Reviews by User: Elias Littenberg (21)

I'm not the rowdiest cliff hucker you'll ever meet, but I have been known to take a chance here and there which leads to the inevitable explosion/tumble through rocks and trees. I figured 'Hey I wear a helmet, may as well keep my spinal cord safe too, right?" POC body armor is lightweight and comfy stuff and you don't need to be a big mountain contest skier to appreciate the extra protection gained from padding up some. When you first put this vest on, it'll feel a little like a backpack. That feeling goes away within a day or two as the ergonomic back plates eventually match the shape of your own back. After a week, this vest is barely noticeable. I was concerned that wearing another layer would be too warm, but am happy to say that the mesh breathes super easy and I haven't had to deal with a swampy back...even while hiking on sunny days. I like the snug fit of this piece since the protective 'shell' doesn't float around and therefore has not restricted any movement when I flail my 360's off of, umm, sick cat tracks. I haven't slammed onto my back or wrapped myself around a tree while wearing this, but I haven't crushed my helmeted head this season either. That being said, I'm glad to be wearing a little armor. Just in case...

Hey just a heads-up for all you snowboarders out there: My buddies who have this pack have all ended up with damaged straps from carrying their boards. Their board edges cut into the straps and it takes a toll fairly quickly. Other than that, they're all in love with this pack. You just might want to reinforce the contact points before heading out. A little duct tape will go a long way. You know as they say, 'If you can't duck it...'

The extrem-o energy blast you get from these carbo bombs will throttle you towards the outer limits of gnar. Wash a few down with a Red Bull for breakfast and experience what it feels like to be the Incredible Hulk. Aaaagggghhhh!!! No challenge is too tough, no goal too far. The first flavor tsunami that crushes your mouth tastes like a child's favorite candy treat...and then the adrenaline hits! Domination commences!

Sweet, sweet goggle. These have the most comfy face foam that I've ever used, fit my Smith Hustle helmet (http://office.backcountry.com/store/SMI0490/Smith-Hustle-Helmet.html) like they were born there, and have the best peripheral vision of any goggle on out there - hands down! After a few face shots (okay, it was more like crashing on my face) they didn't fog up a bit. I had heard that the quick release system ended up making for a goggle that was a little more 'touchy' when it came to fogging. I had no such issues. They did fog up some when sitting up on my beanie (all goggles will) but they de-fogged themselves in a few seconds once I got moving. Skiing switch is a breeze with the frameless design. You don't need to turn your head much at all, just a peek over the shoulder is all it takes to get a good visual thanks to the peripheral vision of these perfect goggles. They are spendy, but don't forget that you'll get your goggles, two lenses, a goggle bag, and a case to keep it all together. Pretty money!

It's my third day chillin in these cool looking gray pants. Phone fits well in any of the pockets and it's easy enough to do the electric slide while wearing em. But why the button fly? Yeah it looks cool in all the jean commercials, but out on the town a button fly can be a real struggle. Know what I mean?

Rocked a pair of 192cm when I saw that they have a 40m radius. Oh hell yeah they wanna go straight! What a fun ride. The honeycomb tips and tails mean that even my skinny ass could still turn em quick in the trees and spin em easy off natural hits. Bigger (170lbs and up) people may want to check out a stiffer platform, but this is a near perfect BIG ski for smaller shreds. Near perfect? Yeah, would rather a more creative name than THUG. The fake-gangsta thing has to go away. It's not funny/relevant/cool anymore.

Well, more like muddy spring runoff to cool clear drinking water...in less than five minutes. With much skepticism I watched as my buddy pulled enough water out of the stream to fill three Nalgene bottles and a pot for mac n cheese before the tents were even up. Well done! Since I was the one toting it in my pack for a few days, I also appreciate the near weightlessness of this killer filter. Grabbed one for myself as soon as we got back to the world.

Look dope, dry quick, super light. Yup, boardshorts. Spent 3 days popping around San Diego in these and they handled the beach, bar scene, and In and Out Burger with equal finesse.

I just want to throw out there that the issues involving pain from this boot described by 'Horrible' sound like a poor foot shape to shell shape combo. I used to fit boots for folks and my immediate thought was this person's foot may be too narrow for a Nordica shell. Therefore the instep buckles need to be cranked way down to compensate, making arches scream. Great boot for wider feet (100 to 102mm), taller insteps, and thicker calves. Try 'em on!

That 'ka-CHUNK' you hear when stepping into these binders is the sound of commitment. You will be staying in them until you manually remove them at the end of the day. Drink your milk and send it!

This ski has become my favorite ski to pop around on this season. I originally wanted one for park and groomer days, but I've ended up taking it all over the resort as well as nearby slack country. It's super light for how wide it is, making it a breeze to lug up any bootpack. The mellow sidecut makes it perfect for variable snow and it's a cinch to ski switch. I've been loving it in the spring snow, especially in steep treed terrain where there's lots of turns to be made and the snow changes rapidly from shaded areas to sunny spots with every turn. We do have a bit of a bummer though. These things have a ridiculous amount of camber. Cross country skiers would look at these and say, "Damn, that's a lot of camber!". I find that your outside, pinky edge will catch a lot which makes you need to pay attention more than you normally would on the groomed stuff. I'm also not yet comfy taking big park airs with these for the same reason. I don't want to deal with any hiccups while going that fast. Landing airs in natural snow is no sweat though, so that's cool. Another issue with the super-camber is that I lose a lot of edge contact on steep, icy snow. While waiting my turn to drop into a slick 40 degree chute, my tips and tails were on the snow while a long section of ski under my foot wasn't making any contact at all. I'm 135lbs and have the 180cm and I couldn't de-camber it with my weight. I'm sure that these will break in as the core softens up, but your first few weeks may feel a bit funny until you get used to it. All in all these are a super fun, light weight, bouncy ski from an up and coming player in the industry.

