The z-folding design is made to be more space efficient than rolling up a pad. It is a breeze to accordion it back into block form. You can roll it up if you want to, but I am not sure what that would do for you. If you are looking for a pad that rolls, Thermarest's Ridge Rest is the way to go. It is a little cheaper, little bulkier and maybe a tiny bit heavier.

yeah, great for keeping the boiling water in your water bottle from scorching you when you put it in your sleeping bag overnight, and it keeps you and it toasty warm for longer. And it keeps your water from freezing while its in your pack. No more slushies after a long glacier hike or some time in the BC. So, yeah, pretty sick.

The surface face is smooth but you can make out the internal fleece grid on the surface of the fabric. It isn't screaming at you but you will notice that there is a slight grid pattern. The side of the fabric that faces your body has a chunky grid of raised squares. Acts just like the old cotton thermal underwear, trapping air in the grid pattern, but it is way more efficient/warmer, wicks like crazy, is lots lighter and dries super-fast.

Well, smooth but I think dry fluffy snow would be all over you. It is not a hard, slick face surface and it isn't treated, so if this is it between you and the snow, the snow will stick to you and start to soak through as you warm it up. It wicks really well and dries quick, if you do have to stand around in the snow in your R1 skivvies for a while. Maybe this + some Patagonia Traverse pants over it?

This is an unlined shell, so not a good choice as a midlayer. Not familiar with the icestone, but the material is comparable to the offwidth jacket. The fit however is very trim, with a long drop hem. This is really MH's offering to cyclists or cold-weather runners, whose priorities are breathability and wind protection.

You probably need to look to the Arbor Coda. Wake is right, the sizing for the A-Frame is set up for big mountain freeriders. The Coda is more all mountain and there is a 155 that might be right for you. Too bad the clean graphics/ woodwork are only on the A-frame.

Ultimately there is very little difference. I love Marmot, but they have inexplicable product overlap sometimes, and I am not sure why. The Torre is a stretch fabric, the Troll Wall is not, and that is the major difference. The Torre is 5 ounces heavier because of it. The cut of Marmot jackets is very free and you are not likely to feel constrained by them, so it would not be a big selling point to me, but the Torre is also $25ish bucks less, and that may make a difference to me, depending on my last paycheck...

Yeah, super for ice climbing and with a great cut for it. It is an serious all-mountain jacket, and it was made and designed to climb well, and it does, for sure!

The Exum is wind-proof but has zero insulation -- a pure shell. How warm it keeps you will be down to how and what you layer. It is a great jacket, but it is minimal to the max, lightweight and impervious to weather as it is. Durability shouldn't be an issue either, unless you like rubbing the trees while going down hill, in which case almost no jacket will hold up.

It is thin and it does feel a little too much like paper at first blush, but I agree with yellow and blue--this is the most durable version of Gore Tex that has yet hit the market, and Gore has test literature to prove it. However, I still fold mine flat, which packs better than cramming it into a ball and is a little friendlier to the jacket. It was developed with guides and for guides, though, so you can bet it can take what you dish out, with aplomb. Enjoy the Exum!

The microgrid fleece is a bit warmer than the older-style micro fleece on the Alchemy, but the face fabric on the Alchemy is heavier then the fabric on the Venta, so it is just about a wash as far as one being warmer than the other. It think Windstopper softshells and proper layering are actually much better for stationary-to-mid-intensity activities. They trap heat and don't regulate well if you are really working hard in high-output mode, thanks to the Windstopper membrane that will struggle to let enough air in and out. For mid-to-high intensity activities in cool or cold weather, the Gamma AR or MX series will shine, since they breathe better / are more air-permeable.

The Gamma AR is the better one for use as a midlayer. The Gore Tex softshell Scorpion jacket you have doesn't breathe as easily as ProShell or Paclite, so I think you would be creating problems for yourself by layering with another breathable membrane. Unless you are taking lazy laps, you will probably overheat. The AR will layer better since it is a bit more flexible, it will breathe quite a bit better, and it will still provide you with a thermal layer. Go with the Hercules if your hill is a -30-on-a-sunny day icefield. The high-loft fleece Hercules, as a midlayer, will keep you warmer, breathe even better, and, thanks to that high-loft, provide a little extra padding if you catch an edge and bellyflop onto blue ice.

