My Gear

I always enjoy taking out all my gear and laying it out in preparation for a day on the slopes. I used to be a Burton whore and now I'm proud to say that that is no longer the case. This is what I bring with me to the hills:

Boards:
I use my Salomon DB Series for all mountain freestyle riding and my Bataleon Fun.kink for doing laps in the park and dropping random goofiness on the groomers. The Fun.kink was a special purchase from the States this year as they didn't have Canadian distributors until this season. When I read about their Triple Base Technology I knew I had to try it for myself and now I swear by it. Sorry DB, you might be replaced in the future by a Goliath.

Bindings:
I bought these beauts pieces of crap on sale last year as secondary bindings. I have since sold my Burton Cartels and will probably stick with these for another season. I can't really complain. These Salomon SPX Pros are pretty comfy and ride well with my decks. And as an added bonus the ankle ratchets double as bottle openers!
Edit: I've since been plagued with issues with these bindings and have purchased replacements.

Boots:
I helped my buddy Paul pick out these freestyle wonders last season when he was gearing up to learn the sport. He probably put in no more than 2 hours on these guys and decided the sport wasn't for him. I couldn't let them go to waste. Ride has been around for some time and these FULs(F*@#in' Ultra Lightweight maybe?) are proof that their R&D department can deliver the goods.

Outerwear:
Continuing with my offloading of Burton gear I now wear 686 Times Vestal pants and the Volcom Divinity jacket featuring the far-out Brian Iguchi design, which is part of their Featured Artists Series. The pants came with a cool leather belt that doubles as a park tool. The jacket is pretty rad as well. I'm really happy that Annette convinced me to buy it, despite the heckles from the boys. Always trust a girl's opinion on clothes.

Helmet:
This is the one piece of my gear that I've had since day 1. The original R.E.D. Skycap. It's probably my last connection with Burton, but I cannot part with it. I think it still looks pretty cool and I've MacGyvered an old pair of Sony MDR-V300 headphones into the earpieces. They pump the tunes and protect my noggin at the same time!

Goggles:
The Spy Zed's were a new addition last year and I love the look of them. They work great. Enough said.

Accessories:
You can never have too many accessories. They're functional and steezy, and when they get wet you can replace them on the go.

After a long day of riding I like to hide my helmet-hair from the public. Among my plethora of beanies, this Spacecraft Supersonic does the trick with some cool colors to match. I like blue.

Skiers have ski masks, riders have bandannas. I have six of them. They're great for protecting against windburn, and I think they look awesome. And despite what people may think, I don't go around robbing banks when I put them on.

Gloves never dry quick enough, so when I wake up in the morning and discover that my Bonfire gloves are still soaked I whip out my Dakine Mustangs and I'm good to go. No glove, no love.

Speaking of Dakine, my Helipro backpack has done me well. I'll never head into the backcountry without this guy on my back. It can carry just enough gear/food/drinks to last me the day. The built-in hydration system is key.

It took me about 2 years but I'm glad I've finally broken away from being a Burton brand-whore. Not to say that they don't sell quality products, but Burton dominates the market and other companies of comparable quality and style don't get the recognition they deserve. I'm a proud supporter of the underdogs.