Tag: Alpine Touring

A.T. Boot Review: BD’s Factor MX

  When I began locking my heel again two years ago I was surprised how far Black Diamond had missed the mark with their AT boot line. This year’s updated Factor MX does a lot to remedy that. Since inception BD’s tele boot line was too aggro and heavy for me to spend much time …

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Picking the right Tech Binding

  Choosing whether or not to go all in with alpine touring is a question that begets several more. First, are you serious? If you’re not, just get a passport binding to get you going until you’re undeniably hooked on the backcountry. Once you’re hooked then it’s time to get serious with your attitude, and …

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First Look: Dynafit’s Beast 16

  The saying goes, “Light is right, but weight is great.” Even Dynafit is acknowledging that with the introduction of their next generation tech binding, the Beast 16. At almost a kilogram per foot (actually only 966 grams or 34 oz.) it is a beast of a binding, especially for a company firmly rooted with …

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Review: Dynafit’s Mercury (& Vulcan)

Aside from fit, there is precious little to complain about with Dynafit’s TLT boot line. All utilize Dynafit’s patented Ultra Lock System that integrates the mode switch with the cuff buckle for shifting gears to uphill or downhill with a single move. That alone warrants a closer look for my turning earning friends. As the …

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Passport Bindings for the ’14 Season

  Lured by the Backcountry? There are roughly three different styles of backcountry equipment you should consider if you’re hunting fresh powder: alpine, snowboard, or telemark. Of the three disciplines, alpine offers the easiest to understand, and adopt, set of options. The style of alpine binding that appeals easiest to budding BC skiers are what …

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Fondling Salomon’s Guardian

  Well I’ve finally shook hands with a pair for an extended period of time, but my feet have not had the opportunity to dance again with Salomon’s Guardian — yet. There is no doubt this is a binding that carries some clout. At 6½ pounds per pair, when you decide to kick it in …

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Tribute to Paul Ramer

© 2000 While there are many people who have contributed to the growth of ski mountaineering in America, few were more instrumental than Paul Ramer. It was his vision, more than any other single man’s which accurately defined, perhaps prophesied, the current landscape of the sport. Some of you reading this became aware of backcountry …

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