Anyone that goes backcountry skiing with me knows that I’ve got a particular beanie that I typically use. It’s knit acrylic with holes that are great for venting, but if it gets windy I have to put on a skull cap under the beanie to keep the wind at bay. If I’m climbing I’ll likely wear the skull cap under my helmet but if I’m bouldering I’ve also got a separate beanie that I use. However, if I’m heading out around town I have yet another one that I’ll wear and when I….ok, you get the picture.

That was the way things happened in the hat world for me until I got my hands on the Meru Hat from Ibex.

Background on Ibex

Ibex is the category leader in all things merino wool. Beyond leading the category they also lead the Merino industry in standards set for the care of the sheep that produce the wool they use. They have helped to raise the bar for merino farmers in New Zealand and set high standards for themselves both in the quality of merino and in dealing only with farmers who respect the animals that give them their livelihood, namely forbidding the practice of mulesing. The care of getting the best wool translates to the quality of their products.

How I Use the Meru Hat

The Ibex Meru is branded as a midweight beanie but I’d call it light to mid weight. Despite its lighter build in now way does it mean you’ll sacrifice warmth or dependability when things get down right cold or windy. In fact, last year during Discovery Channel’s showing of “Beyond the Limit” which followed Russell Brice’s Himex Expedition team on the North side of Everest, I noticed that one of the guides being interviewed was wearing the Meru! Talk about confirming the obvious!

When it’s windy the tightly woven merino is virtually windproof but unlike the Gore Windstopper beanie I have from The North Face, the Meru is soft, supple and breaths like, well, like nature intended it to. Ibex gave the Meru Hat flatlock seams which keeps it fitting well and free of those itchy spots that were so omnipresent in your wool hat that Grandma gave you when you were a kid.

Features and the Bottom Line

To recap the features of the Meru Hat:

• Flatlock seams and a bit of stretch both give the hat a smooth fit and feel
• Tightly woven wool is nearly windproof
• Light to Mid-weight build that is ample warm yet breathes very well

Bottom line is that it has become my do everything beanie and pretty much eliminated the need for all my other beanies. Anyone need a used beanie?

Buy Now: Search for Ibex Wool Products

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone

Three years ago I bought my first pair of Salomon shoes thinking that I liked they way the looked and wanted to try out a shoe with the quick lacing system. Well, I was impressed but I don’t think I quite knew what a fit this shoe was for me until last year when I bought another brand of shoes to try something different. I bought a comparable shoe with what was supposed to have a more ridged sole and a traditional lacing system. I then realized how much I missed the comfort, fit, breath-ability, and quick durable lacing system. So, this year I decided to go back to Salomon and try out their Salomon XA Pro 3D Trail Running Shoe. This shoe is even better than my last pair of the same shoe.

How I use the shoe

I like to have a decent pair of every day shoes that I can take to the trails for a run and wear as my every day shoe. I am 6′2” and 195 lbs., and these shoes hold up very well.

Features I like

• The toe piece has been redesigned to protect you from jagged rocks on the trail with an over the top toe-guard. I don’t know about you but I seem to stub my toe at least once on every trail run.
• The look design on the heal is stitched in in such a way that makes it very easy to grab. Again, I use these as my everyday shoe and getting them on and off fast is a plus for me.
• The lacing system now is stitched in a little farther down the foot giving an even better fit up front.
• The breathable sandwich mesh makes this a very comfortable shoe for just about every weather condition and activities
• The sole is surprisingly well built and comfortable for how light the shoe is. There is plenty of support and shock-absorption.

Buy Now: Search for Salomon Trail Runners

Not too long ago I was working in a town north of Salt Lake City called Bountiful and I was living at the mouth of Parley’s Canyon (the canyon on the East side of Salt Lake that leads to Park City). Every day I would stuff my work clothes into my DaKine backpack, put on my cycling gear, hop on my road bike, and ride the 20 miles or so to work. Then at the end of the day, I would change back into my biking gear and ride back just in time for rugby practice. It was a good life! Not a real care in the world.

