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Latest
  • Patagonia Powder Bowl Jacket - Recycled Gore-Tex Protection
  • Giro Contact Goggle - Lens Swaps and Doo-wops
  • Giro Range MIPS Helmet - Top Helmet with Top Tech
  • Giro x bigtruck Collab - Ledge Helmet and Onset Goggles
  • Climber's Air-Permeable Insulation - Arc'teryx Proton LT

Tagged alpine touring

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alpine touring

Patagonia Powder Bowl Jacket – Recycled Gore-Tex Protection

Engearment
October 14, 2018
backcountry, Clothing, Gear Review, Outerwear, Patagonia, Ski Gear, Skiing, snowboarding, Soft Goods, splitboarding, waterproof
Patagonia has been working hard to produce recycled Gore-Tex products. The new Powder Bowl Jacket is a star of the collection. Last year they worked diligently with Gore-Tex to produce the worlds first rec...
Helmets tend to work best with goggles from the same company. If avoiding gaper gap is a priority, your goggle strap should proclaim the brand of your helmet. So, if you're picking up a Giro Range MIPS, you should consider their Contact goggle as well. I tried out the Gerry Lopez edition Contact. It utilizes patterns and colors from the famous surferwithout changing the shape or performance of the Contact goggle. And the shape and performance are excellent. Giro uses Zeiss lenses on the Contact. They provide great optical clarity and almost no distortion across the entire spherical-shaped lens. The Contact also has all of the features you'd expect on a nice goggle - great peripheral vision, soft, triple-layer foam, and an anti-fog coating on the lenses.  And thank goodness those silly split straps with buckles on the back are gone.  Now you get an easily-adjustable strap with silicon grippers inside. But, again, there's one outstanding feature that sets the Giro Contact apart. Giro calls it Snapshot lens tech. Forget the silly marketing name. What it means is that you can swap lenses with the push of a button. For the most part, the Contact's lens is held on the frame with tiny magnets. There's a button on the upper right of the frame that locks the lens into place. Push the button like a camera shutter (thus, Snapshot), and you can pull the lens out. It pops back in just as easily. Swapping lenses has never been this easy. Have other companies done magnetic lenses before? Yes. Have they combined it with an easy-to-use locking mechanism like Snapshot? Giro is the first. Does it need to lock? Probably not, but it makes me forget that my lens is only attached via the magic of f-ing magnets. I did attempt (unintentionally) to test how solid the connection is between lens and frame. Despite the lens being my first point of impact with the slope during this test, everything stayed in place and no snow infiltrated. I have difficulty imagining a situation in which the lens could pop off. Giro coordinated with Gerry Lopez on three different models - the Contact, the Balance, and the Block. If you love Gerry's style but want a better price point, go with the $90, cylindrical lens Block. The Balance brings a cylindrical lens, but drops the Snapshot system to save some money.  The Contact comes with two lenses - one full sun and one low-light.  It also includes a well-made sack for the lenses with some structure and a divider to keep things separated. Final Thoughts Giro is pushing it on the optics end; the Contact's Snapshot system is phenomenal. It's a supremely comfortable goggle with good optics that integrates perfectly with the Range. I was able to fog them, but only after stuffing the vents with snow (see unintentional test, above) and then getting very sweaty while poling/hiking across some powdery flats. If you're rocking a Giro helmet, the Contact goggle is a perfect compliment.  MSRP is $240.  You can find the Gerry Lopez model at Backcountry.com or grab your preferred color from just about anyone.

Giro Contact Goggle – Lens Swaps and Doo-wops

Engearment
October 12, 2018
Ski Gear, Skiing, snowboarding, Splitboard, splitboarding, Technology
Helmets tend to work best with goggles from the same company. If avoiding gaper gap is a priority, your goggle strap should proclaim the brand of your helmet. So, if you're picking up a Giro Range MIPS, you sho...
Giro Range

Giro Range MIPS Helmet – Top Helmet with Top Tech

Engearment
October 12, 2018
backcountry, Gear Review, Ski Gear, snowboarding, Splitboard, Technology
1
With such a glut of good snow helmets on the market, it's tough to differentiate one from another. For the most part, it comes down to fit - which helmet is shaped most like your noggin?  All things being equal...
Arc'teryx Proton LT

Climber’s Air-Permeable Insulation – Arc’teryx Proton LT

Engearment
October 12, 2018
backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Clothing, Gear Review, hiking, Outerwear, Ski Gear, Skiing, snowboarding, Soft Goods, splitboarding
Air permeability is the name of the game these days in insulation. With all this innovation, it's tough to know which jacket to buy for each activity. What if you're going out on super-aerobic backcountry tours...
my trail pyramid 3

Oldie but Goodie – The My Trail Pyramid 3 Still Works

Engearment
October 12, 2018
Ski Gear, Splitboard, splitboarding, Tents
If you were a fan of GoLite back in the day, you probably know about My Trail Company.  Like a phoenix from GoLite's ashes, My Trail arose a few years back via owner, Demetri Coupounas.  My Trail started with s...
Mystery Ranch Backpack Preview

Mystery Ranch Backpack Preview – Updated Glacier, Terraframe, Terraplane, Coulee and more!

Engearment
October 12, 2018
Avalanche Safety, backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Clothing, Everyday, Gear Review, Splitboard, splitboarding
Mystery Ranch Backpack Preview - Engearment Interview - Updated Glacier, Terraframe, Terraplane, Scree, 3 zip, Coulee, In and Out bag and more! Tim from Mystery Ranch walks us through the updates to the 2019...
Patagonia

Patagonia Preview at Outdoor Retailer 2018 – Mountain Biking kit, Recycled Goretex, Danner Fly Fishing boots and more!

Engearment
October 12, 2018
backcountry, Backpacking, Camping, Clothing, Everyday, Gear Review, splitboarding
1
Patagonia Preview at Outdoor Retailer 2018 - Mountain Biking kit, Recycled Goretex, Danner Fly Fishing boots and more! Usually, companies have just a few new products to show at OR, but Patagonia had several n...

Black Diamond Upgrades to the Boundary Pro 115 Ski for Chargers

Engearment
October 8, 2018
backcountry, Skiing
What happens when you take one of our favorite, all-around skis from last year and make it 20% stiffer? If you're a rope-jumping charger, you get a dream ski. And that's exactly what happened to the Black Diamo...
Black Diamond First Light Hoody

Black Diamond First Light Hoody – Breathable Insulation for the Backcountry

Engearment
October 8, 2018
backcountry, Backpacking, Black Diamond, Gear Review, hiking, Soft Goods
1
With more and more people getting active in the backcountry, breathable insulation is becoming more and more important. Cold-weather laps, start-stop activity...it all requires layers that didn't exist until re...
Abom Goggles

ABOM Goggles – Fully Integrated Defrost

Engearment
October 8, 2018
backcountry, Gear Review, Optics
1
When your goggles fog up on the slopes, there's not much you can do. Rub with a cloth? That just spreads the moisture around and leaves wet streaks. Lick it? What's wrong with you? Abominable Labs launched a Ki...
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  • Patagonia Powder Bowl Jacket – Recycled Gore-Tex Protection
  • Giro Contact Goggle – Lens Swaps and Doo-wops
  • Giro Range MIPS Helmet – Top Helmet with Top Tech
  • Giro x bigtruck Collab – Ledge Helmet and Onset Goggles
  • Climber’s Air-Permeable Insulation – Arc’teryx Proton LT
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