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IF you're more into backcountry than 'slackcountry' you should be packing a saw, and the G3 Bonesaw is a cut above the rest.
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WHAT don't Black Diamond do well? Best shovel on the market – check. Best backpacks around – check. Pioneer of the Avalung – check...
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YOU drive a Japanese car. Ride in a Japanese ski resort. But you've only ever ridden an American snowboard. Why? It's not because of quality.
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IT’S lucky there are no speed cameras in the backcountry, because the Apo Apocalypse would cost you a fortune in fines. This stick is so fast it’s scary.
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CHRIS Benchetler is one of the top free skiers in the world now and this ski drips with his hard-charging style. The rocker at the tip and tail keep it floating through the powder.
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DON'T make the schoolboy error of buying a down parka with extra room for a fleece. Layering is for on the mountain – on the street you want a down coat that you don’t need anything else u...
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VECTOR Glide is one of those brands that most people walk by without a second glance. But those few in the know will give you an acknowledging nod while they think, 'he knows his stuff, I bet he...
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THE Lib-Tech Skate Banana ruffled a lot of feathers on its release last year, outselling Burton in the US by a reported 10:1.
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THE Pulse Barryvox is a great leap in avalanche technology, using a 360-degree direction arrow that leads you along the shortest path to the victim, and eliminates the need for a final grid search.
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THIS is my kind of board. In fact, this is Niseko's kind of board. A directional shape to make sure you can't stop at a '180' and a swallow tail to help the tail bite...
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The S7 have a massive reverse-camber tip and tail, a regular-camber midsection and short-radius side-cut under-foot making them possibly the quickest, most versatile, and most intuitive rockered ski o...
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WHEN it comes to touring bindings, most will plump for the Marker Dukes or Black Diamond Diamir – but the Dynafits are the dark horse, and have gained No.1 billing amongst the European hardcore....
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The Lobes are my favourite of the POC line-up, with a cutting-edge spherical lens to eliminate optical distortion, and futuristic look that’ll be the envy of your mates.
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FOR Niseko, you’ll be wanting to eschew the American skateboard/park-designed cambered twins that the marketing guys thrust upon you, and get something directional with some rocker – like...
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THE 2010 Nordica Girish is the updated, re-painted version of the 2009 version called the Blower.
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CONFUSED whether to go for a natural fibre or synthetic fleece? Join the queue.
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THE Blizzard IQ-Max is your one-ski, multiple-binding solution to the backcountry/frontside dilemma.
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Gentemstick and Dupraz have been making boards with rocker for years, while Burton and the rest made snow/skate cambered boards that don’t perform well in the pow. What redeems Burton is their V...
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BEACON, probe, shovel. If you spend more time hiking for fresh lines than you do in lift queues the B-P-S should be your A-B-C.
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THE Hellbent is fast becoming a design icon for hardcore backcountry skiers. New-school skis tie themselves up trying to think of new shapes, cambers and side cuts, but they are playing catch up on th...
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STEPCHILD is a snowboard brand that oozes street cred. Of course, for serious Niseko rippers we’re looking for powder-specific numbers, and the OG nails it!
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NOW the big companies are starting to realise what the smaller snow surfing companies knew a long time ago: when making a board to ride camber it's all about camber/rocker. K2 is one of the first of t...
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ASIDE from Niseko local Par Dahlin, I don't know many Rastafarians who ski and there definitely isn't snow in Jamaica. But then, the Nordica Jah Love isn't really made to ski – it’s design...
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WHEN it comes to ski and board socks, SmartWool have leapt head and shoulders above the pack in recent years. SmartWool was formed by some American ski instructors tired of so-called 'high-tech' mater...
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WHAT is it about the words 'carbon fibre' that grabs a gear freak's attention like my dog Yuki’s when I grab his dinner bowl? One of the best strength-to-weight ratios of any material, that's wh...
