Neglecting no part of the ski-weekend experience, outfitters have devised a way to incorporate beer into your downhill escapades. That’s right, your vacation just reached new heights: Burton produces snowboard bindings with bottle openers on the heels. We won’t go into the potential for trouble here. Needless to say, neither Burton nor the Phoenix encourages you to blunder down the slopes in a drunken haze. The openers will work for soda and water bottles too.
The 365-degree human-defense shield
a/k/a d30 flexible armor (estimated to cost more than a small house in Brookline)
While skiing the snow off of the slopes, you’ll also want to . . . stay alive. A suit of d30 body armor, choice of the US and Canadian Olympic ski teams in 2006, might do the trick. The armor is made of flexible material that hardens on impact and protects you from breaking anything crucial.
While we’re on the subject of safety, a staffer at the EMS store on Comm Ave confessed ominously, “I never used to wear a helmet until I cracked my head.” Umm . . . Then he added, “It’s not goofy anymore; it’s part of the sport itself. People do all kinds of stuff to their helmets.” Such as? He’s seen stickers and stenciling and murals painted on boards and helmets alike.
So buy a helmet; they’re more affordable than body armor, and available at any ski shop. (Over at Ski Market, head protection sells for $70 to $120.) And go wild! Visit the Sticker Junkie Web site (stickerjunkie.com), where, for $25, you can design your own bumper-style vinyl stickers and have 100 delivered to your door. The British Delarge Sticker Machine Web site (delarge.co.uk/stickermachine) lets you design and print your own stickers free of charge, and offers custom snowboard graphics as well (delarge.co.uk/boards).
The relentless awakener
a/k/a Oregon Scientific Deluxe 7 Alarm Clock and Weather Center ($104)
Have you ever planned a great ski day, woken up late, taken too much time to eat breakfast, and finally trudged outside only to find the snow already melting? If so, you — and those backcountry warriors who aren’t dependent on snow-making machines — might want to check out this product. The Oregon Scientific Deluxe 7 alarm clock will go off one hour earlier than intended if the temperature drops a certain amount or if snow is forecasted over night. Sure, you may not like waking up early. But if you’re missing the snow, you’re missing the point.
The exhumer
a/k/a the RECCO Avalanche Rescue System
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Last but not least, reflect with pride. Many new ski jackets, boots, and helmets come with imbedded RECCO reflectors — part of a passive avalanche recovery system — that transmit signals (no human action required) to let rescuers know where you’re buried if you’re caught in a snow-slide. The reflectors are inconspicuous and weigh less than four grams. Whether you need this protection depends on what kind of skiing you’re planning to do, and where; the product is generally more popular out West. Check for this feature when buying outerwear, then find out if the area you’re skiing subscribes to the RECCO technology.