing. The merger of properly made goods, and organic material. Who would have thought 15 years ago that long underwear would be lightweight and not itch, and warmer than the bulky, heavy, itchy stuff that we had to wear for years? Stoic makes a great product, I am completely sold on them and will be ordering more from them in the near future. Good stuff.

Love me some Merino. I picked this up with the stoic 40% off promotion. I fell in love, I will likely be purchasing at least one more at full price. Lightweight, breathable, warm, and cozy. Nothing wrong with this shirt at all. Make sure you size it up properly, I wear a large mens T shirt I bought a small in this and it fits just right, so make sure you do your measurements and get a size that fits good. A++++ product.

If you are looking for a budget Back country shred stick look no further. The blacklist has benefited from something the industry calls trickle down technology. This thing has all of the features that Arbors high end boards had a year ago. It turns out they haven't changed them much over that year. So what you are getting here is a tried and true tested design that RIPS. Don't look at this as a budget board (because honestly at 420 bucks its not exactly cheap) Look at it as a high end board at a lower end price, Arbor doesn't cut corners in their design process to bring the price point down, instead they take advantage of the massive amount of R&D they have put into their other boards, and pass it down to the blacklist. If you want to hike up the backside of the hill, shred that nasty bowl of powder, then take a lift over to the resort and play in the park or the trees all day, this is the stick for you. It cant be stopped, the rocker design with grip tech by arbor is among the best. The overall build quality is right up there as well. And its an arbor board. You cant go wrong.

To the east side, to those Deeluxe boots on the hill? I wasnt sure what to think about these when I first saw them never really having any experience with Deeluxe boots. I am a long time DC boot fan, figured I would try something new, when I purchased these they were a little more pricey but still pretty reasonable. I love the fit they hold my foot in position perfectly, the liner is forgiving but supportive. I have tromped through streams, hiked for miles, boarded all day in extreme conditions and these boots just keep giving. Very happy with my purchase. Would buy another pair.

I got this board for my girlfriend as a birthday gift. I was a little skeptical at first, on the nidecker website this thing promises a whole lot. After taking it for a spin myself I realized how much it actually delivers, It is responsive, it is fast, FAST. Overall the feel is very comfortable, a little flexy under my larger frame but what do you expect putting a guy on a board engineered from the ground up for women. The overall build quality is amazing this is one beautiful board, everything from the top sheet graphics to the detail of the inlayed clover and the woven fiber throughout. All around I would say this is one of the best womens snowboards that I have experience with and my girlfriend agrees, she has been shredding for years, and I can all but promise you that she will be getting another from Nidecker.

Absolutely love all of my beats by Dre phones. These are certainly no exception. these are my go to ski/board phones I don't like the idea of bringing my 400 dollar phones out on the slopes but I'm certainly not willing to sacrifice quality. And that is where these win. Crisp audio, deep bass, clean highs, good noise canceling. The controls are easy, the sound is great, the price is right. Buy em. You wont regret it.

Been using nalgene since before BPA and BP were ruining the worlds water. Im not sold on the whole BPA thing but hey the new bottles dont have it, I still have a lot of my old bottles kicking around and they are seeing just as much use as ever. These things are all but bomb proof, I dont think I really need to review them Im pretty sure this is the most popular water bottle in the world. I have like 30 of these. Only one with the BC logo on it though, having a goat there makes me feel like Im way cooler than I really am so I guess this bottle gets extra points for that. Ive used a lot of different types of bottles in the back country and always end up going back to the nalgene.

We used 2 of these filters for a multi-day stay in Maine's backcountry for 10 people. We didn't have any troubles at all. I have personally been using this system for about 2 years now I switched over from a similar MSR system and wouldn't look back. We were pumping from a variety of different water sources, from high country streams (crystal clear) to valley ponds (kinda nerve wrecking). The filter didn't hiccup the entire time always our drinking water was clean and tasty. Everyone went home without any stomach troubles at all. A few on the trip mentioned going out and getting one as soon as they got home (I recommended Backcountry.com of course).

Ive had this light for awhile now. Everyone who uses it is amazed at how simple and nice it is. I have used a lot of different style headlamps and I really think P-Tec has a winning design here, could use a few more lumens but Im not going to complain at this price point. BC has it wrong, it is 70 lumens not 100.

All around great light. Easy to pack a good spare, or even a good first light if your price point is middle of the pack.

Fuel for living. Clif bars have been a big part of my on the road/off the road nutrition for some time now. I like most of the flavors, they are delicious, you feel like you have eaten a solid meal when you eat a clif bar. Great company, great product, great all around.

I picked these up to replace my torn up approach shoes. When I first opened them I was pretty skeptical they seemed like they were not thought all the way through. The toe cap makes the whole shoe very stiff, the sole is hard at first glance made of plastic. After a break in period the stiffness went away some, they are slightly pliable fully supportive instead. The sole actually grips quite well, counter intuitive almost to the texture of it. I was hiking across heavy granite slabs at a pretty serious pitch in wet conditions and they were gripping really well. Having the hard toe was really nice too, something I am not used to in my approach hikes, it really allowed me to wedge my foot in places I wouldnt have without it. I love the shoe will continue to wear it until it gives out. If you are buying a pair keep in mind a good break in period I wouldnt have wanted to do any real hiking in these straight out of the box they would have torn my feet to pieces. I love them now though.

