Alpine Touring Gear

Featured review by FromSagetoSnow

Lighter, faster, and easier to use than other poles, yet worries about durability linger. Despite the worries, I really like these poles.

Summary: From Black Diamond: "The aluminum compactor pole adjusts between popular pole lengths and uses an internal Kevlar cord to instantly break down to packable size and redeploys in a flash. One, rock solid, point of adjustment means you can keep moving instead of being the one always fiddling with your poles." I trek on my ski poles. Or maybe I should say that I ski on my trekking poles. Either way I use them all for both. I don't want to have a ton of single-purpose gear so these appealed to me as a possible do-it-all pole.

Read more: Black Diamond Compactor Ski Poles reviews (4)

Reviewed by Badass Outdoors

This vest is my favorite new accessory for the resort and the side country. I recommend it for skinning up the resort trails or mellow, low risk, side country excursions.

I am a six foot, 185 pound skiing male with broad shoulders and a 34 X 32 pant size. I ski 100 days a year between resort, backcountry, and Nordic. I picked up the Scotty Comp Vest to try to solve the backpack problem... let me explain:   Flylow Scotty Comp Vest My routine on Tuesdays and Thursdays is to get to my local mountain early in the AM. I step into my touring skis and head up the trail. For the longest time I wore a traditional +/-30 Liter pack containing water, layers, my helmet, etc.

Read more: Flylow Scotty Comp Vest review (1)

Featured review by Peter1955

Light, tough, and cheap.

I find it a bit amusing that after many years, the traditional leaders in hiking poles, Leki and Komperdell, are finally coming out with locking systems for their poles based on the Black Diamond Flicklock system. We've all heard stories about the old twist-lock poles collapsing at the wrong moment, dumping someone in a puddle or causing a fall, and it's good to see other companies following BD's lead. I've had my latest pair of Black Diamond Expedition poles for about three or four years, and they're still going strong.

Read more: Black Diamond Expedition 3 reviews (3)

Reviewed by Skygenie

The Whippet will give you added security in places where falling will have dire consequences. You have to know how to self-arrest for it to be useful. I recommend it for anyone that has ever wished they had, or actually had, an ice axe in their hand while skiing.

I started skiing with a Whippet two seasons ago and I really like it. I don't have crampons for my skis so this gives me a nice sense of security when skiing on hard snow. I've had a few unexpected falls/slides where I couldn't stop if I wanted to but each time there were no bad consequences. When skiing above cliffs or other hazards you don't want to fall into, the Whippet could make the difference between a good day and a bad day. Having a pick as part of your pole is far superior to trying to carry an ice axe with a pole or stowing the pole and just using the ice axe.

Read more: Black Diamond Whippet review (1)

Reviewed by FromSagetoSnow

Light-ish frame style tour binding for the rest of us.

My first tour bindings. I ski 80% in bounds so solid downhill performance is important to me and I also need to watch my weight because I also go on dawn patrol and up mountains on occasion. I had heard that these rattle, but saw none of that.  Marker makes several frame-style tour bindings and I was not ready to shell out the coin for bindings that release at 12 and weigh more than the skis they are attached to. Plus I don't need that much burliness since I am just a moderate (blue/black) skier.

Read more: Marker F10 Tour review (1)

Reviewed by Josh C

Bottom Line: The Armada JJ is a really fun ski. It floats well at 115 underfoot, but with such early taper and rocker it has a really surfy feeling. It really can handle anything you toss at it. I highly recommend this ski to ANYONE who is looking at getting into rocker, who rides powder/crud at least 70% of the time, or who wants a sick backcountry jib ski!

Pros: "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Seriously, they are probably the best 1 ski quiver ski that I have ever handled (for Snowbird/Alta that is). I don't like them quite as much as the Magic J (I like longer skis and the 185cm just isn't quite enough for me). They carve fine on groomers, better than many other rockered ski. They float and surf awesome in deep pow (not quite as well as some fatter offerings though), and they are stiff enough to handle crud without a problem.

Read more: Armada JJ review (1)

Featured review by Angus D

Great overall binding. Good range of DIN, price to performance, light-ish for an alpine binding, and looks good. Suffers from an imprecise feel, and creaking with soft snow wedged in the binding.

I mounted my 2018 pair on a set of K2 Marksmen, to use in various B.C. resorts. I used them for three seasons, before buying a new pair of 2021's to mount on some Blizzard Rustler 11's. Both times I've used a pair of Lange RS 130 with them, in 29.5. I've skied 200 days total, doing everything in the resort, from terrain park to slack country hiking. They've held up to the abuse really well, with little wear and no failures. The main downside is when you start to ski through binding and boot deep powder.

Read more: Marker Griffon 13 reviews (3)

Reviewed by Alec MacAdam

Looking for a lightweight, flexible AT boot which I can fit a wide foot into following some foot surgery. Very accommodating thermal fitting options, including a mold-able outer shell

I had to sit out last year's season here in Colorado due to extended recovery following bone spur removal surgery. Nevertheless, I'm back in the saddle so to speak and am looking to expand into the AT realm. Following doing a fair bit of boot research and getting good advice from a Scarpa rep I spoke with I chose the Scarpa F1 becuse of its variability in the fittment options, and its lightweight materials. While I understand its a pin-style boot only, I'm amenable with that from a weight perspective. Overall looking forward to many happy runs in these sweet boots!

Read more: Scarpa F1 review (1)

Reviewed by BigRed

A lightweight, short skin that integrates with Åsnes skis via dependable locking system. Gives a solid kick and moderate climbing power while still allowing some glide on easy terrain, at 1/4 to 1/3 the weight of a full-length skin. Small enough to fit a pair in a chest pocket. Ideal for hut-to-hut trips, and good skiers can take them to the summits.

As backcountry or mountaineering skis have gotten bigger, skins have followed along. My full-length skins for my biggest skis, G3 Finder 107s, weigh about 300 g each. Add that to the weight of boot, binding and ski (3.8 kg) and you’ve got 4.1 kg (9 lb) per foot to haul uphill with every step (the good news is that you can slide, not lift). Then that skin weight goes in your pack on the way down. For skiing steep slopes or in demanding snow, that is more or less necessary if you want to maximize the FQ (fun quotient)—fat skis perform better in a wide range of snow conditions, and for climbing and especially traversing on steep slopes, full skin coverage is needed to prevent backslipping.

Read more: Åsnes X-Skin 58mm Mohair review (1)

Reviewed by BigRed

A high-performance, lightweight, and wide mountain ski that tours well enough for hut-to-hut adventures and turns well enough for some summits on the side. Best in friendly snow conditions, but can handle some degree of crust and crud. Requires some driving rather than just riding in difficult snow.

Me and my Rabbs doing our swing  Here's the deal: you’re coming to Norway for a multiday hut-to-hut ski tour, with side trips to big slopes and summits, in late March or April when the mountain gods may offer up anything from fresh powder to creamed corn to nasty crust and ice. One pair of skis, boots, and bindings for the whole show. What’s your choice? I asked that question on a backcountry skier's forum and got suggestions ranging from old school leather boot/3-pin binding/skinny ski setups through to lightened-up plastic rando or tele boots and bindings on no-compromise fat skis with rocker.

Read more: Åsnes Rabb 68 review (1)