Killer blue color, weighs about as much as a sandwich...does it get any better? Yup! Nearly stink proof thanks to supreme breathability. Windproof, waterproof and warm. I love this hoody for touring on chilly to warm days, belaying in the shade, standing around while looking cool, and rocking out at Jazz games. It kills as a mid layer on the super cold days too! The only downside is the zipper. It's a bit of a pain, but not enough of one to knock off a star. There's never a bad time or place for this piece and you'll always want to be wearing it. I'm wearing mine now, guess it rules for typing too.

The sharply angled rocker makes Surface skis really distinctive. I expected the skis to be a little catchy around the rocker point, but that wasn't the case. Smooth turning, super light, stable for their weight, and pretty fun in variable snow. I wasn't stoked on the sharply rockered tail though. It makes the ski feel super short and it doesn't have the same surfy feel of some other reverse camber sticks. Might be worth it to move the bindings forward a bit to increase the stability at higher speeds and on bigger drops.

These things are some of the most comfy pants that I've ever worn. Light and warm, but breathable and with no stink factor. I'll never buy capilene again. I initially picked these up for skiing (nothing in my boot!) but have used them for everything outside, active, and cold. I wish they had a fly...and then realized that Icebreaker makes one, I just picked up the wrong version. Oh well. On the tag, you can find info in order to look up the sheep that grew your wool. Cool! I'm gonna send him some sheep-food so that I can get a killer shirt next.

Merino equals never-stink-o. I've worn these each several times and been amazed that they don't ever get funky. I wash em anyway, just in case. Yeah, they do come up a little over my knee. But at least they stay there instead of sagging down and bunching up. Oh yeah, my feet are warm when skiing and they're great for wearing with shorts while out ballin' in the streets!

This is a good looking jacket! I picked up the gray/houndsplaid and really like the subtle yellow and pale blue threads through the plaid. The cut of this jacket is straight down from the underarms. They must've pulled in the sides for the pic to make it look more tailored than it really is. Without a pretty baggy pant, this jacket may look a little awkward. The neat-o snaps and flashy hilights are a nice touch but I have no idea what the half zip off the chin is for. Maybe I just don't know how to rock it yet....

As far as the look and feel of these pants go, they're tops. Soft like regular old corduroy and mine are a pre-faded looking chocolate color which I really dig. Style points only as they are not at all tech. No vents (bummer!), not much of a liner, and no inner tabs on the waist to cinch down some on the baggy fit. Oh and, now this may sound picky, but the hip pockets are open when the zipper is down. Weird. I'd prefer it the other way around so the zips don't work their way down as I'm out skiin' around. Ya know? Anyway, if you're looking for a unique and stylie pant, these are dope. If you need something more serious for storm riding, hiking, cold days, etc then you'd be better off looking for something else.

Spent a long weekend in the San Rafael Swell of central Utah crawling through slot canyons with some old friends and their new pup. We wouldn't have been able to go far without this well designed pack. We had to negotiate dozens of bouldering style obstacles throughout the weekend and were able to pass along Guard Dog in a fire-line technique with no discomfort to him. Not to mention that plenty of food and, more importantly in the desert, water could be packed easily in the saddle bags. The cherry on top would be this packs durability. When the little dude would squeeze through tight spots his pack would come out the other side looking like new. Wish I could say the same for my shirt!

Dude. So easy to set up and take down. You'll have this thing up in under two minutes even if you are on your own. Stable in strong winds, great sky view w/o the fly, light and compact...couldn't ask for anything more. Plenty of room for two people and a medium sized dog and the vestibule ate up our packs. Stoked!

I love this book! Great autumn read for getting jazzed up for the coming snow. The maps aren't all that detailed, but the writing is. Helps me to sort out the best way up to the non-obvious areas. Pick it up and check out some non-Cottonwood skiing!

Nope. A legit boot with over-the-top stylings. I picked these up to use as a comfy park boot and for those days when you just feel like cruising. I don't need my feet crushed in my plug boots every day, ya know? The out of the box fit will straight spoil your feet. By my second run I had forgotten that it was my first day in a new pair of boots. The BOA style liner is a great idea. Your ankles will be snugged into the heel pocket of the boot without the need to crank hard on your buckles. They are also stiff enough for all-mountain riding, much more supportive that I would have thought. For big days on big skis, I'm still sticking with my racer boots, but otherwise it looks like I'm going to be pimping these way more often than I expected when I picked them up. A last note: I wear Asterisk knee braces which have always made my boot liners look like a doggy chew toy after just a few runs. But after 4 hours of tram laps, these still looked new. I'm not under the impression that this will last forever, but it is nice to see that they are going to be durable. Dropping!