If you’re after an eye-catching women’s shred cloak, train your sights on Nikita’s Hemsedal jacket. Here’s what it’s all about…

Nikita have certainly got the lick when it comes to making functional shred outerwear look good. The tessellated pattern adorning the Nikita Hemsedal jacket’s fabric covers its 10/8k waterproofness/breathability and critical seam sealing and will guarantee you stay both comfortable and visible, while pit vents, Lycra cuffs and a removable snowskirt that can be zipped to the pants take care of your other on-hill needs. There’s plenty of pockets for anything a girl could ever need, too.

We figured any Pythonesque references would be lost on the majority of you, so we’ll cut to the chase – this is Danny Davis’ Analog jacket. Read on for more…

This 10/10 lumberjacker’s jacket is chiseled for freestyling’s head woodsman Danny Davis. Not only is the Analog Alder jacket tougher and more protective in the winter environs than your average work wear but it is also rad enough to get you on the guestlist at the coolest joints in Seattle. It’s got a corduroy hood and shoulder yokes, is insulated to keep you toasty when the weather turns Baltic and has zip off sleeves for steezing out those spring sessions and rail missions. Hell, if Danny wears one it has to be pretty cool.

Freestyling females after a mid-flex boot should take a look at this Boa-laced banger from Vans.

The Vans Kira boot is a medium-flex freestyle boot for girls. Comfort-wise it ticks all the boxes, with a Therma-formable lining that includes shock absorbing, arch supporting footbeds and soft upper cuffs, know as the Pleasure Cuff,. To tighten the Kira there is are Velcro straps on the uppers, which are quick and easy to find the perfect hold on, while the lower boot has a Boa that delivers even, non-slip tightening from the heel down. And finally the Kira has internal power plates to increase turning response, great soles for traction, and a synthetic leather shell with just the right amount of flex to put the tweak in your trickery.

Union make some of the finest two-strappers in the game, and the Force is their most popular. Check what’s in ‘em…

The Force bindings are Union’s best-selling model and, as ever, they’ve upgraded components again to give you even more bang for your buck this season. Cushioning and dampening are both on point thanks to the injected EVA bushings and disc-covering/gas pedal, and the new straps add even more comfort too. The baseplate is glass-infused Zytel for strength and responsiveness and an anodised Aluminium heelcups makes ‘em even more bombproof. They have a flex erring on the side of stiff, yet the highback manages to flex enough to allow all the poke you need.

Gigi’s awesome, Volcom are awesome, this jacket’s awesome. Read why…

Aside from being designed by one of our favourite riders in the history of ever and featuring all the Volcom features you’d expect of a pro-level jacket (15/10k fully taped fabric, pull-out Face Tech balaclava, Zip Tech jacket-to-pant interface, vents, pockets, ‘n’ that), what makes the Volcom Gigi Rüf jacket special is the TDS Zonal insulation. Using strategic layering construction, this has lightweight warmth in specific zones mixed with wicking material all over so you stay sweat free. The result is warmth where you need it without compromising ease of movement, so you can get way more awesome whatever the conditions.

Check out Gigi’s part for the X Game Real snow contest. He’s up against Jussi and while both parts are rad, we reckon Gigi just edges this one.

After an amazing field of view with a unique look? Have a gander at these top-end Dragon goggles – the APX.

The Dragon APX is the eyewear brand’s premium shred google, with ever feature that one could ever want crammed into its sexy frame. The lenses that the APX is described as “frameless” which provides the wearer with amazing peripheral vision and for a little extra cash you can attach a Polarized lens. Also the company boasts that these goggles are über fog resistant due to coatings, super venting and great memory Polar Tech Micro fleece. We all know this though is near impossible if you spend you time face down in pow. Last but not least the google comes with a hard case so when travelling you can pack them away safe in the knowledge that they won’t come out pancaked when you get to your destination.

If you’re an aggressive, freestyle-savvy rider after a top-end freestyle stick for booting it, check the Ride DH. It could well be up your alley…

RIDE

DH

Lengths: 151/153/155/157/159/153W/156W/159W/162W
Shape: True Twin
Base profile: Regular camber

You’ll have seen the colourfully tessellated Ride DH graphic double and triple corking beneath Seb Toutant’s John Wayne stance by now, and that should give you a fair indication of what this board’s all about. Boasting traditional camber, a true twin shape and Pop Rods 2.0, this is geared towards powerful progressive freestyle for precise, hard charging rippers. There’s a super fast, sintered 4000 base and Slimewalls for a smooth ride, plus there’s a heap of different lengths and widths that should appeal to savvy freestylers of any size or shape. Get yourself one and be prepared to SEND it – the thing needs an aggressive rider to tame it.

Forum’s top-end binding is all about giving you that surf-style feel while not compramising on your ability to send it. Check the lowdown…

Everyone wants what the Beach Boys called ‘good vibrations’ while shredding, and to make it happen Forum created a unique baseplate/insert disc system, dubbed it Good Vibes and used it on the Shaka. The split baseplate and free-flexing Hinge Disk allows the board to bend more naturally to heighten feel and improve performance – be it surfy slashes on a blower day, stepping to a megawedge or jibbing downtown the fun times will roll. These are forgiving, comfy yet responsive due to the 30% glass-filled nylon, and in terms of intended use… just watch Andreas Wiig’s part in Vacation and you’ll see what these are all about.

In the market for a new lid? Check the 101 on Giro’s skate-inspired helmet that’ll protect your steeze as well as your thoughtbox…

Looks just like a good old skate lid, don’t it? Well, it sure might resemble one but Giro’s new Shiv 2 helmet crams in a bunch of features into its compact, low-key design. In-mold technology makes it super easy and comfortable to wear – even wearing a beanie – while the 8 vents give a balanced airflow to prevent your melon from overheating. Rocking your goggle straps under your helmet is so hot right now and the interior subliner allows you to do this in comfort, plus it’s fully compatible with Giro’s TuneUps audio accessories so you can pipe the beats in hassle free.

The good, old fashioned plaid print outerwear gets a reworking from the Nike 6.0 crew in the fully-taped, 10/10k waterproof/breathable Bellevue jacket. This 3-in-1 bad boy flips the layering on its head with its external, removable bodywarmer while the sweat top-look hood gives some street styling to this mountain cloak. Of course, there are vents, pockets, a powder skirt and all the other features you associate with a top-notch jacket present too.