Thought of the day: Would we have less incidents if pricing on safety gear was more reasonable? Can manufacturers bring the cost down?
I have been reading a lot about all of the avalanche fatalities we have been having this year. The thought of getting buried alive sends chills down my spine. I always try and be as safe as possible. I avoid dangerous areas when the conditions aren't right. However, all the deaths and near misses this year have taught me that it can happen almost anytime, anywhere if the conditions are right. It doesn't even have to be a big avalanche to kill you either. I realize I often ski dangerous conditions, and always without the right safety equipment. Two recent articles made me want to check into additional safety gear. I thought I'd at least look into those inflatable airbag packs I've been hearing about. The cheapest one I've seen starts at around $700. Add in the cost of an avalanche beacon and you're looking at around $1000 to start for avalanche safety alone. That's a lot of coin for something you'll hopefully never have to use. This is on top of high costs associated with an already expensive sport. With the cost of lift tickets/season pass, skis/board, boots, bindings, pants, jacket, helmet, goggles, gloves/mittens, etc...spending over $1k on safety gear is a tough sell to your average rider.
The old adage is that you pay to play and you shouldn't be out there if you don't have the right gear. You shouldn't be cheap when it comes to your life either. However, you don't even have to be a crazy back country explorer to experience an avalanche. Many avalanches have been triggered on lift-accessible terrain this year. As much as the resorts try to control conditions, patrollers can only do so much. It's clear from the recent incidents that many people expect a certain level of safety when skiing on a resort, even in their more dangerous expert terrain. There have been many cries of outrage that the resorts should have done this or that to prevent an incident. This is an unreasonable expectation. They do the best they can to make the conditions as safe as possible for everyone involved. They don't want to see these headlines anymore than customers do. Who hasn't heard avalanche charges going off during at least one of their visits this season? All non-groomed runs are patrolled and evaluated every day to determine whether they should be open to the public or closed. It always has been and always will be a "ride at your own risk" sport. Your average rider isn't going to invest the amount of money required to fully protect themselves though. Many give the responsibility of their safety over to the resorts and count on that alone to save them. As we've found out this year, it's often not enough.
I'm also an avid mountain biker. I enjoy the lift-serviced downhill mountain biking at the resorts. This is also a very expensive hobby. Many advancements have been made in protective technologies to make the sport safer, but the cost has still kept them out of reach for your average rider. LEATT neck braces are all well and good, but you tell me it's going to cost me $250-$400 and I'm going to balk. I'm already armored up like a storm trooper. I'm not a racer, I'm an average weekend warrior like most. I think to myself, "Do I really need that extra protection?" It's a tough pill to swallow, especially given the exorbitant cost of a good downhill bike. If it was cheaper I probably wouldn't think twice about buying one.
I'm aware that not all protective gear can be cheap to manufacture. I know that the volume of sale is lower so companies need to maintain margins somewhere. I admit I'm not in the industry, so maybe I'm wrong. Maybe their margins aren't that high, but certainly some of this is a bit excessive. There are some brands selling decent gear at lower pricepoints, and there's always product heavily discounted at end of season, so I'm sure there's some wiggle room. There has to be a way to bring the average cost down to a reasonable level. Lower prices across the board on safety equipment can only help us in the long run. While protective gear will only go so far, it certainly decreases your chances of serious injury and increases your chances of survival in extreme situations.
So what are your thoughts? Do you believe safety gear is too expensive? Knowing that some people will never use it, do you think it would be more widely used if it was more readily attainable for the average consumer? By decreasing price do you think manufacturers could make up in volume what they lose in pure profit per sale? What is your personal monetary threshold when it comes to your own safety?
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
EpicMix Action Photos Fun New Way to Share Mountain Experiences
In case you weren't aware yet, the EpicMix photo program at Vail Resorts is now capturing action photos. The new feature was launched December 13th, 2011. Regardless of how you feel about EpicMix overall, there's no doubt that the photo program has been incredibly successful. It's a great way to easily get photos taken at the mountain and instantly share them with your friends/family on your social networks. I have yet to purchase a single hi-res photo, but I've taken many shots with friends at the top of many peaks. Since our riding crew for the day is constantly changing, it's a good way to commemorate the season for someone like myself who typically can't be bothered to take a picture of anything. With the new release of action photos, Vail Resorts has stepped it up a notch.
Action photos are a fun new way to capture your exploits on the mountain. Maybe it is a bit of a vanity thing, but if you want to make all your working friends jealous, there's no better way than to post a photo of yourself kicking up a cloud of fresh powder. Want to see just how good/bad your form is? The action photos will show you. As it stands currently, it's a bit of a treasure hunt to find the action spots on the mountain. There's currently no way to find out where they are on any given day, except randomly stumbling upon them. I'm hoping they find ways to communicate where you can find them. From what I've seen so far, you're most likely to find them on blue or green runs where the trails are wider and less steep. Look out for the guys in the green suits on the mountain and signage indicating there's a photo spot. I have yet to see them on a black run. I think the safety risk would be too high. I don't believe they want people queuing up for photos in the middle of a run with people bombing down at high speeds.
Here's how they work. Simply approach the employee at the top where the first sign is. When the photographer is ready, they will signal you to start. Ski toward the photographer and get some good turns in. Stop when you get to them, but try not to powder the cameraman! Those cameras are expensive, and they don't appreciate getting covered in snow. The cameraman will then scan your pass and upload your photos to your EpicMix account.
As for EpicMix as a whole, I'm hoping they find innovative new ways to make use of their smartphone apps. Push notifications and real time info on terrain updates, closures, weather conditions, etc. would be very beneficial to technology-savvy resort-goers. They also need to work out the issues with inaccurate stat tracking. Tracking any stat becomes quite pointless when the stats aren't accurate. From the complaints on their Facebook page, it's clear that there are many people who care about this feature and are displeased by the discrepancies and missing lifts. In only its second season, EpicMix is still very much in its infancy for a widespread social engineering program like this. Keep in mind this is a resort company and not Google or Apple. These are companies where technology is not their primary business. They're definitely at the technology forefront among resorts, but the program is far from perfect. What features or improvements would you like to see from EpicMix going forward?
Action photos are a fun new way to capture your exploits on the mountain. Maybe it is a bit of a vanity thing, but if you want to make all your working friends jealous, there's no better way than to post a photo of yourself kicking up a cloud of fresh powder. Want to see just how good/bad your form is? The action photos will show you. As it stands currently, it's a bit of a treasure hunt to find the action spots on the mountain. There's currently no way to find out where they are on any given day, except randomly stumbling upon them. I'm hoping they find ways to communicate where you can find them. From what I've seen so far, you're most likely to find them on blue or green runs where the trails are wider and less steep. Look out for the guys in the green suits on the mountain and signage indicating there's a photo spot. I have yet to see them on a black run. I think the safety risk would be too high. I don't believe they want people queuing up for photos in the middle of a run with people bombing down at high speeds.
As for EpicMix as a whole, I'm hoping they find innovative new ways to make use of their smartphone apps. Push notifications and real time info on terrain updates, closures, weather conditions, etc. would be very beneficial to technology-savvy resort-goers. They also need to work out the issues with inaccurate stat tracking. Tracking any stat becomes quite pointless when the stats aren't accurate. From the complaints on their Facebook page, it's clear that there are many people who care about this feature and are displeased by the discrepancies and missing lifts. In only its second season, EpicMix is still very much in its infancy for a widespread social engineering program like this. Keep in mind this is a resort company and not Google or Apple. These are companies where technology is not their primary business. They're definitely at the technology forefront among resorts, but the program is far from perfect. What features or improvements would you like to see from EpicMix going forward?
Friday, January 6, 2012
Outdoor Sports in the Social Media Age
According to EpicMix, I've been out on the mountain 19 days already. Since I haven't been to A-Basin this year, I can count on that number to at least be accurate unlike my other missing stats. It's Friday afternoon and I'm already looking forward to another weekend spent in the outdoors of this lovely state of Colorado. As I sit here thinking of snowshoeing and skiing, I realize every single one of my friends I'm going with this weekend I met through, or as a result of, social media. Some are friends of friends, but most I've developed strong relationships with. I would consider many of them to be close friends of mine. Our culture is evolving. What was once considered odd, is now considered the norm. Many of us are more in tune with our social networks than our real life interactions. However, in this case my web friends have become some of my closest friends in real life.
4 years ago I took a promotion and moved to Colorado from Ohio. I didn't know a single soul out here, and I was leaving all my friends and family behind. Some of these friends I'd known for over a decade. It was really tough at first, but I knew that I wanted to be in Colorado. With my passions for adventure sports and the outdoors, it seemed like a logical choice. The opportunity was there so I took it. My father always told me growing up that if you want to live in a place, do it while you're young and before you put down roots. It's much harder to leave when you have too many commitments and things tying you down somewhere. I took his advice and made the leap.
For the first year or so, I found it difficult to meet a ton of people due to my busy schedule and lack of knowledge of the area. On top of that, most of the people I worked with were married and had kids. Now there's nothing wrong with that, but try getting them out of the house on a regular basis. I also found that despite living in Colorado, many of them didn't share my same passion for the outdoors. I'm frequently amazed at how many people who live here don't appreciate how good they have it, and what an awesome place they live in. Enter Meetup.com. At first I was leery of any online group, but then I joined a mountain bike group in order to get out and ride with like-minded individuals. Not only did I meet some great people, but it also helped me discover amazing trails, improve my skills, and motivated me to ride more often. Within 6 months I was an assistant organizer leading rides of my own. Within a year I had taken the group over from a guy who decided to step down to focus more time on his business.
Through this group I met a ton of great people, including one who ran another happy hour group for folks in downtown Denver to meet for drinks after work. I then met a large group of those people and developed some friendships there as well. For the winter we've started an invite only ski/snowboard group on Facebook. It's kind of a conglomeration of people from these 2 groups, and people we know. We have about 40-ish people these days. Whenever I want to head up to the mountains, all I have to do is create a post and I usually have 2-10 people willing to go. We'll meet up at the dino lots to carpool and be on our way. I always have someone cool to ride with when I desire.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be afraid of the internet. Things are changing. You'll meet some strange people, sure, but you meet strange people everywhere. Some of the best people I've met in Colorado and some of the best friendships I have today are from meetup.com or similar. Find a group that does something you love. You already have at least 1 thing in common.
4 years ago I took a promotion and moved to Colorado from Ohio. I didn't know a single soul out here, and I was leaving all my friends and family behind. Some of these friends I'd known for over a decade. It was really tough at first, but I knew that I wanted to be in Colorado. With my passions for adventure sports and the outdoors, it seemed like a logical choice. The opportunity was there so I took it. My father always told me growing up that if you want to live in a place, do it while you're young and before you put down roots. It's much harder to leave when you have too many commitments and things tying you down somewhere. I took his advice and made the leap.
For the first year or so, I found it difficult to meet a ton of people due to my busy schedule and lack of knowledge of the area. On top of that, most of the people I worked with were married and had kids. Now there's nothing wrong with that, but try getting them out of the house on a regular basis. I also found that despite living in Colorado, many of them didn't share my same passion for the outdoors. I'm frequently amazed at how many people who live here don't appreciate how good they have it, and what an awesome place they live in. Enter Meetup.com. At first I was leery of any online group, but then I joined a mountain bike group in order to get out and ride with like-minded individuals. Not only did I meet some great people, but it also helped me discover amazing trails, improve my skills, and motivated me to ride more often. Within 6 months I was an assistant organizer leading rides of my own. Within a year I had taken the group over from a guy who decided to step down to focus more time on his business.
Through this group I met a ton of great people, including one who ran another happy hour group for folks in downtown Denver to meet for drinks after work. I then met a large group of those people and developed some friendships there as well. For the winter we've started an invite only ski/snowboard group on Facebook. It's kind of a conglomeration of people from these 2 groups, and people we know. We have about 40-ish people these days. Whenever I want to head up to the mountains, all I have to do is create a post and I usually have 2-10 people willing to go. We'll meet up at the dino lots to carpool and be on our way. I always have someone cool to ride with when I desire.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be afraid of the internet. Things are changing. You'll meet some strange people, sure, but you meet strange people everywhere. Some of the best people I've met in Colorado and some of the best friendships I have today are from meetup.com or similar. Find a group that does something you love. You already have at least 1 thing in common.
Smith Vantage Helmet Review
Smith Vantage Helmet Review
First off, let me just come out and say it. This is simply the best snow helmet I've ever used. Smith really got it right with the Vantage. I have a huge dome, so I'm stuck with wearing XL helmets. I've always had a hard time finding a helmet that had a low profile and didn't look ridiculous...until I got the Vantage. It's very lightweight without any unnecessary bulk to it. It's the slimmest, lightest snow helmet I've seen to date. It's hardly even noticeable when it's on your head. You can easily forget it's there. I was getting in my car the other day to leave the ski resort when my friend asked me if I was going to take my helmet off. No joke.
Now that we got the important stuff out of the way (gotta look good on the mountain right?), let's move on to the technical details. Smith really pushes their goggle to helmet integration. Their helmets are designed to actually increase airflow through a goggle and decrease fogging. I was skeptical at first that a helmet could actually decrease goggle fogging, but I have to say I'm finding their claims aren't too far off. I'm not a big fan of contacts so I've been skiing with glasses underneath goggles. One of the hardest things is not getting your glasses to fog up underneath your goggles. After switching to the Vantage, I've all but eliminated my fogging issues. I use the Smith Knowledge Turbo Fan, which is a massive OTG goggle with a small fan to exhaust hot air and moisture. Many helmets I've tried blocked the goggle vents at the top, not to mention the fan. The Vantage actually pulls the exhausted air through the helmet and out the rear vents. The fan works much better with this helmet than others, and makes it much easier for me to keep my glasses and goggles fog free. The Knowledge Turbo Fan goggles (which I'll talk about in another review) have yet to fog themselves. I've only experienced my glasses fogging in very extreme situations, and the fan on high mode clears it up in not much time at all.
The Vantage features a BOA closure system for fitting the helmet to your exact noggin size. Very slick, very functional. I wish my mountain bike helmet used the same system. The goggle strap holder is also a very cool affair. No funky snaps or hard plastic tabs to worry about. Just a simple elastic cord with a leather tab at the end. Quick and easy.
The helmet also features vents front and rear that can be adjusted independently of each other. Open them all, close them all, or just close the front and keep the rear open to block the wind but still let the helmet exhaust heat out the back. Each set of vents also has an additional setting that allows you to have them half open. This, plus the easily removable ear pads, makes the Vantage one of the most versatile helmets on the market for varying weather and temperature conditions.
The version I have is the matte black. The matte finish helps to not show all the inevitable scuffs and scratches that will occur over time. It uses Smith's X-Static lining which provides anti-odor and anti-static properties. It uses pure silver bonded to the fibers to prevent growth of bacteria and fungi. In less technical terms, it prevents your helmet from getting funky. It also provides warmth without being bulky, something that I'm sure helps the Vantage keep its low profile. For those of you that must have your tunes on the mountain, or maybe just like answering phone calls without having to dig your phone out, this is compatible with most earphone systems. Smith sells several audio systems in collaboration with Skull Candy (including a wireless bluetooth model) that will work with the Vantage and almost all of their other helmets.
There are only 2 real complaints I have against the Vantage. First, you can only get an XL in matte black. They make some really cool color combinations, but if you have a large head like me, forget about any other color than black. The second is the price. This is a premium helmet with a premium pricetag. Only you can decide if the cost of this helmet is worth it to you. I'm writing this review right after the holidays, so maybe you have some extra gift card cash you're looking to spend like I did.
smithoptics.com
The Vantage features a BOA closure system for fitting the helmet to your exact noggin size. Very slick, very functional. I wish my mountain bike helmet used the same system. The goggle strap holder is also a very cool affair. No funky snaps or hard plastic tabs to worry about. Just a simple elastic cord with a leather tab at the end. Quick and easy.
The helmet also features vents front and rear that can be adjusted independently of each other. Open them all, close them all, or just close the front and keep the rear open to block the wind but still let the helmet exhaust heat out the back. Each set of vents also has an additional setting that allows you to have them half open. This, plus the easily removable ear pads, makes the Vantage one of the most versatile helmets on the market for varying weather and temperature conditions.
The version I have is the matte black. The matte finish helps to not show all the inevitable scuffs and scratches that will occur over time. It uses Smith's X-Static lining which provides anti-odor and anti-static properties. It uses pure silver bonded to the fibers to prevent growth of bacteria and fungi. In less technical terms, it prevents your helmet from getting funky. It also provides warmth without being bulky, something that I'm sure helps the Vantage keep its low profile. For those of you that must have your tunes on the mountain, or maybe just like answering phone calls without having to dig your phone out, this is compatible with most earphone systems. Smith sells several audio systems in collaboration with Skull Candy (including a wireless bluetooth model) that will work with the Vantage and almost all of their other helmets.
There are only 2 real complaints I have against the Vantage. First, you can only get an XL in matte black. They make some really cool color combinations, but if you have a large head like me, forget about any other color than black. The second is the price. This is a premium helmet with a premium pricetag. Only you can decide if the cost of this helmet is worth it to you. I'm writing this review right after the holidays, so maybe you have some extra gift card cash you're looking to spend like I did.
smithoptics.com
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
686 Plexus Hydra Jacket Review
686 Plexus Hydra Jacket Review
Function:
If you're looking for a waterproof, windproof, and breathable shell for your days on the mountain, 686 has you covered. The 686 Plexus Hydra is a lightweight shell without insulation, perfect for layering. I really prefer a shell jacket over more bulky fully-insulated jackets. This gives me more options on the mountain based on whatever the weather happens to be that day. For really cold days a thick fleece and thermal base layer underneath will serve me well. For slightly warmer days a thin fleece can be worn. On those warm spring days you can ditch the layers all together and just wear the shell over a tech tee or similar. With fully taped seams and 686's INFIDRY-20 (their highest waterproof and breathability rating), the Plexus Hydra will keep you dry and protected from the wind without cooking you like a sauna. For those of you who value the numbers, it's 20,000/15,000 rated. This thing should keep you dry even when you're charging pow in a dumping blizzard.
