Need help with a 2 ski quiver!

[XtRemE11]

I'm slowly getting more and more into backcountry skiing, finding friends to go with, etc. and really need a more dialed setup.

right now I've got some apostle 106's with the cast touring setup, and scarpa freedom rs's. its basically my resort ski that will get me into the backcountry if i need to, also do a lot of uphill at the resort. honestly not a huge fan of the boots, they fit weird, put you in a weird position, they're fine when your absolutely charging, but i've been skiing park boots and full tilts my whole life, i like a stiffish park boot a lot more, even for charging, i'm just used to having the boot move with your feet more, with the scarpas your feet/shins move around, the boot doesnt budge, meh. spend a shit ton of time with boot fitters trying to get them dialed.

now I still do a ton of resort skiing, lots of park, and like park boots, I like pivot bindings, giant, big rocker powder skis, center mount all the things, etc.

but i'm getting a little tired of my cast setup, and want something more dedicated, lighter, good for uphill days at the resort where i'll still ski a few runs, something i can spend all day exploring the backcountry with, etc. for downhill, if its just ok, thats fine, just cant absolutely suck.

and then a wide powder ski with the cast setup, maybe shift or something similar, that doesnt compromise downhill performance, weight doesnt matter, something i'll use for resort powder days as well, building jumps, etc.

I'm thinking that might require two pairs of boots. Thought I could make the scarpas do both, but theres no way i'll use those in the park, and getting sick of them for resort as well. Maybe something like the FT ascendant, or pinnacle that doesnt sacrifice in the resort, would be sweet if i could use them as my park boots as well. then a dedicated, light AT boot that just has to ski ok.

I'd like to get to the point where i've got my park skis and powder skis with cast or shift and 1 pair of boots between them. and have my AT setup and boots. unless there's a better way to do it. If im buying a whole AT setup and boots, and a new powder ski/bindings, it'd be nice if i could still use my scarpas for the powder skis until i can afford a new boot for those.

There's so much new stuff coming out, and i'm honestly just super confused by it all. If anyone could point me in the right direction in terms of bindings, skis, boots, etc.. that would be awesome. if theres any AT skis/boots that would work for someone who likes soft, jibby, center-ish mounted etc.. that would be sweet.

 

[postal_slime]

so by no means am i an expert but i've done my research. I just pulled the trigger on an AT set-up I plan to use for most everything. I don't have all the money in the world so this would be my "nice" set up and keep my very used skis I've been on for park and the like.

I injured two months ago and spent just about everyday recovering on the couch, researching, googling, compiling everything i could find on gear. like i said, no expert but certainly have done my research. so, ask away? haha

For AT skis, I wanted to buy a ski that was playful for resort days. I ended up going with some Icelantic Nomad 105s (lite version) they're twin tips with a pretty good amount of rocker. I mounted at -4. other skis i looked at were 4frnt MSPs, moment meridian and deathwishes. after seeing dylan siggers new edit "that's life"...line sick days hahah. I was scared off by sick days being stated as "directional" but who knows. nomads and sick days have almost the same recommended mount point (-9cm?) which is super far back but thats okay.

For bindings, shifts were the only choice in my mind. for me, its an alpine binding I can essentially treat as "normal" for resort days with the ability to tour. no sacrifice in performance inbounds with a frame binding.

Boots. I have a few friends, and 2 that are primarily park skiers that ride technica cochise 120s. I almost bought those too, they're pretty solid boots. You say you like the ascendant, those are online at freeze pro shop for like $450...idk why or how but they're there for cheap so I'd cop them if FT works!

I went with Dalbello Lupo AX 120. Haven't skiied in them yet but i;m stoked. same 3 piece design as full tilt, slightly narrower last. they have alpine soles available which I bought so i can use this boot in my shitty resort beater skis, friends skis and my shift binding. they seemed like the best compromise.

