Reviews by User: tele tele! (7)

The tread on these things is crazy--intimidating, really, but the grip in snow, scree, wet leaves is great. The harder plastic "shields" on the sides of the shoe protect your feet from sharp rocks. They are most definitely warm. The adjustable footbeds are a nice touch, but I find the sizing runs a bit big. The one beef I have: for being a softshell shoe, I would've expected some waterproofing or at least water resistant. In a drizzly trail run, these things were soaked through in 20 minutes. The little gaiters look ridiculous, but with the mondo tread, you toss up quite a rooster tail of dirt behind you and the gaiters keep it out of your shoes.

I bought this pack several years ago to take out for fieldwork. Despite being made of ridiculously thin material, it has held up really well. It really does fit into it's one zippered pocket, and the compression stuff sack straps serve as a quick waistbelt if you take this pack on a trail run. You can still use a hydration bladder with it--really can't go wrong if you're wanting lightweight and no extra frills.

Just got a pair of these pants--I ordered a 2 Long, and they're short. I've got a 32-33 inch inseam, and these pants barely graze the top of my foot. I figured I'd be safe with a Long but I guess it's all relative--it's definitely no 33 inch inseam as I saw claimed on a size chart. What IS long about these pants is the crotch! I went with these 'cause I was tired of having a really long crotch in all my carhartts, and that's still the case with mtn. khakis!

I upgraded from an older two-buckle boot to this boot, and found that I could really push my skis around a lot better. I especially noticed my performance improved when I was able to go faster with more control through cruddy snow. It fits a narrow foot really well, and I definitely prefer the wrap-around liner that Scarpa uses as opposed to the Garmont liners that have stiff tongues--way more comfortable! I use these boots with Karhu Jils and BD lyrics and have a lot of fun on both.

First, these are pretty fun goggles, what with the mirrored lens and the steezed-out frame. BUT, they are not compatible with all helmets--I have a Giro encore, and these goggles leave a massive gaper gap. Also, they do not have an open/close clip or snap in the strap.

So I took a pair of the 165s out in the backcountry on lots of fresh powder, and these skis were amazing...skiing some steep trees, they like to go fast and are really nimble. In crappy snow, you can haul if you're an aggressive skier, but they could be pretty unruly if you're not ready. My only complaints: they were kind of a pain for skinning; the tails walk all over each other. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the graphics--if you see what the boys got on their version of this ski (the team 100s), you might feel the same way.

I ordered these in the same size as my other La Sportiva mountaineering boots (some trango evos), and found them to be much wider and sloppier. I use them for firefighting in the summer, and once you get the leather wet, these boots morph like transformers--they stretched out in all sorts of weird ways. When exposed to heat, the rubber peels away from the leather. The toe is a huge bump toe, the leather makes them heavier than necessary, and the tongue is really bulky. I've done some hiking/mountaineering in it outside of fire, and all in all, there are just so many better options out there that weigh less and aren't so...colossal.

So I bought some pretty stiff planks at a swap and they came with the targas. Trying to be cheap, I decided to try the targas for a season rather than buy new bindings. After a full season of heavy skiing on these (these skis/bindings stayed inbounds), I think these bindings are gentle and lightweight, but they don't have your back on steep, fast turns. In short, they are just not active enough. That, and the barrel was ALWAYS coming unscrewed from the cable, which really sucks when you're haulin' and lookin' cool, cause you end up not lookin' cool on your face.