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Overall Dakine makes excellent backpacks, no question. So far, this pack has been great for me, and I have no doubts I'll continue to use it for years. Performance This thing holds up great. Whether for school books or a day in the backcountry, this pack rules. It's got a great ski-carry system, and the snowboard hold straps are great for shovels and other gear. The insulated sleeve can keep your hydration-thingy from freezing over. However, I have one small issue - it's utility loop at the bottom (not pictured) is a little small for fitting your pow skis through at once, so you kinda have to slide one tip in at a time. You might be out of luck if you use anything wider than Maden's. Other than that, it fits great on me, very comfy, even with skis strapped on. Design This pack is great. For a start, it holds 660 cu.in, which is pretty good for a day pack. It has one main pocket, which is about 20x10x3" (or 50x25x8cm for you metric freaks), and two other side pockets, one on top and one thats detached from the main pack (light grey in picture). All these are zippered. Its very light itself, about only 2 lbs. As for asthetics, I think it looks sick, better than the Heli Pro. Everything so far has held up, and it all feels really strong and durable, even after some use. Value This usually retails for around $60, but look online and in the forums, you can usually find them for $40 or so. Its a pretty good value in my opinion. This pack is both my school bag and my ski pack, so if you need a new backpack, go get this one. If you avoid carrying textbooks, get this over the Heli-Pro and save yourself some cash.
Overall Overall, JL is expensive as hell, but they still make the best suit money can buy. Performance Well, J Lindeberg may be new to the ski scene, but I can honestly say, this is the best snow gear I've ever worn. Its rated at 10,000 mm and 10,000 for breathability, but after skiing in snow, hail, freezing rain, mist and rain (hooray Washington!), this jacket stands up to it all. Design Let me first say that this has everything you could ever want in a ski suit. Let me get into the fine details... Pockets - Every zippered pocket on it is sealed - 2 side pockets on the jacket and 4 pockets around the pants. Its also covered in an array of small magnetic pockets, 2 on the left arm, one on the chest, and two on the pants (one on the side of the left leg, one near the back of the calf on the right). Theres also an outer pocket near the main zipper of the jacket, and another inner pocket on the other side within the jacket. Finally, there are two elastic mesh baggy sort of pockets on the inside, which dont close. Every zipper has the little JL logo on the end, and all of them feel really sturdy. Snow Seals - The jacket has a great snow skirt on it, imprinted with the JL logo and sealed in the front by four snaps. There are also pant gaters in the pants made out of the same material. The snow skirt on the jacket also has two larger snaps at the waist that snap into the front of the pants, connecting the two and keeping snow out of the front. Also included, to complete the look, the jacket has a zipper that attaches to the pants, providing a 100 percent snow seal, should you need it. To top it off, the wrists of the jacket are really wide (so you can slip gloves under) and have huge velcro straps for any adjustment. Best part though - full on bum gloves, I love them. Hood This is its own section because its just that cool. The hood on this thing is massive. I can throw it over my head and it will easily engulf my helmet. The fur lining is removable via snaps, and the hood has a back draw and side draws to adjust to whatever you'd like. Materials The outer layer of the jacket and pants is 100% Nylon, and the inside 100% polyester. The material that seals the zippers (its black in the pictures) is some sort of rubber I would guess. This jacket is comfy to wear in just a tee-shirt, as the lining is some kind of breathable light mesh. Vents The jacket itself has four vents, which is great for hiking or warm weather. So far, I've skied in just this jacket with a teeshirt and thermal layer under it (just a thermal and boxers under the pants) and I can adjust the vents just so for any temperature I've encountered so far (25 C to 50 C, as of last weekend). The vents on the jacket are on the underarm and chest, and the chest ones are honestly a great idea. They vented soooo much heat when I was hiking last week, its great. The vents for the pants are on the inside of the leg, about knee level. All the vents have this cool green mesh material that stops the snow. I've caught it on the zipper a few times, but its no biggie. Every time I take it out, I find some feature of it that's like "oh, that makes so much sense!" For example, most jackets have a piece of fabric that goes over the main zipper on the jacket. JL made a cut in this piece right at neck level. Why? So you can open the neck just to that level if you want and not have to mess with the collar flipping up. Or how the zipper on the pants for the snowskirt even has a little flap that hides it when you dont need to use it. Its small details like this that totally have won this suit over on me. Value Paying the $1200 for this suit was out of the question for me. I found mine off ebay, and I have no idea if you can even get this color anywhere else. I've never seen it. I payed $530 for mine with shipping, and while it was still very pricey for a ski suit, I think it was worth it. My advice is to check ebay if you really want one, I've seen a few. This is my one huge gripe about it Fit [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873380-492049-639x852-cimg2030tp3.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873386-492051-639x852-cimg2034xz4.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873389-492052-639x479-cimg2036zm0.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873383-492050-639x479-cimg2031lv3.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873392-492053-639x852-cimg2037ux8.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873396-492054-639x852-cimg2032hx4.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873411-492057-639x852-cimg2038nu7.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873415-492058-639x479-cimg2039bs7.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873417-492059-639x479-cimg2040xi6.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873422-492060-639x479-cimg2041mw2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873425-492061-639x479-cimg2042gl6.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873428-492062-639x479-cimg2046eu5.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873435-492064-639x852-cimg2049wp9.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://media.nscdn.com/uploads/cache/images/1174873438-492065-639x852-cimg2051bw3.jpg[/IMG] So after having skied in this suit for a few days, I feel its time to do a review. Size - I went for a large. I'm 5'11", and it fits me a little baggy. I'm not one for the huge XXL style, so I could have probably done a medium and still have been happy. Durability Durability wise, this this seems more bombproof than any of my gear, including my skis. I popped off a ski as I was about too point it into a steep rocky chute last weekend, and I tumbled over a few rocks and a stump. After assessing I had no injuries past a bruise (so fucking lucky...), I checked my clothing, positive I must have ripped something... nothing. Not even a stain from the log. As I've said, I've skied in all the weather Washington State could possibly throw at me, and its functioned beyond my expectations. Its waterproof, warm when I zip the vents up (and I ski with just a thermal layer under it!), and stylish as hell.
Overall Trew rocks. Bomber gear designed for the conditions we get out here in the PNW. I cant be more happy with my bibs. Performance So far, I've been fairly impressed by the technical features of this pant. I really cannot stress how good the waterproofing is. Perfect for the PNW. Taped seams everywhere, and its good tape, not the cheap stuff that flakes away after zipping a few hundred times. Design The new bib is even better than before. Detachable straps, belt loops so you can flip the top down, and strategically placed pockets. Full zips. I love full zips down the sides. The fabric on the bottom cuffs is super thick and bombproof, no shredding these in a parking lot via ski boot grinding on asphalt. The only thing I'd like are some vents on the inner thigh with mesh to keep snow out - as it is, if you do need to vent, you have to pop the side vents, which have no mesh. Value Trew is pricey. But you get what you pay for. I have no doubts that this is going to serve me well for a few seasons. Fit I'm 5'10, 170. Going with an XL made these fit pretty baggy, I would have been fine going with a Large. Roomy, comfy, awesome. Durability I'll come back here at the end of the season and report, but so far, so good. Dammit though if I didnt go and spill chili all over the pants and stain the crotch on my second day...