They do now. A very light and compact (even lighter and more compact than the titanium gigapower) new stove from Snow Peak, but the specs in the Snow Peak catalog show that it is not as efficient with fuel and not significantly faster to boil. There are always trade-offs, I guess. It is another amazing piece of engineering art from Snow Peak, though.

Pink iridium is a great all round lens. The hard-to-find VR50 Emerald Iridium is mind-blowingly good as the one lens to do it all. I like the G30 as well, but it can cut a little too much light if it is really dumping.

The G30, VR28, or Pink Iridium would probably be your next best bet after the high intensity lenses. All three are great all-around lenses that do really well in low/flat-light conditions. Backcountry does a pretty good job, but these look like they are all out of stock at the moment.

It is basically one unit: Two lens layers with a seal in between. If your inner lens is super scratched, you replace the whole unit, which is what you have on this page. Ripping of the inner lens is pretty crazy advice. If a grizzly bear just attacked you on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, and somehow only mauled the poop out of your inner lens, and you survive and there is a blizzard raging and you had to see to straightline it to a hospital, then maybe you would rip the inner lens out just to survive. Even then, your lens will be fogging up so badly it will barely be better than a ruined inner lens. The two layers and a seal are THE reason goggles don't fog up BADLY. It is like a double-pane window, and that is what keeps you seeing on the mountain in cold weather. The Fire lens looks RAD but is not a great choice for MOST CONDITIONS you will find on the average hill. Great for Super-bright bluebird days, but you will hate them when it is dumping pow and the clouds are out. Go for the blue iridium, G30, Pink iridium, lenses that only block 30-60% of visible light, unless you are just after a specialist lens for specific conditions.

You can see there are notches on the outside of the lenses shown here. There are little things on the inside of the lens groove that snap into those grooves. In theory you basically pop one lens out of the lens groove and pop the other one in, but in practice it can take some time and can be frustrating to get all the notches lined up and snapped in. Not extremely difficult, but it does take time and attention, enough that you won't want to swap lenses often. But its definitely DIY-able.

They are not a good all around lens, since they block more light than almost any other lens tint option. If you want a specialized lens for bluebird days and that killer fire lens look, then it might be worth it, but realized that it is almost limited to very sunny days.

The solex is the most mirrored lens in the Anon line. There might be just right conditions where someone could get the slightest hint of the fact that there is a face under there. Nobody is going to see your eyes with the solex lens unless your eyes unnaturally glow bright red evil , day and night. Get the solex and hide-your-eyes fun is sure to follow.

I think the Arcteryx superiority is a bit of a myth, one that just keeps getting passed on. At this point almost all of their softshells are getting made in the same Chinese factories as everybody elses. I've compared jackets from some recent Arcteryx shipments, and the stitching and cut isn't all that consistent from jacket to jacket. I love my Arcteryx gear, don't get me wrong. I've had issues with pants from MHardwear but my Alchemy jacket has had its carcass dragged up and down rocks, trees, trails, mountains, and thorny shrubs, and it is still looking pretty fantastic for all that, with nary a stitch out of place. The face fabric on the Alchemy is one of the toughest in my softshell collection, with maybe only the Patagonia Ascentionist coming close to it.

Gamma MX is burly, but the least warm and no stand up collar. The Gamma SV is burlier, and warmer than the MX with a nice stand-up collar that is separate from the hood. The Hercules has no stand up collar, is not as windproof or abrasion resistant as the Gammas, breathes much better, however, and is the warmest if wind doesn't factor into the equation. Does that help?

