The Backcountry Ski & Ride Guide is your shortcut to the brand’s top picks for snow season gear and apparel. And while you’re here, enter to win a free trip to Park City, Utah, for luxurious snow and swag.
Backcountry wants you stoked for the start of the snow season, and it’s ready to gear you up with curated picks and select deals. The brand’s Ski & Ride Guide will be up through Nov. 24 to help you find what you need to shred on the slopes this fall.
And don’t miss out on a chance to win a dream ski or snowboard trip! Backcountry is celebrating with a 25th-anniversary sweepstakes contest, and the winner gets an expenses-paid trip to Park City with perks aplenty. More details below — and then it’s onto the deals.
Backcountry 25th-Anniversary Sweepstakes
There’s no purchase necessary, so mash that entry button below. To tide you over while you await the grand-prize announcement on Nov. 14, Backcountry will award a Backcountry GORE-TEX kit every week.
The grand getaway in Park City, Utah, includes a stay at Stein Eriksen Lodge (with reimbursed travel costs to and from). There, the winner will enjoy a guided backcountry day with Inspired Summits, lift tickets to a ski resort in the Wasatch Mountains, dinner and drinks at High West Distillery, a VIP dinner at Handle, and limo transportation.
The gran-prize winner will also take home a massive haul of gear: Black Diamond skis, bindings, and poles; a Backcountry GORE-TEX kit of their choice; Sweet Protection helmet and goggles; a Mammut Barryvox Pro-Lite Avy kit; and a $500 Backcountry gift card.
Enter the Backcountry 25th-Anniversary Sweepstakes
Ski & Ride Guide Picks
Flylow Baker Bib Pant (Men’s) & Foxy Bib Pant (Women’s): $420
The FlyLow Baker Bib Pants are deep-snow ready, made with a three-layer membrane and fully taped seams (and waterproof zip) to keep out powder and slush alike. Surely you’ll want to find caches in the tress, so there’s a sturdy nylon face to resist some branches and other wear. Likewise, the knees and cuffs are reinforced with 1,000-denier CORDURA.
The FlyLow Foxy Bib Pants are built the same way. And there are Inner and outer thigh zippers for extra venting, as well as an easy-access kangaroo chest pocket for stashing essentials.
Patagonia Capilene Midweight Crew Top & Bottom — Women’s: $69
Patagonia is well-known and well-regarded for its Capilene base layers. So it’s no surprise these are a standout in Backcountry’s guide, as it frequently makes our Best Base Layers lists.
Both tops and bottoms make an all-around layer that wicks fast and, we found, holds up to lots (decades) of wear. Adding breathability (and comfort), the brushed-grid back of Polartec Power Grid against the skin traps heat while letting sweat channel away from the skin.
Volcom L GORE-TEX Jacket & Pants — Men’s: $260-285
Light weight is exactly what Volcom’s L GTX Jacket shoots for. Backcountry recommends this one for its coverage and comfort that lets you cruise through powder or lap parks. It’s a resort-built jacket with a nylon face, DWR treatment, and a GORE-TEX laminate to keep out the wet from the outside and move it out from within.
Likewise, the two-layer shell pants use Volcom’s V-Science breathable lining system for breathability, and mesh linings inside help keep out snow while venting. Stretch gaiters and a pant-to-jacket interface help keep snow out as well.
Black Diamond Quickdraw Carbon Probe 300: $100
Deep backcountry snow requires a good probe, and the Black Diamond Quickdraw Carbon Probe 300 is longer and lighter (Kevlar cord) than most. It also uses a wiregate closure for faster deployment.
Black Diamond Solution Wool Half-Zip Hooded Baselayer Top & 150 Merino Base Bottom — Men’s: $110-145
The Men’s Solution base layer top and bottom blend merino wool for next-to-skin wicking and odor control. These employ Nuyarn technology, which adds durability, flex, and quick-drying performance.
Unlike most merino wool base layers, the Solution utilizes Black Diamond’s technology to enhance strength, warmth, and quick-drying comfort. The bottom wicks moisture when you’re sweating on the skin track and warms you up when you cool off on the ride down.
Marker Griffon 13 ID Ski & Duke PT Alpine Touring Bindings (2022): From $230 & $700
The Marker Griffon 13 ID Ski Binding is a lightweight and versatile alpine binding with a DIN range of 4-13 and an adjustable toe height for alpine, WTR, and AT boots.
A more specialized binding, the Marker Duke PT 16 is the brand’s all-new design that works with ski boots for backcountry touring and resort riding. Part of the toe piece can move to access tech pins for backcountry boots. Both the toe piece and heel offer a 16 DIN.
The bindings are made with magnesium to last longer and include an anti-ice rail for scraping ice off of boots.
Smartwool Intraknit Merino 200 3/4 Bottom — Men’s: $110
These merino wool-blend base layers are made with slope movements in mind. They fit close and stop at the calf to allow a tighter fit in ski boots. Targeted areas use more polyester for flexibility as well as gender-specific areas for greater ventilation.
Smith Vantage MIPS Helmet: From $143
The Vantage is a ski and snowboard helmet with a MIPS system for protection from angled impacts. There are several ways to customize the fit and ventilation, and it shoots for a lighter feel with an Aerocore construction and Koroyd shell material.
Assorted Goggles: From $125
Backcountry has several styles of goggles from top brands. Here are a few of the standouts:
- POC Orb Clarity Goggles employ a spherical lens for peripheral vision, an anti-fog coating, and a quick-change system. The frame uses two compounds for durable flexibility.
- Anon WM1 MFI Women’s Goggles use a low-profile frame with channel venting and three layers of face foam. It also uses magnets for quick lens swap-outs.
- Oakley Fall Line L Prizm Goggles go with a timeless frame for a wider field of vision and use the brand’s Prizm lens for heightened color and contrast to create greater depth perception.
- The Smith I/O MAG XL ChromaPop Goggles are designed for a wider field of vision and emphasize contrast in its XL interchangeable-lens system.
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Jones Snowboards Mind Expander Snowboard (2022) — Women’s: $600
Jones made the Mind Expander for riders with an all-mountain mix of freestyle, freeride, and surf styles. The build uses a directional shape and Christenson Surf Rocker to give the board a long tail, as well as nose rocker sections with a bamboo core and paulownia stringers for energy transfer to the edges.
AtomicHawx Prime XTD 130 Tech Alpine Touring Boot (2022): $800
The Hawx Prime Xtd 130 Alpine Touring Boot is made for touring and alpine skiing. At 130 flex, it’s the stiffest in the Hawk Prime line. The Free/Lock 2.0 latch secures the boot on the downhill and unlatches for a greater range (54-degree) of motion while touring.
Atomic made the boot out of Prolite polyamide for lower weight and an Energy Backbone in the back boasts a true flex all around the boot. The shell and liner are heat- and thermo-moldable to feel like the boot was built for your foot.
Find More Deals
The Ski & Ride Guide will be up and operational until Thanksgiving, so check back in as the season progresses.
And if you’re still looking for some budget-friendly deals, Backcountry has some fall styles on sale too.
This article is sponsored by Backcountry. Check out the Ski & Ride Guide online.