I only had two problems: 1) The drivers in Salt Lake are as bad as I am (they just don’t see cyclists on the road), and 2) Sometimes the weather turns on you unexpectedly. Now, if I were a good little roadie I would just put up with it. But I’m not. So after about a week of my routine, I decided to look to my biking gear to save me from these two things that were killing my good vibes.

I swung by the Pearl Izumi shop up in Park City in search of a good lightweight windbreaker jacket that wouldn’t tap out the space in my pack, but would shield me from the elements and make me more visible to cars. The Pearl Izumi Mens Optik Jacket was the perfect thing. It’s made of 100% polyester and weighs in at a paltry 3oz, which made me very happy. It wasn’t too hot (mornings are cold in Utah, afternoons are warm), but its elastic wrists, neck cuff, and waist held in my body heat well. It has a relatively high-rise waist in the front, which makes it fit nicely when riding. And all the reflective material on front and back made me much more visible to those with whom I shared the road.

All in all, I am very pleased with the jacket and it’s always the first one I reach for when going on a ride with questionable weather. One thing – I wish the sleeves would zip off to a vest. Then it would be the perfect solution.

Have you used the Pearl Izumi Optik Jacket? Post below. If not, post and let us know which cycling jacket you use when you’re on the road.

Buy Now: Search for the Pearl Izumi Optik Jacket

So, like many people, I’ve got flat feet. With flat feet comes special challenges and one of those are the lack of good sandals and flip-flops that provide enough cushion and support to keep my knees, ankles, hips and back happy. After using the Keen Newport Sandals for the past year, I can say they are some of the better sandals for those with flat feet.

The thing that blew me away about the Keen Newport Sandals was that right out of the box, they fit perfectly with no rubbing or hot spots. That rarely happens–even with regular shoes. I thought that with all the open webbing, there would be one spot, somewhere that would cause undue chaffing. Well, Keen’s delicate attention to detail proved me completely wrong.

The soles on the Newports are super grippy in all conditions. They remind me of the last set of tires I bought from Les Schwab. They convinced me that I needed to have the tires “siped”. And, I gave in. The result? I had an extra-grippy set of tires in all conditions. So, translating that to shoe-speak, the Newports have what I would call a “siped” sole. They not only have the standard knobs and ridges found on every all-terrain sandal, but they are carefully sliced cross-wise so that the sole conforms to wet or dry terrain like Spiderman on the Empire State Building.

The Newports are comfortable for all-day adventures and obviously at home in wet conditions. Whether wet or dry, the Keen Newport Sandals are my sandals of choice. They are not perfect… I do wish they had a slightly taller arch support. As they are, the arch is fairly small (but larger than most), so if I’m walking on cement most of the day, my knees and ankles feel the pain.

As an added bonus, the anti-microbial insole prevents the Keen’s from smelling like my 7-th grade locker–Keen thought of everything.

I dig the all-terrain ability of the Newports, the grippy soles, comfortable feel right out of the box and the super-protective trademark Keen toe-guards.

Buy Now: Search for Keen Newport Sandals

For years I had always been a Smith man but the time arrived for me to see what all the hype was about with the Scott Motive goggle. The first time I donned this goggle was in the middle of one of the fiercest storms of the season with nuking snow, winds and some flat light. The result – best visual I’ve ever had with goggles, ever. The best part of wearing these goggles was the fact that despite the sun, blinding snow, flat light or all of the above I never got a distorted view. Crystal clear, at all times. Better yet as the sun went down and the light grew more dim the goggles didn’t give me the “east coast time zone” feeling that you can get when you lift your goggles up and realize it really isn’t night out but that your goggles had dimmed the experience.

The Motive is a very simple yet top notch goggle. The frame is comprised of a flexible plastic padded with a multi layer foam for a soft feel and forming fit against your face. Since I wear a Giro helmet the hinge interface between the strap and the frame is ideal for a perfect fit. In fact, I think that regardless of the type of helmet you wear or if you rock the beanie that the fit will be spot on.

After about 20 times using these goggles in a multitude of conditions from blazing sunlight to coming down sideways blizzard I’ve yet to have them fog up. Scott treats these goggles on the inside surface with a anti-fog formula. They say that it is…

“…chemically bonded to the lens and will never wear off. The treated surface works by absorbing moisture which causes fogging”

I haven’t seen much evaporation going on inside my goggles so I can’t say for sure what’s exactly happening to the moisture but one thing is for certain, it’s not fogging up. For additional help the lens has six vent holes along the top of it.

