A nod to this weekend's Colorado Ski and Snowboard Expo at the Colorado Convention Center -- an annual blowout drawing gear addicts like flies to honey -- I stopped in to Breckenridge's Primo Outdoor to chat with co-owner Adam Garman about this season's cutting-edge ski gear. Here are a few of his favorites.
Hestra's Rechargeable Heating Gloves have heated coils around the fingers, three temperature settings and are waterproof and battery charged for a full, toasty day on the mountain.
The world's first GPS goggle, Recon-Zeal Transcend Goggles come equipped with a tiny LCD screen just under your eye inside the lens. The screen shows your speed, altitude, distance traveled, vertical skied, time and temperature. It's also a stopwatch and features Bluetooth connection to your smartphone so you can see calls and texts.
POC's Receptor BUG Communication is the five-star safety winner of helmets. The Swedish company incorporates their patented overlapping double shell system for top-of-the-line noggin' protection. The helmet is compatible with the latest smartphones, allowing you to change tracks and answer calls from a single switch while transmitting sound through powerful built-in Skullycandy headphones.
Soul Poles produces ski poles with an earthy edge. The Utah company founded by former U.S. Ski Team racers makes eco-friendly, 100 percent sustainable ski poles from super sturdy bamboo.
French-born Conform'able believes each foot is unique and offers up customizable, heat-moldable liners with ergonomic insoles for ski and snowboard boots. The firm foam is designed to distribute pressure evenly, making for a more comfortable ride.
Opedix Wellness Gear adds a physical therapy aspect to base layers with stitched-in shoulder supports and a clinically proven knee support system in its stress-decreasing ski and board tights.
The Klymit Kinetic Double Diamond vest is inflated with weightless, non-toxic argon gas to give you the insulation of a high-end parka with the density of a windbreaker. Vests come with gas cartridges and a handy valve on the chest allows you to regulate how much gas stays in the vest throughout the day. "Essentially you're creating your own microclimate," says Garman, who scours the Web and European trade shows for unusual ski gear and brands you don't see anywhere else.
"Some years we're literally the only company in North America carrying a certain product," Garman says of his eight-year-old Breckenridge shop.
-- Lisa Pogue
Check out the latest ski fashion trends for the season.