gear

If you’re looking for a snowboard with serious snap, pop, power, and control (and, really, who isn’t?),

At first glance, the new Infuse boot from Vans looks like a vintage mountaineering boot, with a full wrap of beefy rubber around a premium leather body. To add to its old school class it has regular laces and a removable power strap.

As a kid, my first pair of non hand-me-down gloves was a pair of Swanys. They were warm, comfortable and lasted through years of teenage angst and abuse. As such, I was psyched to get another pair on my hands this year. Swany's Eco-Pipe Gloves provide the warmth and comfort I've come to expect from the brand while taking gloves into a totally new dimension with their unique, environmentally friendly design.

I spent the majority of my season skiing DPS' Wailer 112RP Hybrids and found them to be an an unbelievable resort and sidecountry powder ski that's remarkably versatile nearly everywhere else. When Jackson Hole's snow report calls for something other than fresh powder, however, I typically find myself reaching into my quiver for a different type of ski. DPS' Wailer 99 Pure compliments the 112s perfectly in this regard.

I feel like I've been stuck in a cycle of buying cheap, disposable gloves the past couple of seasons. I try to ski 100 days every year and the cumulative wear from that builds pretty quickly, especially on a pair of gloves. My solution to this has been to buy cheap gloves knowing they'll probably wear out by the end of the season. Hestra, with its Henrik Windstedt Pro Glove, however, may have shattered this paradigm.

If you've heard of DPS, you probably know them for their highly acclaimed progressively-shaped carbon fiber skis. Building on that success, the ski company has ventured into the realm of ski poles with a bold offering. Their adjustable Nori Poles weigh a mere 255 grams each. By comparison, a Black Diamond's Traverse Pole weighs 295 grams and the difference is immediately noticeable. Their upper and lower shafts are made of Tital and carbon fiber, respectively, which creates a remarkable combination of stiffness and strength without compromise to weight.

I went through the process of buying a sidecountry backpack this past fall and walked away from it fairly disappointed. The pack I ended up buying works fine, looks okay and fits well enough, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. As such, it wasn't much of a surprise to me that packs started catching my eyes while wandering the floors of SIA this past January. The one that stood out to me the most was Arc'teryx's Quintic 28 backpack because it not only looked good, but was thoughtfully designed in a functional way that few other of today's packs seem to be.

Marker Duke 16 Ski Bindings Review provided by evo - "This is my third season with the Dukes and I've skiied everything from icy groomer laps at the resort to multi-night backcountry randonee trips. They've been with me in Whistler, Washington, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming.