Gear Reviews

Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Hybrid Pants.

Review: Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Hybrid Pants

Ski Touring Pants
Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Hybrid Pants
$325, 19.5 oz./553g (men’s small)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
blackdiamondequipment.com

We all know the challenge of finding pants that keep you dry, warm, and comfortable when ski touring or riding in the backcountry: You need them to release heat and moisture when you sweat hard going uphill and repel snow and wind when moving through exposed terrain in stormy weather or charging hard downhill. On days of ski touring in Utah’s Wasatch Range that displayed all of winter’s multiple personalities—from temperatures in the teens with dumping snow and the wind blowing hard to warm March sunshine with the temps in the 20s, BD’s Dawn Patrol Hybrid Pants demonstrated why they’ve remained enduringly popular among backcountry users.

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The Mystery Ranch Saddle Peak ski touring pack.

Review: Mystery Ranch saddle Peak Ski Touring Pack

Ski Touring Pack
Mystery Ranch Saddle Peak
$219, 25L/1,526 c.i., 3 lbs. (S/M)
Sizes: S/M and L/XL
backcountry.com

An all-purpose, quiver-of-one ski touring pack that crosses over from days of lift-served and side-country skiing to full days of ski touring in the backcountry can seem like a Goldilocks quest—many are either too big or too small. After days of resort skiing and ski touring in Utah’s Wasatch Range with the latest iteration of the compact and smartly designed Mystery Ranch, I’ve seen its strengths and minor shortcomings.

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The Sea to Summit Ether Light Extreme Insulated Air Mattress.

Review: Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated Air Mattress

Insulated Air Mattress
Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Extreme Insulated Air Mattress
$230, 1 lb. 9 oz. (unisex regular)
Sizes: four unisex and two women’s sizes
backcountry.com

On several nights in early winter, as temperatures slipped into the teens and single digits Fahrenheit outside my tent on the snow on two separate trips in Idaho’s Boise and Boulder Mountains, I zipped up snugly inside my sleeping bag and lay on this fat, well-insulated air mattress, briefly considering that I might feel cold before morning. And every morning, I awoke after sleeping longer and later than I normally do in my bed at home, feeling incredibly well rested and realizing my 0-degree bag combined with this air mat were only pushed to their limits (for me) when the temps dropped to within a few ticks of 0° F.

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Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 sleeping bag.

Review: Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 Sleeping Bag

Winter Sleeping Bag
Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0
$680, 2 lbs. 9 oz./1162g (regular, 72-inch)
Sizes: short, regular, long
backcountry.com

The forecast made me sit up and wonder: Will my bag be warm enough? For the three nights in late December that I planned to spend in a tent in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, lows would drop into the teens and single digits Fahrenheit—slipping below the “comfort” rating and approaching the “limit” rating of my Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0. And this on my maiden voyage with the bag; I had not used it yet. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about with this extraordinarily warm and packable, ultralight winter sleeping bag.

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Beyond Clothing Dasche L3 Jacket with hood up.

Review: Beyond Clothing Dasche L3 Jacket

Breathable Insulated Jacket
Beyond Clothing Dasche L3 Jacket
$190, 14 oz./397g (men’s medium regular)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL
beyondclothing.com

Over several cold days of ski touring from Utah’s Wasatch Range to Idaho’s Boise Mountains, with temps in the single digits and teens Fahrenheit, snow falling, and a cold wind chill at times, the Dasche L3 Jacket rarely left my body, whether serving as a middle layer skiing downhill or an outer layer skiing uphill—a testament to its breathability and versatility. The fact that it comes in under a pound and under 200 bucks should make a variety of winter adventurers sit up and take notice.

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