Reviews by User: Todd Schmalhurst (9)

This is one tough bag. It's made of very strong fabrics, rubber and zippers. The three buckle compression straps hold everything tightly inside. I used it with one pair of skis and one snowboard. Not exactly it's intended use, but it worked great. I also had 1 pair of snowboard boots, 2 helmets, and a pair of poles inside and it was about 45lbs, so still ok for the airlines. Getting through the airport was so much easier with this bag, than my old single ski bag that was carried over the shoulder. I made the mistake of taking an elevator once, the escalators are much easier. It could use a simple handle on the long side so you could carry it with one hand for a short distance. We used the compression straps as handles and that worked fine.

This is one of my all time favorite pieces of clothing. It can be used is such a wide variety of situations, cold weather as a layer, or cool spring/fall as an outer layer. The checked fabric keeps the right amount of heat in when it's needed, but breathes well when its warmer. If you buy one, make sure you buy a second in another color because you'll love it that much.

I needed a new compass, and since my primary use for a compass are adventure races and orienteering events, this looked like the perfect compass. I would have liked to see a 1:10,000 scale UTM on it as well, since we are fortunate to have many areas mapped to that detail. However after using, I found that the needle doesn't settle to north very quickly, if at all. I had a few occasions when i traveled in the wrong direction because what the compass said was north, wasn't north at all,... easily 20-40 degrees off. After only a few uses I have retired this compass, because what good is a compass if it doesn't point north?

This is a great rack. It's on my 2000 Explorer all summer, and folds up nicely out of the way when I don't have my bike, but then in the matter of seconds you can fold it out and load/lock your bike. As a mountain biker I tend to drive down some rough roads to get to trail heads and because this mounts to the trailer hitch (and therefore the car frame) it is rock solid. For added stability use the Thule pin lock or a screw bolt instead of just a hitch pin. This pinches the rack to the hitch receiver and prevents any movement.

This is an update to my previous review. I still love the bag, but it did suffer some damage by the airlines. I flew on Frontier from Minneapolis to Steamboat with a layover in Denver and on the return trip the bag came through with about a 2 inch gash all the way through. All the gear was still fine, and Frontier did admit to abusing the bag and they repaired it within a couple weeks. All in all, I would buy this bag again, because of the size, wheels, and durability. I don't like the hard tube cases since they can be hard to load depending on the size of your equipment and they don't have extra room for boots and helmets.

Warm, but not too thick. Haven't worn them in warm weather to see how they are at wicking sweat.

This was a gift for my mom, and she loved it. Kept her nice I warm. Sorry but i can't be any more specific since I haven't worn it.

Great poles. Easy to adjust and don't slip. I'd recommend them even if you don't need an adjustable length pole.

These don't contour exactly to the shape of your foot. I'd prefer a SmartWool or Bridgdale sock. They do seam to be more durable than the SmartWool ultralights, but only time will tell on that.