Reviews by User: Noah Howell (6)

The lines are blurred between resort, backcountry, frontcountry and sidecountry skiing. If I want to do a little of everything, in the same day, in the same boot, I can. This is high performance stability and control for taking the tele-turn to this next level everyone keeps talking about. With a free-pivot binding (the O1 perhaps) I don't mind the lack of a touring mode on the uphill and it leaves me thinking yipeee on the downhill.

Warning, this may read like a bad infomercial, but I'm really in love with these skis. How do you make 4" feel like 8", 8" feel like 16" and over 2 feet of snow the most fun you've ever had. Behold the Megawatt! Hands up, or hands down the best powder ski I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. We've had some really deep days this winter and it's nice to finally be on a ski that I can say is fat enough. No more wallowing and poling your way out when the slope flattens, these boards bring the fast flotation. The front rocker helps in several ways. The ski turns quickly, it eliminates the classic tip dive tele tumble and makes crusts, upside down pow, and variable snow a pleasure. Accidentally ended up not skiing powder one day and it was a big surprise to find they actually rail on the hardpack as well. They have acquired the nickname "Mega-what", due to all the questions folks ask when they are seen touring around the backcountry. With big skis comes more weight to lug around and I'm down with "light is right", but these are worth every pound and they come with me whenever there's fresh snow on the ground now. If I wasn't clear, I like them very much and highly recommend them if you ski powder often.

I'm constantly changing over from skinning to skiing to filming and my hands get exposed and cold. It's nice to throw the Guides on and know my hands will warm right up. They have been my glove of choice for the past 2 seasons on the local slopes and distant expeditions. The long gauntlet style keeps the snow out and the leather gives good grip on poles, rock, rope and whatever I can get my hands on.

The Detonator fits well, reveals the terrain in low light and won't fog unless I'm really working hard and don't have the vents cleared. My friend Dylan says, "If you can see over it, ski over it", tough to do if your goggles are foggy. Great to watch a small company grow with hard work, good customer service and innovative technology.

This shirt breathes, sheds light snow and fights the wind, those are good things. I wear this top skiing everyday with just a light t-shirt underneath and I don't have to fuss around too much with layering until I'm finished hiking and ready to ski. It's a simple layer that does a lot.

The "puffy", a key piece in the "hey I go in the mountains" look. Well, the Phantom will actually be of benefit when you make it out into the hills. If light is right then this is the jacket Dick Cheney duck hunts in. And at 800 fill it's nice and toasty while you're waiting for the paramedics to come while thinking up excuses for shooting your friend in the face. I wear the sapphire because it really compliments my eyes.