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ski touring

Anonymous Mon 16 Jan 2017 13:26:52 No.931407 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>931840 >>932025

Hi all.
I’m hoping to get some advice about ski touring.

I’ve bought Armada Declivity skis not long ago, but I’m still missing bindings and boots.

How should I go about buying those? First boots, then bindings? Or do I buy bindings and then search for the appropriate boots?

As for compatibility between skis and bindings, is there anything in particular I should be paying attention to?

I’m a beginner when it comes to ski touring, so I’m first looking to buy equipment that will actually allow me to ski, so I can test it out on non-exposed terrain. I’ll buy the safety equipment once I get serious about it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 16 Jan 2017 23:09:41 No.931840 Report

Quoted By:

>>931407
I don't know anything about alpine touring stuff but when I was buying my backcountry XC skis, everyone said to pick the boots that fit my feet and the bindings that fit the boots.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 02:14:48 No.932025 Report

Quoted By: >>932027

>>931407
what about beacon/shovel/probe? airbag pack?
do you know how to use that rescue gear?
more importantly, do your friends know how to use that rescue gear?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSMKdXvJ31M

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 02:18:10 No.932027 Report

Quoted By: >>932051

>>932025
no, not yet. I’ll attend a seminar and buy the equipment soon after.

I just wanna try the skis on a small hill behind my house first where i definitely won’t find myself buried under tons of snow.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 02:42:48 No.932051 Report

Quoted By: >>932088 >>932521

>>932027
I would suggest taking the training after you have the gear - use your gear through the training.

Your equipment won't do you any good should you find yourself buried - your friends have to have the gear and be proficient with it to coordinate effective rescue. Take a class with your friends, it's more fun that way anyways.
Airbag pack's the only piece of rescue equipment that you wear for yourself. The rest of it's to save your friends life.

Modern digital 3-antenna beacon... T2's fast, fairly inexpensive, works well (what I use). T3's a little smaller, a little faster, has a couple of nice more-advanced features. 3+ does better at pinpoint search over the T2/T3 in my experience. Element is a good basic beacon; Pulse is nice/expensive and has a LOT of features, also the most complicated to use and figure out.

Probe, 270cm minimum. 300's nice to have but doesn't fit in some smaller packs. Stealth has the best latching mechanism IMO. As a professional I blow out about one a year, cable starts to delaminate and snags on deployment. Never had a full-failure, just gets more and more difficult to deploy. As a filthy casual they'll last you years.

The "convertible" shovels that switch between shovel and hoe are nice. Dozer's what I ride with, switching between two modes is kind of clunky (handle flips over entirely). Kodiak's a better shovel all around imo, angry shoveling edge and a better handle system. Don't go too big, otherwise you take bigger bites than you should and wear yourself out quicker.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 03:23:26 No.932088 Report

Quoted By: >>932110

>>932051
How does one decide what kind of skis, boots, and bindings to get for backcountry? It looks like there is a wide array of Dynafit options and I'm not exactly clear on the differences. I've only done resort skiing.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 03:41:45 No.932110 Report

Quoted By: >>932233 >>932563

>>932088
All my skis are designed to mount up to a spindle. Haven't put skis on my boots in nearly two decades.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 08:33:45 No.932233 Report

Quoted By:

>>932110
So why are you even in this thread, Mule?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 20:44:41 No.932521 Report

Quoted By:

>>932051
thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. I’ll save the post for when I decide to buy that kind of stuff.

Are you chasing avalanches on those moto-skis?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 22:18:06 No.932563 Report

Quoted By:

>>932110
Too fat to ski?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 17 Jan 2017 22:21:47 No.932566 Report

Quoted By:

Buy boots first, they need an accurate solelength of the boot when mounting the bindings on the ski.
As for bindings you could take a look at the marker kingpin, or dynafit as you said

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 19 Jan 2017 01:48:32 No.933244 Report

Quoted By: >>933309

Not near my gear ATM, but I found stock pics.

First things first, learn how to ski. Downhill. I'm going to assume you've gotten that far. Great, onto uphilling. Start on resort. Most let you go up for free as long as you don't use any lifts. "But wait" I hear you saying "you haven't told me about equipment yet". Hush my child. The first thing is how much you actually care. Do you want to go up really tall things, long trips, race, stay on groomed hills? I go up about the same amount I go down, so I went for a lighter setup that skis OK. My brother downhills substantially more than he uphills, so he has a heavy AF setup that skis exactly like an alpine setup. IDK what you want, so this is gonna be general.

Skis:
I've found Armadas aren't the best for uphilling because they have a big camber, and the edges are all wonky. It's also going to be hard to find skins. It doesn't really matter, but it's something to consider. Ideally, you'd want something made with this in mind.