 

[XtRemE11]

so by no means am i an expert but i've done my research. I just pulled the trigger on an AT set-up I plan to use for most everything. I don't have all the money in the world so this would be my "nice" set up and keep my very used skis I've been on for park and the like.

I injured two months ago and spent just about everyday recovering on the couch, researching, googling, compiling everything i could find on gear. like i said, no expert but certainly have done my research. so, ask away? haha

For AT skis, I wanted to buy a ski that was playful for resort days. I ended up going with some Icelantic Nomad 105s (lite version) they're twin tips with a pretty good amount of rocker. I mounted at -4. other skis i looked at were 4frnt MSPs, moment meridian and deathwishes. after seeing dylan siggers new edit "that's life"...line sick days hahah. I was scared off by sick days being stated as "directional" but who knows. nomads and sick days have almost the same recommended mount point (-9cm?) which is super far back but thats okay.

For bindings, shifts were the only choice in my mind. for me, its an alpine binding I can essentially treat as "normal" for resort days with the ability to tour. no sacrifice in performance inbounds with a frame binding.

Boots. I have a few friends, and 2 that are primarily park skiers that ride technica cochise 120s. I almost bought those too, they're pretty solid boots. You say you like the ascendant, those are online at freeze pro shop for like $450...idk why or how but they're there for cheap so I'd cop them if FT works!

I went with Dalbello Lupo AX 120. Haven't skiied in them yet but i;m stoked. same 3 piece design as full tilt, slightly narrower last. they have alpine soles available which I bought so i can use this boot in my shitty resort beater skis, friends skis and my shift binding. they seemed like the best compromise.

Sweet thanks dude! That seems like a really sick setup.

Since this setup will be my primary resort ski for everything but park, (probably some of that too) Im a little scared by the amount of plastic in the shift bindings, but their versatility just seems sooo good, and not having to deal with swapping out your toe pieces with the cast system would make life so much easier. I'm on the old cast system, the new one seems much better, but still, seems like you'd still run into the trouble of having to spend a lot of time clearing ice out of the way when swapping toe pieces.

I've done well with both dalbello's and full tilts, so i'm guessing either of those boots would work fine, for some reason my feet always got really cold in the dalbello's, that might sway me towards the ascendant.

Did you look into more touring specific stuff? thats the stuff i'm much more lost on. I could get by one more year with my cast system and scarpa's as my resort/backcountry ski, if i have to. But id really like to get a touring specific setup for long days/distance, so comfort and speed are gonna be much bigger factors.

I dont even know where to start, I'm picturing a waist over 95, closer to center mount, decent rocker, medium flex, but i dont know how that will do touring, and what light/fast skis out there would fit that description.

then the boots, the biggest factor for me I think will be that they're comfortable and warm for long days, and light, they still should ski decently well but they dont need to be able to charge super hard or anything, thats what the other setup is for. my feet are really wide, high arch, bunions, so getting them comfortable in boots is ridiculously hard, i can put up with the pain for resort, but i need to find something more roomy in the toe box, and overall more comfortable for this setup. and touring specific boots are something i know nothing about.

 

[postal_slime]

replying to bump. I’m not the best person to be answering this but i know the other guys who lurk the AT forum here will have way better insight.

my take on skis something cambered or with a larger effective edge. tons of skis are made within the “light” weight range, whether they are touring specific or not. you probably have room for compromise.

check this new article from blister:https://blisterreview.com/gear-reviews/2-ski-quivers-reviewers-selections-18-19

tech bindings:

heres a NS article i read awhile ago to first familiarize myself.
https://www.newschoolers.com/news/read/Intro-Tech-Bindings

--dynafit beast 14/16

a guy at the local mountaineering shop pointed me toward this one. the shop guy uses them, they’re cheap and solid. also said hoji shreds these. i think he mods them tho with more burly parts. nonetheless, if they work for hoji they will work for me…provided i actually land everything

--kingpins and fritschi tecton 12

tecton 12 has elastic travel. promising option. i found plenty of info on kingpin here on NS.

for boots, i just looked at what was available at the shops in town. my feet sound like the total opposite of yours. hopefully a good shop will have something they can make work

 

[gundo]

A few of my thoughts on this, not a ton of firsthand experience but I just did a bunch of research and shopping for my own setup.

