The Stretch Ascent sheds water with the best (the Deluge DWR coating is THE best DWR I've ever seen) but its breathability comes in below Gore Pro-Shell and Event. It does breathe ALMOST that well, though, and there is a good amount of venting to be had with the mesh lined pockets and pit zips. The fabric is good and tough if you are tangling with trees and it packs down small. An event jacket should have the edge in fabric breathability and the waterproofing is about the same, unless you are in a test lab torturing the fabrics. Hope that helps, or at least sheds a little extra light.

You might bump one size up from your normal Patagonia size if you want to get an R4 under the Stretch Ascent. It is cut pretty slim, and the R4 is a bulky jacket. At 6'1 and 170 I wear a medium in the Stretch Ascent and start to feel a little claustrophobic with my R2 underneath. I would move to a Large if this were my primary winter months shell. Hope that helps.

I'm 6'1 and 170 and I wear a medium, using this primarily as a warmer months rain shell. If you are planning on using it for the winter month over heavier layers, the medium might be a little constricting and you may want to size up to a Large. It is cut pretty slim, which you may find great for your build, depending on your intended use.

The shelter stone is a 3-layer shell, Patagonia's burliest all-mountain jacket. The Stretch Ascent is a 2-layer (2.5 including the printed on .5 layer) minimalist climbing and alpinist jacket. The shelter stone has got more pockets, a zipper storm flap and more room for layers and is heavier at 22+ ounces. The Stretch ascent is slim fitting jacket with two external and one internal pocket, and not a whole lot else, coming in at 16 ounces. BOTTOM LINE: for packability and freedom of movement over light layers --Stretch Ascent. For a heavy duty jacket that will handle the worst weather and allow for heavier layers -- the Selter Stone is your jacket. Hope that helps.

Pink Iridium is one of the most versatile lenses Oakley makes. Not perfect for storm days with super-flat light or those superbright bluebird days, but handles everything in between with aplomb.

The VR28 and Persimmon, Pink Iridium, HI-Intensity Persimmon and VR50 lenses are probably the lenses that would be considered all-round lenses. They cut enough light to hack it on bluebird days, and let enough light to deal with most flat-light days. The VR28 and Persimmon are the bread-and-butter basic lenses without much style. The Pink Iridium and the VR50 Emerald Iridium are probably the steeziest and most high performance of the bunch, but you pay more. Hope that helps.

Arc'teryx changed the name, out of the blue. Product is identical. I was told, rather apocryphally, is that there was some trademark issue of some kind. Certainly lacks the ring of the old name.

I think the small is the right size for your build. The Hyllus is actually not all that atheletic fitting as Arc'teryx products go. I'm 6'2 and 170 and I wear a medium comfortably. Hope that helps.

It isn't windproof like a jacket with Gore Windstopper is, but it is relatively wind resistant. In a strong wind, you will feel it getting through, in a light breeze you likely won't feel it at all. Hope that helps.

Arc'teryx still makes some of its jackets up there in Vancouver. I bought the Fugitive hoody with Polartec Windpro Hardface recently, which comes pretty close to the performance of my Griffon. Label says: Made in Canada.

Actually it isn't as slim as Arcteryx's Atheletic Fit, this is really the closest Arcteryx gets to a regular fit in their softshells. It is one of their longest softshells as well, just longer than their standard hip length with a droptail hem and hitting below the belt in the front. Since it is part of their Whiteline/Descent ski and snowboard oriented line, there is room for layering. At 6'2" and 170, I wear a medium, and my Gamma MX jacket is shorter and tighter fitting than my Griffon is.

I second the below, but wanted to point out that the Griffon is much warmer as well. The internal fleece is "high loft," (think fuzzy/hairy) and it really does a great job of trapping air as a mid layer while still being breathable. Windstopper jackets are really not good as mid-layers under a shell, because you end up with two separate membranes that you are trying to get air to exchange through, which means actual breathability is really low. I did this *once* and one sauna sesh was enough.

The torso size is the main difference you between the two sizes that you should be looking at. If you just by it for the bigger capacity but you need the smaller back length of the regular, it will not fit as well and it could make long approaches even less pleasant. Hope that helps.

Another option might be to move up the the Futura Zero 40 which has an SL option -- the SL is Deuter's designation for a Women's Specific fit. As such , it is designed for women's generally shorter torsos, narrower shoulders and wider hips. Usually, 30 liter packs don't have a women's fit option since fit won't be as important as price point and adjustibility. A 30 liter pack doesn't usually end up carrying much weight so perfect harness fitment isn't as important. Hope that helps!

Shouldn't be a problem. There is a full PE framesheet, so you won't have cams jabbing you in the back, and the pack carries REALLY well. Go for it!

Yeah, I think Hi Yellows are the better overcast, flat light/near-whiteout condition lens. Either Hi Amber or Hi Yellow work under lights, no problem. Hi Ambers cut a bit more light and are a little better when things start to get bright and shiny, but low light/severe conditions = Hi Yellow for my lens of choice.

