Piqued

Some of our favorite winter stuff

Piqued

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1/ Warm & Woolly
Pagosa Springs, Colorado-based VOORMI is innovative within the outdoor technical clothing industry for numerous reasons, but this season we only care about two: its limited-edition weatherproof merino wool AN/FO jacket and pants. In the AN/FO pieces, VOORMI has put merino wool on the exterior of a waterproof fabric. The result: pieces as rugged and weatherproof as they are stretchy and soft. The fact that they look good is a bonus. Pants $499; jacket $549; voormi.com

 

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2/ Fog Off
Finally—goggles with useful technology. It’s cool and all to see text messages in the corner of your ski goggles, but it’s even better to be able to see what’s in front of you. Abom goggles have active anti-fog technology. Yeah, we rolled our eyes at first, too. But active anti-fog tech is a thing, at least the way Abom does it. Abom goggles have a two-part lens. Sandwiched between the two parts is a transparent film that heats up and evaporates fog. We pinky swear! A small lithium-ion battery built into the goggles powers the film. Flip it on and no fog for six hours. From $249.99; available at abom.com/home/store
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3/ Pick Your Perfect Pack
We couldn’t decide whether we loved Dakine’s new Poacher RAS 26L backpack or its Mission 25L pack more. They’re totally different from each other, and each is totally perfect for what it is. The Poacher RAS is the ultimate backcountry pack, with a vertical snowboard carry or diagonal ski carry, deployable helmet carry, a main compartment accessed from the back, and interior and exterior pockets for goggles, a water bladder, and snow tools. What we like most, though, is that the pack easily fits Mammut’s new Removable Airbag System 3.0 (sold separately). The Mission 25L isn’t as technical, but instead carries a computer (in a padded laptop sleeve) as well as it does skis or a snowboard. For us, it’s the ultimate carry-on bag whenever we’re traveling to ski: stuff it with books and games and food, and then when you arrive, you’ve got a great ski pack. Mission 25L, $70; Poacher RAS 26L, from $210; available at Jackson Hole Sports, 7720 Granite Rd.; dakine.com
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4/ Soak It Up
We love singing the praises of homegrown products, and Trilipiderm has given us more than its fair share of awesomeness to write about. We loved its original All-Body Moisture Retention Crème. Then the Jackson-based company had to make that lotion with vitamin D and broad-spectrum SPF 30. Then came Rehydration Night Crème, which is the only lotion we’ve found that saves our faces from the twin winter scourges of dryness and flakiness. Now, Trilipiderm has Ultra-Hydrating All-Body Oil. We want to win the lottery so we can afford to take a bath in this stuff every day. Until then, we’ll settle for applying the 100 percent plant-derived oil to our legs, arms, hands, and back after every shower and marveling at how quickly it is absorbed—and how supple and silky it makes our skin feel all day long. $34.95; available at valley retailers; trilipiderm.com
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5/ Down With Custom
When your style is too unique for an off-the-rack lightweight puffy jacket but you don’t have the budget for couture, head to Eddie Bauer. The king of khakis has been making waves with its First Ascent technical outerwear line for several years now. Even if you couldn’t custom-design its MicroTherm StormDown hooded jacket, we’d still love it. The MicroTherm has a windproof, ripstop shell with a durable water-repellent (DWR) finish that sheds moisture. Inside, there’s 800-fill down that’s also treated with a DWR finish. This makes for a down puffy that performs even in wet conditions. And then there’s the customization. Eddie B has about twenty colors to choose from so you can make every part of this jacket, from the hood to the chest, zippers, and even zipper pulls, the exact color you want. $229 for standard colors; $279 for customized; Eddie Bauer, 55 S. Cache; eddiebauer.com
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6/ Track Ski Runs, and Yourself
The Garmin fenix 3 looks tough with its 1.2-inch display and stainless steel bezel and buttons. After months of exposing it to the valley’s harshest conditions and roughest places, we’re pleased to report you can judge this wristwatch by its cover. Its navigator GPS and ABC (altimeter, barometer, compass) haven’t failed us once, and its wrist heart-rate monitor is spot-on. Making it perfect for a Jackson Hole winter is its capability to measure ski stats—speed, vertical drop, distance, and number of runs. Study those stats and then ask the fenix 3 to give you its estimation of your VO2 max. Seriously. $549.99; available at Skinny Skis, 65 W. Deloney; skinnyskis.com
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7/ Backcountry perfection
Black Diamond isn’t admitting this, but its new Helio 105 skis must be custom-made for Jackson Hole’s backcountry. We long ago decided 105mm was the perfect waist width for the Tetons. Weighing a little more than six pounds (per pair; 175 length), the Helio 105s are lightweight enough to help make your biggest vert days a little easier. But with a prepreg carbon fiber layup, these skis have serious torsional stiffness that keeps them from getting thrown around like most other lightweight rides. $849.95; available at Teton Mountaineering, 170 N. Cache; tetonmtn.com

 

 

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8/ Sweet Gondola
It’s been nineteen seasons since Jackson Hole Mountain Resort last unveiled a new gondola. Of course in the interim, the resort built a new tram and the Marmot and Sweetwater lifts, and it updated the aging Casper lift to a high-speed quad. But still, gondola fans have been wanting more. Meet the Sweetwater Gondola, new this season and sure to become a favorite lift of intermediate skiers. Sweetwater goes from the base area to just above the Casper lift, with a midstation about one-third of the way up. Lift tickets from $76; jacksonhole.com
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9/ Give This Glove a Hand
Long known for designing great products that are a good value, Seirus has outdone itself with its new SolarSphere Brink glove. Stuffed with an animal-friendly alternative to down, the Brink absorbs warmth from the sun to naturally heat up by 10 degrees. These gloves are also waterproof/breathable and touch-screen capable. $49.99; available at Hoback Sports, 520 W. Broadway; hobacksports.com

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