Free touring skis

soupcan

soupcan

Member
Hey gang I’m looking for recommendations on some free touring skis. My current set up is for 50/50 usage being a set of liberty origin 106’s with shifts. They are good don’t get me wrong but I want something a bit stronger but also not weighing over 2100 grams. They will be mounted with either shifts, tectons, ion 12’s, or kingpins.

skis i’m currently looking at are:

4frnt renegade (too wide maybe? But I really like the idea of it)

line vision 118

k2 mindbender 116c

bentchetler 120 (too twinned and forward mounted maybe?)

G3 slayr (limited availability)

anyone have any other skis worth looking into or recommendations of one of these skis over another?

thanks
 
I ski the vision 108 and they are insanely light and also insanely fun in the backcountry (183 at 5’10 150). Guessing the 118s are a bit more work on the up in exchange for a more stable and more fun ride the deeper it gets. They are notably heavier.

all the skis you listed look freaking dope I wish I owned them all.

oh also I never ski the visions in bounds unless I did an uphill lap in the morning and only feel like doing a couple lifts before heading out. They are a riot for this though. It’s really night and day against something like my j skis metals once it gets firmer and skiied out at the resort. Could also be the alpine vs touring boots though which weigh like 1kg different per boot lol.
 
The vision 118 punches well above its weight class in terms of stability, and its still pretty playful.

Ive skied the origin 106, visions, and bent 120s. Of those the vision 118s are the most stable, I wouldn’t get a bent 120 unless pow butters and switch pow skiing was a super high priority.

the renegades will probably handle high speeds the best out of all of those options, but you won’t want to be doing much or any switch skiing on them and they probably are pretty hard to nose butter. Also sometimes fully rockered skis have issues with traction on icy skin tracks, depends on where you are skiing.

I don’t have much input on the other skis, but strongly encourage the vision 118 out of those options.

the moment wilcat tour could also be a contender, same 118 width, similar weight, stiffer throughout but still a twin tip, may be worth looking into.
 
14223841:ericforman said:
I ski the vision 108 and they are insanely light and also insanely fun in the backcountry (183 at 5’10 150). Guessing the 118s are a bit more work on the up in exchange for a more stable and more fun ride the deeper it gets. They are notably heavier.

all the skis you listed look freaking dope I wish I owned them all.

oh also I never ski the visions in bounds unless I did an uphill lap in the morning and only feel like doing a couple lifts before heading out. They are a riot for this though. It’s really night and day against something like my j skis metals once it gets firmer and skiied out at the resort. Could also be the alpine vs touring boots though which weigh like 1kg different per boot lol.
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I have a friend that only rides them in the resort. Center mounted with pivot 14s (weird set up for that ski imo) but he says they’re the most fun things ever. I clicked into them and just fucked around with some butters. Holy crap the lightness and soft extremities are so fun.
 
Sorry I should have specified more, I’m a pretty directional skier but like to drop cliffs and pop of lots of natural features but I don’t find myself skiing or landing switch. Sounds like right now the vision 118 is the standout of the bunch.

I forgot about the wndr intention 110 but im

concerned about the lateral stiffness of the core for those more technical descents.

**This post was edited on Jan 7th 2021 at 3:33:49pm
 
Dang that’s wild! Yea I wish I could try them with my full alpine set up. Guessing it would make a world of difference. They feel ridiculous in the air so light.

14224058:Austintexas25 said:
I have a friend that only rides them in the resort. Center mounted with pivot 14s (weird set up for that ski imo) but he says they’re the most fun things ever. I clicked into them and just fucked around with some butters. Holy crap the lightness and soft extremities are so fun.
Click to expand...
 
I'm on the Bent Chetler 120s with Shifts, and they're pretty much what you'd expect. Insanely lightweight for their size, ski amazing, but ultimately you're sacrificing quite a bit of tour-ability as they're not all that great for longer days with a lot of vertical or variable snow conditions. The forward mount (-3 from center) makes kick turns tough, and their width (while, again, awesome on the way down) makes side-hill skinning a pain in the ass in anything other than soft snow. In retrospect I'd consider it more of a 70/30 resort/backcountry setup than a true 50/50, but depending on your size and the rest of your gear I could see it working.

I love fat skis, but if I decide to rebuild more of true 50/50 setup I'd probably go a little narrower a little more traditionally mounted.
 
14225584:RudyGarmisch said:
1.8kg/ski in a 184cm and they fucking rip.
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I'm dying to know how much they give up compared to the stock BGs in the variable stuff and stomping biggerish cliffs...

I've really liked my 184 stock core BGs with kingpins but their time is coming to an end, I've quasi-replaced them with J116 with CAST but would like another fat touring ski for the bigger days and full backcountry days.
 
14225603:jca said:
I'm dying to know how much they give up compared to the stock BGs in the variable stuff and stomping biggerish cliffs...

I've really liked my 184 stock core BGs with kingpins but their time is coming to an end, I've quasi-replaced them with J116 with CAST but would like another fat touring ski for the bigger days and full backcountry days.
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Ive honestly not been on a stock BG for a few years, but my last two tour setups were stock 180ish Wren 108 and Woodsman 108 with Kingpins. I really dont find the BG tours lacking anywhere, and if anything, way better than Wrens/Woods in slarving and in very variable conditions. The thinner Tour base/edge has proven itself on some early season rock strikes.

5'10 and 170lbs.

Keep shredding, vids from this year look fun.
 
14225667:RudyGarmisch said:
Ive honestly not been on a stock BG for a few years, but my last two tour setups were stock 180ish Wren 108 and Woodsman 108 with Kingpins. I really dont find the BG tours lacking anywhere, and if anything, way better than Wrens/Woods in slarving and in very variable conditions. The thinner Tour base/edge has proven itself on some early season rock strikes.

5'10 and 170lbs.

Keep shredding, vids from this year look fun.
Click to expand...

Sounds promising for sure. Thanks Rowen!
 
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