Now, let it be known that I am a bit of a gear geek. Be it laziness, or the holy grail of retail, “brand loyalty”, I tend to find one company that makes a good range of products and offers reasonable customer service, and I stick to it. But even so, a good company can make us feel like we need whatever it is that they are selling. The North Face brought “extreme” skiing to the masses with Scott Schmidt and Steep Tech. I am sure you remember your bright yellow and black, Kevlar re-enforced Steep Tech jacket. Maybe you are still wearing it (if so, please post a photo). God knows they were built to last a couple of lifetimes. I mean, who needs Kevlar shoulders? Apparently, we do. The same goes for the ubiquitous Gore-Tex. Without companies like The North Face, MEC, and REI, how would we know about Gore-Tex, let alone feel like we need underwear made of it. Skis you thought were fat three years ago are now mid-fats, and even then you thought they were fat enough then, you’ve been convinced that they are just not fat enough any more.

Yes, there has to be some demand for the product that these companies produce, but they too can produce demand. When Spyder first sponsored Kreitler and McConkey, there really wasn’t a huge big-mountain skiing market. Yet, with sick skiers, nice product shots, and the budget to produce films, an entire industry was born. Before Salomon produced the 1080, who, apart from some crazy French Canadians, had even considered the need for twin tip skis? Now your Mom has Pocket Rockets. And guess what else. By introducing that one product, Salomon changed the sport forever. Moreover, by putting an entire line of quality products under one roof, a manufacturer can take a fragmented industry and bring it to the mainstream. I didn’t think any backcountry gear company had stepped up and taken charge of the market until I took a look at myself the other day.

I had just finished an East Vail lap and hopped on the bus for another loop back to the mountain. I was sitting there, probably grinning from ear to ear, covered in snow, and a guy asked me about skins and AT bindings, along with what other backcountry gear he should consider buying. It seems that he had seen lots of people coming down on the East Vail buses, similarly covered in pow and looking like they just got lucky, and was considering getting into it himself. He wanted to know what those funny bindings were and what you needed to stay relatively safe from avalanches. I started to describe my gear to him, and it sort of hit me that everything I was rocking had come, at some time or another, from the same place.

Backcountry Access is becoming the backcountry gear category killer. Cruise to the website and you can find not just an example of all the gear you need to access the goods, but pretty much the best in every product line. I know that it sounds like a pitch, but I think that the products speak for themselves. Imagine, without getting sick to your stomach, that you had your entire setup ganked. Okay so now imagine that insurance covered it (in a perfect world) and sent you a check to buy a whole new setup. What do you go buy?

Beacons
The Tracker DTS pretty much revolutionized beacons a few years ago by offering the first digital system. No more searching based solely on faint beeps and a grid pattern. The DTS took efficient rescue out of the hands of the experts and put it in the hands of the everyday rider. There is no doubt that every tranceiver works, and that the blue Ortovox or the good old yellow Peeps were amazing, but if I am buried, I hope that the guy digging me out has a Tracker. They flat out kill it.

Packs
I replaced my trusty North Face Patrol Pack with the Stash BC this year. Don’t get me wrong, the Patrol Pack was sick and served me well for a long time. It was just a little too bulky for a pure ski pack. Moreover, I don’t think that the Stash BC is all that different from a lot of great offering from companies like DaKine, with one exception. BCA has started using insulated hydration hoses that zip into the strap of the pack. The hoses either connect to a standard Camelback like bladder, or in an act of genius, screw right onto that Nalgene bottle you are already carrying. It really does make a ton of sense. My Stash has been on a lot of hikes with me and I never get an iced out mouthpiece. The packs flat out work and put up with anything you can hand out to them.

Shovels and Probes
What can you say? You want a strong shovel that doesn’t weigh a ton. Probes are probes. Where BCA owns it is with the Tour Shovel System. It’s crazy light, seems really strong, and again, in a simple act that makes a load of sense, the probe is stored right in the shovel handle. Maybe it only saves you ten seconds when you are grabbing it all, but I think we all know ten seconds without air can be a lifetime.

Bindings and Skins
I know a lot of people have Fritsche Freerides and that they love them. I have nothing bad to say about them at all. What I do have to say is that the Naxos, particularly the nx21, are the burliest AT binding out there. As a big fat ass, I can seriously appreciate the 13 DIN for shredding in places you don’t want your ski to come off…ever. They are stiff at shit, as light as everything else out there, and did I mention 13 DIN? Think about not having to think about your binding when you are really givin’ er. As if my expert opinion isn't enough, the big mountain masterminds over at Dynastar think that the Naxo is so good that they are offering a Dynastar co-branded Naxo/Legend Pro combo next year. Now that is a setup.

If you don’t have the cash for AT bindings, not to mention another pair of skis, BCA makes what I believe to be the best, if not only product for the job. Alpine Trekkers clip right into your current skis and bindings, are strong enough to get you up anything you could climb with AT bindings, and are light enough to not think about when you stash them in your pack for the descent. One size fits all means you can lend them to your buddy. Nobody else makes them, or really anything close.

As for skins, BCA’s Low Fat climbing skins have a cult following. Actually made to fit the fat skis all of us have, they do the job without being too heavy. What else do you want from skins?

I know that nobody wants to be decked out in head to toe anything. From my days as an employee of The North Face, virtually every piece of hiking and climbing gear I have brandishes the classic TNF rainbow. I’m a veritable walking billboard. There is no doubt that the product is great and the price was certainly right, but there is a certain level of dorkiness that comes with having your pants match your backpack. So maybe you want to mix it up for your backcountry setup, but as it stands, you’d just be doing it to keep from looking like you’re sponsored. But let’s face it…you’d love to look like you’re sponsored. Across the board, Backcountry Access is making the best products at comparable prices, and what’s more, they are constantly innovating. Who knows what will happen as more and more companies start to put out more products? Maybe someone will come out with something better and BCA will have to catch up. All I know is that a strong company can help mold a sport into something better than what it is. I think that BCA is helping to do just that, and we’re all better of for it. Happy trails.