gtrantow

Great jacket, I used this for Grand Traverse (backcountry race), hut trips and cold weather hunting. Pros: Warm; Packs down as small as my Pantagonia Puffball jacket but offers much more warmth; light; pockets in fleece are great; looks very nice for around town. Cons: Zipper sticks sometimes.

My favorite pants for BC skiing. These pants break the wind in all but the nastiest howlers, yet shed sweat. I have used these from 10-40 F degrees with no worries. The fit is class Arcteryx (slim athletic fit with great mobility) which works great for high stepping over logs, bushwacking and the joys of BC. So far I have not worn any base layer under these pants. I do carry a Goretex pant on hut trips or long day trips in case of wet snow, but so far everything has beaded up and fell off these pants. I would not recommend these pants for ski area skiing unless the temps were warm.

Pros: Excellent ski carrying A-frame; Internal hydration; no freeze water hose; waistbelt pockets; top load fits everything for a slackcountry day and nothing more. Cons: Small size limits junk you can carry (good or bad). Best Use: Hike to ski areas like Aspen Highlands or Telluride; Ski area pack or slack country short trips.

The AP is a great tele ski for powder and chop. They ski short on groomers due to splayed tip, but they shine in the deep. I am 170 lbs and I could not bury the tips on my 181 cm APs in tree wells or deep deep wind loaded slopes. This is a big ski for skinnning, but works great in area, slack country and short laps. This is my dedicated powder ski for Aspen Highlands and Snowmass powder days and I would not favor this ski for long slogs, peak bagging or hut trips (ski weight + skin weight + ski width = over worked).

This is a good boot for easy and moderate terrain. Do not expect telemark boot control. Do not expect combi xc boot efficiency. This boot is for covering ground, kick and glide over mixed snow. Paired with a 65-52-60 mm and 3/4 metal edge ski it works great. I would not pair it with a wider (70+ tip) ski. The fit is wide so my foot narrow fit will require foot beds and some modifications.