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Alpine touring - the skis
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I have been interested in getting AT bindings and skins for awhile. I don't really have the cash to get skis often but am just gonna say fuck it and get a whole new setup this year. Can I use any skis I want? What should I really be looking for in the ski? I hate to fall into the NS/pollard hype-wagon, but I am also interested in getting some bigass rockerd skis. Do these mesh?
5-10
275 lbs
24
20 yrs. experience
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something really light, the new k2 coomba would be sick, but im not sure if rockered skis and skins would go to well together
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dude, i gotta give u respect...
u have 26 posts, and put such a good thread up
u actually put ur weight, height, experience, all that
mad props bro
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Yeah really, half of the threads are piles of shit.
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I've been thinking about some AT gear as well, I haven't ever used any before, but I know it's something that I want to get into in the next few seasons. Big fat skis might not be so ideal due to the width, which could make it somewhat clumsy trekking up slopes, and the weight issue. A lot of people on TGR, where I have been doing my own research on the topic, swear by the Volkl Gotama's, 4 sizes (168,176,183,190) 105 at the waist, and a sidecut of 25.9m at the 183 length. Another ski that would be fun, wide and efficient in my mind would be the new Liberty Helix. That's what I have gathered, like I said, I have no experience in the topic whatsoever, but it does interest me greatly and I hope to get some gear in the near future.
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Thank you for reminding me of one other point I forgot to mention. Finding skins for fatter skis will be more expensive and difficult.
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Colltex skins, while somewhat hard to track down, are pretty solid this year and support up to 120mm widths. New tip loop and tail camlock clamping system work quite a bit better then their previous models.
For AT skis, are you doing quick treks in search of lines or thinking about doing multi-day AT endeavors?
For light fatties you could look towards G3 or Movement. They're starting to gain a solid rep in the backcountry.
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jps vs juliens are very popular for AT coz they are light and fairly straight both of which are useful attributes for skinning. other skis to check out would be 186 ehps which were specifically designed with touring in mind, and have pintails to suit skins.
i don't know much about skin technology tho, sorry...
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For skins, g3 is what everybody recomended to me.
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Yeah, something light if you're going on big hikes. But if you charge on the way down then you've got to balance weight vs bulriness. A guy I worked with toured on the original Pistols for everything, including 5 day treks. We mounted some carbon skis for the Goode rep once, holy shit I've never felt somethign so light, they would be awesome. But they cost like $2000 and never heard anythign on how they ski.
JPs might be a good call if they suit your style. I'm not sure about a fat/rockered ski for touring. One major drawback would be if you ever had to skin up a hardpacked area - you wouldn't get much grip.
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ive got Gotamas 190s with Black Diamond accension skins had fritshi freerides on them but gonna switch up to the Duke from marker when it reaches here next week. but that setup works really well.
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Thanks for the solid tips guys. I'm basically looking to extend the out of bounds skiing I can do--get to the shit I don't have time to hike to now. I won't fuck with multi-days just yet.
My style - in search of cliffs, trees, powder, and steeps all to myself. Currently skiing oldass noodled 1080's on older bindings. Not sure what skis fit that.
I'll check the TGR website as well.
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If you're going to be skiing hard check out NX21's or FR+'s for bindings, you can't go wrong with either. The Fritschis are lighter and have more touring settings in the heel for a little steeper hills, and the Naxos are really natural feeling when you're touring in them. I know people who ride both (I have the Naxos) and nobody has really had anything bad to say about either save for the first generation Naxos.
As far as skis go, it's a matter of what you want to haul around. Some people tour on Legend Pros while some people prefer to go as light as possible. Just keep in mind that you'll generally have more fun down if you're working a bit harder for it. Just pick whatever you want to be riding when you're out there, put some AT bindings on, and find some people who know the area you want to ride.
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I've used both G3 skins and BDs. I would definitely recommend the BDs, but the G3s worked as well...
Also, I am interested in the idea of a rockered BC ski. It seems like it wouldn't be great for skinning due to the smaller contact area..has anyone tried it?
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I currently tour on a 188 stiff bros with nx21's. Pretty solid, and definitely still fun inbounds. I'd love to have a reverse camber/sidecut ski to tour, but I had spats mounted alpine before I bought the bros. The skis I would buy now if money wasn't an issue would be lotus 138's with dukes, but they're pricey. You might look at Praxis.
Just remember all the weight you'll have to walk up with, and if you still want to be able to ski inbounds on the set-up. Naxo's or Freerides on a super wide ski in firmer snow does not sound fun.
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ya g3 is aperently known for touring/backcountry kind of stuff blackdiomond is really good too
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i have 179 Seths with the new Marker Duke binding, it's a really good binding because of the mechanism it has for skiing normally, check them out. I'm getting some G3 skins too
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I don't think I'd try rockered or reverse camber skis for touring unless I had two AT setups. Contrary to popular belief, you probably get more variety in snow conditions when you're outside the ski area. If you only have one ski to do it on, one with camber would probably be the safer bet. But then again, if you only ski backcountry when the snow is really soft it could work out ok.
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