Looking at this goggle it is hard to conclude that it reaches the pinnacle of science and engineering but looking through it the next time you’re at the resort or dropping into your favorite backcountry line will quickly launch this goggle to the top of your preferred goggle list and like me, you might just become a Scott man after all.

Buy Now: Search for Scott goggles

Sometimes we get so hung up on all our big gear that we forget how wonderful a little piece of gear can be. The narrow mouth Lexan water bottle by Nalgene is one of those little pieces of gear that pretty soon you feel you can’t live without.

If you’ve never used a Lexan water bottle like Nalgene’s bottles, you may wonder what the fuss is about. But you’ll stop wondering once you try one. Lexan isn’t like most plastic-like materials, in that it’s harder and less porous. This means you get three cool features with every Nalgene bottle made of Lexan:

1. It’s virtually indestructible. I have seen a bottle that was run over by a steamroller, and it still held water — no leaks! Though it was almost flat like a flask, but the narrow mouth wasn’t squashed so you could still screw the cap on and use it.
2. It doesn’t make your water taste like plastic. Most soft plastic water bottles make your water taste like you’re drinking it out of an inner tube, but Lexan’s pores are so tight that no plastic flavor is left in your water.
3. It comes in all those cool translucent colors!

There’s an added advantage with the narrow mouth model — you can drink it while walking and won’t risk spilling it all the way down your face like the wide-mouthed models. And that makes it much more usable in the car or while on a walk. Let’s face it — there are just so many occasions when you just don’t want to bother with filling up your Camelbak or Platypus and toting it around in a backpack, sipping through a hydration tube. For all of those occasions, you have the Nalgene Narrow Mouth Water Bottle. I remember at college sitting in my classes at the University of Washington and looking around the room at about a dozen different folks with Nalgene bottles during every class. Of course, this was Seattle where we all thought the college should have reimbursed us on Gore-Tex jackets because we had to walk through the rain between classes…and where all my friends registered for their weddings at REI. But still — there’s something you’ve gotta love about a usable piece of gear that always finds its way into your life, even when you aren’t out on an adventure. And thats’ what a Nalgene bottle is.

Two things I don’t like:

1. With a narrow mouth you can’t really fit ice into it very easily.
2. That narrow mouth also makes it difficult to clean — so if you’re like me, real soon you’ll have Tang residue all caked to the inside of your bottle. Because of the tasteless Lexan material your water still won’t taste plasticky…but it will taste like all the Tang of days gone by.

So if you haven’t already, then it’s time to pick yourself up a Nalgene water bottle. Or if you already have one, it’s time for a narrow mouth model. If you already have a narrow mouth model, then it’s time for a second one. Hey — you never know when one of them might get run over by a steamroller!

Buy Now: Search for Nalgene

Once the kids arrive, you’ve got to figure out a way to stylishly transport them around the neighborhood, at the grocery store, on bike trails and, of course, on mountain trails. When considering how you’ll haul Junior around, there’s really only one… BOB Revolution strollers. Honestly, they are the bomb. We own two of them in our family: A BOB Revolution Single and a Duallie Stroller.

They are the finest jogging strollers around because they have packed the best features all into one, sturdy package. And, unlike most jogging strollers, the front wheel of the BOB Revolution strollers can be in either a fixed or swiveling position. This allows you to take the Revolution stroller shopping and not feel like you’re steering the USS Missouri around the produce section. When jogging, you can easily lock the front wheel to prevent the dreaded “speed wobble syndrome”. I don’t know why that happens, but at a certain speed, the swiveling front wheel inevitably goes into “speed wobble” mode, prompting a quick slowdown and easy lock engagement before continuing on your way. What I haven’t tried yet is to power on through the “speed wobble”. Hmm…maybe the high-speed vibrations caused by the wobbling front wheel would help put my daughter to sleep for her nap… OK… back to the review.

