Reviews by User: D.Chu (14)

These things are great. Not only are they cheaper than Burton's RED wrist guards, but they are also lower profile and in my experience MUCH easier to get into gloves. They don't allow quite the same amount of manual dexterity, but they come close and are better designed. The big thing in their favor is that both the bottom and top splits are removable, so you can make them as rigid and supportive as you want. Great buy if you're throwing down in the park and a MUST buy if you're a newbie. Wrist injuries are the most common injury in snowboard, don't be another statistic.

Terribly designed. Ideally, you want your snowboard wrist guards to be long, somewhat flexible, and have support on the back of your hand. These things fail on all three counts. Check out http://www.ski-injury.com/wrist.htm to see what can potentially happen with these; the guards in those photos and next to the x-rays are this same guard, just an earlier model. These may be worthwhile for absolute beginners, but even then I would go with another company. RED, Protec, and Seirus make way better models, don't waste your time with these.

I personally prefer independent layering over thickly insulated jackets, so I prefer a relatively lightweight jacket. This isn't the most lightweight jacket in the world (that would probably go to something in the Burton AK line), but it's about as compact as you can get without getting a minimalist shell. I tried lugging it around in the pack I wear and no issues whatsoever with the size or weight of it. At the same time, it feels hefty enough to hold up under the stress of snowboarding. It looks very good, the fit is baggy but not excessively so, and it has a ton of great little features like magnetic clasps, audio routing, and ALS lining. One of the things I really like about it is the powder skirt, which has clasps to wrap around belt loops on your pants. I have Bonfire pants, and these provide a more secure, better connection that Bonfire's own proprietary "snaptite" system! I only have a couple complaints: 1.) The thumb hole wrist cuffs are a nice idea, but too hefty to be used as intended. When you slip them on under the glove, it puts a ton of pressure on the area between your thumb and hand. However, they're easy enough to move past and just use as a cuff at the wrist. 2.) When zipped all the way up, it's quite tight at the chin. This might be by design, as I found that compared to the other jacket I own, which has a looser fit at the chin, you don't have to worry as much about the hood obscuring your vision with your neck turned. This one is up to your personal preferences. Both very minor concerns. I haven't tried this thing out on snow (one of the problems with buying gear in the summer), but it passed a shower test with flying colors. If it holds up durability-wise, it should be awesome... and even if it doesn't, life time warranty! Great value, great pick-up with the current late-August sale. The only real concern I have about it is that backcountry/dogfunk had so many of them, I might see too many of them on the mountain!

I own a pair of 08 CO2s-- and I'm ready to sell them because I don't need a pair of $330 back-up bindings. General gist of it: these bindings do not have a traditional rigid heelcup made of plastic or aluminum. Instead, they have a soft mesh heelcup with cables attached to rigid alloy rods in the baseplate. This does three things for you: 1.) Because the heelcup is not rigid, you get more natural give laterally, giving a super comfy, forgiving, surfy feel. 2.) The super stiff alloy rods underfoot still allow you maintain a good level of response. 3.) The way the bindings are constructed allows Salomon to put an INSANE amount of padding underfoot (probably second only to Burton's EST binders). At first these bindings will feel super weird since they are so different from anything else you've ridden in the past. They provide much less feedback than traditional bindings, which takes a bit of getting used to. However, after a few days on mine, I am absolutely sold. Comfy, responsive, and innovative up the wazoo. If you do buy a pair, be sure to invest in a pair of 08s and avoid the inangural 07s. There were some significant upgrades made, namely leaps and bounds of improvements in the FastFit toe strap, and much stronger, smoother releasing ratchets. They're on Union/Burton level smoothness on release, but a definitely big improvement. They're now a strength rather than a pretty glaring weakness (ratchets on the 07s were TERRIBLE). Also, even though these things were designed for Fusion Series boots, they fit immaculately with my Burton Ions. Soft heelcup really allows for a bit more give in terms of fit, though I would watch out if you have particularly bulky boots in the back (e.g. 32s, DCs, etc.). The only real complaint I have about them isn't even related to performance-- I think Salomon's done a terrible job of marketing these things. Probably the most innovative binding out on the market and a lot of people haven't even heard of them. Quite the shame. But all the better for those of us who bought in.

Keep in mind that I didn't take these out on the mountain. I tested them under very simplistic conditions: I punched myself in the thigh and the ass, both with and without the impact shorts. Noticeable difference, but definitely not $55 worth. The padding is comprised entirely of gel, with no hard cap on the exterior. They are very low-profile, but how much does that really mean if they're functionally useless?

These are solid bindings, but sadly they follow the law of diminishing returns. They are comfy, responsive, look cool, and are in all great bindings, but nothing about them screams $330 binding. In fact, they've been replaced by a cheaper $250 pair of bindings as my go-to set. Like the guy who gave these 3 stars, I hate the B3 gel underfoot. It just makes the padding underfoot feel like mush and doesn't make me feel like I'm securely fastened into the binding. People are going to drool over them because they're high-end Burtons, if that matters to you. They're a solid binding, but for the money you ought to be getting a hell of a lot more than "solid."

