November 2009 Archive
Nov 14, 2009 · 05:32 AM
Browsing the newsstand at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago, the racks were bursting with “best gear” editions of all the snow sports publications. I’ve always vaguely wondered: if you compiled results from a bunch of magazines, would you find agreement? Would you even find overlap? So I bought a few magazines—Freeskier, Outside, and Ski—and compiled the results.
The results are interesting, and I’ll be publishing them here over the next several days, but here are a few things I noticed right off:
Nov 12, 2009 · 08:53 PM
For the past few years I’ve been using beam wiper blades. They really are better than regular blades: the blades are convex and springy, so they conform to the shape of your windshield, and the “wing” shaped top helps create additional pressure between the blade and the glass. And, since the “beam” part is basically one piece of plastic—no fiddly metal nooks-and-crannies—they are less prone to freeze up and get clogged with snow and ice.
Unfortunately, they’re also a lot more expensive than conventional blades. Bosch ICONs
typically run about $20 each, as do Valeo 900 Ultimates
. Trico makes some slightly less expensive ones.
So I was really pleased to find these Goodyear Assurance, beam-style blades for $7.99 while wandering the the aisles of Costco-normally they’re about $14 each. They seem to work as well as the Boschs and Valeos, although I haven’t subjected them to a full-on winter storm. They’re certainly better than any conventional blade.
Nov 04, 2009 · 03:34 AM
You may have heard that the United States has been in a recession, and it’s hit the Huggers just like everyone else. Possibly more so. So while my desire for ski gear remains unchanged, my means have shrunken dramatically this season and I’m on the hunt for bargains.
Contact us if you run across any crazy bargains of your own, but here’s one I found last week at Costco: Head gloves for $14.99.
I was skeptical at first—Head is not known for their fine gloves as far as I’m aware—but my wife and I both tried them on and the verdict was: totally decent. They’re comfy, fit well, feel like they’ll be warm, have a zippered vent/hand warmer pocket, nicely insulated fingertips, and gauntlets that stay cinched. They come in a small array of colors and seem well constructed. Who knows if they’ll stand up to abuse, but I could spend anywhere from 2-10 times as much and still have that question. Heck, with Costco’s liberal return policy, if they fall apart, at least I know I’ll get my money back. They have kid’s gloves too, if you’re into that kind of thing.
If you know anything more about these gloves, please leave your comments.