All BOB Revolution strollers feature a shock-absorbing system and a nifty folding design. In fact, the Single stroller will fold down compact enough to fit into airport X-ray machines (our daughter is a world traveler). You’ve got to lock it down with a Velcro strap or something, but it squeezes right though! You can’t quite do that with the Duallie though, so now that we have two kids, quick flights will no longer be possible.

The overall package is sturdy and relatively lightweight. Pockets abound and the seat seems comfortable for our daughter–she hasn’t complained yet. You can even buy the infant car seat adapter and put your infant car seat into the stroller. The infant seat adapter works great on the Single stroller, but is a bit of a tight fit on the Duallie. A bit of a bonus on the Duallie is that the infant car seat adapter also gives the 2nd passenger a nice little snack tray and bottle holder.

Everywhere we go, everyone comments on how cool our strollers are. The most common comment is on the swiveling front wheel. If you enjoy the outdoors, and you have kids, the BOB Revolution Duallie and Single Strollers are by far the best overall jogging strollers on the market.

What I like about the BOB Revolution Stroller

• The swivel front wheel
• The suspension design keeps the kids ride nice and smooth
• Solid construction and secure buckle system keeps the kids in place
• Ability to accept infant seats
• BOB quality

BUY ONE: Search for BOB Strollers

For a long time it’s been tough to get the best of both worlds: 1) fresh pow in the backcountry, and 2) the right fat skis to enjoy the pow. That’s because hardly any backcountry ski companies like Tua or Black Diamond had been offering a fat ski, so you either had to ride with mid-fats or you had to skin with heavy resort-style skis. But that problem is no longer an issue since Black Diamond released their answer to the conflict: the aptly-named Black Diamond Verdict ski (view all Black Diamond Skis) — a lightweight alpine touring and telemark ski with fat 98mm waist for good runs in the pow.

The actual dimensions are 128-98-116 on the 180cm model, which means they are definitely a good ride and aren’t too hooky in the powder. However, that means that on the groomed (that we all inevitably have to suffer through when doing side-country laps) they really don’t arc a turn as nicely as some other fat skis I’ve ridden. But that is a tiny price to pay to have some killer powder boards under your feet in the backcountry.

Also, that fat waist makes it easy to stomp out landings in deep snow — I was able to charge diving board cliffs and ride away without putting a hand down. Not something I would normally want to do on a touring setup (though I owe some credit to the bombproof alpine touring bindings I had mounted on the Verdicts, too – the Fritschi Freerides. Now, of course the Verdict definitely isn’t the Armada ANT Pro Alpine Ski, which is expressly designed for switch landings in the pow. So if that’s what you’re hoping to get out of the Verdict, you’ll have to continue to wait (or just sweat it out and skin the uphill on heavy alpine skis). Also, the graphics aren’t as cool as Armada skis, Line skis, K2 skis, and several others out there — but that’s what stickers are for, right?

So for those of you who have been waiting for a reasonably fat ski that is lightweight and a great ride in backcountry powder, the Verdict is your answer.

Buy Now: Search for Black Diamond Skis

Shimano has long forced mountain bikers to accept their take on how shifters and brake levers should work together, or how rear derailleurs should downshift quickly instead of upshifting. Well, thanks to the boys at SRAM, we don’t have to take the force-fed Microsoft, er, Shimano drivetrain components. We can choose to have SRAM shifters and Hayes or Hope brakes. Heck, we could even pair the Shimano XT trigger shifters with SRAM-owned Avid levers. But, you’ll never find SRAM integrating their shifters and brake levers into one, proprietary system. Just killer SRAM bike parts.

When the SRAM trigger shifters were released to the public in 2004, I took an immediate liking to them. There was something much more intuitive about them than Shimano’s triggers. Finally, it was possible to both upshift and downshift without taking a finger off the brake lever. We all know that stuff happens really fast on the trail, and that split-second without your finger on the brake can mean the difference between slowing down just in time to maneuver around an obstacle and having a close encounter with dirt. Dirt, meet face… face, meet dirt. Those kinds of greetings usually result in high-dollar grillwork that we’d all like to avoid.

As I said, the beauty of SRAM X.9 trigger shifters is the ability to shift with your thumb in all occasions. This is so intuitive and so simple that I wonder how we lived so long without it.

