 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Transceivers:
http://beaconreviews.com/transceivers/
Just pick one and practice, practice, practice.
I use a BCA Tour shovel and probe. Yes the probe is short but you should get a pretty good idea with a transceiver and if someone is buried more than 180cm then their chances are probably slim anyway.
Not tried Trekkers but some respected skiers have used them 'cos it doesn't compromise downhill performance. No sure this still applies with the Dukes about now. As you're so light, I'm sure the Barons would suit you.
Many of us, including offpisteskiing, use fixed poles for touring. They are more reliable.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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roga, You have not mentioned boots.....
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have a look at http://shop.snowshepherd.co.uk lots of good advice and Tim is a regular SH
I think transceivers are personal preference really
i had leki telescopic shock absorber type poles which failed on my mountain safety course.. i have bought the three piece with clips type to replace but not used in anger...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Get whichever transciever you find the easiest and most intuitive to use. Make sure you get a metal shovel, plastic turns brittle in the cold.
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I could get away with the Baron but will it stand up to reasonably agressive downhill skiing
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You can ski them everyday no worries, pretty much they're solid alpine bindings that also happen to allow you to release the heel for touring.
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Many of us, including offpisteskiing, use fixed poles for touring. They are more reliable
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I'm not saying you need them but I've found my Black Diamond flicklock adjustable poles pretty bomber, I think a few other people on here have mentioned/use them too. Apart from just skiing, they are also incredibly useful for turing the bedroom light off without having to get out of bed.
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roga, 2nd hand trekker for sale at 1/4 the price of Dukes here, why not try that and then if you don't get on with them/do more then go for Barons or Dukes?
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| kitenski wrote: |
| roga, 2nd hand trekker for sale at 1/4 the price of Dukes here, why not try that and then if you don't get on with them/do more then go for Barons or Dukes? |
Go on, buy them and try them, then i'll have enough spare cash to buy them off you when you upgrade 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I used to have Trekker adaptors but they are an extra weight to carry around (and take up space in your back pack) and are heavy on the feet, plus place your boot quite high above the ski. For short bursts they are OK though they do use up a bit more energy than touring bindings. Personally, though, if you can afford it, I'd go for proper touring bindings.
PS Are you aiming to do proper tours, where most of your time is going uphill or just the occasional hour to get to a good slope, with emphasis on downhill? The type of bindings you would want would depend on that: very lightweight for touring, or heavier, more solid ones which ski more like downhill bindings, for the latter option.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 2-11-10 17:09; edited 1 time in total
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| altis wrote: |
Many of us, including offpisteskiing, use fixed poles for touring. They are more reliable. |
Don't get this, personally. You can, of course, use fixed poles, but I think having adjustable poles makes life SO much easier.
£40 is £40, but scrimping on a pair of BD Traverse when you're already shelling out £150 on skins, £250 on Barons (which are bomber in my experience and I'm 75kg), £200 on a transceiver and £40 each on a shovel and probe, would seem to me to be spoiling the boat for a ha'pporth of tar (as my Gramdad would've said).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks for the tranceiver, probe and shovel advice, yeah was working on the basis that plastic wasn't a good idea. Will have a look at the reviews and sites taht people have recommended.
ski, yeah boots is a can of worms and I haven't quite decided what to do - I have a relatively forgiving pair of Alpine boots that might be able to suffice for a short while but I'm guessing dedicated touring boots are the way ultimately to go. Thing there is I have unfeasably small feet (Colin calls them Hobbit feet lol) so I'm severely restricted in what I can get unless I go for women's boots, one of the only other boots I can find that would fit are these but knowing little about what to look for at this stage I don't know if they, or anything else, will be right for what I'm looking for. I mean yeah I want something that'll let me walk and skin up okay but I don't want anything that's going to massively compromise downhill performance, particularly with BASI Mountain Safety being something I'll want to do in them eventually.
skimottaret, thanks for that will have a look.