These provide decent protection, but allow for a fair amount of dexterity as well. However, they do have some significant flaws. If you look in the picture, you'll see below the knuckles on the back of the hand, there's a pretty sizeable piece. This piece of material does nothing. It goes over the adjustable strap for the palm and adds unnecessary bulk. I would remove it, except that piece also requires a piece of "hook and loop" which I found sticks to the liner of many gloves. So unfortunately, that pieces adds little protection or function, but adds a considerable amount of bulk. If Burton had slightly switched up the design, they could have gotten rid of that with less functionality (plus likely fewer construction costs). That having been said, I don't like super rigid wrist guards, so these are the best option for me functionally. Just keep in mind that you may need to upsize your glove size to account for them.

Excellent visual acuity, great peripheral vision, no fogging whatsoever. I am Asian and have issues with there being a gap between the bridge of my nose and the goggle foam. It's especially bad with Oakley and Spy goggles. On the flipside, I also have a pretty broad face, so there's not a lot of goggles that can accommodate both... this and the Smith Prodigies do the job. I prefer these because they are much, much lower profile than the Prodigies which are HUGE. One word of warning, there is a small valve in the goggle called the "Porex Filter" in the upper left. You can kind of see it as a small white spot in the upper left of the field of vision, but only if you are looking for it. This was not on the 06 Prodigies I owned, so I don't know if it's a recent feature on Smith's spherical lenses or exclusive to the Phenoms. Don't know how much it actually does... these goggles don't fog on me, but neither did the Prodigies. I hardly even notice it, but neither Dogfunk nor Smith mentions it (they actually seem to airbrush it out of photos) so I figured it warranted mentioning. If you are picky about things like that, I would look elsewhere.

From the various bindings I've ridden, these are one of my favorite. I actually rode them immediately after some Burton Cartels. I thought the comparison was appropriate since they retail at the same pricepoint ($220). The Super Titans blew the Cartels out of the water (more comfortable highback, ankle strap, and toe strap, just as responsive, way better adjustment options). In fact, I liked these better than a pair of Burton CO2s that I briefly owned. What I really dig about these is their burly ankle strap profile... it is soft and cushy so it molds to the boot (Burton Ions in this case), but it is wide to still give you solid hold and a lot of surface area to distribute pressure. Could use a little more padding in the baseplate, but all in all a great, great binder. Might actually pick up a pair of Stream HFs at some point in the future.

Lightweight, reasonably comfortable, breathable and good loose, but not too loose, fit. Knocked off 1 star because of the way it feels against the skin. It's not abrasive or uncomfortable, but it doesn't make me go "Ahhhh" like some other merino base layers I've worn in the past. But at the price this site has it for, it's a solid, solid buy.

I've never been a fan of full length baselayers because of the way they bunch up in my snowboard boots, whether they're over or under the sock. I love boot fit base layers like these. Comfy, wick well, don't stink nearly as much as I would have thought for a synthetic. Happy with my purchase.

Great shirt. Personally I'm not as stoked on Eesa's higher end stuff, but this shirt is money. Thick, durable, but comfy and nice fitting. I can throw it under a jacket alone, wear it alone on a spring day, or wear it to the gym. I've even just worn it out with friends. Beyond that, Eesa has EXCEPTIONAL customer service. If you're not satisfied for whatever reason, Agatha, Stephen, and the rest will make sure you're stoked.

I love these things. They give all the dexterity you need and minimize how often you need to take them off on the mountain. I also LOVE the sidemounted zipper, as it makes it way easy to fit my hands into the gloves when I'm wearing something like liners or wrist guards. They are pretty waterproof with a 20k insert and durable-- not much more you can ask of this sort of glove. The leather does get waterlogged if you don't use Nikwax or some other leather protector, but that's true of all leather gloves. They are not the best for cold weather gloves (say less than 15 degrees), but that's when you should be busting out liners or mitts anyway. In all, super solid and does exactly what it should. Great product.

I feel a little bad leaving a review without actually having used this jacket and having returned it, but it was just not what I was looking for. Since I didn't actually use it, I just gave it a 4 as to not affect the average rating and provide some additional information. On the plus side, it seemed reasonably waterproof (put it on and ran one of the sleeves under a sink, not the most comprehensive test by any means) and is the most lightweight snowboard jacket I have ever handled. It honestly barely felt like it was there, less intrusive than some Anorak jackets I've tried on. However, that lightweight comes back to haunt (at least for me). Burton jackets are typically chock full of features, ranging from Crossflow venting to hidden storm pockets. This thing is a shell and that's pretty much it. One exterior chest pocket, handwarmers, pit vents, and that's pretty much it. No wicking layer, no insulation, no mesh backing on the pit zips. I was ok with this, as I prefer to layer independently, but the complete lack of interior chest pockets killed it for me. I do most of my riding in-bounds with an MP3 player, so this didn't quite do it for me. Even if you don't ride with an MP3 player, I wouldn't recommend this jacket unless what want is absolutely the most lightweight jacket possible. There are better values out there for sure. But if losing weight and bulk are the top of your priority list and you have cash to burn, this is definitely the jacket for you.