OUR SPONSORS ROCK! Thank you!
Red Bull Spect Eyewear is the only Red Bull logo'd item you can buy outside a can of the liquid that gives you wings--and our test team was excited to help launch their goggle brand in the USA by outfitting every one of our testers in their finest models. Testers were stoked on the lens quality and perfect amount of ventilation for anti-fogging without eye watering--but they were ultra stoked on the cool colorways in frame and lens and enjoyed all the chairlift conversations about where did you get those goggles?
Flylow isn’t just outerwear (though you might not realize it looking at our test team’s colorful kits) and this year they also provided us with some lifestyle support in the form of ball caps and pint glasses. We still can't get over the fit and functionality of our Flylow jackets and pants--huge value for all-weather gear that looks good and works well. We think their jackets sport the best hood designs for hat or helmet wearers--easy to seal up the pod on gnarly days.
Socks aren’t always exciting to bootfitters…there’s a lot of socks in all of our shops and some brands come and some brands go. But there’s a truism about ski socks in the ski business—while pros get lots of free socks, they still only like two or three favorite pairs in their sock drawers. It was clear that Le Bent ascended to best-in-the-sock-drawer status the instant the socks were laid out on the testers’ swag table. They literally disappeared in minutes. There was no shortage of positive comments about the right amount of stretch, the ideal blend of cushioning where it was needed and different thicknesses to suit lots of folks individual styles and fit needs.
BlackStrap is a local Bend company that makes the best face gear we’ve found, anywhere, and they do cool graphics in rad colors and can even do custom screen jobs on their stuff. We like the neck tubes the best for their simplicity, but the balaclavas are the best available if you’re into that style. They offer different weights to suit helmets and hats, fat heads and pin heads. And they’ve got some cool summer sun blocking pieces too. Blackstrap is a top seller at our test HQ Mt. Bachelor’s Gravity Sports retail shop and has been a solid boot test sponsor for years.
Level gloves are our boot test team's favorite way to keep hands warm and dry but keep a functional grip on things (well, a grip on our poles at least). From the variety of styles available to the articulated finger design, testers love everything about these versatile gloves that make our days on the hill better. And they look cool, testers said! True to size and comfortable, they were a unanimous hit (again) for our crew this year.
Pret makes our favorite helmets--they're lightweight, they fit all of our various head shapes, they look good and they're cutting edge when it comes to protection technology. We like that they're based in Park City, Utah and run by skiers like us (and you). We figure that if we can get some of our old school, helmet-haters to wear Pret when they won't put on any other brand that's saying something!
Hood River, Oregon based Pistil Designs makes the cutest fashion caps on the face of the planet (so says our women’s test team) but the guys like their simple, good-looking knit ski caps too. We’ve been lucky enough to have Pistil’s support for our boot test over many years and we couldn’t be happier—though it has fueled something of a Pistil cap addiction in several tester households. Check ‘em out and join the fun!