On the trail, the SRAM X.9 trigger shifters perform flawlessly. Crisp shifting occurred under all conditions, and when the cables got stretched, a quick twist of the dial fixed that right up. I love the feel and function of SRAM’s drivetrain overall, and especially the X.9 trigger shifters. They are the only shifters I’ve had on my bikes since they were introduced.
Buy Now: Search for SRAM Components

There are some pieces of equipment that are luxuries (neck gaiters), others that are just for style (sweet in-the-boot stirrup stretch pants), some that you love just because they are just so practical (hydration tube insulators) and some that are just plain essential. The Ortovox M2 Avalanche Beacon is in the last group, but it’s so user-friendly that for me it falls into the “love” group as well.

When you get a beacon that you love, there comes a point when you realize that you’ll probably never want to purchase another brand of beacon…ever…because in a situation of life and death, you don’t want to be fumbling around trying to remember how to use it. You want to learn it, learn it again, and again, and again, and never change it so it becomes second nature.

Now, everyone has different preferences for beacons so I hope you’ll stop by some shops and try some out before buying. I also definitely recommend taking avalanche classes from Exum Mountain Guides or any of the other reputable providers, and asking their opinion as well.

The beacon has a screw-shut battery case, a headphone plug for those windy days, a simple and foolproof transmitting/not transmitting setting, and is supposed to be able to transmit for 300 hours on 2 AA batteries, though I’ve never gone that long (of course). It has a replaceable date label in the back so you can jot down the day you put in new batteries and remember when to change them out.

The Ortovox M2 Avalanche beacon wins my vote because of a couple of reasons:

1. It has few fragile parts, so it can take a real beating.
2. Its dial is simple to understand — you just dial it in to closer-closer-closer as you zero in on your target. This takes a bit of the dummy-factor out of hunting down a transmitting beacon.
3. The Ortovox M2 beacon is crescent-shaped to match your body comfortably, and its strap positions it across the stomach instead of across the sternum, which is more comfortable in my humble opinion.

There are two downfalls, however:

1. tracking multiple burials is not quite as intuitive as some other beacons I’ve seen
2. The positioning across the stomach makes it a bit of a dance to find where to place your pack’s hip strap so as not to overlap with the beacon.

But all in all the Ortovox M2 Avalanche Beacon is a stellar, easy-to-use beacon in my opinion. What beacon do you use? Post in the comments below.

Buy Now: Search for Ortovox Beacons

I guess I’ll admit it… I’m picky about my socks. When I go skiing, not just any old sock will do. I prefer the Smartwool super thin variety. When I go trail running or jogging or even when I “dress up” for church, I prefer the Lorpen Multisport Coolmax Shorty Socks. I know… I’m a complete gear nerd when I think the Lorpen’s are dress socks. Well, with long enough pants, nobody (including my wife) will ever know.

Until 2006, I hadn’t even heard of Lorpen. When fellow Gear.com junkie, Kendall Card, pointed them out on Backcountry.com. I was on the prowl for a new pair of socks and he said they were money. So, I plunked down for several pairs and have been hooked ever since.

The thickness of the Lorpen Multisport Coolmax Shorty Socks is perfect for hot summer weather in the mountain West. Because my feet sweat like crazy, I can appreciate the thin design and Coolmax material more than many. Though these socks are thin, they have cross-stitched fabric sections to ensure a tight fit and proper support in the right areas.

I’ve had these socks now for 6 months and they show no real signs of wear. I pretty much wear them every day and lament when I don’t have a clean pair around. They are perfect for warm weather running or light hiking.

What I like about the Lorpen Coolmax Shorty Socks:

• Thin and lightweight for those with hot feet like me
• Just enough overall support
• Coolmax keeps your feet cool and dry

Buy Now: Search for Lorpen Socks

Before you head out for your next bike ride, trail run, or backcountry ski tour, be sure and inspect your gear. For some reason, Gremlins seem to really like to mess around with my gear when it sits in my Camelbak or ski pack for a few days. Maybe it’s just my curious daughter who pulls the batteries out of my avalanche beacon for her Elmo doll or something, I don’t know.

