Oct 22 2012
It was love at first kiss and the way the Lange XT held my feet I couldn’t help wonder what a longer term relationship might produce. I still haven’t had the pleasure of even a single day tour with a pair but I’ve had a chance to look a lot closer at the design. Aside …
Oct 17 2012
One thing most of us can agree on is you don’t want to make too much of a sacrifice in the performance of your go-to ski. It needs to be solid enough to handle a lot of vertical in-bounds, yet not be a tank for a full day in the backcountry. It has to …
Oct 08 2012
Last week I was struck by the hole that exists in the AT world these days for a binding that works with tech-less alpine boots and weighs less than four pounds. It simply doesn’t exist anymore. Not in retail stores anyway. But if you sleuth enough, you can find an old pair of Ramer Classics …
Oct 05 2012
The 3+ from Ortovox is a fresh breath of simplicity in the beacon world. It doesn’t go overboard with brainiac features, at least, not overtly. It doesn’t provide the directional clues of the S1, but it can still separate the various signals, only without getting confused like the first gen S1.
Oct 03 2012
Of the NTN compatible boots I’ve skied, Scarpa’s TX is most like their T2-Eco. It has enough cuff to drive a fat ski, but it is flexible enough that it yields a comfortable stride for stretches of dry trail or skinning the flats. Many of today’s rando boots give a larger range of motion in the cuff, but you won’t notice it much except on the flats, and only if you know better.
Oct 01 2012
Ten years ago Dynafit reps were lamenting the rise in popularity of the Fritschi Freeride. Interest in the US was just starting to pick up for Dynafit system and it seemed like the Freeride took the wind out of those sails. And then again with Marker’s Duke. But over that same period of time, many …
Sep 27 2012
If safety release, convenient entry and exit from the binding and excellent downhill control are at the top of your list, the Freeride is a good option with inferior but acceptable touring performance. If you don’t need turbo power for turns, with good touring, though not a true free-pivot, Rottefella’s Freedom is the way to go. If you want step-in convenience, don’t need safety release, with solid control and excellent touring, look at NT Spike. If you want Dynafit caliber touring performance and Hammerhead power with catastrophic release capability, TTS is your rig.
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