STG

This is an incredible jacket! I can actually ski in it and not over-heat as I usually do with other higher loft jackets. The shell of the jacket repels snow well. There is a tradeoff for the extremely light-weight material: It rips easily, so you have to be very careful skiing by trees or bushes. I have patched a few areas because I am not careful. I now wear a light shell to protect the jacket when I am skiing in the trees. Recently I purchased the XR version of the Flash jacket. It has a more waterproof shell, an adjustable hood and zipers on the pockets. For wet snow weather, I will probably use the XR model. The Flash jacket is the warmest jacket for its weight. Westernn Mountaineering uses high quality down and produces high quality products. All their products, including this jacket, are worth the price.

I bought this for my son who prefers synthetic base layers. Like all Patagonia base layers, the capilene 3 wicks well and stays dry. Wool is softer next to the skin, but the problem is that it gets clammy and moist if one does highly aerobic activities and takes longer to dry. One can wear a capilene 1 under the capilene 3 in colder climates for added softness and warmth next to the skin.

I gave this book to my son who lives in Colorado. He is looking forward to doing a lot of the rides in this book. He gives it a thumbs up.

The XCD Mountain Touring Ski is a fantastic traditional ski. If you like to tour and turn in the backcountry and go for 8-10 hour days, this is the ski for you. It feels somewhat stiff to the touch. A ski shop employee asked if I would be able to turn the ski believing that it was not soft enough. In fact, it turns like a soft ski with 20mm of sidecut, although it only has 15mm of sidecut in the 165cm length. It climbs incredibly well and is extremely light. I only needed skins on terrain steeper than about 32 degrees. Leather or light-weight plastic boots can be used with these skis.