1. The Snowboard Editor's Pick: Best Value Burton Elite The one-board quiver starts (and ends) with the new Elite ($360; www.burton.com), an all-mountain generalist with an ultralight wood core reinforced by strong, braided fiberglass. The Elite's soft nose helps it float, while the stiffer tail gives it guts on the groomers and extra spring in the terrain park and halfpipe.
2. The Vest Editor's Pick: Best Comfort Patagonia Down Vest  Light and airy, the new women's Down Vest ($145; www.patagonia.com) is the perfect bit of fall insulation to throw under a shell or in your pack. Unlike most down vests, the shiny, baffled skin is extremely fine denier polyester ripstop and the innards are 700-fill goose down, so it warms you discreetly, without puffing you up like the Michelin Woman.
3. The Glove Editor's Pick: Best Innovation Marmot iGlove Snow  Nylon gloves don't work on your iPod's click wheel, so how do you surf tunes without baring flesh? The waterproof iGlove Snow ($75; www.marmot.com) has a solution: an iPod-compatible touch pad on the finger, which lets the electrical charge from your skin pass through. Alas, said pad is on the liner so you still have to take off the outer glove—but it sure beats getting frostbite.
4. The Boot The North Face Ice Storm 400 GTX Boa It looks like a snowboard boot, is as warm as a snowboard boot, and costs about the same as a snowboard boot. And for that the Ice Storm 400 GTX Boa ($195; www.thenorthface.com) gives you the funkiest, most comfortable chairlift-attending/ snowshoeing/sidewalk-shoveling protection this side of Anchorage. Key features: Gore-Tex, PrimaLoft 400-gram insulation, and a Boa lacing system.
5. The Base Layer Ortovox Merino  The new women's 130-gram merino base layer from Ortovox ($80; www.ortovox.com) is flat out sexy—and that's quite a compliment for a company known only for its hard-core snow-safety goods.
6. The Puffy Jacket Mammut Ambler  Donning the 750-fill down Ambler ($370; www.mammut.ch) feels like climbing into an expedition-weight sleeping bag—soft, squishy, and luxuriously warm.
7. The Skis Salomon Guns  Made in limited numbers, the Guns ($800; www.salomonsports.com) are the apotheosis of the modern fat ski, offering unparalleled flotation in powder and carving beautifully on groomed runs. After 40 days on a pair, we understand why many a ripper has proclaimed them the best skis of all time.