And, something you don’t think about, but may want to… Ask the liftie if you can inspect the chairlift prior to loading. Not doing so at Aspen Mountain, could subject you to a sudden 10-foot drop that might ruffle your one-piece Bogner. Read News Story

Luckily, it sounds as if the deposited skier was sporting twin-tips because he schussed away to safety as his Bogner one-piece cohorts hung on for dear life.

So, the next time you board a chairlift, here’s some advice:

• Ask the liftie for a chair inspection prior to boarding – you might piss off everyone though, so have a good explanation
• Maybe you should give up chairlifts altogether and just ride in the backcountry
• Buy some twin-tip skis so you can drop that 10-footer like Shane McConkey and keep on riding!

For those of you who still don’t have a pair of Fritschi Diamir Freeride alpine touring bindings, I just need to ask: Why? Do you never want to get fresh pow 2 weeks after a storm? My guess is that you may be either a total parkaholic who doesn’t like soft landings in the backcountry, or a dedicated racer who doesn’t have time to ski pow. If that’s not the case, please respond in the comments and share. I think that there’s no place for bemoaning a lack of pow if you haven’t even given the Freerides a chance to show you how easy it can be to get it.

It used to be that touring bindings were so stripped down that you feared for your knees if you were to use them. It made it tough for a lot of us to justify switching over to the touring bindings of old. But when the Fritschi Freeride came out a few years ago, it opened a whole new world to those of us who were still resort-bound. Here was a binding that you could tour with to earn your turns, then lock down the heel for the ride down…and it had an actual DIN setting and released well! It was a total breakthrough.

Fritschi has continued to hone the Freeride by modifying the lock-down mechanism for the heel. Previously, the lock-down mechanism was so flat against the tail of the ski that if you flexed it out completely you could unlock into insta-tele mode. Very disconcerting, to say the least…especially if that was on the landing of a big drop. But this year’s model is re-designed in that area so you hardly ever have that experience again.

And hitting big drops in the backcountry is what the Freeride opened up to the masses. The Freeride was the first touring binding with a DIN of 12, and I have put it through cliffs as large as 30-35 feet without too much problem. I have had some heinous crashes that I thought would have blown up the Freeride, and it would either hold solid or release just as smoothly as any alpine binding.

The one complaint I have is the crossbar under the foot is made of aluminum, which means it can actually bend and be permanently deformed if you flex out your skis entirely on a forceful, bombhole landing off a cliff. And there’s no way to replace this piece in the backcountry if it happens to you. You just have to hobble home. But that has only happened to me with one pair, and I’ve had several pairs that I’ve put through the ringer without difficulty.

All in all, a stellar binding that is solid for resort skiing as well as the backcountry.

Buy Now: Search for Fritschi Bindings

Whoever thought up the idea that Smith should make ski poles back in the ’90s wasn’t really thinking about product line synergies. Why do your goggles need to match your poles? But whoever thought up that Smith should make helmets is one bright guy (or gal). The big gripes I’ve always had about helmets are that A) they block all that great ventilation that goggles try so hard to give you, and B) helmets generally seem to fit goggle models by coincidence — not by design. The Smith Holt ski helmet is an example of a helmet that is perfectly designed to work with a complementary piece of critical equipment — your Smith goggles.

Why nobody thought of this before, I don’t know. But I think that Oakley, Scott, and Dragon should all take a cue and start looking at selling their own helmets too (or at least partnering). The Smith Holt ski helmet has vents along the front of the forehead rim, which channel air directly downward into the top vents of the goggles. This helps alleviate the poor ventilation and excellent foggilization that most goggles suffer from. What’s more, you don’t even have to worry about whether the frame of your ski goggles will fit within the face of the helmet because they are expressly designed for each other (match made in heaven). They also have coordinated colors & elements that make it all come together. Nice touch (makes it easy for the fashionably-challenged like myself).

One other thing I like is the style of the Smith Holt. It’s very similar to the Giro Bad Lieutenant, but not so pronounced — a bit more subtle shaping of the forehead rim. It also is extremely warm & comfortable with the ear flaps instead of hard plastic ear covers like lots of other helmets have. The helmet fits very average-shaped heads — similar to Boeri. The one complaint is that the helmet can get very warm — so I would consider picking up a lighter-weight and well-ventilated alternative helmet for backcountry tours. This helmet is best for the resort.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased. If Smith would put out a version with all the good style of the Holt, but slightly lighter-weight and with better ventilation, then I would have no complaints at all. Perfect setup.

