Reviews by User: Howie F. (15)

The Rossignol Axial ski binding is the only one I will use. It locks me into the ski and I never have to worry about popping out inadvertently. The axial only releases when it has to and that is what I want from a ski binding. Other than that I feel as though I get great edge response and awesome power transmission. Highly recommended!

I have skied many different makes and models of bindings and this is my first choice (look or rossi). I feel locked to my skis, excellent edge response and I never pre-eject. I have these bindings (the new ones and the older version) on a couple pairs of skis and I only come out when it really matters (which is what I want). I weigh 145lbs, expert skier and I only set the DIN at 8 and have never felt the need to crank it up like I do on markers. I have worked as a tech in ski shops and ski 5-6 days a week. I check my bindings every other time I go out but I almost don't need to with these as they are the standard for consistency.

After hanging out with too many "spat heads" who rocked their spatulas in everything under the sun I decided to buy this ski at the end of last season. I ended up skiing 19 of my last 20 days of the season (march and april) on the 'toons and never once regretted having them on my feet. The one day I didn't use them I demoed a pair of Dynastar Legend Pros which are a great ski but I was wishing for the reverse camber fun of my new favorite ski. Conditions were powder, tracked powder, soft corn and soft manmade. Everything is fun with these skis! I love throwing the tails out and getting jibby. You have to be comfortable carving on your inside edge (of your uphill ski) occasionally as the odd shape of these skis will force you to throw out everything you know about conventional 'form.' People who call these skis quiver or specialty skis are not opening their minds to new ways of skiing.

After hanging out with too many "spat heads" who rocked their spatulas in everything under the sun I decided to buy this ski at the end of last season. I ended up skiing 19 of my last 20 days of the season (march and april) on the 'toons and never once regretted having them on my feet. The one day I didn't use them I demoed a pair of Dynastar Legend Pros which are a great ski but I was wishing for the reverse camber fun of my new favorite ski. Conditions were powder, tracked powder, soft corn and soft manmade. Everything is fun with these skis! I love throwing the tails out and getting jibby. You have to be comfortable carving on your inside edge (of your uphill ski) occasionally as the odd shape of these skis will force you to throw out everything you know about conventional 'form.' People who call these skis quiver or specialty skis are not opening their minds to new ways of skiing.

The Burton Hybrid Jacket is definitely a snowboard jacket with a roomy, baggy fit. I love this jacket. It is super waterproof and has tons of great features. All the pockets you would expect from a top of the line jacket. I am definitely stoked on the Burton Hybrid Jacket.

I just picked up this pack last week and took it on an afternoon mountain bike trip yesterday. I was very impressed wtih the comfort of the straps and the way the suspension system easily distributed the weight. When biking I move around a lot and I need to have any pack firmly secured to my back and this pack is great for that. Not to mention the conveience of having water so close at hand (mouth).

With The North Face you know you are going to get something well made and this pack definitely is. I use this camelbak for mountain biking. It keeps me hydrated and also has room for a rain layer, some energy bars and my cell phone. I can't complain because that's all I need while on my bike.

This is my newest favorite piece of outerwear. Last Saturday I skied at Mt. Sunapee, NH and a cute "liftie" said "great looking jacket". It's not too often that an old fart like me gets the attention of a young lady. Not only that, it works for tooling around town or as the layer before my shell. It's not quite warm enough for alpine skiing in the really cold weather, but it will be great on the X-C trails. The only addition I would make is a ring for the lift ticket so that I don't have to put stress on the zipper.

The Coleman Full Quickbed is very easy to use and offers a great night sleep when you are car camping. I bought this before a recent overnight to Moab, Utah. It fit perfectly in my tent. All you have to do is buy some batteries and use the included pump to inflate it. The Coleman Full Quickbed inflates in about 90 seconds. It did not leak at all and was still fully inflated in the morning. Just one piece of advice: make sure not to lose the adapter piece that goes with the inflater because it is required for the special Coleman air seal. Overall I would definitely buy this again.

So glad I bought these glasses. I've been hearing people rave about Smith sunglasses for awhile and so I finally ponied up and bought this pair. It was definitely worth it. The quality is superb. Great lenses. And I look cooler too. I can already feel my reputation rising. These have not left my head since I bought them

The gold (orange) standard in skins. Totally bomber. Get the STS if you have twintips.

I love this ski. Pretty sweet. It has a mini-rocker, not as much as the hell bents, but enough to help you feather over variable conditions. The K2 Seth does it all; from park to powder to every day groomers. If I was going on a trip and could only bring one pair of skis this is what I would bring. Also the K2 Seth is great for riding switch because of the early rise in the tip and the tail. It definitely make skiing backwards easier.

The 686 Smarty Cargo pant is a great deal because it has tons of technical features. They have loads of pockets, common and secret. Great waterproofing, I am always dry. One thing I love is the button down glove strap on the right thigh. This allows you to strap down your gloves while on the chair lift if you need to adjust your goggles or something else and then you don't have to worry about dropping anything. The 686 cargo pant is full of features that snowboarders need.

The 686 Smarty Cargo pant is a great deal because it has tons of technical features. They have loads of pockets, common and secret. Great waterproofing, I am always dry. One thing I love is the button down glove strap on the right thigh. This allows you to strap down your gloves while on the chair lift if you need to adjust your goggles or something else and then you don't have to worry about dropping anything. The 686 cargo pant is full of features that snowboarders need.

If you have not made the switch from poly-pro to merino wool yet then you are missing out. I have been so happy with my Icebreaker base layer. Long gone are the days of stinky polypropelene. It used to be that if I even thought about sweating my synthetic baselayers would reek. I just got this insulating piece and have worn 5 times without washing and still can not smell a thing. Also it is very soft for wool. Very comfortable, highly recomended.

Got these pants at the beginning of last season and proceeded to put 90 days of skiing on them. Always impressed. Waterproof, warm, comfortable. Sometimes I would find myself still wearing them hours after the lifts had stopped, gross I know. The handwarmer pockets are fleece lined which are super comfortable and the cargo pockets have plenty of room for whatever you need on the hill. I would definitely get another pair if mine weren't in such great condition.

Definitely do not buy this product. I received this as a gift before a 6 week cross country road trip. I tried many times to charge a Palm Treo with it and could never get more than 20% of a charge. Placed this on the dash in the middle of the summer and that still was not enough sun to charge the solio completely. Or rather it would say it was completely charged but it could not transmit this charge to the Treo. I read the manual several times and still had no luck. Maybe it was defective but in my opinion this product is a gimmick.