The Hercules is also high loft interior fleece throughout, while the SV uses high loft for the shoulders and back and low loft fleece for arms and sides. Basically, optimized fleece usage in the SV, made to move. The O2 in the Hercules is a warmer thermal layer in midlayer mode. If you want warmth but don't need as much weather protection or you are doing something more aerobic, the Hercules is your jacket. If you need the best weather protection and most durable face fabric, the SV is for you.

Depends on wether you are after a soft-shell or a quasi-hardshell. The Gamma is a straight softshell and the Scorpion is a Gore-Tex laminated softshell fabric with a little stretch. The Scorpion's fabric is a bit of a compromise if you aren't skiing in it, since it doesn't breathe as well as a non-softshell Gore-Tex fabric, and it is a pretty heavy textile. The Gamma SV you can use for all kinds of activities and will only fall flat in situations where a true hard shell is needed to block winds or heavy rain, and than the SV can continue to function as a mid-layer. It really depends on what you are after. The Venta SV or the Fury SV might be the perfect middle ground for you if the Scorpion or the Gamma SV don't sound like the perfect solution for you. The Fury is a little more snowsport oriented, the Venta is a little more climbing oriented. Hope that helps!

AH, um, not that waterproof! If it is raining heavily or consistently, you will start to soak through PRETTY quickly. The Gamma SV is not going to cut it. Light precip or snow, okay, no problem. But real rain? A hard shell rain jacket is the only way to go.

All the Gammas (SV, MX, LT etc.) are currently made in China. Bummer. It used to be that the SV was Canadian made, but not anymore.

The SL has got a laminate on the inside of the fabric (not waterproof, but very water resistant and windproof) and all the reinforcements as mentioned. It is also a bit shorter than the Parka for better harness compatibility. The parka is less heavy duty with better coverage for more comfort in day-to-day, more civilized, winter life. Hope that helps!

The MHardwear Hooded Compressor Jacket will allow for more mobility because it is a lot less puffy/bulky, but it isn't quite as warm, ultimately. It is always a trade-off, because more trapped air s warmer but also bulkier. The Compressor jacket is excellent, and definitely worth checking out if you are shopping for jackets of this type. That said, the Sub-zero SL here is a classic, and it has quite a few 6000+ meter peaks under its belt, so it is definitely possible to get things done with it on!

This is the shorter version, the jacket, and it goes to just below the waist. The Sub-zero SL parka is hip length or just slightly longer. Hope that helps.

This jacket is cut to fit over all your other layers. You can size it down probably one size safely, if you are really after a trimmer fit, but this is a down jacket after all and it is still going to be pretty puffy. The original idea behind jackets like this is that you throw them on over your mountaineering outerwear when you slow down or stop moving to make camp, so they are made to fit over everything else you would be wearing. The only thing you positively wouldn't want is for it to fit too tightly. You would be squeezing the air out of the down at that point and the jacket won't keep you as warm. Hope that helps.

The SL laminate in this jacket is great in that it protects the down from melting snow and light precipitation, and helps windproof the fabric. It is a little heavier because of it, but it makes it that much better as an outer layer. Hope that helps!

it depends on what you are wearing underneath it and how hard you are exerting yourself, but this jacket has been on top of some of the tallest, coldest peaks in the world. Layer properly and put the hood up, and you should be able to handle -30 F for a short while. Should take care of all but the coldest of winter days in the lower 48.

Zero insulation in this jacket, as they trimmed the fat to the max. Very minimal details and very thin fabric. Could be used as a light drizzle jacket, but not as a rain jacket in a downpour. However it dries VERY quickly.

The Marmot Aegis is not Gore-Tex, but it is as close as you get with out the big step up in price. $100 will buy you the baseline coated rain jacket from most of the major manufacturers: North Face Hy-vent, Marmot Precip, Mountain Hardwear Conduit, etc. Not as breathable, not as durable but waterproof at a reasonable price. Try to catch a sale and you can sometimes get Gore-Tex at $130-150, but it is tough!

The R4 should be a lot warmer, warmer than a TNF 300-rated classic fleece fabric. The R4 will be a bit heavier than the Windwall as well.