You can find the Smith Holt ski helmet here, or shop for helmets for cheap at Overstock.com.

If you’ve used the Smith Holt helmet, please add your comments here! If you have additional questions for me about it, post them and I’ll try to respond.

Buy Now: Search for Smith Helmets

When considering your pedals of choice, there are many, many options. Do you want to go with flats, SPD’s, Frogs, Eggbeaters, Time or the good ol’ retro toe clips? Whatever option you choose, I guarantee you will find plenty of cohorts who like the same Kool-Aid you have chosen. Personally, I like to drink the Crank Bros Eggbeater variety… specifically the Mallet C pedals.

The Crank Bros Mallet C pedals have been around for a few years. I fell in love with them at Interbike 2004 after falling out of love with SPD’s–mainly because I view Shimano as the Microsoft of bike parts, but that’s a different discussion.

Crank Bros Mallet C Pedals – Quick Review

After a quick stop at the Crank Bros booth at the Outdoor Demo, I was on my way with a pair of brand new Crank Bros Mallet C’s for use in the beat-down heat of Bootleg Canyon, Nevada. Even though I had never used a pair of Eggbeaters in my life, I quickly adapted to the Mallet’s and felt an instant connection to the bike, while enjoying a fair amount of knee-friendly float. Releasing from the pedal was equally comfortable.

Another great feature of the Mallet C’s is the large platform that acts like a safety net in case you clip out accidentally, or can’t clip in fast enough before the watermelon-sized rocks start maxing out the suspension on your Intense 6.6 (you know you want one).

Now that I’ve used the Mallet C’s exclusively for the past 3 years, I can honestly say that they perform far superior to their SPD counterparts. I love the natural motion and extra float offered by the Mallets. And, my knees thank me with every pedal stroke. I feel solidly-connected to my bike and love the easy in/out motion.

BUY NOW: Crank Bros Mallet C pedals are available from Pricepoint.com

When you live in the Rocky Mountains, you don’t really need waterproof-breathable material for the ski jacket you use at the resort. That’s my opinion, anyway. The snow is so light and dry that you don’t have to worry about getting all water-logged…you just want to STAY WARM! Hence, my love of puffy jackets and my purchase of yet another puffy in my collection — the Obermeyer Straight Down Jacket.

Now, I grew up in Seattle skiing Mt. Baker and Alpental and Crystal Mountain. That’s a whole different story — I used to wonder why companies even made puffy jackets, because I thought everyone dealt with the same wetness at some point during the season. But after years in Utah, I’ve realized that’s not the case. For dawn patrols on skins, sure — you’ll want a shell with eVent fabric or Gore-Tex XCR. But when you have trams whisking you to the top of Snowbird with a foot of 4% water-content pow covering everything, you just want to stay warm.

Even among puffy jackets there are different tiers of technical materials — the Obermeyer Straight Down Jacket is way over on the “street” side of the spectrum. It is not compressible like many Mountain Hardwear and North Face puffies are, and it is certainly not lightweight. It doesn’t just have a sleeping-bag-style material on the outside — it’s a heavy canvas-like feel. I love that feel for resort-skiing, but it gets real overheated real fast once you start bootpacking or skating through a flat runout. It is purely a lift-serviced skiing jacket — not even a wise choice for side-country expeditions. Though there are full pit-zips, so that’s how I survive and don’t overheat when I head out to Catherine’s at Alta.

By the way, if you’re considering purchasing an Obermeyer jacket you should check out this biography feature on the man..the legend…Klaus Obermeyer. Yeah, Aspen and Deer Valley might not be your style but we owe so much to these impressive heroes for bringing skiing into the mainstream of the US during the last century…and we owe a lot to Klaus himself for the invention of the short down ski parka:

Back to the Obermeyer Straight Down jacket… Now, some may criticize the fur on the collar (it’s faux and removeable, of course) because it looks like you have a fox riding on your shoulders. But I love it — just keep the little fox fed well, and he won’t bite you (but he does a great job fending off tail-gaters riding on your back on busy traverses). The hood is also big enough that if I unzip the collar it will fit over my helmet. And that’s awesome on windy days because the fur really breaks the wind from biting your face and neck. That’s also an extremely welcome feature when wearing the jacket in town (and you look so good in it, you’ll be wearing it all the time). One downfall — I have gorilla arms, and the sleeves are just a quarter-inch shorter than I would like. But for most upright primates, the sleeves are just fine.

