April 2012 archive

Review: SnowPulse HighMark22 Airbag Pack

The Highmark22 from SnowPulse does a good job of balancing the need for organization with multiple compartments, without getting overly complex.

Dust to Dust – Farewell to John Holleman II

Danno and I had heard of several locations from local friends that were under consideration, among them was Sun Bowl. It looked like a good run according to the topo map, one we were sure John had frequently made tracks on, so our plan was to head up early and break a trail so we could get their faster with the group after lunch.

Review: Spark R&D resurrects Verts™

So it was a revolutionary moment when Paul Ramer sent me a pair of his Assault Snowshoes – an oval shaped platter of stamped aluminum with cookie cutter edges. As usual I thought it was a kooky idea, but as with his Ramer Classic alpine touring bindings, their beauty was only visible after experiencing their performance.

Review: Voile Vector BC – One ski to farm it all?

Depending on what your fave form of sliding is, Voile’s Vector BC is one of the few skis that spans a broad enough range of usefulness to qualify as a backcountry quiver of one. The more time you spend mixing it up with kick ‘n’ glide tours, or casual strolls in the woods and foothills, to earning turns, the more appropriate the Vector BC is.

Rerun: Lone Rangers

Now when you consider that the main reason people don’t ski more is because they don’t have partners you have to wonder what is up with the hard core earn your turns types, like you and me. Does that mean we’re the friendliest skiers out there and we log that many days ‘cuz we exude a je ne sais quoi magnetism that attracts others to us all the time?

Review: BCA’s Float 36 Airbag Pack

…it has a lot of solid, well done features like the buckle pocket, the waist belt & leg loop, vertical carry loops for your skis or a snowboard, a helmet sling, goggle pocket, and the best feature, zippered access from the inside back panel to the cavernous bottom of the pack and a separate compartment for the airbag hardware.

Review: Pieps DSP and DSP Tour

It doesn’t take long before you realize that Pieps is the range leader when it comes to modern avalanche beacons. In test after test the DSP or Tour have the longest, most reliable receive range available (circa Jan. 2012). Whatever the configuration, single, multiple, best or worst coupled, other beacons can only hope to equal …

Keep making backcountry turns