New Winter Gear ...
Made by small businesses.
(FSB magazine) - Vermont Originals ski hat $33 When Tad and Jane Washburn left the advertising business to buy Vermont Originals in 2004, they also bought into a 33-year-old tradition. The Morrisville, Vt., company's hats are produced by a network of freelance knitters throughout northern Vermont. All are made with Australian or merino wool and include a full lining or a band of fleece so they won't itch. vermontoriginals.com
BetterThanAir personal oxygen $50 Larry Graziani, a linebacker for Notre Dame in the 1970s, founded BetterThanAir in Evergreen, Colo., after moving to the Rocky Mountain region in 1999 and discovering how the altitude left him winded during runs. Each can, about the size of a roll-on deodorant, holds up to 125 breaths of 85% pure oxygen, good for high-altitude training or for helping vacationers stave off altitude sickness. betterthanair.com
Highgear training watch $85 Highgear debuts a line of four new training watches this winter, three of which measure your heart rate without the clunky chest strap most similar watches require. (To get a reading, you hold two fingers against its face.) The PulseWare Mini, left, is the smallest of the four, at just 1.5 ounces. Based in Fletcher, N.C., Highgear supplies altimeters and training watches to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team. Julia Mancuso, an alpine skier and six-year member of the team, trained this summer with an advance version of the Mini. highgear.com
Mad River Rocket sled $57 Renowned architect David Sellers created the first Mad River Rocket sled to keep his two kids and their friends safe from collisions on the slopes of Warren, Vt. The rounded body and strap allow a rider to steer more precisely than on traditional sleds. Both the Killer B and the Stinger (shown here, for children who weigh less than 100 pounds) are made of thick industrial plastic commonly used in car bumpers, and are virtually indestructible. madriverrocket.com
Ninthward skis $600 Named for the New Orleans district near where founder Campbell McKeogh grew up, Ninthward has quickly become a force in the industry. Just two years after its launch, it won Powder magazine's skier's choice award for 2005. The Lil' Butter skis, shown here, are designed for stunts; they have a durable base and a composite surface on top to protect the graphics, drawn by McKeogh, 31. Based in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Ninthward is donating a percentage of its sales to the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims. ninthward.com
Utopia Optics goggles $90 Instead of using an antifog spray that might later rub off, Utopia Optics, a seven-year-old Los Angeles company, soaks its lenses so that the no-fog chemicals stay on the lens--and you stay on the trail. The Slayer Goggle, new this winter, has a microfleece and triple-layer foam lining to fit more snugly on your face. One of Utopia's sponsored riders, Finnish snowboarder Paavo Tikkanen, is wearing the Slayer in competitions this season. utopiaoptics.com
Vermont Originals ski hat $33 When Tad and Jane Washburn left the advertising business to buy Vermont Originals in 2004, they also bought into a 33-year-old tradition. The Morrisville, Vt., company's hats are produced by a network of freelance knitters throughout northern Vermont. All are made with Australian or merino wool and include a full lining or a band of fleece so they won't itch. vermontoriginals.com
BetterThanAir personal oxygen $50 Larry Graziani, a linebacker for Notre Dame in the 1970s, founded BetterThanAir in Evergreen, Colo., after moving to the Rocky Mountain region in 1999 and discovering how the altitude left him winded during runs. Each can, about the size of a roll-on deodorant, holds up to 125 breaths of 85% pure oxygen, good for high-altitude training or for helping vacationers stave off altitude sickness. betterthanair.com
Highgear training watch $85 Highgear debuts a line of four new training watches this winter, three of which measure your heart rate without the clunky chest strap most similar watches require. (To get a reading, you hold two fingers against its face.) The PulseWare Mini, left, is the smallest of the four, at just 1.5 ounces. Based in Fletcher, N.C., Highgear supplies altimeters and training watches to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team. Julia Mancuso, an alpine skier and six-year member of the team, trained this summer with an advance version of the Mini. highgear.com
Mad River Rocket sled $57 Renowned architect David Sellers created the first Mad River Rocket sled to keep his two kids and their friends safe from collisions on the slopes of Warren, Vt. The rounded body and strap allow a rider to steer more precisely than on traditional sleds. Both the Killer B and the Stinger (shown here, for children who weigh less than 100 pounds) are made of thick industrial plastic commonly used in car bumpers, and are virtually indestructible. madriverrocket.com
Ninthward skis $600 Named for the New Orleans district near where founder Campbell McKeogh grew up, Ninthward has quickly become a force in the industry. Just two years after its launch, it won Powder magazine's skier's choice award for 2005. The Lil' Butter skis, shown here, are designed for stunts; they have a durable base and a composite surface on top to protect the graphics, drawn by McKeogh, 31. Based in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Ninthward is donating a percentage of its sales to the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims. ninthward.com
Utopia Optics goggles $90 Instead of using an antifog spray that might later rub off, Utopia Optics, a seven-year-old Los Angeles company, soaks its lenses so that the no-fog chemicals stay on the lens--and you stay on the trail. The Slayer Goggle, new this winter, has a microfleece and triple-layer foam lining to fit more snugly on your face. One of Utopia's sponsored riders, Finnish snowboarder Paavo Tikkanen, is wearing the Slayer in competitions this season. utopiaoptics.com 