I'm coming to the conclusions that adaptors might be too much of a compromise, sorrykitenski - anyone got any comments on Fritschi? They seem to be quite highly rated by some people and seem popular with the guys who tour in Scotland.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| snowball wrote: |
| PS Are you aiming to do proper tours, where most of your time is going uphill or just the occasional hour to get to a good slope, with emphasis on downhill? The type of bindings you would want would depend on that: very lightweight for touring, or heavier, more solid ones which ski more like downhill bindings, for the latter option. |
Good question - will be using them for some day tours and also at Cairngorm (maybe elsewhere in Scotland) to head out of the ski area onto the plateau and then ... who knows but nothing lasting more than a few hours I'm guessing. It would be quite good to have a set up that's flexible enough to use with ski school groups on piste, allowing me the option of skinning off places once classes are finished.
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roga, The reason for the boot question was.... If you are going to get boots, then Dynafit bindings become an option. For what you are describing, however, Trekkers would be an economical first step.
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You know it makes sense.
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roga, don't fret too much over "proper" boots if yours are comfy. sure, when you upgrade, you can get all singing all dancing ones but they are certainly not essential. My bog standard alpine boots have been though BASI mountain safety, multi-day tours and up mont blanc, all of which would have been slightly easier in touring boots but..........
I've used fritschis for two seasons and found them to be great. they're on my off piste skis so get skied far more than toured without any problems. so far.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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roga, Fritschis aren't too bad if you can get a deal on them but they seem to be considerably more expensive than Barons/Dukes (looking at Telemark Pyrenees website) - if you can't get Fritschis for considerably cheaper than Barons, go with the Barons every time IMO.
Fritschis have slight advantages in touring convenience but their skiability is miles off the Marker offerings
dynafit is an option but you probably want to see whether you like the whole touring thing before committing yourself to that system
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Poster: A snowHead
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roga, That is quite a list but great to see someone taking it seriously.
My personal experince has taught me to keep it simple.
I use tracker 2 as it is very simple, easy to use and with practise very quick which is the most important thing.
I use folding BCA probes that fit into the handle of my shovel so they cannot easily get broken if I ever fall but I can get them out fast and are spring loaded to be ready to use.
I use a BCA alloy shovel which is much stronger than plastic and not really much hevier to carry. The problem with the plastic ones is that they can break if you hit something hard with force when cold and you are in a panic to rescue your friend.
For bindings I use damir freeride but most of my friends use the marker ones. Both are good and next time I might go for the Marker ones as they seem better for freeriding which is my main reason for touring. To get to the best powder. Hope that all helps.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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roga, if you come across any good deals on metal shovels please let me know!!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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kitenski, will do 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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roga, basi deals are worth a look....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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skimottaret, I'm looking
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Of the transceivers you've listed, my personal choice would be the Ortovox S1 (although I haven't had a chance to try the 3+, which looks good).
The F1 is now very out-dated and is significantly slower even in the hands of an expert, especially in more complex situations (multiple burials, deep burial, etc.).
My other half has a Patroller and it's OK, pretty quick for the usual "scrape a hole and stick a transceiver in it" practise scenario, but it's not very intuitive to use for multiple burials.
The S1 is excellent, all the latest tech, very quick and accurate but it's expensive and has a lot of features which are useful to a pro but probably not for the average 1 or 2 weeks a year backcountry rider.
The Tracker I'd say is very similar to the Patroller. Very easy and intuitive to use, quick in basic scenarios, but during a training course where we had the chance to compare a lot of different systems and do some deeper burials, etc. we did find it to be worryingly inaccurate on deeper burials. The Tracker 2 might be better, I haven't tried it.
I recently replaced my own transceiver and went for the Barryvox Pulse. It has most of the features of the S1 and is quite a bit cheaper.
Ideally, try a few different models and see what works for you.
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| stevomcd wrote: |
| The F1 is now very out-dated and is significantly slower even in the hands of an expert, especially in more complex situations (multiple burials, deep burial, etc.). |
pretty sure i saw a test recently which showed the F1 in experienced hands could be the quickest for single burials. Remember, it still has the best range in the market and its processing speed is quicker than many digital models. OTOH, they aren't anything like as intuitive as more modern models and multiple burials are tricky (but better than my experiences with the old Tracker 1)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
pretty sure i saw a test recently which showed the F1 in experienced hands could be the quickest for single burials.
