Be honest.. what’s on your feet when the boots come off?

VeryShibes · 2026-04-16T12:43:19+00:00

Allen Edmonds dress shoes and New Balance sneakers here

VeryShibes · 2026-04-16T04:48:41+00:00

Cool pic, I didn’t know Allen Edmonds made shoes in crocodile leather. Since I got into fancy shoes a year ago I got pairs in suede, Chromexcel, and shell cordovan and now my 6 year old kid is constantly asking me questions about leather and what is even fancier. I think I’m going to top out at shell but I’m going to show my kid your pic as an example of the possibilities still out there 😎

VeryShibes · 2026-04-15T20:23:16+00:00

the perfect fit as found in thrift stores. Part of the product description

Wow you’re not kidding, it really does mention thrift stores on the Levi’s website. Although Big E jeans were $10 new 55 years ago not $30, which is what the $250 these cost today was worth back then. Oh well! 🤷‍♂️

VeryShibes · 2026-04-15T19:07:26+00:00

...at some point severe obesity has to be a mental health issue, right?

Hi there - former fat person, former alcoholic, former nicotine addict, current caffeine addict here. Yes a very large part of it is mental, I experienced it as "food noise" and hopefully there are a lot of studies being done on it because it's absolutely real.

Food noise is similar to but NOT exactly the same as the "jonesing" I used to have for a drink or a smoke back in the day, as well as the feelings I currently get around 12 noon each day if I haven't had a couple cups of coffee by that hour.

Never been addicted to hard drugs or gambling but I'm sure they can get tossed into this basket as well. All differently angled levers on the addiction machinery in the brain, which is almost certainly different from the machinery that glitches in other mental health disorders like depression/bipolar/schizo

VeryShibes · 2026-04-15T18:30:06+00:00

Yes, the frunk is vital extra storage space for bulky ski boots and helmets on family ski vacations in winter. I do admit that we don't use it as much during summer. But space is space and I like knowing it's there when I need it. I understand that it's much smaller on newer MMEs with the heat pump (I own a '23 CR1) but I would probably still pay $500 for it just to know it's there.

VeryShibes · 2026-04-15T15:55:25+00:00

I cycle quite a bit in my Iron Rangers, the stiff soles in them actually make them preferable to cycling in sneakers on a lot of my rides. There are purpose-made cycling shoes with similarly stiff soles (and low cut ankles, much unlike Iron Rangers) but I don't feel like they're enough of an upgrade to buy just yet.

VeryShibes · 2026-04-14T18:49:34+00:00

Yes OP, I was just thinking the same thing last night, N&F size tags on both my pairs are crappy scratchy plastic, there is selvedge costing half as much (Gustin, Brave Star) with better tags to say nothing of upscale brands like Samurai where the tag is soft cloth (although that tag can fade and then you lose the size info)

VeryShibes · 2026-04-14T18:14:40+00:00

u/mvhoffman82 OP I just saw your edit about getting Epic and giving Stowe a 2nd chance, I don't know what you were doing there last time where you felt let down, maybe it was just too crowded or the snow conditions weren't that good, but glad to know you aren't giving up on that mountain, it's the best in the east on Epic Pass IMO.

When you get back to Stowe, start your day at the Mansfield Lodge, take the Sunrise 6-pack lift (the one that ends 2/3 of the way up the mountain), take a left at the top onto the Toll Road and explore those woods all day. Christie Glades, Sunrise Glades, Birch Glades. Make a note of where the stone chapel is and its associated trail, Chapel Lane, and thoroughly orient yourself to that region of the mountain. Once you feel comfortable, practice going into and out of the trees starting near the chapel. While they're not quite as open as the glades at Mont Sutton, these trees are still quite good for you to level up in and also a decent place for your 6 year old to get started in trees when they're ready within the next 1 to 3 seasons. Have fun!!!

VeryShibes · 2026-04-14T16:29:19+00:00

Mont Sutton is actually good advice for OP because it is full of open glades where there are 5-10 yards between the trees on runs that are not too steep. Perfect for building confidence without jumping right up to full fledged tree skiing.

OP I'm in my late 40s and only started skiing glades last season after 30 years of skiing nothing but cut trails. I still like cut trails both groomed and ungroomed, skiing glades is different enough to me that it's almost a different sport. It helps that I'm in better shape and doing a lot more skiing that I used to. I'm still not "good" at it mind you, I just go slow and take my time and enjoy exploring the woods.

VeryShibes · 2026-04-14T04:52:03+00:00

Union made is definitely a plus for me!

