Reviews by User: OkP (8)

When I got a job and put my dirtbagging days behind me, one of the first things I got was a compression sack for my down sleeping bag. My first sack was the Granite Gear Air - it looked stylish, came in a little plastic case, had a neat logo, and so I thought I'd now be the envy of the campsite. Well, after about a year of stuffing my sleeping bag into it, the Granite Gear sack tore. It tore right at the edge where I'd hold it with my left hand as I stuffed it with the right. Granite? More like choss! At the time I thought that maybe stuffsacks are just meant to be disposable like that, like so many other conveniences of our consumer culture. So instead of buying one of the fancy ones, I went to the Outdoor Research outlet store in Seattle and picked up this Helium sack. It definitely doesn't look flashy - the colors are very granola. The first thing I noticed about it was that two of the straps are on snaps. Compared with my old sack, where none were on snaps (just cinches), this made putting it all together much easier. Without snaps, you're left to untangle the "cap" part of the sack every time you put it on, which is not the most fun activity when you want to just pack up and go. With the Helium's snaps, it's a no-brainer - just cap, snap, and cinch! But even more importantly, I've been using this sack for 3 years now, expecting it to rip like the last one, but it's holding together nice and strong. Since I wouldn't mind trying another sack for novelty's sake, I don't hold back when stuffing this guy. I push and pull on it like I'm shoving a demon back into hell. And yet it's held up perfectly. Looks like I'll be stuck with this ugly sack for a while!

I have a tenuous, passionate love-hate relationship with this pack. I’m mainly a climber, so the pack usually has a rack and a rope in it, or the rope strapped to the outside if the inside is too full. I haven’t had a chance to use it on a big wall yet, but I’m pretty confident that it would do a good job, the hipbelt has gearloops, there are burly haul loops stitched to the top, etc. For more alpine adventures, the back of the pack is reinforced with a tough rubbery material for crampons, and the bottom of the back looks like it could easily hold icetools or a shovel. As for the fit, that is what made me fall in love with the pack. It is simply, hands down, the most comfortable pack I’ve ever worn. The weight just seems to disappear, and the cool shaping makes wearing this pack nearly as comfortable as wearing a t-shirt. Make sure the hipbelt is heat molded to fit you, and once it is, it is perfect. In fact, right on the hips is where this pack will put all the weight – don’t worry about it pulling on your back or shoulders. Sometimes I feel like the shoulder straps are there just for looks, since the pack is so good at putting the weight on your hips. Other neat features include the built in bungee on the back, well designed compression straps, and a built in whistle on the chest strap that’s great for annoying your companions and frightening the wildlife. But sadly, I do resent this pack. After just a couple months of use, I discovered a finger-sized hole all the way through the yellow material towards the bottom. Did I put something metal in there? Did it rub against a rock? I don’t know, but other packs I’ve owned certainly didn’t get holes in them without some sort of epic and obvious mishap. I took it back and exchanged it for the same one: great lovers deserve a second chance. I’ve been much more careful with this second one, and we’re approaching our one-year anniversary, but I fear that it just won’t last. I already see scuffs and a couple tiny perforations on that yellow fabric. Whenever I’m stuffing the pack with irregular shaped objects, I watch in terror as they bulge up against the fabric, just waiting for it to rip. Despite the great fit and features of the pack, the yellow material just appears to be weak. Since this is targeted at climbers, this seems like a pretty gross oversight.

I bought this sack for my down sleeping bag, and at first I thought it was just too cool. See through material, a reusable container...I was a happy camper. Until it ripped that is. It tore after about 1 year of use, and it happened near the edge, where I was gripping it with my left hand as I stuffed it with the right. The nylon just came off in my hand. Since then I replaced it with an Outdoor Research Helium stuffsack, and I couldn't be happier. Another neat feature that the Helium has that this one lacks is snaps on the straps. The straps on the air are all permanently attached, so every time you put the "cap" on, you have to make sure they're untangled and aligned. A stuffsack that has snaps is just so much quicker to pack up.

