K2 Pilchuck Kit Backpack

www.k2skis.com
I need a backpack that I can forget I am wearing, otherwise, I may choose to forget to wear it.  K2′s Pilchuck Kit keeps my rescue shovel and aluminum avy probe close enough to my body that it does not affect balance or require removal on a chairlift.  This is the pack that I use for in-bounds pow skiing and sidecountry skiing, often at times when I’d contemplate going with out.  I now have no excuse for preparedness–and I don’t wish that I did.  The included Rescue Shovel can lock the shovel blade at 90 degrees, which I use for digging out my car in the morning and testing snow in a pit, and the handle is long enough that my back thanks me after I finish building a jump take-off. It also has features that I hope to never use, like ability to build a rescue sled and a metal blade burly enough to hack through hard avalanche debris to save a buried friend.  The avalanche probe is stiff, strong, and as light as anything on the market, and I hope to never use it.  It all comes in a minimalist backpack that is strong and simple.  I strap my skis to it for hiking, and stash an energy bar or two inside for when the powder warrants skipping lunch.
-JT Holmes

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Product Type
Day Packs
Good For
,
Tested In
Countless side- and backcountry skiing, as well as in-bound runs.

Coghlan’s Storm Matches

www.coghlans.com
These matches definitely qualify as a must-have survival item, but damned if they’re also a lot of fun to…just burn.  Wind and waterproof, developed specifically for the UK Ministry of Defense, and NATO-approved, they work as advertised. We submerged a few in water and they took a flame moments later in a powerful display of sputtering fire. Then we tried to blow ‘em out. No go. They’re like the trick birthday candles that re-light themselves, except these matches burn with serious intensity for ten full seconds, and are perfect for starting fires in the harshest of conditions.  The waterproof case includes 25 matches with two striking surfaces

Product Type
Camping Accessories
Good For
, , ,
Tested In
In as many wet, wind scenarios we could concoct.

Smith Optics Maze Helmet

www.smithoptics.com, 11.5 ounces
Smith’s Maze is the world’s lightest certified snow helmet.  I prefer it to any helmet I have ever used because it looks cool, keeps my ears and head warm, and it can be stripped down for warmer missions or for wearing a beanie or balaclava underneath.  It has less venting and airflow features than other helmets, but that adds to its clean look and warmth in storm days.  Often, airflow features open and get crammed with snow and ice in the event of blowing snow or high-speed tomahawks in powder.  The straps are adjustable and allow me to cinch the forehead down for high-speed use like wing suit flying and ski racing, or to simply be sure to eliminate dorky looking “goggle gap.”  We used these helmets during the filming of Transformers 3 while flying wing suits in downtown Chicago and we looked and felt pretty bad-ass when doing so.
-JT Holmes

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Product Type
Snow-Sport Helmets
Good For
, , ,
Tested In
Filming Transformers 3--oh, and while skiing, wing suit flying, and traveling all over the world.

Kiehl Cross-Terrain UV Face Protector SPF 50 Sunscreen

www.kiehls.com
This is best sun protection for a mountain man on the face of the planet.  I live with five-o’clock shadow and sunscreen creams just don’t rub in well, they make me look like a grey-haired ghost.  Keihl’s Cross-Terrain applies quick and clear and comes in a burly hockey puck-style container that I can leave in my pack or pocket to get smashed around during a tumble or a long travel and won’t leak or burst open make a mess.  Its viscosity provides protection from extreme winds and is a worthy lip balm, so I don’t have to carry two items.  In a pinch, after weather forced a retreat from Half Dome, I used it to lubricate  some extremely chaffed body parts and found some clutch relief.  SPF 50 means I put it on once, even at the highest altitudes, during the longest surf sessions and in the most extreme elements.

-JT Holmes

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Product Type
Health and Beauty Products
Good For
, , , , , , , , , , ,
Tested In
In all environments, in all conditions.

K2 Sidestash Skis

www.k2skis.com, four pounds, nine ounces
This is a one-ski quiver that will never let you down. Its 108mm waist is coupled with a traditional tail,  giving it reliability on firm snow and on the steeps as well as a predictable landing platform, while the all-terrain rocker in the tip gives you enough floatation to hang with any crew on even the deepest powder days. I traveled with the Sidestash as my only ski while competing on the entire Freeride World Tour in 2010, and it got me through steep, boney French competition venues, heavy pow days in Russia, and icy groomers in Switzerland.  At home in Squaw Valley, where I have an arsenal of skis to choose from, go still with the Sidestash 95 percent of the time because I know I can charge those first few untracked runs and not have to switch up to a skinnier, less-rockered ski for the afternoon crud.

-JT Holmes

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Product Type
Skis
Good For
, ,
Tested In
Every stop in the 2012 Freeride World Tour, plus countless hours in Squaw Valley.
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