dinogirl

I bought one of the women's 2009 ninja suits, and I wore it once. Once. The rainbow back zipper was really uncomfortable and had no stretch. If I had bought it from Backcountry, I probably would have sent it back, but alas I did not. The 2010 ninja suits have been redesigned with a wasitband zipper, and they are superior in every way. I bought myself another one (I *LOVE* this one) and I also bought them for my boyfriend and his brother. 10 days in Tahoe, and they both wore them on the slopes every single day. They run SMALL, so definitely size up. I'm 5'9", 140 lbs, a small/medium in just about everything else, but I ended up in a large.

I bought this jacket because I wanted a down jacket that would work with the link-zip interface to my 2009 Burton AK 2L Summit pants. The jacket keeps me very dry, as expected, and it links to my pants beautifully. That said, there are a few things that I don't love about it... I wish there were more pockets. I am a fan of the goggle pocket in the chest and the map pocket on the arm. This jacket has neither. Also, I don't love the neck closure. It's too tall to sit under my chin when zipped but not quite tall enough to cover my mouth. It just sort of covers my chin (which is weird), so I end up having to use a neckwarmer on cold days to protect my face. Also, it really could be a bit warmer. I haven't found a jacket that is better suited to my needs, so I guess I'm relatively happy with it, but it's definitely not as perfect as I had hoped.

These pants are mostly great, but with a few issues.

First, the great:
The color. I got the chartreuse, and I get TONS of compliments on them. My boyfriend also loves that they make me very easy to spot on the slopes.
The fit. I am 5'9", 140 lbs, wear 6/8 pants, and the medium is a nice fit they are even long enough, which is hard to find. I always wear something under them because I tend to get cold easily and can just open the vents if I'm too warm.
The styling. The 2 front zippered pockets looks really cool, and these pants are quite flattering.
The waterproofing. They are guaranteed to be waterproof, and they are. I have worn them in storms, in powder, and in slush, and I have always remained dry.
The venting. I can open them up and stay quite cool on warm spring days.
The extras. The left pocket has a small internal velcro pocket that is the perfect size for stashing some cash, a credit card, and driver's license. The right pocket has an attached glove hook.

Then, the issues:
The waist adjustment. The specs on this site are incorrect. These pants do not have belt loops, and the only source of adjustment is a pull tab on the waist connector.
The waist connector. There is some black webbing that leads to a plastic "belt" connector. This does not always stay fastened.
The connectors. These pants feature a zipper along the back which allows you to connect the zipper of a Burton jacket. This is a really solid interface. However, if you don't have a jacket with the zipper, there are no side connectors to attach a more conventional snow skirt to. I got really frustrated when the Burton AK Baker jacket did not feature this zipper, even though Burton claims all of their AK jackets do.

Overall, I love these pants even though they're not perfect. Although I have several other pairs of snowboarding pants, I have worn nothing but these since they arrived. As long as the issues mentioned above are things you can live with, I recommend them.