 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All,
I'm looking to invest in a ski touring setup, I've never previously owned one. I was hoping to get some advice from people. I'll be doing a fair amount of uphill so weight is important but I also want to have decent mid width to enjoy the powder (when it comes) ride.
I'm doing a season out in the Dolomites and have seen a pair of Black Diamond Aspect 176 with 90mm of mid width. They weigh 1.4kg per ski. Is this too much weight for a back country ski? What other skis would people recommend?
Also what kind of bindings/boots would people recommend?
Many thanks
Jon
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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that's pretty light for a 90mm ski. if you go much lighter you are getting into the realms of skis that are very much biased towards the "up"
if you are planning a reasonable amount of uphill, dynafit (or other tech bindings eg plum) are the way to go. boots = go to a good bootfitter and see what fits
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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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Welcome to snowheads.
There have been many threads on touring so you could do a search (top right hand of page) on "touring" or similar.
Bindings - Is it going to be a dedicated touring set-up, if so dynafit is almost certainly the way to go. (Boots will require tech inserts)
Boots - What best fits your feet. Heavier boots with 4 buckles are more downhill orientated.
Skis - What length are you looking for? 1.4 kg for a 90mm waisted ski is not too much (esp if mounted with dynafit bindings) but if you go so light don't expect spectacular downhill performance. How much do you weigh - (e.g. 80mm might be enough for a lightweight)
Other similar skis you might consider
K2 Wayback
Völkl Amaruq or Nanuq
Scott Sports Xplor'air
Stöckli Sport Pit rider pro III
If money is no object than some superlight but stiff skis are around (e.g. DPS Wailer 95)
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 9-02-11 12:10; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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BD make touring (and tele) specific gear, so without looking I'd say you were probably looking at a good ski for touring... and having seen the spec (http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-gb/shop/ski/skis/aspect-ski) I'd say it looks like a very impressive ski for your purposes. I'd certainly try and demo it to be sure, but on paper it looks excellent and the weight is very impressive.
I have the BD Verdict, it's light (for a fat ski - it is even fatter than the Aspect), it skis really well off piste in crud, slush, powder etc. It is fine on piste too but not so much fun on really hard and icy pistes, as I discovered last weekend. However, it certainly held it's own and was by no means impossible. I think the slightly narrower waist on the Aspect would make them work better on hard conditions.
As for bindings, for super light you will want to look at Dynafit. I use Fritchi Freerides and I think they're great because I can use with with normal alpine ski boots, Dynafit will only work with compatible boots but if you are looking to buy boots too that won't be a problem. You need to talk to someone in a shop and have a go with the Dynafits, they are not to everyone's taste but they are unbeatable for the lightness.
A lot of manufacturers now make touring boots, and a lot do "crossover" boots that work as well as a downhill boot in downhill mode but also work as a touring boot in "uphill mode". You really need to try a few pairs and decide if you want the downhill performance of the cross-over boots or a full touring boot. Look at Black Diamond, Scarpa, Garmont and Dynafit. Salomon also do some nice looking boots but these will not work with Dynafit bindings (that's a whole other thread...). I'm looking to replace my downhill boots with some very stiff touring boots (I do touring, but I'm more interested in downhill performance so I'm prepared to carry a bit more weight and loose uphill comfort in order to get the most from the downhill), so I'm personally looking at the BD Factor, the Dynafit Titan or the Salomon Quest. You sound like you may want to go the other way and look at a boot that is more "pure" touring, so these are probably the boots you don't want...
Hope this helps!
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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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1.4kg and 90mm underfoot is a great combo but you are banking on powder days with that set up. It's not all about the width IMO. The aspect are quite soft. If you are going out in the spring they might struggle in the morning on the ice and get thrown around in the heavy spring snow in the afternoon. Sorry to be so negative but I used v light powder skis and changed my views after some hair raising morning descents in spring on glaciers - where you really need to be able to get an edge when you need it.
If that concerns you, the dynafit stoke and manaslu do perform even when pushed. The coomback is reasonably light and fat, straight and holds a reasonable edge, and my current choice, the movement couloir are a very good compromise - 89 underfoot and rock solid edges. With dynafits thay would all give you good all round performance and lighter. Happy hunting.
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Not a bad allround ski really for what you need and 90mm isn't too wide for harder pack.
I am rocking the Dynafit Stoke 183 and TLT FT bindings, awesome and for a 105mm ski it does well on the steep ups and harder pack (obv a skinnier ski is better, but I climb for the ski down) However the weight for such a large ski is, amazing!
For boots, get the best shape for your foot that has the Dynafit pins. Although I don't use them, the Dynafit boots do have the unique easy entry click system so if they fit your foot shape go for them, they have a few different Models and shapes etc.