Fashion and Features: The jacket comes in 3 different colorways from the bright orange and royal blue (with neon yellow accents) to the more subdued, classic black. All have subtle multi-directional pinstriping for some added flair. I find the colors to be fun and different but not too flashy. They're bright enough for your friends to find you on the mountain without screaming "look at me" like some other designs I've seen.
If you get your normal size, the fit is more tailored and long, but not trench coat length. I'm a fan of the fit and cut. It allows for freedom of movement and room for layering underneath without being overly baggy. The length was spot on for what I like in a snow jacket. It's long enough to look good and keep the snow out, but not down around your knees. The jacket has an internal audio pocket, a powder skirt with jacket-to-pants connectors, a mesh internal pocket, 2 external fleece-lined pockets (one of them with a key connector), thumb loops, underarm zippered mesh vents, brimmed hood, and a zippered chest pocket that's perfect for your phone. I'm sure the pants connectors are designed for 686 snow pants, but they matched up perfectly with my Burton pants as well. The asymmetrical zipper is either a love-it or hate-it affair. It's really just a style thing. So far as I can tell, there's no functional advantage to it, and it can be hard to zip up all the way at times. It's got a unique look zipped or unzipped, but it personally wasn't a selling point for me. The brimmed hood on this one isn't the expandable helmet-compatible one found on the Bionic jacket so it tends to rub the helmet when the jacket is zipped up all the way. I wear an XL helmet though so it might not be an issue for people without huge heads like mine. It was only a minor annoyance for me and unnoticeable when skiing.
Overall: I recommend this jacket for people looking for a lightweight, high-performance shell jacket for layering. Keep in mind this has no insulation, so look to something else if you're searching for the warmest jacket possible. For the price, you're getting a high quality, durable garment with lots of technical features. 686 has been around for quite some time, yet I'm only recently discovering their products. So far everything I've seen of theirs has been quality. They make solid kit at varying pricepoints. I find you get a bit more for your money with 686 over some other brands. You'd be doing yourself a favor checking out their stuff.
686.com
Fashion and Features: The jacket comes in 3 different colorways from the bright orange and royal blue (with neon yellow accents) to the more subdued, classic black. All have subtle multi-directional pinstriping for some added flair. I find the colors to be fun and different but not too flashy. They're bright enough for your friends to find you on the mountain without screaming "look at me" like some other designs I've seen.
If you get your normal size, the fit is more tailored and long, but not trench coat length. I'm a fan of the fit and cut. It allows for freedom of movement and room for layering underneath without being overly baggy. The length was spot on for what I like in a snow jacket. It's long enough to look good and keep the snow out, but not down around your knees. The jacket has an internal audio pocket, a powder skirt with jacket-to-pants connectors, a mesh internal pocket, 2 external fleece-lined pockets (one of them with a key connector), thumb loops, underarm zippered mesh vents, brimmed hood, and a zippered chest pocket that's perfect for your phone. I'm sure the pants connectors are designed for 686 snow pants, but they matched up perfectly with my Burton pants as well. The asymmetrical zipper is either a love-it or hate-it affair. It's really just a style thing. So far as I can tell, there's no functional advantage to it, and it can be hard to zip up all the way at times. It's got a unique look zipped or unzipped, but it personally wasn't a selling point for me. The brimmed hood on this one isn't the expandable helmet-compatible one found on the Bionic jacket so it tends to rub the helmet when the jacket is zipped up all the way. I wear an XL helmet though so it might not be an issue for people without huge heads like mine. It was only a minor annoyance for me and unnoticeable when skiing.
Overall: I recommend this jacket for people looking for a lightweight, high-performance shell jacket for layering. Keep in mind this has no insulation, so look to something else if you're searching for the warmest jacket possible. For the price, you're getting a high quality, durable garment with lots of technical features. 686 has been around for quite some time, yet I'm only recently discovering their products. So far everything I've seen of theirs has been quality. They make solid kit at varying pricepoints. I find you get a bit more for your money with 686 over some other brands. You'd be doing yourself a favor checking out their stuff.
686.com
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