Fire iridium would be another good choice. One of Oakley's best lenses for bright sunny days, with a high protection index and good contrast.

I'd consider them specialty lenses for bright, bright days. Not a good choice for very overcast days or flat light AT ALL, so be aware of that.

Yep, not an issue. Any crowbar replacement lens will fit.

Pink Iridiums don't cut bright sunlight well, as they are basically mirrored persimmon lens. They are as expensive as two pairs of non-polarized, but you might give the Hi-Intensity Amber Polarized lens a good look if you really want to go night-to-day, low-to-bright. It is a contrasty lens, good low-light performance, and the polarization will make bluebird, sunny day glare fairly easy on the eyes. Might be worth a look.

Well yes and no. Similar fit, different uses really. The Polartec Powershield O2 (as in oxygen, get it?) in the Griffon is a new fabric that uses a higher loft backing and a slightly looser shell weave, for more warmth and more breathability, a trade off for less wind and water resistance. The old Gamma AR design is a much tougher shell that is less warm, and would be better for climbing, alpinism, and and anywhere where less warmth and breathability and better weather and abrasion resistance would come in handy. The Griffon excels at being a cold weather low-activity midlayer, or a high-activity outer layer i.e. doing ski touring or splitboarding laps. Hope that helps.

They do great. I wouldn't expect them to smell washer-fresh after seven days, but they shouldn't reek to bad after a week. They are synthetic so they will start to gain critical bacterial mass after a while, but they are also anti-microbially treated to help out with that. They are super light and super-packable, so you could stash a spare pair to switch out to, or, since they dry incredibly fast, you could wash them out one night, hang them up under your shelter and be good to go by morning (which is what I do.) For synthetic underwear, these are still my favorite hiking and travel undershorts, bar-none.

The Apollo puts out a bit more light, but you can read from either one from about 4-5 feet away. One functional difference is that the Apollo, thanks to the longer legs, stands quite a bit higher, so it casts light down and further out when set on a table or another work surface--great for cooking or organizing gear on a table. The Orbit, to me, is much better as a tent light (the hooks on top are perfect for this) and doesn't give up too much in the way of light output for any other situation. I ended up going with the Orbit because of the weight savings and smaller size with a very reasonable tradeoff in light output. Its cheaper too! Hope that helps.

Offwidth: breathes better, lighter, stretchier, unlined, warmth equivalent to a long sleeve shirt (not a useful midlayer). Bionic: blocks wind better, heavier, warmer, less stretchy, less breathable, warmth equivalent to a light-to-mid-weight fleece (can be a useful midlayer).

I would go with the 162. As you can see by Turner's answer the 166 is a big board for big riders. With fresh pow, you should have plenty of float and plenty of fun on the 162.

The 158 would be perfect, no problem. The 154 will be too short for you. I know Burton says size down, but you could be riding at least 162 pretty easily at Silverton on a classic "freeride" board (no taper, but long), so a 158 Malolo would make since in that context, since it would give you similar float in deep snow. The 159 T6 sounds long for you, since it is such a stiff board--it sounds like it may have been trying to ride you at Silverton. Terje and Nico Mueller can ride whatever they want, as two of the best big mountain boarders on the planet--but that doesn't mean what they ride would be a good choice for anybody else. In pow and soft snow, the Malolo would be a better ride than the T6: it floats better and goes easier on your back leg, it turns pretty quickly since your weight is set back, and it is a great all-rounder (outside of the park). If you ride Silverton often, or in good conditions almost anywhere, the Malolo would be a good board for the quiver. Hope that helps!

No, no bonded microfleece backing or liner whatsoever. More of an aerobically bent, wind blocking softshell for summer, fall and spring. Because there is no fleece lining the inside, its very easy to pull on over a fleece jacket.

They are both great jackets The compressor is the warmer jacket, also heavier and will not compress down as small. The fabric is a bit tougher/heavier as well, though still very lightweight. The Thermawrap is absolutely featherweight, and it is in my pack or my suitcase every month of the year. Because it takes up no space and weigh next to nothing, I have it with me to take care of sudden drops in temperatures.
To me the Thermawrap is a specialized piece for fast-and-light, trek-and-travel, bike tours, 3-season hiking and climbing, and winter layering. I love it. I would grab the Compressor if you need warmth, but also more toughness, more durability, or something that functions better as a casual jacket for everyday cool-to-cold-months wear (the Thermawrap is a bit too shiny to wear around town for my tastes and the fabric is very, very thin and lightweight.) The tradeoff is more weight, more bulk as a layer and more volume in a pack. Hope that helps!

Comes down below the waist. It is not a softshell material, but it should be fairly quiet. It is softer, fairly lightweight nylon, and not a hardshell material.