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Not buying it. Maybe "could" is the operative word. I've done a number of training courses recently, all involving mountain guides and none of them were using F1s any-more. I know there are still plenty of die-hards out there, but that's what they are now.
Wasn't there also some test in Canada which compared experts using F1s with complete novices using the latest kit and the novices were quicker?
My own experience with my Pulse and with the Ortovox s1 is that, from first signal, I can literally sprint directly to the source, a few seconds for a fine search, then hit it within the first couple of goes with a probe. Obviously, sprinting over avalanche debris in a real situation isn't going to happen, but it makes the point that there's no issues with processing speed.
The long range of the F1 is still worthy of consideration, but it's really not that much better any more (the first generation digital stuff did have pretty poor range).
There's no way a newbie should be considering an F1, unless cost is an absolutely over-riding issue.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Wed 3-11-10 16:45; edited 1 time in total
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stevomcd, just to help out, the new Ortovox Patroller Digital is new this season and is the rebranded D3 from last season, it is a triple antenna system now unlike before which was analogue and digital.
Arno, the Test results are here http://www.avalanche.ca/cac/gear/reviews/Transceiver-test.pdf is a good read!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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stevomcd, agree that the F1 isn't really a good choice for a noob.
I think the test you are referring to tested various models with novices and experts. IIRC the fastest and the slowest times in the whole test were recorded on the F1 which probably tells the story for that model quite well. Obviously can't find said review to check this now!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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admin, any chance this could be a stickie? lots of good info so far and it'll probably grow.
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brian
brian
Guest
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You know it makes sense.
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roga, FWIW I picked up an S1 and it is far and away easier to use in practice for me than the tracker but you should see if you can try a couple out 
Sorry to hi-jack your thread, if anyone can offer a little bit of advice that would be great. I'm heading to a boot fitter for touring boots and was wondering if there was anything I need to look out for or be wary of? The guy came from a solid recommendation on here but I just wanted to check. Also, stock is Scarpa + Dynafit (no Titans), anything to avoid? Looking for emphasis on downhill performance but willing to compromise as they'll not be my only boots.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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scotia, the big question is which scarpa and dynafit models. seen lots of good things about Titans but a friend of mine is on Zzeuses and he is very pleased with them. scarpa have some new models out this year (things like the Maestrale and Mobe) which look pretty interesting but most places in UK seem to be hopelessly behind on AT boots. I have found Scarpa boots to have quite a boxy fit so if you have skinny feet they could be difficult. however, i have seen reports that some of their new models are more narrow
i guess the other point is whether you plan to go dynafit or not. tbh, if you have some comfortable downhill boots and don't plan on getting dynafits, i'd just use the alpine boots in your AT binding of choice. then you can take your time and get some upto date dynafit compatible boots when you are somewhere which stocks such a thing
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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roga, yeh I am in touch with Rob from Mountain Spirit so thanks. It is a 3 hour drive though and I don't know if I can be arsed without another reason to be up there. Needs must 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Arno, I need new skis&bindings anyway so the general advice seems to be to go Dynafit if I am dropping the cash anyway. My feet were in a horrible state after a 700m bootpack last season but I guess that would be the case in most boots.
Stock with tech inserts is:
SCARPA MISTEARLE
SCAPA TYPHOON
SCARPA FLASH ECO
SCARPA SKUCOM
DYNAFIT ZERO 4
DYNAFIR ZUES
DYNAFIT ZERO 3
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scotia, Have you looked at Braemar Mountain Sports ? They have a shop in Aviemore too.
BTW - on the weight/power issue..after getting fed up with telemark boots and crampons, I went for Dynafit and Garmont Heliums. Mounted on Altitrails they are quite powerful enough for everything, touring wise, I'll come across.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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altis, as you seem to suggest, the subject of AT boots seems to be where TGR is most prone to groupthink and most likely to be suckered by the marketing
scotia, looks like they are pretty up to date on the Scarpa offerings but a couple of years behind on Dynafit!
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FAQ
) appreciated 
( Placcy ones just won't cut the mustard) - 2.4m probe sounds OK: longer the better!!!