The classic Denali is pretty old-tech at this point, warm but bulky and not compressible. The R4 is HIGH-TECH fleece. High-loft fleece (faux fur) outer face, and Polartec Power Dry thermal grid fleece inner face with a windproof membrane in between. Very, very warm, windproof and wicks really well, and relatively compressible compared to the Denali. You will see lots of people wearing the Denali around town or shoveling snow in it, but you won't see a lot of people pulling it out in the deep winter backcountry, but you might see someone whip out the R4. Likewise, the R4 is a bit much if all you are going to do is whip around the icy corner for coffee.

These will be SLIGHTLY wind resistant, moreso than your average fleece, but not nearly to the level of a true softshell. The "Hardface, makes the outer surface of the fleece smooth, and helps a bit to cut the wind as compared to a normal fleece, but it is still very air permeable. Hope that helps.

BOTH lenses are polarized. The Hi Amber is polarized and a Hi-intensity lens. They are both good all purpose lenses, with the VR28 giving you more natural colors but still with increased contrast. I have the Hi-Amber polarized in a pair of Crowbars now, and sometimes they are almost too much: The colors are intense and things really POP out of the snow-scape. They look killer, though, if that is something you are after. They can be very good when the light is low but variable and I like them in the trees. One thing to check out is the Lens simulator on the Oakley site, which will give you an idea of what the slopes look like out of the different lenses. Bring on the snow...

These are made for the park exploration end of the spectrum. Flexier, softer, made to allow your ankles to bend anywhichway a little better. Any boot, burton or otherwise, with a higher built-in lena angle, helps to transfer power to your heel edge, and you will usually find that kind of set-up in a freeride or power-oriented boot. Soft and flexy = butters, slides, tweaking and jibs. Stiff and stiff = powering down a big line, carving hard, stomping a huge 1/4 pipe.

The Nomad is also a bit longer too, with a hem cinch-cord and bigger deeper pockets. The fabric is a big difference, The Nomad is Wind Pro Hardface Expediton Weight (mouthful), so think "warmer." The tricked-out big brother of the Fugitive. The price is different, too :)

Oakley have always been a bit expensive, but part of that is that they have some of the most visually correct lenses on the market. Oakley's optics have been based on very precise lens curvatures to make the image you see through them as close as possible to the image you see without them on. Lenses that are curved, but not with any precision or care, will tend to distort and/or magnify what you see through them. I read an aviation magazine last year that ranked Oakley near the top of lens quality, out of almost 40 brands.

All that mumbo-jumbo is to say that you are getting a little of what you are paying for in the lenses. You are also paying for style and the Oakley logo as well, but they are good sunglasses, and if you like them and are going to be wearing them a lot, they might be worth it for you. Hope that helps!

Well, it is cheap for Patagonia, sure. There were a lot of last year's Shelter Stone jackets and pants left over everywhere it seems like. I think Backcountry probably was clearing out some of their stock or Patagonia's for them. I hope you got it at that price because it looks like it went up!

The tent body is almost all mesh, except for the floor. Definitely not waterproof! The rainfly is translucent, and is very definitely very waterproof. Leave the fly off and you'll let a lot of air in on nice nights. Enjoy the stars. Put the fly on and keep ALL the rain out. Hope that helps.

You will want to go for the Marmot, if you haven't already. I'm 6'2" myself and it was a determining factor in my buying the Aura 2p: my feet touch the end of the Hubba Hubba. The Hubba Hubba has an edge in ease of pitching and a very slight edge in (lack of) weight, but the Marmot counters with a much roomier interior with more and more versatile headroom, and greater length for tall folks. The big downside for the Aura is the pole system -- it takes quite a bit of getting used to. The fly and the poles both have to be set up in very specific way, and it will pay to read the instructions or watch the video on Marmot's website. That said, I am happier than pancakes when I head out to camp in the Aura. It is a great tent. Again, if you are 6'2" and you don't mind your feet and your head touching the ends of the tent, you could consider the Hubba Hubba, but I REALLY recommend the Aura 2P to you, my friend.

