Light and yet durable. These bags are a great way to keep your clothes dry and protected while backpacking. Also, they work surprisingly well for heavy loads--I've had close to 20lbs in the number 4 with no trouble.

This is an awesome belay device. The simple yet effective design of the SMART induces awe and wonder. It provides the safety of an auto-lock, but comes at the lower price of an ATC. The SMART is rather intuitive to use, and the pictures on the side of the device help eliminate errors. Furthermore, feeding rope through the SMART is remarkably easy. Giving slack to the leader is almost silly-simple, and yet the locking mechanism is quick to engage. Nevertheless, just because it's a locking device, don't take your hands off the brake! (Same with a gri-gri).

The Rope Ranger is a huge improvement over older Metolius rope bags that only had a single strap. Approaches are no longer spent shifting the strap from one shoulder to the other. That's not to say that the backpack straps are perfect--it's not like there's an internal frame or anything, but it gets the job done. Also, older versions used plastic clip-buckles whereas this one uses metal hooks. They are just as secure, easier to tighten, and will not break, leaving you with a half-tight, half-loose rope bag. There is ample room on the tarp to flake the rope out and put shoes on. And when it's time to leave, it all packs away into a compact package with room for your draws, or maybe part of a rack.

Yes it works. Yes, you can belay. And rappel. But I disagree that it is just like the Black Diamond ATC. Loading the belay device is not smooth. Rappelling on the Shell device is not at all fast. Good luck lowering a climber who weighs less than 140 pounds. The belay device puts too much friction on the rope, preventing the rope from running smoothly. Finally, I'm concerned that the exposure of the wire loop (see below) could pose a significant issue for the integrity of your rope. Spend the extra Lincoln, and you won't have to purchase a replacement.

The Hammerheads are hard to beat for powerful, active, responsive turns. The torsional stability is top-notch and the ability to change the response of the binding is nice, even if it is difficult at times. Also, the bomber construction instills confidence that the binding isn't going to disintegrate when you really lay into it. They're also competitively light and while they're not dedicated to touring, the HammerHeads are wonderfully versatile.

Warm, great as a mid layer. Works fine as an outerlayer but is not meant to block wind. Trim, athletic fit. If you want to put more than 1 or 2 layers underneath the jacket, size up. Very soft and visually intriguing exterior is highly tactile. If you don't like people asking if they can pet you, the monkeyman is not for you. thixophobiacs beware.

These gloves are made from really nice, soft, flexible leather. The dexterity is relatively high, but these benefits come at too high of a price for me. They are not very warm, especially after a season of use when the insulation packs out. Furthermore, my gloves are always wet after a day of skiing, even when the skies are clear. Merely coming into contact with snow will lead to wet hands later. The wrist gauntlet is an awkward size as it is too small to go over a jacket cuff, but they're almost too bulky to fit under a cuff with elastic and velcro. The gloves are very durable, have a decent design, and a lot of potential, but I can't in good conscience recommend them for cold weather use. They could make good 40 degree work gloves, or belay gloves.

I've been demoing the Seeker for the past week and have been really quite pleased. It is a lower cuff boot than something like a T-1. Not having skied the T-2 I can't speak to its relative stiffness; however, I think it has great torsional support and is consistent and predictable in flex. I like the BOA system on the liner though it does take longer to put on. And the ski/walk modes are well thought out and actually make a noticeable difference.
My one major complaint after 8 days of lift-served skiing is the boot seems to let a lot of snow in and the liners consequently get wet.

This is a great rope that handles well and is really light. It does stretch a fair bit, so don't expect to take it top roping or hang dogging and have it perform the same as a fatty rope.
Packs down nicely in a rope bag or backpack.