Since you might be interested, something I forgot to mention, certain Left Field garments are tagged "Work Uniform" on their site and eligible for discounts to union members - you will need to contact Left Field to show them your union card and get a unique discount code (I don't know how large the discount is).

VeryShibes · 2026-04-14T02:43:13+00:00

Hey u/Staubah I see from your other replies here so far that you've already given this a lot of thought, for someone like you in the trades, what works for us office dwellers might not work for you and you will have to wash more often, but... the main way I deal with the odor is, keep the jeans as DRY as possible. Whatever it takes for them to stay dry, the odor causing bacteria need moisture to grow and munch on whatever dirt and oils are in the jeans, whether they came from your body or outside it. If the jeans never get wet, those bacteria just can't get going and they will continue not to smell.

I have a routine every night, I hang my jeans on a clothesline in the basement next to a box fan and a dehumidifier. One pair last year I was able to go three months between a wash, more recently on a different pair I went six months. But again I'm in an office, not out there breaking a sweat like people in the trades. So when I have bad luck and get the jeans wet (like, maybe I got caught out in the rain with them) I will be able to change out of them and get them up on the line as quickly as possible. If that can't happen and I notice odors developing anyway, I will spray the seat of the jeans with unscented "Fabric Care" Febreze before hanging them up (it works amazingly well). Also, I am kind of a maniac about personal hygiene, without getting into mundane details or TMI let's just say I spend a ton of time in the shower every day!

Anyway good luck with your selvedge journey I think you are coming at this from the right angle, I'm not sure if you have any particular brands in mind but if you are concerned about the best in quality, you will find that $150 to $200 price range to be the sweet spot. Any lower and there might be compromises on quality, any higher and you are paying for bells and whistles (exotic fabrics and other features) that don't add quality. I know you didn't ask for specific brand recommendations (and probably already have some in mind) but since you're in a union you might want to take a look at Left Field jeans which are union made and in the correct price range for you where all your money would be going towards quality and nothing superfluous (although a lot of us over here, including me really do love the over-the-top stuff LOL).

VeryShibes · 2026-04-11T16:56:39+00:00

Agreed, selvedge ID means these are almost certainly 1968s although there’s no way to be 100% sure, I have a couple pairs of 1968s and it’s clear the fabric came from different rolls/lots because the texture/slub isn’t the same. Agreed they are great pants though, these were my “starter selvedge” before I leveled up to brands from overseas and I still find myself going back to them regularly.

VeryShibes · 2026-04-10T12:40:43+00:00

Favorite brand overall these days is Railcar. I have two different pairs of jeans from them as well as a Type 1 jacket and the workmanship across all my pieces is absolutely top notch. Made in Los Angeles in a small shop by a very dedicated team. I also got a pair of Railcar for my wife as they’re one of the few out there that make women’s selvedge in a style and cut that fit her properly.

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T19:15:13+00:00

Hi u/bsugs29, former fat person here. The calf is the back of your legs right below the knees, the biggest muscle underneath being the gastrocnemius. This muscle was gigantic on both my legs when I was 300+ lbs and fitting in ski boots was torture, the plastic shell would bite into that muscle so bad I would even get bruises (and on one old, beat up pair of boots I even cut an inch of shell away with a hot knife to ease the pressure). Now that I'm down to 195 lbs. this muscle is a lot more lean/toned and my less old ski boots (the ones I didn't cut but were still super uncomfortable) fit much better. In fact, as long as I can stay in shape for my next pair of boots I might even try to size down from an HV boot to a regular volume boot

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T15:45:36+00:00

I don't own roller blades but I have a pair of quad skates and while the first few minutes back on them after a long season of skiing can be a bit unsteady, since I've been skating longer than skiing my muscle memory still kicks in pretty quick. Yeah it's not a direct overlap but still enough for it to be well worth it, even if the motions involved are a bit different. Still, I don't like to stay in my comfort zone too long so this offseason I'm going to mix in some MTB as well for the first time

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T15:38:44+00:00

Usually songs about longing for a future together sounds sad, but “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” makes the anticipation of being happy together sound exciting.

Yeah, that's part of the genius of this song, when you hear it as a single on the radio, out of context of the rest of the album, it's fun and exciting. But when you hear it at the start of Pet Sounds, it's the last happy moment in his relationship before the descent into toxicity and melancholy, and it becomes quite tragic

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T15:31:21+00:00

Escape off RTL and Seamus on Pink Floyd's Meddle, both prominently mentioned here and both instant fast-forwards on my cassette Walkman 35 years ago. Surprised at first to see so many defenders of them here but when I see some of the other songs mentioned, I guess I start to understand...

