Haven't died yet!

Smooth action, the metal scratches a bit easily.

Works, nice and stiff.

I've never backpacked with real hiking socks, just snowboarding socks, which left blisters. I just got back from a 26 mile Big Sur backpacking trip and these socks were GREAT. They have started to fuzz a bit after the first wash. I did not put them in the dryer.

When carrying a long board and soft board, I needed to use padding between the boards, I used pipe insulation from the hardware store. Fits easily on the round bars from the Yakima set up on my 04 Camry, does seem to cut into the paint on the bars. There seems to be no additional noise from the mounts.

Really nothing to complain about. I wish you didn't have to double back on the straps.

The paint scratches easily. A little small for thicker ropes. Gets hot even on short routes. You get what you pay for I guess.

Wore it out in a snowstorm and it froze. You could see ice in the bite valve. To be fair, it was below freezing. Also, the leak proof bite valve won't leak when you have it on, but on several occasions the little shut off valve on it has come loose and it drained on the floor.

These are small beans, and easily avoided, but I expect more when these features are touted so readily.

The simple truth is I wear glasses and I hate it. Before I would go on to the mountain with my Spy goggles and no glasses. This ended badly. So I gave these Smiths a shot. They fit great and the vents work as advertise in keeping everything fog free. However, there is always a however, when you stop moving, your glasses start to fog up. The goggles aren't the problem, I would imagine that any goggles designed to be worn over glasses will perform similarly. The only time Im not moving is when I come to the bottom of the run, I then just wear the goggles round my neck, problem solved. Thats a small price to pay to be able to see the details in the snow. I might give the antifog stuff designed for Scuba diving.

Very happy with the Venture. Has much better features than my old Northface that it replaced. Haven't taken it anywhere rough yet, but its great at the hot springs after you've had a few.