Winter Buyer's Guide
Archive
Hate cold toes? This is one of the first boots with an integrated, rechargeable heating system in the liner—crank it to a cozy 104 degrees for up to six hours. Caveat: The liner lacing always seemed to loosen by midday. burton.com …
Although it was designed for ice climbing, the Minus One proved ideal for everything from backcountry skiing to cold-weather mountain biking. It’s waterproof, light and supple, reinforced in all the right places, and surprisingly warm. It fits snugly; consider upsizing. TAGS: versatile, warmer than it looks…
THE ALL-AROUNDER Good for All Mountain How do you one-up the AC40, arguably the most versatile all-mountain ski ever made? You boost the edge hold with Marker’s iPT WideRide binding system, which transfers even more energy to this amazingly dynamic wood-core ski. You can feather…
Got a small noggin or narrow face? The multilayer, face-conforming foam and small frame will fit you right. scottusa.com Bonus: Extra-wide outriggers on the strap ensure a snug fit with or without a helmet.
It’s true: Testers were first attracted to the Feenom simply because they look hot. But we also loved their ultra-wide peripheral vision and anti-fog vents. vonzipper.com…
HIGH-PERFORMANCE HIPSTER Newcomer Scapegoat absolutely nailed “performance casual” with the Rosti, which instantly felt like an old favorite. It’s ideal for resort cruising and sidewalk surfing. On the slopes, the waterproof-breathable fabric, PrimaLoft One insulation, and meticulous seam-taping stood up to driving squalls at Beaver Creek. It doesn’t have tons…
Perfect for backcountry or nordic skiing: A touch of spandex gives this soft and lightweight wool beanie a snug fit. smartwool.com…
At 105 millimeters underfoot, this fatty skis through crud like a tank. It was truly at home, however, in thigh-high Rocky Mountain powder, where it floated tips-up even when the knee was down. 136/105/124, 8.6 lbs; genuineguidegear.com Bonus: It released out of turns with the agility of a…
Weighing in at just over a pound and a half per pair, the TLT Verticals are 50 percent lighter than any other AT binding on the market. Don’t worry, they’re burlier than they look—you can ski them hard. 1.7 lbs; dynafit.us Bonus: Dynafit reinforced the climbing post this…
There's a reason Scarpa hasn't made many changes to the T2X over the past few years: It's solid just the way it is. A three-buckle lightweight that comes in at a pound less than Scarpa's bulkier boots, it's most at home far from $12 hamburgers. 6.5 lbs; scarpa.com Bonus:…
The Churada’s photochromic, polarized copper lenses offer unmatched depth and clarity on the slopes. And with the removable, vented eye-cups in place, they act like goggles, shielding eyeballs from blowing wind and snow. panoptx.com…
LIGHT AND FAST Wear a heart-rate monitor while you snowshoe? The Race is for you. Titanium claws help keep them light without compromising traction, and the V-shaped frame won’t trip you up at high speeds. The crisscross Race binding cinches tight without crushing feet shod in flexy shoes. 2.1…
The shoe is built lighter and slimmer than the unisex version but with the same unique design: teeth cut directly into the aluminum frame, which flexes and bites into the snow as you press down. The free-rotating binding kept snow kick-up to a minimum. 3.3 lbs; msrgear.com. Pair them…
Women-specific gear should never be a softer, pinker version of the men's. That's why we love the four-buckle T1 Lady, which is as robust as the men's T1 but with a narrower heel fit and Scarpa's custom-moldable Intuition liner. 7.4 lbs; scarpa.com …
BIG-MOUNTAIN CARVER Good for Big Mountain Plenty plump for powder, the damp MX98 also drew top scores for quickness, edge grip, and stability. Like the four other skis in Kästle’s brand-new line, the MX98 benefits from classic construction and top-shelf materials—a high-end wood core (ash and…
If someone forgets or breaks their avalanche probe, these are great insurance. Pop off the baskets, screw the shafts together, and you’ve got a six-foot probe. Bummer: The mechanism that adjusts pole length can be finicky. Bonus: Comes with both winter and trekking baskets. life-link.com…
All skis this plump are a blast in powder, but the Goliath won our Gear of the Year award for its performance on firmer snow. During test conditions that ranged from teeth-rattling hardpack to boot-deep powder to crusty leftovers, the Goliath simply outperformed every other ski in its class. The…
Good for Big Mountain If we had a Gear of the Year award for boots, the Factor would win it. Constructed with an alpine-like overlap-shell design and progressive forward flex, the Factor was easily this year's most comfortable and best-performing downhill boot. Testers especially liked the liner's Boa closure…
This highly breathable spring glove is insulated with recycled wool and Thinsulate. gordini.com…
DUDE CRED Good for Backcountry FlyLow has a sense of humor. The care-instructions tag in this piece advises you first to “Drink Cold Beer.” But the Denver-based company also has a solid reputation for making durable, no-nonsense gear. And by using a highly water-resistant, stretchy “kung…
