KP

Awesome helmet with on the fly adjustment of vents and one piece removable helmet liner (skull cap) that is washable. I did NOT get the headphone option as the ear pieces looked a little flimsy IMHO. The headphones are built into the ear padding and there is an exposed connection :-( right at the ear padding where you plug in your headphone wires which then lead to your mp3 player or whatever. I would have favored a one piece design without the exposed connection. I suspect they put the connection there to make it somehow safer? Like if your headphone wire got caught on something it would simply disconnect right near the ear padding. Would like to hear from someone who actually had the headphone option to see how it functions. Helmet is light and comfortable and does not look 'goofy big'. I had to cut the chin strap and shorten it but I also have a small head and face. Most other people will probably be OK with the chin straps. Overall this is a 5/5 helmet.

I bought this pack so I could shave a pound or so off my current pack. This meant dropping some volume (down from 4500). Amazingly I find this pack to hold pretty much all the usual climbing gear with ease. Ice axe, crampons, rope, etc. There is room for the tent and the rest of it too. I credit that to the well designed cinch straps on the outside of the pack and the generous extension collar at the top of the pack. You can overstuff this pack easily and still maintain a stable load. The fit: I'm 5'1" and the regular size pack fits me very well. Carrying 32 pounds was a breeze and felt light. The pack shipped without any options on the shoulder and waist straps, but a quick phone call to Granite gear took care of that. They shipped me the correct sizes UPS second day air so I could go on my trip. That is customer service! Ease of use: Easy. Top loading so harder to get to stuff but that is a given for the lightweight design. I have to gripe that they don't allow for a hydration bladder. To keep it lightweight they probably nixed the hydration sleeve since not everyone uses a bladder. However it would have been nice to have a grommet or something to allow the hydration tubing to exit. Plus a lightweight clip or something on the inside of the pack frame to hang a bladder from would be nice too. That said I love this pack and would recommend it highly. I would buy it again, epsecially if they made slight changes to accomodate hydration bladder.