So first off, it's got plenty of straps to hold it snugly to you and good webbing management to keep all those straps from flapping around. That's sort of the minimum for me while biking, so it hits that. Tough construction as you might expect and lots of well-thought out pockets and loops without looking too "busy" if you know what I mean. Here's what really surprised me: It's got a TON of space. "12-inch laptop"?! This bag can hold about 3 20-inch laptops without flinching. I'm not sure where that description came from, but this puppy is way bigger than the caption makes it sound. Great all-in-one commuting/errands/study haunt bag.

Some quick background: I'm 5'7" and 175#. I would call my skiing style "power based" more than finesse. This is my second center-mount ski. I have the spiral version, but I'm putting my comments on the main page for this model.

Yes, Center-mounts ski differently. Mainly, you have more tail behind you. This means you will probably forget about it in the bumps or get a surprise on a step-up, but not much else changes. Yes, you need to center-mount these, otherwise they ski really weird.

I am skiing a 171cm and the ski skis short, but has pretty good float. The "butter zones" mean that the ski tips and tails will flex when you pumped these in the powder. I found that this makes them ski like a softer ski in the powder and let me chophop out of the powder. That being said, they still hold an edge pretty well and carve like mad. Anyone who can't ski powder with these doesn't know how to ski powder and probably needs to bulk up a bit. Believe it or not, these skis reward those with big gun legs more than stiffer skis. They won't float for you, but they have so much pop they are a ton of fun if you have the junk in the trunk to use that flex pattern.

In the park and pipe and just generally screwing around, they are very poppy and get you plenty of boost at the lip. On re-entry, the butter-zones allow the ski to be very forgiving.

My one complaint is that the ski is squirrely at high-speeds (i.e. 25-30mph and above.) if you stay on base. Basically, don't hold these flat and straightline a groomer. The symmetrical design means they start kicking around. To counter this, just stay on edge and carve big, fat arcs burning your knee and dragging your hand all the way down.

Wicked fun ski. Not a do-everything-"properly" ski, but definitely a do-everything-"fun" ski. And it's that what it's about?

I put over 80 days on these bindings last season in the moguls, the park, the powder; in-bounds and 20+ days out. I've taken 2 hour tours on these and 15 mile all day trips. These are reliable bindings. No, they do not have downhill performance like a pair of Tyrolia RailFlex, but don't expect it. This is a touring binding. It that respect, it's got awesome performance but it's heavy. I have these and a new pair of Dynafits to give me choices.
I got these first, because if you can deal with the weight, these bindings do everything that any other touring binding made will do, and probably better.

Definitely an excellent backcountry pole. It's awesome to be able to collapse these down and shove them into my pack to switch over to my axe for steep couloir ascents. Also, they are remarkably light, especially for a 3-section pole. This is the trade-off though: they are pretty fragile. I hit some crust and my ski slid out and I put my edge through the bottom of the pole. Definitely awesome for touring, and I've never seen a FlickLock slip yet, but don't consider this a resort pole by any means. Powder is awesome and pick up the BD Powder Baskets, but burning a knee in boilerplate would make be nervous. I'm going to replace it and keep using these, but I'll likely get a solid shaft version for those crusted up days.

The Giro G10 MX is a nicely weighted helmet. Light enough that you'll barely notice it's there, but heavy enough to take a whack and come back for more. I used to wear a Leedom Scream and the weight difference is incredible along with the comfort of the 3/4 shell. I've added the TuneUpsII kit and that turns it into a pretty sweet sound system as well. The only thing about it is the visor. I like it for crashing through branches and keeping the trees ugly mitts off my goggles and face, but I can see how it would be unnecessary weight for a lot of people. Vents well, but not as warm as my old Leedom, but that's when I was in 0F Maine weather. I've never been cold with the G10 here in Utah.

The Quickmount system is absolutely awesome and has served me well, the Pivogy technology has saved my butt a bunch of times switch, but the "tooless adjustment" for the sizing is unnecessary and the locking mechanism on my toepiece stripped out on a (fairly) routine bail on a tabletop. Granted it was a 30 foot table, but even so, the toepiece slides freely now. Line warrantyed them but it's something to be careful about.