Published in Whitelines Magazine Issue 94, January 2011

1. ROXY

GOLDEN DAY PANT – £110

5,000 MM / 5,000 GM

Slim fit pants that will keep you warm and dry as you shimmy down the mountain in style. These aren’t really built for surviving extreme Alaskan blizzards, but if they were, there’d be a whole lot more insulation around the arse area – and who wants that?

2. WESC

BONGO RICKY POWELL – £80

Sharp-looking, comfortable and with a sweet wolf graphic on the side, these headphones pack some serious punch. But then what do you expect from the man known as “the fourth Beastie Boy?”

3. RIP CURL

GROOVE MITT – £50

As those warm colours round the tops of your hands might suggest, these women’s mitts are pretty toasty. You’ll have no problem getting through long days in the backcountry- or spending endless hours throwing snowballs. Whichever you prefer!

4. DC

MISTY BOOT – £160

Flex 6

This relatively stiff-flexing women’s boot is built with a certain type of lass in mind –one who knows exactly how, where and what she wants to ride. Being so sure of yourself of course takes a bit of experience, but these boots weren’t made for beginners.

5. SALOMON

STELLA BINDING – £140

Flex 3

Salomon have been making classy women’s bindings for longer than a lot of companies have been in business. The Stella comes in near the bottom end of their range, with a price that puts it well within the reach of most intermediates. Park and jib-loving ladies will also enjoy its soft flex.

6. FRENDS

ALLI HEADPHONES – £40

Frends headphones, designed and worn by Danny Davis, Scotty Lago, Kevin Pearce, the Mitrani brothers, and co, are big news– and not only because the crew behind them has won more contests than you’ve had hot dinners. This lightweight, crisp sounding, over-the-ear model is perfect for days in the park.

1. VOLCOM

FALLING DOWN JACKET – £160

15,000 / 10,000

Volcom make some damn good-looking outerwear that’s worn by damn good-looking people. But as anyone who’s ever seen Natalie Portman interviewed knows, just because something’s pretty, it doesn’t mean it lacks substance. This jacket is has a pretty tech waterproof rating, and a load of features that’ll suit the serious shredder, including critically taped seams.

2. NIKE 6.0

KAMPAI JACKET – £110

10,000 MM / 10,000 GM

This winter marks Nike 6.0’s first foray into the world of outerwear, and they seem determined to make the biggest splash possible – as well assigning up a sick team, they’ve produced this attention-grabbing number. It’s tech enough for most things, but not so heavy you couldn’t wear it down the pub – if you were feeling bold. Kampai means ‘cheers’ in Japanese.

3. GIRO

BASIS GOGGLE PARK – £100

Giro’s sharp colour schemes don’t just look cool, they also offer serious protection for your eyes –in the same way that the brand’s helmets do for your head. This big frame also gives you a nice wide field of vision.

4. O’NEILL

SNOW MITTENS – £35

These gloves are perfect for the lady who likes to get up on the hill early, but stay out late partying. They’re not as tech as say, an arctic explorer’s mitts, but then you don’t want your hands sweating when you’re trying to enjoy your après drinks anyway.

5. FORUM

SHAKA BINDING – £210

Flex 4

The appeal of Forum’s Shaka ‘good vibes’ binding, introduced last year, is based largely on two things – their innovative flexible base-plate, which transfers the movement of your feet more directly to your board, and the fact that they’re ridden by Forum’s very own natty dread, John Jackson.

6. HEAD

TEAM BOOT – £130

Flex 6

Head’s team boot combines eye-catching colours with eye-watering performance – the kind appreciated by shred-dogs like Shayne Pospisil who like to mix up deep steep pow runs with the occasional foray into the park or pipe. They’re reasonably stiff, but definitely designed with fun in mind.

1. VANS

BARKWORTH PANT – £120

10,000 MM / 10,000 GM

These stylish, loud yellow pants might look like they’re all mouth and no, erm…trouser, but nothing could be further from the truth. Their solid waterproof and breathability ratings mean they’ll keep you warm in most weather, and they have plenty of practical features too.

2. BILLABONG

WOLLE JACKET – £235

10,000 MM / 10,000 GM

Billabong’s Wolfgang ‘Wolle’ Nyvelt is a total dude. He’s recorded some of the sickest video parts of the past decade and won Rider of the Year at least once. He’s so good he doesn’t even need bindings to get rad – check out his no-board kick flips into pow in this year’s Absinthe movie! This is what he wears when he’s getting his shred on.

3. NIKE

GIGI RUF ZOOM KAIJUBOOT – £235

Flex 7

Gigi Ruf is like the Ryan Giggs of the Nike team – quiet and understated but brimming with natural talent and, like Giggsy, quite capable of outshining his flashier teammates. These stiff-flexing boots are the ones that keep Gigi comfy when he runs out to play.

4. UNION

FORCE BINDING – £175

Flex 5

Union have only been around for a few years, but they’re already such a major player it’s hard to imagine life without them. These mid-flexing freestyle bindings are one of the Italian company’s bestsellers. Now you know why Obi Wan was always saying: “Use the force Luke…”

5. QUIKSILVER

Q2 GOGGLE – £100

Wait, does Travis Rice ride Quiksilver goggles? Yep? Ok. Does he rock the Q-2frame? Really? Cool! Is Travis Rice one of the sickest riders ever to set foot on a snowboard? Come-on, do I really need to answer that…?