I am using Dalbello boots with my Dynafits, as the fit works for me, not too dis-similar to my Full Tilt last in alpine so works for me!
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From this german test
http://www.planetsnow.de/test/30-tourenski-im-planetsnow-skitest.476981.6.htm?odckampagne=42er_aktuelle_tests_tourenski
here's a summary of some of the 30 skis........
Up / allround / down / Freeride (Powder)
K2 Wayback....................... = 50 80 90 80
Stockli Stormrider Pit Pro III.. = 50 80 90 70
Volkl Nanuq........................ = 30 50 90 90
Hagan Dragon......................= 60 90 50 40
Volkl Mauja........................ = 60 80 70 50
Atomic Aspect.................... = 50 80 90 70
Head Peak 78..................... = 20 30 70 80
Nordica Hot Rod Burner........ = 50 70 80 80
Volkl Amaruq...................... = 50 70 80 70
Scott Crusair...................... = 40 50 80 80
K2 Backup.......................... = 50 80 80 60
Click on the link for each ski and then "Datenblatt" to see details for other skis
Interpretation examples .....
The Nanuq performs the best in downhill / freeride but is heavy on the way up. The Head Peak is even harder on the way up but doesn't perform as well. The K2 Wayback gets the best marks followed by the Stockli.
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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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My current (and recently purchased) set up:
Movement Jam (136-85-117) in a 173cm
Dynafit Vertical FT binding
Dynafit TLT-5 Performance boot
All bought from Sport Conrad (best price I could find in Europe)
http://www.sport-conrad.com/page/startpage/
This is what I've written about the Jams
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=72804
And the TLT-5
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Finally got my first day on the TLT-5 Performance.
Was most recently skiing Full Tilt Bumblebee Pro boots on a Blizzard Titan Cronus in a 173cm (123-88-115).
Size 28.5 TLT-5 Performance using Dynafit FT12 bindings mounted on 173cm Movement Jams (136-85-117).
I'm 100kg stripped (more than likely closer to 120kg with all the skiing paraphenalia) and 188cm in height.
Skied them inbounds at Popova Shapka, Macedonia, piste and off-piste.
The base was old snow and submerged foliage with the odd rock thrown in for good measure with 20-40cm of light powder on top depending on aspect and wind transport. By day's end it was chopped and hardening crud where people had been skiing.
Wore them straight out of the box with no footbed or liner heating / moulding. Didn't have the chance to get them done in Wales or here in Macedonia.
One word. AMAZING
Best first day in new boots by a country mile.
Stiff as I need and better performance than my Full Tilts.
Felt like I could turn on a sixpence. Pivotting was a dream. So too laying the skis on edge and carving on-piste.
No blisters or skin rub. One hot spot on my right foot on the top most part of the arch. Easily rectified once I can get the liners sorted.
It was about -2 C and this is the least my feet have sweated in any boot. Normally soaked by days end. These liners felt a little damp and that's it.
Also love the upright cuff. Suits my skiing style.
The walk to and from the lifts was a breeze.
Thank you Dynafit. And thanks to all on this thread for the info. Best purchase.
Highly recommended.
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Since writing that I've had another 6 days skiing with this set up. I put in footbeds and that took care of the fit problems.
Haven't toured in them yet, but did bootpack the mountain (1,000 vertical metres; 2.5 hr hike) and have had no blisters or rubbing. Don't expect any problems the first time I tour.
Expensive, but an awesome set up.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Didn't try the Source.
94mm in the waist was wider than I wanted.
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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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I'm 76kg and 180cm (5 11) and I've been touring on 181 Atomic Sweet Daddies, but finding them too long for steep couloirs. I've tried Atomic Drifter, which was great for the down, but I'm slighlty concerned about the weight for the up. I also tried the Scott Crus'air, which was light, but I just felt unresponsive (and expensive!). I liked the Scott Explor'air, which is narrower. I'm being seduced on a deal for the K2 Shuksan in 175, or possibly the K2 Wayback or Watea 84 in similar length. Anyone have any experience of these? Would I find the Shuksan too narrow for a quiver of one? Would the others hold an edge on a "fall and you die" icy traverse?
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You know it makes sense.
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Topsmoke,
Shuksan it is, then!
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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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Mike Pow, sounds like a good setup.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Mike Pow, had you previously skied on Dynafit bindings? What do you think of the move, if not...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I had Dynafit Tech bindings. About 7 seasons ago.
The FT and the TLT-5 boot combo are better than my previous experience with Dynafit, and better than my Full Tilt and Blizzard alpine set up.
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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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Thanks everyone.....very helpful
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I went for some Dynafit Stoke skis in the end. Purchased today and can't wait to try them out tomorrow. Powder was still good today despite warm conditions so hopefully tomorrow will still be good at Arabba (Dolomites).
Cheers
Jon
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FAQ