Search for the Obermeyer Straight Down Jacket, or check out several other sweet jackets and clothes for cheap at Overstock.com.

Also, some other ski jacket reviews from our sister site FeedTheHabit.com:
Moonstone Nordwand Ski Jacket
Ground Radius eVent Ski Jacket

Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite jacket, or if you have more questions that I haven’t addressed here about the Obermeyer Straight Down Jacket.

Cheers,
Brig

So I was in need of some new goggles this year, because my old, faithful Smith Cascade goggles (circa ‘00 — really!) had finally gone to that capilene-smelling locker in the sky. I was particularly sad about their demise because I just really have not been a fan of any recent goggles. Almost no brands of goggles have clips in the back anymore, which means they just don’t fit around helmets very well. The strap is always too short and end up squishing the goggles into my face or not making it around the helmet at all. With a clip in the back, you can add an extender and have it fit comfortably around a helmet. Without a clip, you just don’t even have that option. So do Oakley and Scott and Von Zipper and everyone else making goggles just think that fitting with a helmet isn’t a requirement? Am I missing the “how-to” of using a non-clip goggle with a helmet? Please comment below, because I’d love to know. I know a lot of guys who wear Oakleys will buy the Giro Bad Lieutenant helmet and wear the strap UNDER the helmet….but that just doesn’t work for me. Does it work for you? If so, let me know but I just cant stand having that plastic loop bump on the goggle strap pressing against my head.

But Smith is always there for you with the clip, and good goggle extenders for helmets. The only problem was the frame size of all their recent models just didn’t work for me. Smith’s Prodigy goggles have a killer spherical lens, but it’s huge, which means my entire nose was always covered by the goggles whenever I put them on. The Smith Alias goggle fit my face better, but it was a little small and didn’t fit into a helmet well — meaning you had gaper-gap between the top of the goggles and the helmet’s forehead rim. Annoying on any day, but especially enfuriating on a dump day. With all of this, you can tell why Smith’s Cascade goggle was an old favorite — it had a medium-sized frame that was kind of square-ish and fit perfectly into the face of almost any brand of helmet.

But the Smith Phenom goggle has turned out to be a killer replacement goggle for anyone like me who was hooked on the Cascade. The frame size is about the same size & shape, but the extra sweetness comes from the spherical lens and the more form-fitting face foam (say that 10 times fast). It is even more comfortable than the Cascade, fits a similar-sized face, and works perfectly with helmets. On top of that, it has great peripheral vision and a close-able set of front vents along the top of the lens. This means that on particularly wet days you can close the vents to prevent moisture from getting between the double lenses. Also, on really cold days you can close it so that your eyeballs don’t freeze solid from the icy draft blowing in.

One last thing about the Smith Phenom — it just looks cool & understated. Black, with a gold lens & accents, and the cool family crest that makes you look like you belong to the ancient MacKay Clan from northern Scotland. Works well with a puffy with fur-lined hood, or look especially natty by pairing it with a pin-striped jacket & pants setup. The only downfall to the Phenom is that it doesn’t have really great side ventilation, which means for snowboarding it might not be as good as some other goggs out there that are built for a sideways stance on a snowboard. But since I mostly do resort skiing & backcountry dawn patrols on two planks, they are perfect for me. If you own the Phenom, let me know your thoughts in the comments below (good & bad). And if you have questions about the goggles that I haven’t covered here then ask them & I’ll try to answer. Also, here are some other good goggles you can pick up on the cheap at Overstock.com:

Overstock Smith Goggles
More Ski Goggles

Also, here’s another goggle review on our sister site FeedTheHabit.com:
Zeal Optics Ski Goggles

-Brig