Yeah, the new Madrock rubber is supposed to be really good. If you are just starting out, you probably won't be able to tell the difference, in a likelihood, so I would go with the cheaper pair. If you are in the gym a lot or bouldering hard later on, you will probably upgrade to more aggressive shoes once you've worn out the sole getting some rock-legs and fingers on you.

They are lined leather uppers, so I would expect about a half size of stretch. My Madrock flashes did just about that much stretching. Madrock isn't very consistent with size from shoe to shoe (i.e. two different pairs of size 10s may fit differently) , so you will probably benefit from trying a few on.

If the pack is fully loaded and the roll, tent and bag are strapped to the outside, the cover will not be able to cover everything. The rain cover fits well, with a little bit of room, over the fully loaded pack itself, but that is about it. It is likely that you would need to buy a separate, larger raincover in that situation. It may also be worth considering a much larger pack that you can get some of these items inside of, mostly because internal frame packs like this want you to carry the heaviest items inside the pack, right up against to your back, to carry the load optimally.

I would definitely not use it as a flight stuff sack. I am with you in thinking the cables will snag any number of things in the congo line from the check-in to the cargo hold, and I expect there would be a pretty nasty fight between the Pacsafe cabling and the machinery that tries to eat it. You would be better off with a big duffle along the lines of Osprey's purpose-built Airporter LZ, or the like. A streamlined duffle would keep pack straps and snag opportunities to a minimum while protecting your pack and helping to keep it secure. You can use a TSA-approved lock to secure the duffle zips if security is your main concern. Hope that helps!

I really have to disagree with John and Ton. I'm 6'2 / 165lbs. I have a Sub Zero SL jacket size medium. The way that it sounds like you watn to wear the jacket, I think a medium would be the right call. With my Monkey Man jacket on over a merino wool baselayer, the Sub Zero fits just fine. There is still room to put a Gore-Tex ProShell jacket on over the Monkey Man and under the Sub Zero, if you were really working on a serious alpine climb. The sleeve cuffs come to just above the base of my thumb, and there is a velcro tab to cinch the cuffs down if you want to. The hem comes to below the belt in front and lower in the back. The jacket is meant to wear short, since it is made to be compatible with climbing harnesses for high-altitude mountaineering. You can certainly go to a Large if you would prefer a lot of room for bulky layers or you want a serious (very cold conditions) belay/alpine jacket, but as far as the sleeves go a Medium will fit you fine. As far as warmth goes, a light fleece layer and a tee shirt under the Sub Zero jacket will probably take you to a couple of 10s of degrees below zero, if you are just bopping around town. There are a lot of feathers in this jacket and it cuts a big, down figure that traps a lot of air and heat. Hope that helps!

No pit zips. The pockets are mesh-lined so that they can be opened, along with the front zipper, t dump extra heat. This softshell breathes really well anyway, especially in the cold dry alpine climates it was designed for. Softshells tend to breathe a lot better than hardshells, which usually have pit zips to help dump heat that is being trapped by the breathable membrane/coating. Gore Windstopper softshells, like the Mountain Hardwear Dragon, that have a membrane blocking that wind, are often one of the exceptions to the softshell-breathability rule, and they, like hardshells, usually include pit-zips to dump membrane-trapped heat.

I actually think a Large would be fine. I'm 6'2" / 170lbs with longish arms and my Medium is great, with plenty of room to layer. My two cents, hope it helps!

The pockets are half covered when wearing my pack and aren't really usable for much. They are just about right (i.e. not pack-friendly-high) for casual handwarming duties at the crag or on the street. Pockets are lined with mesh to hep with venting, but they also allow a bit of wind in from the hem if it is howling. Hope that helps!

There is no bonded microfleece or insulation, just the single layer of shell fabric and it is quite lightweight. I would say it is just slightly heavier in feel than a windbreaker, but it also feels much more abrasion resistant and stretchy than any windbreaker I've had. There is just enough room to layer with a Polartec powerstretch or 100 weight fleece, if you wanted to wear it in cooler conditions, but the jacket itself isn't going to provide much warmth beyond shielding you from cold winds. Hope that helps!

Yeah, Union Force bindings would be a good place to start. Or Burton Cartels if you are riding Burton boots. Those are both solid no-nonsense choices. You can spend more, and go stiffer if you want, but you cannot go wrong with a pair of Forces. Or Cartels, I think, but some people vehemently hate Burton these days...

If you went 162 or longer, its marginally doable. I would want some Burton boots with the Shrinkage tech or some F series Salomons to try to minimize the toe/heel overhang. I wear an 11.5 and wouldn't go narrower than a 254 waist width (without some footprint reducing boots to go along with it) especially if I am focusing on powder and bigger mountain stuff. The Abacus is Arbor's wide board for Big Mountain, and the Roundhouse is their wide all-mountain but could be pretty slow edge to edge because it is WIDE. Hope that helps!

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!