As the riding season winds down for most of us, who starts to use their gear for other purposes? Snowboarding, snow shoveling, paintball etc?! I'm considering using the gear for snowboarding, does anyone else do this or know of any problems with it?

-Nate

I've used it as sno tubing gear. It works great IMHO.
Cool.
Buddha.

Hmm, I'm not a long time motorcycle rider but I'm a long time snowboarder.  Typically the most important thing about snow gear is water/wind proofing.  To me (and most people) , the snowboarding experience is muuccchhhh more fun when you're dry and not cold.  I've always bought expensive upper shells (for water proof & wind proof) that can attach to my pants, to be completely sealed.  Then I can wear thermals and what not inside for the actual warmth.

If you've got strap on back and chest protectors, I'd say they'd be very nice to have for other action sports too. 

snowmobile maybe but for snowboarding you want gear designed for it. Waterproof is a big deal, and it need to seal to the pants because snow in your crack is a good way to have one hell of a cold numb butt... I wear overalls and a heavy snow jacket when i board... Also never use a motocycle helmet on a mountain, no colored lenses makes life that much harder. and reduced visibility can lead to crashes.

Riding season winds down only when the snow falls (though you have to be careful when the leaves fall and are wet on the road) ...that's a long time away, yet.

If you happen to have dropped the price of a used GS on an Areostitch roadcrafter, it works dandy as skiing gear, as a one-piece goretex cordura garment. Pads get a bit stiff, but you can either remove or get cold weather pads (now - those are new from the era I bought mine in.) Probably not baggy enough to keep the snowboard style police happy, though, from what I see/hear of the snowboard style police - I've been using two boards, one per foot since I was 5, and can't be bothered to break my wrists trying the one board for two feet approach (though I do consider poles pretty much optional.) The skiing style police are much more in favor of tighter garments, especially on people that look waaaay better than me...

...re "no colored visors" - hmm, someone doesn't shop at the good helmet shop, now do they? I had a motorcycle helmet back when that was the only kind of helmet there even was, and it worked fine with my ski goggles, so no reduced visibility at all, eh?