THE WHOLE PACKAGE Good for Resort System jackets might seem passé to some, but the reasonably priced three- in-one Rodeo Magic, which can be worn as a shell, a midlayer, or both, is a pretty sweet (and, of course, versatile) garment. While not as waterproof…
RAIN While the ultralight, compressible Kulshan repels snow and rain as well as a fully featured rain jacket, the eVent hard-shell material, a waterproof laminate, is still miraculously breathable. Wear it when you plan to bust ass on a wet day. rei.com…
STORM CHASER Messy technical trails and foul weather are no longer deterrents for this major update. The new seam-sealed Gore-Tex upper kept testers’ feet warm and dry in cold slop (but it’s muggier in warm temps than its soft-shell counterparts), while the grippy outsole, underfoot protection, and torsional stiffness added…
SAFE AT ANY SPEED With its cap sidewall construction, the Timeless dishes up supersmooth, chatter-free turns at any speed. But it likes to rip, too. At higher velocity, Palmer’s FLF technology (which earned the company a Gear of the Year award last year) slightly lifts the nose and tail, to…
Billabong partnered with Sony on the design of this special-edition, boardshort-inspired, pick-up-and-go notebook that weighs in at less than three pounds. Under its lime-green hood is a 250GB hard drive, 1.83GHz processor, and vivid 10.1-inch LED display. TAGS: vibrant, travel-ready…
Keen started out as a summer-shoe specialist; now they go to the other extreme with a nubuck leather sneaker-boot thing—with faux-shearling flourishes at the ankles—that, surprisingly, works. Warm as your fireside, grippy on wet surfaces, waterproof-breathable, and rugged enough (though a bit clompy) for real work. TAGS: solid,…
Nothing flashy or newfangled here. Rather, the fully insulated Beluha impressed testers the old-fashioned way. It received high marks for ankle support, traction, and, thanks to the fleece-lined cuff and tongue, comfort. TAGS: high cut, tough nubuck leather uppers…
All Mountain From a man who skied it all, a ski that does it all. The late C.R. Johnson spent years developing this ski, and testers found it a fitting legacy. It’s got full rocker at the tip for float, reverse sidecut for smearing, scrubbing, and changing direction, and just…
An inner lining of reflective material—think space blanket for your hands—bounces your body heat back at you. It’s a smart idea, and it works: They’re toastier than they look. Breathability is so-so. Great chairlift-riding gloves. TAGS: silver lining, great price…
Keep your nether regions toasty with I/O BIO‘s full-body, merino-wool PILOT SUIT.
The Custom’s been a staple board in Burton’s line for 15 years, setting the standard for how a snowboard should ride. Every year, Burton refines it just a little more—and this year’s is the best yet thanks to its mixed-camber profile, a snappy carbon backbone, strands of strategically woven…
At our annual ski test, 12 hard-charging testers put the Kendo through its paces at Snowbird (see page 37), and every tester wrote something to this effect: “You can make every turn shape at every speed on every style of terrain.” That’s the ultimate goal of an all-mountain ski,…
I NEED A MIRACLE They look like traditional cambered fat skis, but step into them and the tips and tails lift into a rocker shape. It’s been called “adaptive rocker” and it offers two benefits: the added float and loose feel of rocker, and the extended contact point of camber…
When paired with high-quality base layers, PATAGONIA‘s supple and breathable WIND SHIELD JACKET is all you need 90 percent of the time.
Snowshoe runners and fast-and-light hikers, rejoice. Salomon’s most popular running shoe is now winterized, with insulation, Gore-Tex waterproofing, and a higher cut for keeping snow out.
Alpine Touring The Eagle’s wider mounting platform is sturdier than its predecessors’ and better at transferring power to the ski for increased edge-to-edge responsiveness. Accepts most alpine and all AT boots, and the smartly designed heelpiece makes switching from touring to downhill a cinch. 4.3 lbs. TAGS: smooth, sturdy…
Shock Therapy While many shoes are exploring new territory, this one seems to be tending the home fires—an unapologetically traditional, cushy stability shoe that sits high off the ground. But among its megacushioned kind, the Adapt was our favorite. The standard dual-density midsole posting offers overpronators tried-and-true support, and an…
SHIMANO‘s redesigned XTR PD-M980 RACE PEDAL is lighter than its predecessor yet has three times the platform area.
MOVING COMFORT‘s MOBILITY 1/2 ZIP is soft and breathable but practically looks like a piece you can wear to a cocktail party.
PLAYFUL POWER As the name suggests, the Pro was originally designed for Dynastar’s big-mountain freeskiing team. But now any hard-charger with the chops can pony up for these wide bodies. This “big-boy toy,” as one tester described it, is built with a wood core, two sheets of metal, and a…