NAU is a Portland, Oregon-based company who builds amazingly-functional, durable and sustainable outerwear and clothing. The new-for-spring 2008, NAU Shelter Jacket is a great example of a highly-technical jacket that is made entirely from post-consumer fabrics and is 100% recycleable. Read up on their design philosophy and what they are doing to change the way technical outerwear is constructed. Great people, great products and sustainable fabrics/processes.

If you are in Portland, Seattle, Denver or Chicago, visit one of their retail locations to see the full product line in person, otherwise visit www.nau.com to browse and buy.

Product: NAU Shelter Jacket (New for Spring 2008)
Price: $278
Recommended Use: Backcountry Skiing, Hiking, Skiing
Pros: Eco-friendly recycled materials, asymmetrical cuffs, lightweight (16 oz.), solid construction, huge front pockets
Cons: Limited retail outlets, no elastic drawstring across front of jacket

More Info: Visit www.nau.com

Now, on GEAR.com we are all about the gear we love. But sometimes it’s tough to separate the gear we love from the sports, athletes, and activities we love. So this article is about Steven Nyman, ski racer for Fischer Skis and an amazing athlete on the US Ski Team.

Steven Nyman is a rising US Ski Team star, and even if he never had another podium finish we would still be stoked to call him a real Utah hero. And as it stands, he already has succeeded in getting a lot of folks thrilled with ski racing again. But it doesn’t stop there — there is a BIG runway in front of him in ski racing.

Steven Nyman grew up skiing Utah’s snowy mountains at Sundance Ski Resort. (more…)

This episode is a quick gear review of the Black Diamond Kilowatt Touring and Telemark ski. It’s a great ski — nice, versatile width and a solid turn radius. Black Diamond skis really cover the bases of the types of skis a skier out West would want. There’s one key downside with the Black Diamond Kilowatt for a former jibber like myself, but you can hear all about that in the video… -Brig

Headlamps are simply essential for backcountry travel while hiking, backcountry skiing (gotta see the skintrack on 5am dawn patrols), or even working on your car in the dark. We’re big fans of headlamps and there’s been a lot of progress in headlamp design over the past few years as traditional bulbs have been completely replaced by brighter and more energy-efficient LED designs.

Well, Princeton Tec is one of those leaders in headlamp design. Their all-new Fuel headlamp combines a compact design with superior ease-of-use. They put together a “lite graffiti” video–which must take oodles of time and effort to produce–to promote the new headlamp. Pretty amazing stuff.

Here’s a little more information on the Princeton Tec Fuel headlamp:

When applied well, technology should be simple. Such is the case with the innovative Fuel headlamp – designed to meet the widest range of applications while remaining small,lightweight and robust. With all of the touch points of the product being considered, the Fuel’s smart design fulfills technology’s promise of actually making our lives easier. What could be better than a light that weighs only 78g with 15 lumens of brightness and 160 hours of burn time? A light that also has an asymmetrical single arm bracket that makes directing the light effortless and reliable; a large,easy to find push button switch and a virtually bulletproof,easy access battery door that protects the 3AAAs and its electronics. Yea.. that’s pretty much it. Simple. Perfect. Fuel.

Buy Now: Visit Backcountry.com to Buy Princeton Tec headlamps