Figger_Eight

Poking for crevasses is one thing, but completely inadequate for as a search tool. You might be hard pressed to find partners who would be happy knowing you would have to duct tape your tent pole together before you started looking for them if they get buried. I figure a lot of these questions can be answered by putting yourself in your partners shoes. 4 people and 1 probe...? I wouldn't want to be the unlucky guy who's carrying the probe and gets buried

The only problem with Dynafits as backcountry bindings is that the heel locks down.

Yeah, I saw a sample a few months ago. They look as skinny as a boot laces!

We used to do them to, but nixed the idea last year. One or two really aren't a big deal, but imagine the poor shop guy (like me!) who, after looking at his "to do" list for the day, sees 5 re-glues to do, then 4 more tomorrow. The amount of money we'd charge people to make it worth the shop's time (especially with the "awww crap" factor) would be close to the purchase price of a new set.

For simple commodity goods that don't require a high degree of craftsmanship, overseas production with low cost labor simply makes a lot of sense. However you can't deny the higher quality of goods made by companies that produce in smaller batches with more attention to detail, materials and qc, irregardless of what country they come from. Beyond Fleece IS a good example - they use good manufacturing techniques, a high level of qc and good materials - and they can only retain that level of service if they keep it local. I guarantee you, though, if they tried to increase production to the scale of the REI's, TNF's, Marmots, etc. they couldn't afford to stay here and would have to send it overseas. A well built climbing shoe/boot has enough intricate and involved labor incorporated into it that they can only be produced in small numbers, by human hands. You can definitely tell which La Sportivas are made in China and which ones are made in Italy. I don't have anything against things being made overseas, but to say goods that require any amount of handtooling to make it of the highest quality are just as good mass produced as the small batch manufactured equivalent product is simply wrong. That's why Beyond Fleece works, Arcteryx stays in Vancouver, Western Mountaineering and FF stay at home as well. High tech products have absolutely no relevance to this discussion. And..."slant eyes"? Are you serious? If you want to talk about cars, let's not forget early Hyundais and Daihatsus.

What Darstog said.

My buddy's bachelor party - floating on the Colorado River outside of Moab for a couple of days. 8 guys, 179 cans of beer, 3 bottles of booze...

"30% narrower than any other three cam unit on the market". Aliens are narrower than tcu's. Take an alien and TCU at a given range, average the width of the two from end to end, adjust for rotation of the earth and position of the moon on your birthday - add 1 cm to accomodate for universal entropy. If a dog is barking while measuring, subtract 417 microns. If Bush says Nucular within 24 hrs: add 3 cm. Divide the result by 1/2 the radius of your standard tube of horsecock and then add 1.3 cm if it's Tuesday. This would be the width of a BD three cam unit. If you're wondering.

They're about a third narrower than aliens or tcu's.

Where do you live?

New ones have a pinkie rest/anti-knuckle-bashing guard.

Headin' in tomorrow afternoon w/ a bum shoulder. Will be climbing 5.mellows if anyone wants to let me tag along (my partner got sick - so I'll be flying solo.) See y'all down there!

Link?

I've been using Oakleys for years in the mountains and love them. The black iridium lens (the darkest ones) are plenty dark enough for extended periods in snow, even at altitude. I tried using glacier glasses for a bit, but sport wraps are soooo much more comfortable to wear - and you don't look like a big doofus. Julbos are great, but for some reason don't fit my face. Smiths have one lens thats dark enough, but it's of the mirrored blue variety. My $.02 cents at least.

A baby seal walks into a bar...

So this cutie falls two stories in a shopping mall. Crap - I'm sticking to climbing. And, yeah, definitely a UFO.

Alpine climbers vs. sport climbers...?

True dat.

I'd recommend the plastic boots for a couple of reasons: 1) They're warmer 2) They're a lot less maintenance, especially if you're going to be doing a lot of "long, slushy snow walks". You'll never have to worry about them getting wet. If you can afford a bit more, the BD Omegas (new Alphas) might be a good choice.

I think the coolest top sheet this year goes to K2's new fatty. They have a clear strip down the center showing off the wood making it look like the wood stringer on a surf board.

Lay them out in the parking lot and use a pressure washer.

By eliminating the posts on either side, they're about 2/3 the width (side to side) of a TCU.

If yer not gonna ski them down...why don't you just use snowshoes?

"I see..." said the blind man to the deaf dog. Hey - good seeing you today!

Any leather boot will start absorbing water once the DWR wears out and/or dirt gets ground into the leather. Anyways, the "best" boots completely suck if they don't fit your feet.