benjinyc wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 7:24 am
anyone have a good resort/side-country backpack recommendation?, the closest I'm seeing is a Dakine Helipro 12L. I wore my 25L AK backpack in Taos last week which was a bit much as I only was carrying a shovel, probe.
External shovel blade carry on the Helipro 12L is disqualifying for me, YMMV.
I like my Whatvest a lot. Pricy, but I wanted a vest and higher visibility colors than the black of the Dakine and Volcom options-- I wish this colorway was available when I purchased lol.
I have about 20L capacity, but feel way more balanced than riding with a pack. Everything sits closer to my center of gravity, more pockets is useful, and the vest just distributes weight more evenly. Comfortable enough that I ride it cruising around inbounds on pow days. It's also my primary "pack" for splitboarding, I don't ride with a my ~30-ish L AK pack unless I have bigger objectives and feel like I need more gear.
686 Dispatch bibs are awesome. Didn't wet out despite a couple tomahawks. My only real complaint is I wish they had more clips for me to attach my keys... they only have one in the beacon chest pocket.
I ended up not using the Cyclic and just running my Arc'teryx Rush jacket today, and am debating whether to keep the Cyclics. I have too many jackets, and the Cyclic feels just a liiiiittle bit tight in the hips. Touch narrower and touch longer than the Rush, which is just enough to be a little annoying. I might not actually notice it riding, but between not needing the jacket (got it on warranty) and liking the Arc'teryx jacket, wonder if I just move on.
scrub wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:35 am
I really like my Mystery Ranch D route
My friends love their DaKine and Volcom vests which are probably the best plan of action.
I see a lot of their stuff where I live, def surprised their snow packs don't have a vertical board carry straps
I did see a lot of DaKine vests in Taos, the vest route may be the route to go
g3greg wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:53 pm
I’ve been eyeballing the one ball baker.. but also the dakine vest looks solid.
those look cool, wow 9L too
kimchi wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 11:37 pm
External shovel blade carry on the Helipro 12L is disqualifying for me, YMMV.
I like my Whatvest a lot. Pricy, but I wanted a vest and higher visibility colors than the black of the Dakine and Volcom options-- I wish this colorway was available when I purchased lol.
yeah, the external shovel carry is weird. I think whoever designed that bag made a comprise of making something for the backcountry and high school students
— those Whatvest looks pretty good… but yeah, even pricier than Mammut 's
that Bonfire Binary vest looks the most kitted out, very good suggestion too.
it's unfortunate most of the shops near me don't carry any of these as trying them on for fit/feel would help deciding, so fielding suggestions from you guys is super helpful.
scrub wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:28 pm
Man these Outdoor Research Kulshan bibs are fucking horrible. Skinny in the waist, big in the chest and massive bell bottoms I guess I have to return them.
I’m continually surprised that my fellow EZ homies give money to kooky ski brands like OR when there are great options with 686, Burton, and Volcom haha.
We've had some version of this convo a few times, but just wanted to chime in I feel a bit more validated with wearing Arc'teryx after they signed Jared Elston and seem to have designs of expanding their snowboarding footprint. We'll see whether they stick around, but I'd bet on them much moreso than the Adidas and Nikes of the world.
And I maintain they have a higher build quality than anything from from a snowboard company. Been discussed that they may use the same factories as other brands, but I can see from quick visual check the materials and construction methods aren't the same.
That said, I'm impressed with the 686 Dispatch bibs so far, and I'm taking the AK Cyclic out for first time on snow next week, and that fit seems way more dialed in than I remember AK fit being. I'm hopefully if nothing else the additional pressure from the high-end ice axe brands has lit a fire under some butts that maybe got a bit complacent.
(And as I said above I think Outdoor Research is far from the top tier in the ice axe category, pointedly doesn't support snowboarders, and is generally probably more ski dad kooky lol)
kimchi wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 11:37 pm
External shovel blade carry on the Helipro 12L is disqualifying for me, YMMV.
I like my Whatvest a lot. Pricy, but I wanted a vest and higher visibility colors than the black of the Dakine and Volcom options-- I wish this colorway was available when I purchased lol.
yeah, the external shovel carry is weird. I think whoever designed that bag made a comprise of making something for the backcountry and high school students
— those Whatvest looks pretty good… but yeah, even pricier than Mammut 's
these are great suggestions guys, thanks!
Whatvest is only marginally more expensive than the Volcom Vest... which infuriatingly also has external shovel carry (and not water bladder compatibility). I'll also say based on my experience with a Dakine Mission backpack, I have faith the WhatVest is stitched better and built of heavier duty materials (although correspondingly bulkier).
benjinyc wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:38 am
that Bonfire Binary vest looks the most kitted out, very good suggestion too.
Can't speak to the Binary Vest (also caught my eye), but I had a Bonfire Aspect jacket (their highest end jacket) I thought was crap. Had to warranty 2 consecutive sets... had a bad enough experience I'd be a little skeptical of anything else they make.
That said, the Binary has a really interesting design. It's the only vest of that options mentioned that has separate snow tool compartment. The V-shape cut on the bottom would also be nice while hiking and postholing.
And I'm really glad I didn't return my OR Kulshan bibs, they are really comfy and feel burly. I've worn them two days and if I keep liking them I may have Rainy Pass shorten them and add an ankle drawstring.
@scrub@benjinyc I took another look at the Bonfire binary vest, I don't see snowboard carry advertised and looking at the marketing materials I don't see any straps across the back. If there's no straps across the back, also means you can't tighten up the vest across the back compartments, so anything you carry is going to bounce around everywhere unless you fill it to capacity.
Maybe it's a mistake in the marketing copy, no straps and no board carry feels like a HUGE oversight, especially from a snowboard company. But again, my experience with my Bonfire jacket was pretty shitty so maybe they did just fuck up the design.
This Bonfire Binary vest is interesting 