If you’re headed into the backcountry this season, or even the sidecountry at your local resort, do yourself a favor and take the right gear.  Black Diamond has put together the Bandit Avalung Package to give you the basic backcountry essentials in one package.  The all aluminum Deploy 3 shovel is ready to clear snow for a fallen comrade or your snow pit in the morning.  The QuickDraw Super Tour  Probe gives you 265cm of probe length, and is ready to go faster than a cougar at last call.  Finally, the Bandit pack ties it all together; giving you plenty of space to store your avalanche essentials as well as a spare layer, mountain lunch, and something to drink, plus it features a built in Avalung, allowing you to breathe under the snow if you get buried.  If you are going to travel into the backcountry, please be responsible; take a rescue course, keep your avalanche beacon turned on with fresh batteries, be safe, and have fun.  Black Diamond Bandit Avalung Package ($260)