Ski Bum Poet

Yep, we both pulled the trigger last night and bought Alpine Touring boots from Backcountry.com.

I’ve been needing boots for a few seasons. It’s been torture cramming into my 5 year old Tecnicas with a performance fit. They are actually a full size too small, with huge blowouts in the toes to accommodate. They’ve been a great hard charging boot for powder days. But after about 3 hours in them my feet were screaming to be pulled out. Enough was enough of that foolishness. I’m getting too old for that type of boot fit…although I still like boots that are burly and stiff.

So which AT boot got the nod? I posted to the Advisors Alley category at AltaCam to find out what AT boot the Altafarians liked for firm and stifness. It didn’t take long for Daddy and Powhound to chime in. I went with the Black Diamond Factor boots  because I liked everything I saw and read on the web, and b/c they had a 26.5. (the Tecnica AT boots didn’t come in half sizes). Not to mention it’s time I take a longer, harder look at BD gear. After all they are right here in Utah.

BTW D got a killer deal on the She-Ride Garmont Touring Boots. It was the last pair they had in stock, and it was her size. Pretty much half off the retail price so we didn’t hesitate there.

We’ll report back to SBP and AltaCam in a couple of months, on what we think of our new boots.

Check this out. Jesse’s OGE page that lists all current outerwear deals from Patagonia. Even a daily discounted product RSS feed you can subscribe to. Seriously, retail is for suckers on the web. Don’t pay it.

It’s winter, you need a new Patagonia ski jacket. Go see all the featured outdoor gear stores and their deals. OGE rocks…

If you’re a gear head than chances are you’ve bought online a handful of times. And if you’re a web shopper you’re likely pretty good at finding the deals and gear on sale. Well here’s a site to note for all you savvy money saving gear head hippies out there: OGEBlog.com

OGEBlog is the official weblog of the Outdoor Gear Engine, a database that (at time of post) has over 300,000 product skus from over 60 of the Internet’s best outdoor stores. The mission of the site is simple. To offer up day-by-day pricing on the gear you need. With the tagline of “Price It, Buy It, Get Outside!” who woulda thunk that was it. But it is. It’s a gear search engine, and it’s sweeping the civilized world! No but seriously, here’s the word straight from OGE, Inc.:

Our site helps you compare prices. Don’t waste your time surfing the web looking for the best value. This is a price driven service from Wasatch gear heads. Through proprietary technology, OGE will display updated pricing each day for gear from the best outdoor merchants on the web. Bookmark OGE so you can find your gear quick, and get outside. more info…

Here are a couple of features on the web that support this killer service:

• PRWeb News: Outdoor Gear Price Comparison Service from OutdoorGearEngine.com
• Squidoo Price Comparison Lens: Compare Prices on Outdoor Gear

Oh and this is probably the most attractive part of the blog. With 60+ stores in the OGE database, there are a constant flow of sales, promotions, freebies, closeouts, coupons and frankly anything else that can save you some bucks on yo stuff…posted to the site. If you buy gear online, subscribe to their RSS Sale feed and you’ll save:

Subscribe to the sale category (the gear on sale category currently has 126 articles). Smart gear heads will find killer savings hitting this feed a few times per week.

Single speed dirt jumper. Horizontal drop out. Bike is being sold as is for $450 plus buyer pays shipping. Here are the details:

Could use a little work for the park, but this is a good buy. Currently it’s built up with:

• Fork: Psylo Race 80-125mm (Rock Shox)
• Brakes: Avid mechanicals
• Wheels: Front: Singletrack, Rear: Rhyno Lite
• Stem: Thompson
• Cranks: Truvativ 
• Pedals: Wellgo

This bike is built from a kit that was on an old Bullit I owned..minus the Junior T I had on the Bullit. As I mentioned it could use a little work to be fully dirt jump park compatible. Namely, the rear hub needs a bolt axle so it can be cranked down tight on that horizontal drop out.

MTBR description on the 07:

“Built for the aggressive urban assault freerider. Features full 4130 Chromoly tubing throughout, new IS chain guide mount, extra beefy head tube wall and 1/4 inch thick drop outs and adjustable brake mount to get accurate brake setup, 24″-26″ and IS disc brake mount. Replaceable derailleur hanger.”

Read the MTBR Reviews for a full report..

For more info on this bike and how you can reach the seller Visit the AltaCam Gear Swap Category..

I have brand spanking new (2005 model but never used once) SixSixOne Body Armour For Sale. Size is Adult Medium.

Details can be found at the AltaCam Forum Gear Swap category. This suit has never once been used while riding. It’s literally brand new. MSRP is $190 but I am selling for $125. For information on how to contact me and score this killer deal CLICK HERE.

Over and Out, Gary M

Most active people have their outdoor apparel and gear of choice. You find what you like, what fits right, what’s durable and long-lasting; and as far as skiing and other winter sports, what keeps you warm and dry. I have had the fortune of trying out many different winter outerwear products over the course of my (so far) 1000 days of skiing in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, and without a doubt the best ski jacket I ever had was the Arcteryx Sidewinder AR Jacket. Period. No contest.

A consumer review for this classic ski jacket states:

This jacket is as good as it gets! I can only fault the pocket locations. No nonsense, top of-the-line ski clothing, worth the money if you’re gettin’ after it every day. Roomy, totally weatherproof.

Two sites where you can find killer deals on Arc’teryx:

GravityFed.com. This is one of the first sites I ever built and it first went online back in December of 1999. We have a gear outlet section and it features a HUGE list of discount and closeout Arcteryx products. There are tons of other content features on GravityFed as well. Check out the gear deal of the day from thaLowdown.com (left column). Also, there’s an entire outdoor gear outlet, too.

ArcteryxOutlet.com. This is a very organized and detailed outlet site that features everything from Arc’teryx. Base layers, ski jackets and just about the entire product line from one of the most durable and popular winter outerwear companies on the planet. I’ve been watching this site and you WILL find the best deals on Arcteryx anywhere online. Featured merchants on this site include Moosejaw.com and BackcountryOutlet.com…both class acts. Oh, and a classic Lee Cohen powder photo highlights every page.

About Arc’Teryx: Focused on innovation. They weren’t satisfied with incremental advancements, but on radical improvements. They began in Vancouver, BC, Canada, with climbing harnesses and then proceeded to tackle packs and apparel with the same obsession for creating the lightest, best performing, and highest quality outdoor products available anywhere in the world. Click their logo below to visit their official web site.