Category: Gear

First Look: Spark R&D Dyno hardboot binding

The vast majority of snowboarders prefer soft boots for the same reason I prefer tele boots over alpine boots — comfort. Unfortunately when you need mountaineering versatility soft boots don’t perform the way hard plastic boots do. True, hard plastic boots don’t perform in soft snow the way soft boots can, and soft snow is …

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BD recalls first year JetForce® packs

A voluntary recall has been announced by Black Diamond, Inc. of all first generation JetForce® avalanche safety airbag packs sold under the Black Diamond, Pieps, and POC brand names. According to a letter by Peter Metcalf, the CEO, President and Founder of Black Diamond Equipment, the recall affects all packs using BD’s JetForce® technology sold …

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G3 Expands Climbing Skin Connections

  When it comes to climbing skins it’s important to be mentally prepared to split hairs when it comes to differences. Which is another way to say that if you’re new to the sport of backcountry skiing, don’t worry about who makes the best climbing skins, just get a pair. You need to get some …

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Waterproof apparel formulas voluntarily change

Editors Note: This is a fairly technical report on a change that has occurred to the technology we commonly refer to as “waterproof/breathable” for outdoor apparel. The short version is the chemical composition changed from C8 to C6 while you weren’t looking. What follows is the reason why, and what it means going forward.   …

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Review: BCA’s Scepter ski pole

  Adjustable length backcountry ski poles have become a commodity. Now that everyone has figured out how to make their own Flick-Lock style adjustment mechanism getting a decent adjustable ski pole is as simple as figuring out what your budget is and buying the most conveniently available model. There are certainly differences among the many …

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Upgrade details to Meidjo v1.2

Update 09dec15 When this article was first published, we called this version of Meidjo v2. Since then M-Equipment has made further changes rendering this version 1.2 (retroactively) and subsequent changes in December 2015 as v2.0. Please excuse any confusion on versions below. Those who stood by and watched while the first wave of Meidjos was …

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Mammoth shoot out: Outlaw VS Meidjo

The rule of Winter ’15 season has been to act fast when fresh snow arrives, otherwise there won’t be much left. A couple of late storms hit the Sierra last week. Though characteristically weak for this season their freshness coincided with fresh updates to 22 Design’s beta version Outlaw, and a host of revisions to …

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