Reviews by User: FaireduSnow (7)

I've used a few probes before and I have to say the quickness with which you can go from packed to fully extended is phenomenal. It certainly has something to do with the little nubs on the ends of the pole sections. Might be longer than what most people think they'll need, but I prefer to be on the safe side of that estimation. Anyways, comes with a little case, it's light, durable, and goes together in literally under 5 seconds. Probably more like 2.

These pants are great. They're waterproof like you wouldn't believe, and the waist size (large) fits me at 33. My only complaint is that the legs seem a bit short for the waist size. I bought them off of steep and cheap for about 100 bucks so I guess I can't complain, but I didn't know they were a ski-specific design when I first bought them. This basically means the legs are bit shorter than snowboard pants of the same size. I'm not totally put off by the fact that the back of my pant leg isn't dragging on the ground behind my boot, but it's good to know beforehand.

These threads are stellar. Seriously, you could wear this shirt for probably 80% of everything you ever do in your life. Examples of this include: Early morning bike rides when its cold Bartending in a drafty Bierstube Après action in the lodge Heading out to a show at the pub Sitting in front of the computer typing a review about a shirt. Seriously I like the screen printed design - in shirts and in every other aspect of life, simplicity is best. If I had one gripe about this shirt it would probably the length of the torso, but it's not that it's too short, I just wear it cycling every now and then and when you're in the drops you wish it was a tad longer in the back. Other than that it's damn well made. I have two.

Got these puppies halfway through the season to replace a pair of old DCs that smelled like death. I had to re-learn the art of tying boots once I actually rode in them - make no mistake, these can be some of the stiffest boots you'll ever wear, and they don't even have to cut off your circulation to do it! But if you're trying to float through some pow turns or you want to get down in the park, you can easily loosen em up and throw down. Only problem is that makes the top of the boot pretty damn wide, so it can be an issue getting in and out of those little gaiters they're putting on pants these days. Even still, these are sweet freakin boots, and although they're not exactly what I'd call "low profile," they're not on the high end of the spectrum either. A good call for any environment, I recommend. Great success!

Seriously, the idea of snowboarding/snow-sport clothing being not only functional but also highly fashionable is sort of a joke to me. Why the hell anyone cares about the color being a shade or two off is just a farce. FUNCTIONALLY, this jacket is just great. All the people who posted reviews saying the fit is abnormal probably just failed to mention that they have ape-like torso to arm ratios or vice-versa. Any normal person could walk into a store and fit the one that's their normal size, although I will agree that it is sized probably a half size bigger than most other manufacturers. I do, however, have a complaint about the FUNCTIONALITY of the jacket, seeing at that's mostly what these reviews are supposed to be about. Here goes: If your thumbs are located in their anatomically correct positions, you will not be able to use the thumb holes in the gaiters. They were clearly designed by a man in Plano, TX who had only ever read about snow in a book. They are oriented about as wrong as they could possibly be without constituting a catastrophic failure of the garment. Even still, I don't know why they were shipped like this. It's such a joke. But hey, nobody used to have gaiters so it's easily something you can get around, so I give it 4 stars. Just pretend you never saw the holes and everything will be fine.

These are decent pants, no doubt. They have enough space for random chapstick tubes in the pockets, a little pass holder clip (seems tailored more towards regular riders but who cares, that's the way I ride) and good length. The zip-out liner doesn't attach anywhere inside the pant other than the top, so it can be annoying to get in and out of towards the end of the day. My general philosophy in that regard is if I'm actually WEARING the inner liner, it's because it's freakishly cold and I don't really care how much of a bother it is to get in and out. On the negative side, the gaiter at the bottom of the pant leg is a pain to get over your boots because it's literally 1 cm from being to small to get over most boots. That said, once you get it on, it won't come off without being well-worked on, so you don't have to worry about getting powder up your legs. Also, although the color I have is no longer available, (and I forget the name) the pants that appear to be mostly shades of grey also include PURPLE stripes. Well if you exude masculinity like myself, you have no reason to fear purple, pink or any other color, but it bears mentioning. Oh they've met all my waterproof expectations as well.

This jacket is well proportioned/sized, keeps you dry effectively, and seems well constructed. My one complain is the arm gaiters - they are not designed to be worn by humans (at least not humans who have anatomically normal arm/hand structure). You either have to twist your arm to fit your thumb through the thumbhole, or you have to twist the sleeve, neither of which are desirable. The solutions are: live with twisted sleeves/arms while wearing the jacket, forget about the gaiters and just wear the jacket old school, or get someone with the appropriate skill set to alter the jacket so that it fits human beings (this will included stitching up existing holes and making new ones). If you aren't used to wearing gaiters, don't worry about it. If you are, but you're not willing to go to the trouble to fix them, look elsewhere. As long as the gaiters aren't a dealbreaker, this is a good jacket.