For me these were an upgrade from a set of Drakes that came with a $200 board+bindings beginner package. Learning to ride on those, I imagined that all bindings were the same, and so I focused on improving my technique rather than upgrading my gear. When my friends would brag about their new stuff, I would turn my nose up - pfft, I ride on cheapo gear, and I'm as good as you! But then I gave my Drakes to a friend and got these Rides. I mounted them on that same old board and went up to Steven's Pass in Washington. After the first run I was ready to call my friends and apologize. The difference was phenomenal! These bindings let me have way more control of the board. Turns were smooth, predictable, and thanks to all the padding - nice and soft, even on fairly icy terrain. One thing that really made the improvement obvious was riding the board flat. Before, I would be stressing about the board squirreling this way or that when flat, having to make quick adjustments and being super careful not to overcompensate. With these bindings, riding flat became much easier. I felt like I had way more control - there was no way the board would skim out now. A similar benefit was observed when riding switch. Switch for me is still an awkward ordeal, but these made it much more controlled and predictable. Also, skating with one foot unstrapped, getting off the lift, etc, I felt like I had more control and could finally relax and enjoy the ride. I also love the adjustability on these. The highback can be rotated so that it stays parallel to the board as you rotate your bindings. The toepad can be extended or retracted to fit your boot better. Of course the straps can be adjusted, and the overall length of the binding. Once you get the adjustments dialed, it feels like the binding was custom made just for you. I haven't tried other high-quality bindings, so I can't compare, but I'm freakin' loving these. I can't wait to mount them on my new Jussi board (thanks again!).

This thing is huge! I bought it for traveling with climbing gear, and I can throw everything in there with room to spare, including another pack for actually hauling the stuff around. As a travel pack, it's got some nice features other than the cavernous size. The shoulder straps and the hipbelt can be tucked away so that when you give it to the throwers, I mean baggage handlers, there is nothing extra dangling around getting caught or banged up. It compresses nicely, and when it's in luggage mode it's quite streamlined. Then when you go to grab it off the baggage carousel, there are beefy grips, which you'll appreciate, since you'll probably max out the weight. However, forget about hiking around with it except to/from your transport. The hipbelt has no padding - it's just a layer of nylon. At home I use it for storing gear - it can replace a small closet for that.

These are the very definition of bomber. I'm a little dubious of the claims that you can stand around shin deep in water and stay bone dry (no gaiter is designed for that kind of sealing). But when I used them in snow, ice, and talus, they held up perfectly, kept me dry, and stayed on tight.

I got a different pair of Sessions pants last season, and I liked them so much that I was eager to pick these up this season. And now I'm returning them... First off, the fit. These are tighter than any jeans I own. I'm 6', 200lbs and the other pair of Sessions had a nice roomy fit at medium. I got these in medium as well, and they barely closed. They're also pretty low rise, so even the minimal bending resulted in the plumber syndrome. Opening up the leg vents made them feel a bit better, but I'd rather not resort to that. Now normally I don't complain about sizing when I don't try something on before I buy, but I figured the same size from the same manufacturer would at least be close... But my main gripe is with these pants' durability. After the first day, I noticed that one area near the pocket was pretty badly scuffed, with several perforations going all the way through. I think this may have happened because I had my phone in my pocket and the snowboard rubbed against it as I was carrying it. I took a look at my other pants, and saw that there were a few faint scratches in that same area, but no actual damage. I should say that they pants didn't let any moisture through - the 10K delivered just fine. The next day I was already resolved to return these, but I thought I'd give them one more go. As I put them on, they sat a bit low (as per the sizing gripe). I grabbed the belt loops to pull them up a bit, and as I pulled, one of the belt loops completely tore off its bottom stitching. I'm still looking forward to scoring some nice cheap Sessions pants, but it seems like this particular edition is more for fashion than functionality.