barrows

karkis, thanks for sharing! I was out with Phantom Splitboard Bindings yesterday, and noticed he was riding some modded Atomic Backlands Ultimates. I would suggest that for those not afraid of a few mods and who are looking for very soft (in terms of medially/laterally/torsionally) flexing boots they should consider the Ultimates. The Ultimates…[Read more]

Yep, gotta agree with taylor on the sizing thing. I have size 10.5-11 feet, ride in 28 mondo boots, and require a 26 cm waist minimum on a standard sidecut board (9-10 meter radius), and prefer a bit wider, especially with my preference for tapered shapes. And the 161 milli is not really long enough either with less than 120 cm of edge…[Read more]

I have been testing boards with a bunch of different radii over the last few years. I have ridden 20, 18, 16, and 14 M radius boards, along with the usual 8-10 M radius boards.
I think the sweet spot for me for all around backcountry use is in the 14-16 M radius area. This allows for the feel, additional edge control on steeps, and more…[Read more]

Yeah, good conversation going. For me, so far I agree with 96av. I am not willing to try and catch a bad crevasse fall with a static rope. By no means am I saying it could not be done, but like I said, I have caught a serious crevasse fall, and the risk of getting yanked off your feet and starting to slide before you can get an arrest is real…[Read more]

Actually, Petzl does sell the rope separately, this is what I was referring to. I already have plenty of gear, but that rope is super light compared to anything else.
My point of posting was to see if anyone here has had any experience with it. My concern is that a static cord is going to make catching a crevasse fall more difficult. I have…[Read more]

Actually, Petzl does sell the top separately, this is what I was referring to. I already have plenty of gear, but that rope is super light compared to anything else.
My point of posting was to see if anyone here has had any experience with it. My concern is that a static cord is going to make catching a crevasse fall more difficult. I have…[Read more]

Agreed!

mg: yeah, a board with a significantly longer radius can improve skinning, as the straighter edge does grip a little better in steep sidehilling situations. They also tend to track in a straight line a bit better, and the wider waist inherent in a straighter sidecut floats more when skinning, so it can save a bit of energy if breaking…[Read more]

Buell, I have to respectfully disagree. Just because it is possible to ride 50 degree frozen shit with a 8 M radius board (and I have done it) and appear to be smooth and in control does not mean that an 16 m radius in the same situation would not have been better.
As you mention, these design parameters should not be considered separately…[Read more]

Buell, I have to respectfully disagree. Just because it is possible to ride 50 degree frozen shit with a 8 M radius board (and I have done it) and appear to be smooth and in control does not mean that an 16 m radius in the same situation would not have been better.
As you mention, these design parameters should not be considered separately…[Read more]

Permnation: Peter Bauer was World Cup Slalom specialist, and he has a penchant for really loading up the sidecut and flex of the board and then using that energy to accelerate out of turns… he mentioned this to me once when I suggested less sidecut. Of course, backcountry conditions are rarely appropriate for this riding style! But, like…[Read more]

Wow, I am very interested in more info on the Millisurf… I am thinking this may be a daily driver for me. Guys, we need to really think about length in regards to float… a super long pointy nose like on a Dupraz does nothing, it is just 20 cm of extra board which is not even contacting the snow. a 161 millisurf with it’s short tail looks…[Read more]

I do not use leashes.

Note, with a free heel you will never want to use the Dynafit toes unlocked, they will pop right out with the slightest force. Even locked they will still release around (approximately) DIN 10 or so.

If you have problems with Dynafit toes releasing even when locked (and it does happen) you toe levers are probably worn,…[Read more]

Hans,

The (very soft) windslab was only present right at the top of the lines. We kind of expected to release it, although the second one was a bit larger than expected. The two lines at the end with the releases are relatively safe, relatively short lines, which run out into a frozen lake, so low consequence. On this day bigger lines, above…[Read more]

Hans,

The (very soft) windslab was only present right at the top of the lines. We kind of expected to release it, although the final one was a bit larger than expected. The two lines at the end with the releases are relatively safe, relatively short lines, which run out into a frozen lake, so low consequence. On this day bigger lines, above…[Read more]