I picked up this hammock for a trip into the backcountry of BSP. Figured it would lighten my load a little as well as provide some comfort. It does both, light and easy to pack up, easy to hang, and extremely comfortable. I have since made some mounting points throughout my house to hang it as a piece of furniture. Comfort like this is not known to tent campers.

Best socks I have owned period. I absolutely love these things, I use them for everything from mt biking, hiking, running, workouts etc. They are lightweight, breathable, and I personally have yet to find a good smartwool sock that can fight odor as well as these. I have used them for biking in wet/muddy terrain, dried them in the sun, turned around and hiked 15 miles the next day in the heat, packed them out to camp, and wore them a day later in the rain again, still no odor. Serious socks for serious people.

Im a huge fan of Burton AK gear hands down the best. Light breathable AND warm and waterproof. Cant go wrong with that combo. Great looking mitts keep you comfy in all sorts of weather, be it backcountry shredding of pipe and park slaying. I have had a pair of these in my gear bag for 2 years now and I will buy another if I ever have to. Love them.

Just got back from a weekend trip into baxter state park with this tent, it poured all weekend, setup for it even in the pouring rain is quick, we were able to pile all of our gear (2 4.5k packs) in the vestibules, everything stayed dry in the high wind and pouring rain, I was really impressed actually, overall we got 4 inches of rain, and none of it was in the tent. I do wish the vestibule zipper was a little easier to access from the inside of the tent, and aluminum poles would be a godsend though this wasnt the straw that broke my back it would be a good bit lighter and easier to pack with Aluminum poles, It could use about 6 inches more width too but it was certainly comfortable enough for the 2 of us, . Very happy with this purchase.

This set is great, weighs next to nothing, big enough to serve 2, but small enough to pack away easily. I nest my stove, 2 sporks and fuel inside of it no problem. I do wish the handles were coated, but you take what you get at this price point for titanium cookware. As previously stated the lid/frying pan is too loose on the pot quick fix is rubber bands or velcro, and I understand the reason behind it not "clipping" down to the pot, and I appreciate that it wont get sucked on. Overall this is a great set for those of you looking to build your own cook set the nesting abilities of this puppy are nearly endless.

I am a long standing fan of sporks (foons for some of you goons) really I think it should be a standard in anyones pack, I got 2 one for me one for the little lady. To go with the Snow Peak 1400, Cut down the stylish (though slightly wasteful) packaging that they came with, tossed both sporks in the same container, and then tossed the plastic container into the 1400 with my cookstove and towel.

They open easy and stay solid, they are strong, light, small, and BOTH a spoon AND a fork. You cant go wrong.

These compression sacks are the bees knees, pretty simple really; a good stuff, pull the top over, and cinch. Thats that. They are very durable, last hike I went on it ended up outside of my pack because my friends pack broke halfway through so we all picked up the extra gear, it rained, and we were bushwhacking through some pretty heavy forest, the sack came out without a tear or snag while fully compressed. I picked up a few more for various other gear.

Photo is of the 2XL stuffed with a kelty mistral sleeping bag.

The Oakley half jacket is the ultimate in interchangeability. You can be rocking Persimmon lenses in the morning and then switch to a mirrored blue lens in the afternoon as the sun gets brighter, then to a clear lens at night for those mt bike rides when the sun goes down. The options are limitless. I typically have mine with the transitions lenses that I picked up to go with them, they allow me to use 1 lens and do everything short of late night rides, for which I carry along some clear lenses. They are super comfortable, extremely easy to change out lenses, and crystal clear optics. By far the best sunglasses I have ever owned.

That being said, they are a little small framed for people with bigger heads, I recommend you try them on before purchasing (as you always should with eye-wear)

For the price you are getting oakley optics so that automatically is a win. I ride with a pair of Shaun Whites on my typical day, but these are ALWAYS in my pack. If its snowing real sticky and wet snow, or if I am all wet and fogged up these get their run, and the perform great for this purpose. They look great, they fit great, the foam is nice and soft, the stock lens is tinted perfectly for those bright days, but not too dark so that they work great down in the trees too. Good all around goggle system

I wasnt sure if I would like these skis but man I fell in love with them, from the first trek to the backside bowl at the loaf to the skin trip up and then down mt chase it was love, love love. Perfect amount of flex, great shape, they handle all snow conditions fantastically. I spend most of my time in the trees and that is where I find these babies to be right at home.

After spending years and years searching for the right binding system for me, I finally fell in love with one. I have tried everything from low backs, hi backs, 3 different style straps, step in, clip in, and all of them were lacking something. The flow system beats them all out hands down, I have been riding flow on my last 2 setups, they are easy to use, comfortable, FAST, and secure. From backcountry (where I spend most of my time) to the park without a fault. the M9 is an excellent binding, there are no pressure points, it spreads the load evenly over your boot, and you feel one with the board strapped in tight. Nothing better.

I have a pair of last years model Stagger pants, I absolutely love them as with all of Burtons AK gear they are top notch, comfortable, light, and gore-tex. Keeps you warm all day up and down the mountain, I am always one of the only people in my group completely warm and dry on our epic boadpacking trips. I will have another pair of these when I wear through the ones I have. Keep it coming Burton.