If the buzz surrounding the Winter Olympics is inspiring you to get out there and take on the elements yourself, you may also be thinking about dipping in to your pocket and getting some new gear. To help get you started, here’s a quick cross-section of great kit, cutting-edge gadgetry and fun stuff in general.

It’s all about focus

POC Cornea goggles: Cornea goggles are made by Swedish firm POC whose clearly stated aim is as follows: “to do everything we can to possibly save lives and to reduce consequences of accidents for gravity sports athletes, by developing and renewing what personal protection is all about.”
Now, you may not call yourself an athlete or even be inclined to risk it all out there, but this eyewear will still give you a welcome edge when it comes to real-world substance and sleek style. The innovative anti-fog double lens is attached on the outside of the frame to give a broader field of vision and extension bars are said to guarantee a comfy fit. What more could you need? www.pocsports.com

Go bananas on the slopes

Libtech Banana Technology Snowboards: The Libtech people, as is their wont, can’t resist gags like: “keep your banana between your legs.” But we’ll forgive them, because this does appear to be very well designed, which is particularly welcome news for newcomers to the sport.
The Skate Banana board re-maps distribution of the rider’s weight, focusing pressure between the feet to a built-in, central-rocker curve—hence the banana reference. Whatever. It all makes snowboarding that much easier and enjoyable. One day the floating euphoria of catch-free jib insanity will be yours. www.lib-tech.com

Lights, head-cam, action

X170 Action Camera: People who are filming things and going public with their efforts (via YouTube) are all over the place these days. If you want to do the same with your winter sports adventures, or simply want to keep it in the family, you’ll need one of these: the X170 Action Camera. Handsome and highly compact, it’s easily mounted onto your head, goggles or helmet (or bike or bedpost…), rotates through 300-degrees and operates via remote control. Capture those moments of glory, faltering first shuffles in the snow or total wipeouts in high-quality video (720x480 pixel) or 5 megapixel photos. www.driftinnovation.com

Luge schmooge

Zipfy Freestyle Mini Luge Snow Sled: Yeah, who needs the million-mile-an-hour buzz of luge when you’ve got one of these sleds? Hop on, push off and you’re off in wide-eyed excitement, or at least your seven-year-old will be. Nice design touches such as rails underneath the sled and a joystick to help with stability and turning, while the brakes are basically the rider’s feet—some things should never change. www.zipfy.com

iNEVITABLE

Mobile Ski for iPhone: This is just one of a growing number of iPhone apps tailored to the winter sports market. Available from Navitech, it provides all kinds of useful info, including ticket offices, lodges, ski schools and slope data in 2D or full 3D satellite wonderment. It also allows you to track and view stats, such as run duration, maximum and average speeds and vertical descent.

If you’re the social media type, you can upload photos and videos of your adventures through Facebook and Twitter. One point to note, though. When CBJ was going online with this issue, there were promises that info on resorts including Whistler Blackcomb, Fernie Alpine and Big White was ‘Coming Soon!’—best check before pressing install.

www.navionics.com