The Ski Gear Blog

We’re getting into that gear lust time of year again. My wish list is usually a compilation realistic acquisitions and pipe dreams. One must-have and affordable piece of gear for this season is a boot bag that can be worn as a backpack. My current boot bag is falling apart and I’d like to replace it with something that has a lot of capacity and leaves my hands free. As a dad, I’m a pack mule on a lift-served ski morning. I posed this same question in the Gear Forum, and got a near unanimous answer. The Transpack. I’m looking at the TRV Pro, pictured above. This piece of gear isn’t just fantasy — I’m getting it, and soon.

While the new boot bag may well be in my possession very soon, new skis are probably a fantasy. But I’ll suspend reality, and proceed with the tradition of Labor Day gear lust.

I assumed I’d finally have a ski for powder last year when I picked up a pair of Icelantic Pilgrims. Going from at 78mm ski to the 90mm Pilgrims, I was sure I’d be floating on top in 12-18 inches of snow, but the Pilgrims just aren’t powder skis. Don’t get me wrong, the Pilgrims changed my game. They required me to ski aggressively and, eventually, I did. By March when I went to Jay Peak I was holding my own with true expert skiers. And when I got my chance at the Slides in April, I went all out.

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I’ve never been one to readily accept change. I seem to find comfort repeating things over and over. I do the same drive to ski the same mountain 20+ days a year.

I remember when Karhu announced they were changing the XCDGT from 57mm at the waist, up to 68, and making it shorter. I got online and bought a new replica of the old GTs I was skiing at the time. I have 2 pairs of Merrill Doubles and one pair is still in the original box. (If I could ski my way through my Asolo Snowfields, and BOTH pairs of Merrill Doubles – I’d die a happy man.)

I’ve been resisting the idea of twin tip skis since I first became aware of them. They’re for jibbers. I have no desire to ski backwards. It will be hard to herringbone. But this season, if you’re committed to “directional skis” your choices seem slim.

I’d asked for advice on moving to a fatter ski, and the advice that I got was pretty consistent: Line Prophet 90s, 100s, and Icelantic Pilgrims. Very similar skis that are all twin tips.

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We received an email from Columbia asking if we’d test a parka with their new Omni-Heat insulating technology. The rep was very forthright: “All we ask is that you fill out a questionnaire on the product, and do a blog entry about the performance of the coat. We do not expect you to pull any punches.” With the Gore-tex coating on my North Face shell gone, I figured I had little to lose.

We wondered: Does Columbia Omni-Heat really work? My perception of Columbia was that they make nice gear, but I have never considered it to be expedition grade. While I’m not even sure what that means, if you’d asked me a few months ago which coat I’d rather be in on a planned or unplanned night in the woods, I’d have chosen my North Face.

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