Really, you should pick the jacket you need for what you are doing. Windproof is great if you live or play in environments with cold or cutting winds. Windproof fabrics also have an edge in water resistance, too. Windproof is not so good if you want to use your jacket at high activity level, or more often in cool but not cold temperatures, because it doesn't breathe nearly as well as a fabric that is more air permeable, trapping more heat or moisture. I love my MH Alchemy for cold weather camping and occasional low-intensity snow activities, but I never pack it for hiking because the windproof fabric is heavier, less-packable, and it is too warm to wear it when I am hiking hard. Depending on the temperature, for hiking I'll grab my older, unlined North Face pullover with very breathable Apex Aerobic fabric, or, if it's a lot colder, I'll grab my Arc'teryx Gamma MX.

Choose based on what you plan to do with it, and how often you plan to do it. And, really important, choose a jacket that fits the way you want it too, since that is a really big criteria, too.

The Bionic uses the Climateblok fabric which is heavier and is better at shedding nastier weather and shrugging of cold winds. It is a better jacket for lower activity levels in cool temps or more activity in colder temps. The Pnuematic, with Apex Aerobic, breathes better and is the better jacket for more intense activity levels in cool to cold temperatures. It would not be as good on its own at keeping you warm in cold, windy weather since the fabric is light and made to be a little more wind permeable. Hope that helps!

Yes, you definitely could. Depending on what you had on underneath it, and how active you are, there should be no problem. If you were really moving you could probably get away with a wicking t. If you are walking or only lightly active, a long sleeve, very light thermal layer should keep you plenty warm. If you are just standing at a bus stop, size up and put a heavier thermal layer under it.

Not a rain jacket, sure. But unless you spend a lot of time making snow angels in spring slush, water getting in won't be an issue. Sheds snow, repels light drizzle, and it breathes like the Dickens.

I would go with a medium, unless you would prefer a less athletic fit. I'm 6'2 and 170 and my medium fits fine.

I would wear something between you and your down, but I wouldn't worry about clumping unless you are sweating like a fiend: down regulates heat and vapor pretty well. If you are sweating like a fiend, you probably need to take your down jacket off anyway. The Zeus won't shed water well due to the extremely lightweight nature of the shell fabric, so a waterproof shell is a must in the rain. I would say the Marmot is warmer since it is better fitted and, I think, has greater fill weight. The cut is just fine, unless you are expecting your puffy insulating layer to form-fit your chiseled physique. Puffy down jackets don't do that, they trap lots and lots of air in lofty, down plumules. They puff up. As puffy down jackets go, cut to go over winter underlayers and under big winter jackets, this one is pretty sleek. Much less boxy in every way than its main competitor, the Patagonia down sweater. There is a little room in the midsection, but you kinda need it if you want to put things (like your hands, for instance) in the pockets there. But is there really a difference? Of course there is.

wow, that is tricky. Stitch it and seam seal it? Or try to just seam seal it? Or find a very lightweight patch and seam seal it to it? The trick would be to avoid making more holes in the material but sealing the down in, which is notoriously full of wanderlust. Any additional needle holes my create more outlets, which is where the seam sealer comes in...

The Boss Hog has an automotive carpet top (landing) surface, that helps keep your shoes clean, and the closed cell foam sheet just underneath the top is unbroken over the whole landing surface, meaning the top layer of foam tacos at the hinge, while the second thicker layer of soft closed cell foam is split. The Stomp uses a Cordura-like top surface, and both layers of foam are split at the hinge. The unbroken sheet of foam on the top on the Boss Hog, along with the angled hinge both pads share, gives the Boss Hog the slight edge in preventing injuries and ankle-bites when landing on the crease.

It is really about how high you are comfortable climbing with this pad. Or actually, about being able to land on it. It is plenty thick and the closed-cell foam top would be tough to bottom out from almost any legitimate problem. You could go bigger, but some of that is for the climber's mental comfort and not about this pad's limits.

