Reviews by User: Shaun Kinney (8)

I went to the Backcountry.Com warehouse and showroom in West Valley, Utah. I was looking for a Jacket to replace my North Face Mtn. Guide Jacket. I did my homework and researched several different jackets all of which had one thing in common... the new GORE-TEX PRO. I tried on the Following jackets: Arc'teryx Sidewinders SV & AR, Mountain Hardwear Beryllium, & North Face Free Thinker. I wanted it to be roomy because I am not your average skinny runt snowboarder. I am 6"2 with 54" Chest 36' waist. This jacket fit the best for my XXL build. These last 2 days 1/29-1/30 2008 have been epic at Snowbird Utah 48" fell in 2 days. (They are saying the best in 20 years) This jacket was bomb proof and it kept me dry. It was waist to chest deep power. I dropped in off of Great Scott and the Cirques with this jacket keeping me completely dry even while cart-wheeling and eating it due to the poor visibility. I ski patrolled on board at The Canyons and got to demo a lot of jackets. This by far is the best jacket I have ever worn.

The collar is high but it is awesome in deep powder...nothing gets in. You don't have to wear one of those stupid ninja hoods that causes your goggles to fog with the higher collar. Obviously those who complain about the high collar have never been in deep powder. The powder skirt was also flawless. My helmet did not rub on my coat. The hood that is zipped up in the collar is a storm hood. I compared the other Arc'teryx jackets with the storm hood outside the collar while trying on several coats in their showroom in Utah. If your a free skier or a boarder and you want free range of motion this is the best Arc'teryx model that I tried on.

Quick and easy deploy with good depth markings... Not too flimsy to get through the hard pack...

Don't be a cheap-o and spend the money to get the best flops on the market! My feet are never sore and I have put some miles on these bad boys with high arches. -Awesome Footbed -Good Traction -No odor problems -Sized right

I wore these down the Subway in Zions and they worked great... Side-note and trade secret-->Always wear socks (synthetic or wool) down the Subway no matter what shoe or sandal you decide to wear...keeps blisters to a minimum from the friction of the sand and your wet feet. The shoe is very comfortable with no break in time... *Needs Eyelets* to keep the adjustment strap from braking (cause of the angles it makes). The adjustment strap goes all the way around the shoe--which helps to tighten it up once the shoe gets loose from being in the water.

Used it for single belays on The Subway in Zions. Ideal for ropes below 10.5 mm Works great in all 3 positions: Reg. friction for repelling, high friction for belay, and hanging auto block belay.

I am gonna bail on all the synthetics from here on out. Good-bye Patagonia Capilene... Good-bye Under Armour Cold Gear... Hello Lamb Chops I am here to stay! Absolutely the best base layer I have ever owned. I don't care about the special washing requirements. The itch wasn't even noticeable and I have sensitive skin. I was amazed at how little body odored was trapped by this material. As with most things now-a-days, you pay for performance when it comes to winter gear. Arc'teryx never ceases to amaze me. I am buying the matching bottoms.

I have used Barryvox, Ortovox, & Pieps doing ski patrol... yes this has all the bells & whistles but its only as good as the capabilities of the user. Take an Avalanche I or II class if you really want to use this to its full potential! http://utahavalanchecenter.org/education/classes