Postby arctic winds » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:50 pm
If your looking to get out in the Backcountry under your own power, skis are the most efficient way to travel (if you cant just kite there). That being said if you cant ski, and dont want to learn or get more enjoyment out of snowboarding then its a different topic. Split boards have come along way in the last few years, but there not any were near the efficiency of a pair of touring skis, with tech (dynafit) bindings, and good touring boots.
Tech (dynafit) bindings are wicked light, tour amazing, and take a beating!!!! I have personally put mine through all kinds of abuse that I'm sure they were never designed to take. Ski touring boots in the last few years have also become so much better then they ever were. I have a pair of TLT5 performances that weight nothing have amazing range of motion well touring and ski as great!!!
As with all things, backcountry gear its a game of compromises. If all you care about is the ride down, and don't plan to go on any long tours then, heavy skis and binding (ex: alpine trekers, marker dukes,) with downhill ski boots might be the way to go. If you want to cover as much ground as you can as fast as you can a pair of Skimo race skis (dynafit World cups) and race boots (la Sportiva stratos) with race bindings (dyanfit, plum, RTK) might fit the bill for you. But most people end up in the middle with a bit of a lean one way or the other. Most people want to have lots of fun on the way down, but they dont want to be bogged down with to much weight on the way up. Typically backcountry set up looks something like this: 85-105mm ski waist, there are so many good human powered skis now to list even the big brands are making backcountry skis now. Some of the skis that I think stand out are: Dynafit stoke, Movement sluff, Dynafit Manaslu, DPS Wailer (pure carbon if you can afford them), Movment Logic X lots of Black Diamonds skis are nice, G3 hole line is solid, the list could go on again its just balancing price, weight, width and ski style. In my list of good skis, there is every thing from fat revers camber revers side cut skis,(DPS) to real light mountaineering skis (Logic X) with a bunch in the middle. Choosing skis is getting harder every year, with rocker, and reverse camber changing skis in the last few years there are lots of new shapes coming out, and lots of new designs to try.
Tech bindings have changed ski touring hands down!!! For 90% of the recreational ski touring market they are the way to go!!!!! (and 100% of the light is right market) Unless your skiing in front of TGRs cameras (that being said Hoji had a hole section in last years movie using dynafit bindings before he was sponsored by them), there is no point anymore in using a heavier binding. Also in the last few years there has been a number of new brands and designs to come out. For bindings you cant go wrong with Dynafit, they were the original and are the largest brand. There new Radical series for this year look great and all there old stuff was bomber, they are also sold all over north america and Europe and most ski shops now stock them and know how to work on them if need be. There are also a few smaller brands that are putting out some great stuff including Plum and La Sportiva. I personally think that the Plum Guide is the best all around tech binding on the market, that being said there hard to find (aka hard to get parts if need be), and expensive, they also don't have a ski brake. But they are made from CNCed aluminium with no plastic parts and are lighter and stronger then most companies light tech binding. Personally I think that the G3 bindings are the worst of the tech binding world, not much lighter then rail touring bindings and you still have to fiddle with them like all other tech bindings. I have also seen lots of them break or perform very poorly in real world use (twice to the point of ruining the hole groups trip) If you have never used a tech binding before they can be a little tricky to get into, and they do require that you pay some attention. That being said the weight savings alone is worth it!!!!!!!! After using them for one day most people find them just as easy to get into as other bindings.
As for boots most people use a 3 or 4 buckle touring boot. Popular boots are the Scarpa Mestralie, Black Dimond Quadrant, the Dynafit Green machine, or the Dynafit Titan. There has been some huge advances in touring boots in the last few year. Boots are now much lighter and ski much better then they ever did before. I ski often ski the resort in my Black Diamond Factors (granted they almost as heavy as my race boots they do ski well and you can walk/tour in them) Personally I ski Dyanfit TLT5 Performance boots. They are a 2 buckle boot biased off a skimo race boot, that are stupid light and have almost an unlimited range of motion in walk mode. But once you strap them down they ski amazingly well!!! Aspecially considering how light they are!!! Truly unbelievable!!! They were a game changer in the ski touring boot world. This year it looks like there are a few other brands (scarpa and LaSportiva) who have similar boots out. As with all boots if they don't fit your foot it doesn't matter how awesome every one thinks they are, there not the boot for you.
Buying touring boots, is hard! We ask allot out of touring boots, they need to have all day comfort, well walking and well skiing, they need to be light for the up and perform on the way down. If your going to get a touring set up spend your money on your boots!!! Go to a good shop that is willing to take time and work with you to find the right boot for you!!! Also make sure that they will mould your liners and punch your shells if need be. Expect to spend several hours trying on different brands of boots and different sizes. Trust me, no matter what the sales person tells you, if there uncomfortable in the store they wont magically become comfortable after your feet are covered in blisters!! I recommend trying on every brands boots to see what feels the best and then go from there!
I hope you find some of this information useful If you have any other questions please ask,
Also i dont work for any ski companies i just ski allot and have spend most of my time ski touring over the years I have used lots of different gear.
I also recomend checking out Lou Dawsons Blog Wildsnow.com for lots of great info on touring gear and tech bindings.
Skis and backcountry skis in particular are kind of like kites, you really need (maybe "want" is a better word) a quiver.
Now I just have to say if your going to be skiing or kitting in the Backcountry you need to know about avalanches, and avalanche safety Take a Course!!! Get a beacon shovel and probe, practice with them and know how to use them, Make sure the people you are ridding with have there stuff and know how to us them as well,
Have fun out there and be safe!!!
I know this out of your territory, but if you ever find yourself in Conway NH near Mt. Washington, there are 2 consignment shops in the area that have smokin' deals on all kinds of winter gear. Ragged Mt. and IME are the places. I always stop in when I am passin' thru to see what they got. JR
700 bucks!