Just to reaffirm what you knew 10 years ago. The North Face reached back to some classic Columbia Bugaboo Jacket colorways for their new collaboration with Supreme, and in doing so justified every time you’ve quietly made fun of a guy on the sidewalk with a Denali and a briefcase. Not that this is news. Everyone’s known for years that The North Face is as much a fashion company as it is an outdoor clothier, but it’s never been quite so bold about embracing its place as a major fashion label among people who like super bright-ass shit.

via Frehness

The vest so great that it needed two first names. The Nobis Ricky Bobby Vest is a cotton corduroy sleeveless-jacket or “vest” that’s stuffed with Canadian duck down. I’m not sure what exactly makes them Canadian since the birds vacation down south when the cold arrives in Canada. Maybe they eat a lot of fries and gravy. Anyway, Nobis treats the cotton Ricky Bobby outfit with some chemicals to waterproof it so people won’t think you’re an idiot for wearing a cotton and down corduroy vest with a clownish fur collar during the blizzard of the year.

Gore-tex rigorously protects their brand across North America, and the rest of the world for that matter, but it seems other countries are given more leeway to work with their fabrics. I’ve heard product managers lament that Gore won’t let them use their magical membrane on jacket with wrist gaskets just because it creates more seams on the coat. But Japan apparently gets to have all the fun with these 3L Gore-Tex jacket styled with leather closures and buttons. Or maybe they think no one in America is brave enough to have style? I’d point them toward occasional blogger Rob, who’s still inconsolable over the loss of his neon ski onesie—he’s ready. The Visvim Nomad 3L is available from Japan for about $850.

via Freshness

Ardica Technologies will have a new heating product out this season that’ll be integrated into at least one Mountain Hardwear jacket. The machine keeps your core warm on low off one charge for up to 9 hours and can also be used to charge your cell phone or digital camcorder. Any Ardica jacket would be a killer setup for a camera guy working on a new Teton Gravity Research who’s standing in knee-deep snow in the freezing cold for 10 hours carrying a camera everywhere. Of course, we’ll likely see more of them at the ticket window at Deer Valley asking for refunds because the snow’s too deep. The Ardica tech will add an additional $35 to $50 to the jacket, and extra battery packs are available in case you’re the odd combination of a person who skis longer than 9 hours and also buys things like battery-heated jackets.

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via Gizmodo

You have to hand it to Kjus for not watering down their Euro style for consumption in America. And you also have to hand it to them for making their Cio down jacket in a color other than white since grease drips from the chairlift would leave you looking like a bad Mentos commercial. Good thing the hood is green because you probably wouldn’t be able to see you friend standing against the mountainside.

Burton sent out their catalogs and rolled out their website for this winter’s gear, and among the additions is a Shaun White women’s line of outerwear. Say what you want about Burton and their drift from the bleeding edge of snowboard design to the point where they began buying companies to take their ideas—their outerwear designs have almost always been very good. Maybe they haven’t been totally original, but let’s face it, what is totally original? That said, the colors in Burton’s AK line look like they were lifted directly from early Columbia jackets or last year’s Airblaster line. We can look forward to another banner year for neon.

Airblaster’s back at it with the construction safety vests this year, and you don’t see it featured more prominently anywhere than in the Reversible Jacket and Pant. Not sure how waterproof/breathable you can claim a jacket is if you’re expecting both sides to not let snow soak through. Regardless, this looks like some kind of Warhol knockoff. One notable exception from the Airblaster line this year is their leg bag—guess I’ll have to go back to making my beanie babies fanny pack’s by hand.

via Snowboard Mag

I used to work at this gear shop and guys would always come in with Coleman lanterns they needed repaired. About half of them quit working because the guys filled the fuel tanks with citronella oil, and I would just empty it into the can where we dumped old-fuel and then fire the thing up with some new white gas. I later found out that the owner of Thrifty Outfitters was dumping those old-fuel cans into his car. Regardless, you can’t find a better deal on gear repairs. Thrifty Steve (not the guy who was burning citronella in his Honda) does all the repairs and he charges next to nothing. Now’s the time to send all that summer gear before the place gets completely swamped with mosquito-repellent lanterns.

The Massachusetts-based company Penfield is rolling out a line of women’s jackets for next winter that look like they’re made for the only climate in the U.S. that manages to accomplish bitter cold and heavy rain on the same day. Some of the 2008 women’s Penfield jackets feature “Pendazzle,” a camouflage print based on the patterns used on (German) battleships in WWII. I wouldn’t think they’d want to broadcast that their jackets make women look like battle-ready ships, but I don’t know the first thing about selling to women (I once referred to a tent as a “3-man” tent and was nearly stabbed by a sporty young couple).

via Snowboard Mag