Winter Sports

» realskiers - Ski Reviews - Are they useful

You may not recognize the name, but we were fellow columnists at OTS in the good old Altcshul days.

I read your comments on ski reviews with great interest. I think you are 100% right. In fact, since Inside Tracks went away, I have been running a web site that you might find interesting in the light of your article.

The address is techsupportforskiers.com.

We actually have two sites; this address is for the free public site. We have a much more developed, in-depth subscribers site as well.

If you would like to take a look around the subscriber site after seeing the public presentation, click any email link and I'll send you a username and password.

Again, thanks for your article. Sometimes we feel a bit man-from-la-mancha-like and we appreciate the company.

P Keelty

-- posted by realskiers

» mitchkaplan1 - Ski Reviews - Are they useful

peter-- this is great. and you're right, it's a bit like tilting at windmills. but, somebody's gotta do it. i'm on the road right now, but when i'm back home i'll take you up on that password offer. your site's what we need more of (pardon that sentence construction). thanks.
mk

-- posted by mitchkaplan1

» VO_79 - Ski Reviews - Are they useful

I think ski reviews are extremely useful, just as long as the reviewer is coming in at a non-biased approach so an honest review is possible.

Mitch, you reviewed some gloves a while ago, called CZiP from Vaughn Outdoor. You stated two problems with them that I ran into myself. The first problem was the fingers dangling down in front of your camera lens unbeknownst to you, and the second was the transition of remembering to un-zip instead of take off the glove.

I wanted to point out the strap around the wrist of your CZiP gloves. Notice that this strap has velcro on it, and is there to secure the open portion of your gloves out of the way. That solves that problem. Next, remembering that your gloves unzip so you don't have to take them off... well, only time will teach you this habit. Here is the kicker, wear your CZiPs for a while, then try putting on a normal pair of gloves that you have to "take off" every time you need to use your fingers. You will then realize how useful these strange zipper gloves are.

-- posted by VO_79

» mitchkaplan1 - Ski Reviews - Are they useful

hey-- thanks for that glove tip about the velcro strap. missed that feature completely, although i've gotta say that if i have to strap the fingers out of the way, it's just one more chore to do. still, i'll give it a try. i do intend to continue to test these gloves - both to see how they hold up in extreme cold, and to see how long it takes me to get into the habit of unzipping instead of taking them off.

-- posted by mitchkaplan1

» VO_79 - Ski Reviews - Are they useful

Velcro strap time: I will just say that with a little practice, I have been able to have my hand in the glove zipped up, un-zip and pull my hand out, strap the open portion out of the way, un-strap and hand back in and zipped back up in about 4 seconds. So all in good time. However, Mitch, I wanted to send you a new pair of CZiPs, for free of course.

Our new season gloves have the same insulation, but our manufacturer has been able to sew in a waterproof / breathable insert, and we have water-resistant zippers.

I would love to get those off to you for this season. Use your special Suite101.com skills to send me an email with your address and size of glove you would prefer. Thanks, Mitch!

-- posted by VO_79

» mitchkaplan1 - Ski Reviews - Are they useful

i'd be happy to try the latest version, but i need an e-mail address from you (can't trace it on this discussion board) in order to send my info.

-- posted by mitchkaplan1

» VO_79 - Ski Reviews - Are they useful

Happy Thanksgiving! 2 feet of fresh powder in the mountains would make it even happier, but I guess we will have to manage with turkey and mashed potatoes instead... no complaints on my part.

Great, Mitch. Shoot me an email:

eric@vaughnoutdoor.com

-- posted by VO_79