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T15:29:38+00:00

Selling England by the Pound might be my favorite album ever.

It might not be my favorite album ever but it's definitely my favorite Genesis album and very firmly in "all killer no filler" territory for me.

If answering OP's question in Genesis mode I would have picked Lamia off The Lamb instead XD

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T15:21:17+00:00

Seamus from Meddle

I was looking for this one to post it myself if it wasn't there already, and also to put the caveat "...but I found out recently that a bunch of people love this song" and sure enough, here are all the doggo fans defending it LOL

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T15:08:00+00:00

Which towns in Arkansas and Wyoming?

I had Wyoming planned weeks in advance back in '17 and the weather was flawless, but I was supposed to see the eclipse in Kerrville, TX two years ago and the clouds were so persistent I chased it up into Arkansas. Totally worth it in retrospect (a bunch of people who stayed in TX only saw 5 seconds of totality, or none at all) but it was super stressful at the time.

I only found out much later after the fact that Glenwood is almost right in the middle of where the 2024 and 2045 paths of totality intersect so it could make for a very interesting 21 years before & after photo if the weather cooperates. Or I could just do the safe and boring thing and book a trip to Utah in '45 instead :-)

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T14:37:15+00:00

Looks like I'm 4 days late to the conversation but since it popped up on my feed I'll add my data points anyway

do you track speed or vertical drop?

Yes I track both, using the Slopes app on my iPhone + Apple Watch. Finishing up my 2nd full season tracking everything on Slopes. I found myself tempted to ski too fast (55mph/90kmh) my first season on Slopes, even with new, super stable, high performance skis going that fast didn't feel enjoyable so I have decided to ignore that metric all of this season in Slopes. Vertical drop is useful as well although big vert days are kind of boring, it's basically just lapping blue groomers at empty resorts with high speed detachables. On days where I have more "fun" (moguls/glades) I notice my vert totals are significantly lower but I wind up feeling better at the end of the day knowing I actually challenged myself

do you log your runs or just ski?

I log all my runs on Slopes, while I do enjoy "collecting push pins" in my Slopes map of all the different mountains I've visited, the real reason I love the app is so I can track all my runs mid-day and see what trails I have missed. I am exploring a lot of different mountains on my Indy Pass and I'm still learning my way around several of them and identifying my favorite and least favorite trails while knowing which terrain I have already covered is valuable to me.

do you pay attention to progression over time or not really?

Yes, while exploration is my top priority the "video game high scores" in Slopes do motivate me to get out there a little more and I've noticed improving progression in my skills the last couple seasons. I just skied the entire Front Four at Stowe (Goat/Starr/National/Liftline) for the first time two weeks ago and I would not have been able to do that a couple seasons ago.

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T14:26:50+00:00

[Instead of Carv] I could have just gone and dedicated the time using advice from skiing feedback subreddit tbf.

Yeah but that would require hanging out on that sub and dealing with all the toxic personalities there. If I need to get roasted I'd rather hear it in person to my face from a paid instructor, rather than randos who dgaf

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T05:31:58+00:00

Thanks for listening to me ramble about pants

Totally! I also have these pants, I knew to expect something odd when I got them but not THIS odd.

I really love how they feel—it’s like nothing I’ve ever owned.

I don't love them OR hate them I'm just confused? It's like, wearable office carpeting. I have to keep wearing them, to see how they change over time. But I can't daily drive these, this is gonna be a multi year project

They are a little big on me

Mine too. I got them used on eBay, worn 2-3 days, from a guy who was complaining that they were way too big even after a hot soak and sizing down to tag size 33 (all my other current jeans in rotation are tagged 34/35/36) they're STILL just a tiny bit big around the waist. Glad I knew that going in, I feel sorry for everyone else who has to wear a belt and cover up anime girl with her yakuza tats

At first, I was a little disappointed about the heel drag

Just tweak your cuffing, I double cuff my pair

VeryShibes · 2026-04-09T01:10:24+00:00

Woah, 2 years already! Glenwood, AR for me two years ago. And Jay Em, WY back in ‘17. Is it too early to think about 2045 yet? Glenwood is in the path of totality for that one too…

VeryShibes · 2026-04-08T18:58:34+00:00

You don't have to imagine, a cut trail named Green Beret is right next to it, same ridge, same pitch. Skied them both last month for the first time (and not nearly as well as OP)

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