I would like to preface this review by saying that I have somewhat difficult feet to fit. I have a wide toe-box, arches so high I have even impressed a podiatrist (with an instep to match), a normal to narrow heel, and toes that are naturally knuckled over. That being said, the Pontas fits me pretty okay. The forefoot is not that wide, so those of you out there with wide toe-boxes should steer clear of this shoe if possible - when edging I'm often on the rand as much as the sole because my foot hangs over. Being that the shoes are velcro closure, they actually fit pretty decent in the arch/instep area. My biggest complaint is probably the heel, which is super baggy on me. I don't know if anyone out there actually has heels that can fill out the gaping pouch in these shoes, but the heels seem pretty disproportionate to the rest of the shoe to me.Okay, fit aside, let's talk about performance. The rubber is nice and sticky out of the box, but I didn't feel it was anything to write home about. This, coupled with the fact that it has worn out pretty fast (admittedly, I don't always have the most beautiful footwork though), makes the rubber a bone of contention for me. The shoe is kinda stiff, but not really the greatest of support. I tried on some Scarpa Feroces, and the difference in front-pointing ability was night and day. The Pontas is pretty solid for smearing, but edging on small chips leaves something to be desired due to softness of the rubber. As for the smell, just put some Goldbond powder in there after you're done climbing and it should hold off most of the odor.Overall, a very decent all-around shoe, depending on your foot type, just not the best for me.

What can I say, they do what they're meant to do - climb. This is my first pair of skins, which I've been using on my Volkl Mantras (130 mm width skins). They've got great traction and they're easy to trim/intuitive to use. For those who don't know, they're fairly bulky when in their folded state, so don't expect to fit them in a pocket.

I've had this jacket for about four or five months now and I have yet to find anything wrong with it. It's fairly light considering the powder skirt, and of course has all of the weather shedding capability anyone could ask for thanks to the Gore-TEX Proshell. As for the fit, it's somewhat bulkier than some other Arc'Teryx stuff, but about what you'd expect from a downhill oriented piece. That being said, I'm a pretty slim-figured guy (6'3" and <165 pounds), so everything feels a little bulkier to me. The sidewinder zipper is really nice since there's no more dealing with chafing of the chin, and I get all sorts of comments on it (especially from the more outdoors oriented ladies =) and I managed to get one that was made in Canada (not that it really makes a difference but I feel better all the same). If you're tired of compromising and looking for the absolute best, Arc'Teryx is always where it's at, and this jacket is no exception.