I would go for the medium, as the Dablam is roomy enough. This is probably my favorite jacket for our Texas deep winter months, and I tend to throw mine over my tees in the evenings -- I'm 6'1 and 170 -- and I wear a medium. I would get a large if you were planning to layer it over some heavier wool sweaters or big, chunky fleeces, otherwise, for t-shirts and skinny fleeces, you are going to have room to spare.

I agree with Jon--the Monkey Man, under a windproof shell is probably the better insulator of the two. It can provide some SERIOUS warmth in that configuration. The Compressor is better as a stand alone insulator in breezy conditions, but the reason they call it a "Compressor" is because it is meant to be a very light and packable layer of insulation you can pop out of your bag when you need it and forget it is there when you don't. It's warmth is comparable to a TNF Denali fleece jacket, with better windproofing.

Of all of them the Karkorams would be your best bet. Complaints about the Huckleberry's and Finn's approach snuff are probably what brought about the Karakorams, which are newer. Karakoram's use stickier Vibram Approach rubber, and a more durable construction. I have used my Finns for some scrambling and light hiking (and I like them for everything but their durability), but I would definitely go to the Karakorams for Class 4 and low grade 5-- if you fit them well.

Yes, it does. Big Agnes makes one of their Hinman series pads specifically for this bag. It is double wide, self-inflating and very warm (high r-value). Alternatively, you can slide two 25" wide rectangular pads into the sleeve. Two Thermarest Trail Lite pads in the Large size, for example.

Down breathes really well, which is one of the reasons it regulates temperatures really well. Unless you are stormed-in in a high altitude bivy for multiple days, it isn't likely that you'll be wet inside your sleeping bag from condensation, respiration, or transpiration.

!! This bivy is not waterproof !! The floor material is a waterproof, polyurethane coated nylon, but the top is only highly water-resistant sil-nylon. You and your sleeping bag will probably be waterlogged if you decide to use this as your primary shelter in a steady downpour. MSR describes it as able to "fend off dew, frost, light precipitation" as an emergency bivy -- "e-bivy".

Mediums should be a good fit. My medium still leave enough room to tuck a light fleece layer in -- I am right in between a 33 and a 34 waist.

Arcteryx makes them in a short inseam length, but they may be a little tough to find.

I agree with Harrison, street shoe size is a pretty safe sizing call. There seems to be a little bit of inconsistency with Mad Rock from pair to pair, but most people I've fit will end up in their street shoe size. I wear an 11.5 in most shoes and an 11.5 in the Flash. Great shoes and sticky rubber!

The fathoms are a smaller lens than the Hammerheads, and the frame is much lower profile/coverage. This is a medium lens size with a lightweight thin frame, whereas the Hammerheads are large lenses with a very large wraparound frame. Hammerheads are great at peripheral light blocking. You might look at the Man-o-war for a larger Costa with good coverage.

A half-size down is pretty safe. If you have normal to wide feet, that will probably yield the best fit. For narrower feet, a full size down is actually pretty reasonable, but obviously tight. These are quite forgiving for synthetic shoes, with a bit of stretch (I'm serious!) You can always grab both sizes here and ship one back.

These are less roomy than the Asolos (which are great for wide feet) I've tried and about the same as most Sportivas, but notably, in the same size, narrower than the Nepal Evo. I wear a single heavy mountaineering sock with my boots, so you might take that into account if your sock preference differs.

They will work, but they are not the best for vertical ice. These are more of a general mountaineering boot: they do everything well but aren't the best at anything. The sole has a thinner TPU plate (more flex) and the collar is lower than it would be on an ice-specific boot--but it makes it more forgiving on the approach and more comfortable for glacier walking. If you are running up short stretches of ice, no problem, but you might want a stiffer, more supportive boot for long, vertical ice days. The Sportiva Trango Extreme Evo Light GTX would be my go-to boot there. Otherwise the Mountain Experts are a super all-mountain package.