I had the chance to try the Helly Hansen ULLR Freeride Jacket all this summer and autumn. A great light jacket for all your outdoor adventures, also for skiing when you are skiing up the mountain, as it protects you without the bulk. If you are a bit of a cold bunny, you can always wear a mid-layer for colder days!
The Helly Hansen ULLR jacket, as photographed in Courmayeur.
I love its colour, it special pocket to preserve your mobile battery, and the zips you have under your armpits that you can open when you start getting hot going up the mountain. The pockets are well located and have a good capacity.
I have yet to use it skiing, but in the summer in my hikes, and under torrential rain in all my trips, it worked perfectly well.
I had the chance to get a Helly Hansen Men’s ULLR D Shell Ski Jacket from a trade event organised by Ski Press at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead.
It is too big for me, but I have still used it a lot in London, as I have yet to go back to the mountains for the summer. I got this jacket in May!
Helly Hansen ULLR jacket. Photo: The-Ski-Guru.
London had a very cold and wet summer – if we can call this summer! I have used this jacket pretty much every day to go to the park with my dog, and I have cared less if the weather was not good.
As this jacket is a Men’s Large (and I can use a Women’s Small or Medium), this is more like a raincoat to me. Nonetheless- for days when rain is coming side-ways, I am covered! This jacket is really waterproof and wind proof- I have tried and tested it on many days this “summer”.
I’ve had the chance to try some ski apparel and equipment on my last trip to the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead. This is the indoors ski slope north of London. This review is of the pair of Maier Sports Vroni Slim Pants I have used there.
Yesterday I had the chance to test the new women’s Dynastar E-Cross 82 skis. I have not skied Dynastar for a long time, as I have sticked to my Volkl, and then only tried Black Crows in Aspen. I was really looking forward to testing these pair of Dynastars!
Here I was going to try the new women’s Dynastar E-Cross 82 skis-an all mountain ski. I was yesterday at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, an indoor- ski slope fill up with man-made snow. That is tricky in itself, as in the mountain, it tends to be a better experience.
Still, I had a blast. These skis are so responsive, doing short or long turns with no problem. I could get on top the harder spots of the slope with complete control, pointing them down and turning immediately. I had an hour of pure bliss, just doing lap after lap, like a little kid!
Dynastar built this pair of skis thinking on an intermediate to advance skier who wants to ski on piste or be free to do a bit of freeride.
Testing the new Women’s Dynastar E-Cross 82 skis. The Dynastar waiting for me on the rack. Photo: The-Ski-Guru
Review of the new RS1 Panda Optics Goggles with Interchangeable Lenses
Just got in the post my new pair of Panda Optics Goggles. I have been skiing with them for a couple of years- just before Covid! I took them first to ski in Morzine, and also ski all the time with the Panda Optics lenses.
I am kind of a convert, but this is a new model, which has some new feature which I think it is a game changer!
Apart of the super wide lens, which helps for sideways vision, now you can change the lens in one minute. This is thanks to magnets attached to the borders of the lens. I have seen this technology before in a pair of goggles I have for one of my kids, and always thought it was amazing.
I have been for years changing lenses and try to fit them in the plastic ream of the googles… That is pretty much mission impossible, more if you are in the mountain and need to take your gloves to deal with it in the cold outside!
When we came back from the Aosta Valley, there was a box waiting for me at home. I had no idea what it was, as I was not expecting anything. To my surprise, I saw it was the new Panda Optics lenses. Their name is Conquer and I got the pink frame lenses so I could write a review.
This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.
Ozzy looking a dude with the new Panda Optics Conquer Lenses. Review of the Panda Optics Conquer sports lenses,
My ski goggles are Panda Optics as well, and I do love the system of magnetic lens change. As far as I know, this is the first time that Panda Optics went on to do some sport lenses for outdoor sports.
I was expecting to try them out during the half term in the Italian Alps. But thanks to Italy not being anymore in a UK travel corridor, I had to cancel the trip. It was that, plus the need to get a swab test before arriving in Italy, which costs a bomb in the UK, that put me off. I hope we can visit in December though!
As I was not going to the Alps now, I’ve decided to try them out in London, going out in my long Nordic Walk. First impressions is that it looks like the old wrap-around lenses of the 90’s. Something like the Oakley Mosquitoes. Not sure if that was their name. Looking online now, I see ones called Oakley Radars. The Panda Optics have a smoother border if you compare them to the former. What I do like is that they fit well to my face. They are proper wraparound. This is great if you are biking or skiing, as it protects you from the wind or elements getting in your eyes.
Specifications of the Panda Optics Conquer. Review of the Panda Optics Conquer sports lenses
The lenses come in a hard box that is great for storage, and they bring three colour lenses:
*the mirrored which are great for sunny weather, with a VLT of 9.73%. VLT stands for Visible Light Transmission.
*the amber lens. This is good for party cloudy to cloudy weather. The VLT is of 27.18% and it has a tint orange. I would use this one for flat light when skiing.
*the clear lens: This has a VLT of 89.87% and no tint nor coating. This is for rainy weather or night time.
Using my Panda Optics lenses today while on my nordic walk. My husband says that I was looking as if I was going out to climb the Eiger! Not quite the same walking to Greenwich… Review of the Panda Optics Conquer sports lenses.
This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.
Just after returning from Courmayeur, I had a late ‘Christmas gift’ delivered home. It was a brand-new Panda Optics goggles. I was just thinking that I wanted to upgrade from my Oakley goggles, that are not bad at all, but I find them to have a small lens for my face.
Trying the goggles to Ozzy. Review of the new RS1 Panda Optics goggles.
Also, my eldest has a pair of goggles with a wide lens which you could exchange using a magnetic system, which I love…so I wanted one something like that for me! I tend to use goggles mostly when light is flat, but I like the versatility of maybe using them all the time instead of sunglasses.
I’ve packed my Panda goggles with my helmet on my suitcase for last week’s trip to Morzine with some mum’s friends. We had four days skiing in Morzine, three with lovely weather and one with a bit of foul weather, snow on top and lots of rain on the lower pistes!
This article may contain affiliate/compensated links. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.
I had the chance to get not one, but two pair of TOYSHADES lenses for using year-round and during this coming ski season. First of all, price is so cheap, that I was a bit sceptical how they would compare to my Oakleys or Raybans – the brands of choice since I was a young adult.
The TOYSHADES Hillwoods model, extremely light and with a lovely design.
I bought some lenses on the mountain two years ago in Pila, as my Oakleys were all scratched, and I was suffering then of conjunctivitis. The optician that see me at a ski resort, told me that I needed to purchase a new good pair of lenses. These were some cheap lenses bought at the ski school in Pila which were pretty decent, but not comparable to a more renown brand.
Two years ago, after the Mountain Travel Symposium, I’ve bought in San Francisco airport my last pair of Oakleys, which I love, and they are in very good nick. So, when I’ve got these two pairs of shades, I thought that they were not going to compare to my Oakleys. But I was surprised!
The new Future of Ski Bindings is here: Howell 880 Pro ACL friendly ski binding.
We all know how important ski bindings to skis are. You don’t want them to pre-release, making it dangerous while coming fast down the mountain. On the same way, you don’t want them not to release, as this implicates potential damage to your limbs.
Howell Ski Bindings 800 Pro. The new Future of Ski Bindings is here: Howell 880 Pro ACL friendly ski binding.
The typical binding has a lateral toe release and upward heel release. The Howell 880 Pro has both characteristics, PLUS a lateral heel release.
These bindings will be releasing end of October 2020 and you can pre-reserve with a USD 80 deposit here.
Rick Howell, owner of Howell SkiBindings has been in the business of creating bindings for over 4 decades. He was involved in the release of the Salomon 555, what became the number 1 selling alpine throughout the mid-1970’s. He has a fascinating story about his life – it did grip me and read it all – you can check it here.
He was involved with a group of technicians from Stuttgart on what is now called the ‘‘DIN’ System’, used worldwide for 37 years, by 20 million skiers, including today. Rick worked many years for Geze ski binding company and received the ‘Glass Award’ for successful business accomplishments that caused ‘over 100,000 pair of bindings to be sold in a single year. ‘
SKI TEST -SKI REVIEWS -FAT OR NOT FAT? What Ski to Buy?
by Chino Martinez
Professional skier
Introduction to different types of skis
Review of #1 Male All Mountain Skis – Blizzard Bonafide 98.
These days the options when walking into a ski shop at the beginning of the ski season are too many!
Blizzard Bonafide skis. SKI TEST -SKI REVIEWS -FAT OR NOT FAT? What Ski to Buy?
This article is to inform skiers how to choose the best skis for your best ski day or ski season.
What do we have to look to choose the right skis?
A-What type of skier are you?
1-aggressive/expert 2-intermediate 3-beginner.
B-What kind of terrain do you ski the most? Off piste, all mountain, groomers (piste), racing?
C-How many skis do you have? or are you willing to have?
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