Category: Gear

Review: Madshus Annum

  One of the benefits of living in snow country is the ability to embrace skiing in all its forms. Whether alpine, nordic, steep, deep or flat – just gliding on skis is a thrill. However, to enjoy skiing in all its forms you need to have quite a few different skis. Few of us …

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Beacon Review: Tracker DTS

  Note: The following review was penned while Tracker DTS was still the best selling avalanche beacon in the USA. Since then it’s sales have been largely taken over by BCA’s Tracker 2. Although a 2-antenna beacon is considered outdated relative to current, 3-antenna technologies, it is still far superior to single antenna transceivers, especially …

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Review: TNF’s Patrol 24 ABS pack

  Without a doubt the addition of The North Face as a maker of airbag packs will prove beneficial to the entire mountain community just by virtue of them establishing a distribution network of ABS canisters. Thankfully, they go further than that by tacking on their idea of what makes an ideal ski pack. Patrol …

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1st Look: Exped’s Downmat Lite 5 – budget luxury

  Some of you may have read my review of the Exped Downmat UL7 with some interest, then dismissed it because it is simply too expensive. While it may be more expensive than many competitive products, the old adage that “you get what you pay for” comes to mind. Quality is rarely cheap, but usually …

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AT Boot Review: Tecnica’s Cochise

  Tecnica’s Cochise, not just a model but a complete line of AT boots, has built a solid following among skiers looking for the ultimate go anywhere boot. It is powerful enough to deliver control while hammering through mogul fields, but has enough cuff mobility to keep you smiling while earning your turns. With the …

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ATK’s Newmark – lightest tele tech binding

Europeans have not been sitting on their laurels lately. The latest evidence comes from ATK, an Italian manufacturer of race caliber tech binding. In spite of the apparent lack of interest in telemark skiing by retailers, interest continues by the practicing faithful as well as manufacturers dreaming of a better way. The latest variation comes …

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Thule makes ‘chains required’ easy

One of the unexpected gems found in the aisles of the recent Outdoor Retailer Winter show was a new type of traction device for skiers. No, I’m not talking about climbing skins for skis, think of these as climbing skins for your car. For those of us who love to ski there are two choices …

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