Ben

15 days or so on these skis now and my first impression is that they are very playful and softer than other lightweight skis I've used. This is great in most conditions, but on hard pack they do have some trouble carving/holding an edge but I haven't skied something in this category that can very well. Fast and light on the up, still floats enough to be fun in powder. Overall a very versatile ski that I see myself using almost every day outside of really deep powder and resort laps. I am 5' 8" and got the 1...

This beacon is simply the best on the market imo. Throughout multiple avy classes and dozens of practice scenarios, I consistently see barryvox beacons outperforming the rest in range and success with the marking function in multiple burials. It's easy to understand, the group check function is nice with larger groups, and I'd recommend it to any of my friends getting into the backcountry.

There are some mixed opinions on the whippet but I have found it to be a very versatile and useful backcountry tool. Uses other than self-arresting: - Cutting out snowpits - scraping snow off ski top sheets while moving - opening a beer - flipping heel risers - cleaning ice out of bindings - hooking a tree on really steep icy skin tracks - camming into rock cracks to pull through waist deep snow in a couloir. I've only had to use it once in a fall while skiing and it did its job slowing me down enough to ...

The fit of this helmet is simply amazing, I don't know if it's just my head or their 360 fit system but it fits better than any skiing/climbing/bike helmet I've ever owned. I tried on the ski trab helmet and the movement 3tech, but both were awkward fits for me. The ventilation is not amazing but keeps you cool enough on warmer days and not too much to where you get a brain freeze on cold windy days. Goggle and headlamp attachments do their job. It being so lightweight and comfortable I put it on at the car...

Roughly 150 days in these boots, they ski extremely well IMO, quite stiff but once you're used to it they're great. Extremely comfortable as well, I use them for shoveling the driveway, ice climbing, and even driving to the trailhead if I'm running late. Durability is where problems arose for me, over the past month in them the finger strap ripped off/velcro failed, boa system snapped and the ski/walk mechanism literally sheared off while side-stepping. Luckily all these things happened in chill areas but i...