Boots:
I have no idea what your budget is. I use a pair of second-hand Dynafit titans, they've lasted 4 years now (re-riveted twice), absolutely fantastic. If you want a better uphill boot, go Dynafit. For a better downhill, I suggest the Salomon MTN.

Bindings:
Marker kingpins. Hands down. I ski a pair of Dynamit beast 14s and love them, but the kingpins are really the shit. Get kingpins.

Other shit:
You need a shovel/beacon/probe/airbag and the proper training to hit the back country, but you're not there yet. Skins are basically all the same, don't fall for the mohair meme, but get a stick of skin wax (the deodorant looking one).

I love the sport, if you have any questions, shoot. Also, if you're Colorado, I can potentially get you a good deal on gear.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 19 Jan 2017 04:13:48 No.933309 Report

Quoted By: >>933317

>>933244
>First things first, learn how to ski. Downhill. I'm going to assume you've gotten that far.

I was in a ski club and participated in a fair share of alpine competitions in my teenage years. I spent almost every day on snow after school in winters. But my skiing experience is almost entirely from ski resorts.

I skied in powder through forests a few times with friends and with flat narrow racing skis so it wasn’t the real deal. From what I gathered it’s a lot different from on-piste skiing and I’ll probably have to learn to ski properly off piste.

At the moment I’m more interested in long trips, off-piste, using skis as means to traverse mountains and hills.

I have read that beginners should start with traditional bindings, where you lift a part of the binding together with your foot as you go up. I know they’re heavier, but is that really such a big factor?

I think I’d feel better if my feet were firmly fixed in the binding when skiing. I heard that the technical binding (such as kingpin) require more skill to ski downhill. They aren’t that stable? And supposedly they don’t detach easily if you fall..

Another thing regarding buying boots. I’ve read on numerous occasions I should try the boots in the shop and walk in them for 30+ mins to feel if they’re the right for me.
I’ve never had problems with alpine boots. When I previously bought them, I had just tried them on, walked a bit in them, then bought them. One gets used to the shape of the boots eventually, so I’m not sure what’s the big deal. Unless the touring boots are that much different from the alpine?

I’m in the Alps. I got the Armadas by chance.. There was a sell out and free shipping on https://shop.epictv.com/, and the Declivity model seemed like a nice compromise for a beginner, so I bought them for 150eur.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 19 Jan 2017 04:32:33 No.933317 Report

Quoted By:

>>933309
A few answers:

Anyone who says a more technical binding is better for starting is a moron. They are crazy heavy and overly complex. I had a pair of marker touring bindings, they were deathtraps. Kingpins are just as stable, ski almost exactly like normal, and eject just as well. Get Kingpins.

You probably should walk around in them for a while, but it's dealer's choice. If you think they're good for you, get them. Touring boots are very similar to alpine, the only main difference is they unlock to flex in the middle.

If you got the Armadas for 150, you got a great deal. They'll be fine, but not the best. And buying skins is probably going to suck.

Work your way up to long backcountry trips. Take them to the resort first. The alps have great side country, so you can go up unskied territory, and ski it, but still be under ski patrol's jurisdiction (I think. Could be Italy).

Wiley

Wiley Thu 19 Jan 2017 04:36:33 No.933321 Report

Quoted By: >>933330

Pro ski technician and 6-year ski industry veteran here. Don't get the Kingpin. It handles differently downhill and lacks true lateral toe release. Get the Marker Duke. It's functionally the same as their regular bindings like the Griffon, but it is on a locking, hinged plate allowing for skinning. They go downhill just like a regular binding and release just like one, and they include a 2-position climbing bail that makes climbing less strenuous. Plus, they don't limit you to tech soles like the Kingpin does, so your options for boots become almost limitless.

Get a good boot, and get it fitted properly. Make sure you tell the fitter that you will use the boots for touring. Get something that has a ski/hike switch and a Velcro ankle strap to allow you to ski and skin effectively. Don't take any recommendations on model from the internet; your boot won't fit right if the fitter can't see your feet. Plan to spend 1+hours at the shop trying different ones and talking to the fitter. A decent boot will run $400-500.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 19 Jan 2017 04:46:41 No.933330 Report

Quoted By: >>933476

>>933321
I haven't noticed much difference on the Kingpins going downhill. The toe release didn't seem that bad, but I guess I never took a hard fall.

>Marker Duke
That actually looks really good. I had the predecessors (Don't remember what they were called) and had a few bad experiences. Are the Dukes actually good enough to be considered a serious option?

Wiley

Wiley Thu 19 Jan 2017 13:51:01 No.933476 Report

Quoted By:

>>933330
The dukes have improved immensely. The only practical downside is the weight compared to the Kingpin, but they cost like $200-300 less than the Kingpin and since they don't need a tech-sole boot, the boots can be cheaper too.

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