- If you are going to get a two ski quiver with one being more long trip/uphill dedicated then getting two pairs of boots would be ideal. having a light boot for the uphill will be nice. That being said there are a few expensive lightweight burly boots on the market that you could make do with. Atomic hawk ultra comes to mind. Also Dalbello makes two touring boots(same as full tilt) so if you like full tilt you should check those out.

- I would steer away from the dynafit beast, I've heard a lot about how the release mechanism isn't reliable, that isn't a risk I would want to take. The Fritschi Tecton and marker kingpin are both plenty strong. Again with two setups I would put the tecton on the light uphill setup. I ended up going with the shift because I only have one pair of touring skis and wanted to ride them in the resort.

- Regarding planks, I have heard great things about the Black diamond helio series, they are pretty light and they make them in an 85, 95 and 105 width. For the uphill setup you are right about a good amount of camber being your friend, especially for long days where you might be up high and the snow conditions are a bit cold and slick.

 

[XtRemE11]

alright thanks! I'm pretty close to settling on my big chargy ski, will probably end up with the catamaran, yle, or ct 4.0. And i've pretty much decided on going with the shift bindings.

I think i can get by using my scarpas for awhile with those.

For the light ski's, im starting to think I should go for a little more capable ski than i originally thought, and more focusing on finding a light boot and fast skins. that way i can still use my scarpas/their replacement when i want to ski them hard, inbounds or whatever. what about something like the 4frnt raven, or maybe moment meridian or deathwish tour? I have a real hard time wanting something with camber.. I've always been a fan of full rocker, or at least minimal/flat camber underfoot, it just works really well for how i ski.

not sure how that would be for skinning in all conditions, but i'd think for breaking trail, moving around in fast snow, a full rocker ski would do fine and be pretty quick? just might struggle with grip on hardpack?

Originally i was thinking of going super light for the bindings, like a marker alpinist or g3 zed, but i'm almost wondering if i should just go with shifts for these too.. They're significantly heavier than something like the alpinist. but not much heavier at all than something more stout like a kingpin.

 

[gundo]

alright thanks! I'm pretty close to settling on my big chargy ski, will probably end up with the catamaran, yle, or ct 4.0. And i've pretty much decided on going with the shift bindings.

I think i can get by using my scarpas for awhile with those.

For the light ski's, im starting to think I should go for a little more capable ski than i originally thought, and more focusing on finding a light boot and fast skins. that way i can still use my scarpas/their replacement when i want to ski them hard, inbounds or whatever. what about something like the 4frnt raven, or maybe moment meridian or deathwish tour? I have a real hard time wanting something with camber.. I've always been a fan of full rocker, or at least minimal/flat camber underfoot, it just works really well for how i ski.

not sure how that would be for skinning in all conditions, but i'd think for breaking trail, moving around in fast snow, a full rocker ski would do fine and be pretty quick? just might struggle with grip on hardpack?

Originally i was thinking of going super light for the bindings, like a marker alpinist or g3 zed, but i'm almost wondering if i should just go with shifts for these too.. They're significantly heavier than something like the alpinist. but not much heavier at all than something more stout like a kingpin.

I actually ended up buying the deathwish tour for my setup, haven't skied it yet but i'm really excited about it overall.

 

[jesshotter1]

Heyo,

Ive been getting into a bit of the same these days and have a bunch of friends that have given me pretty good insight into heaps of gear lately.

As far as binding, a shift is probably the go if you want the best of both worlds. I have heard they can have icing up troubles because of so many moving parts and are a bit of a bugger to get adjusted initially. But all in all, I would go with those because you can reliably slay decent lines while you're out in the backcountry and you don't have to worry about possibly blowing a shoe or a knee.

I rock a tyrolia attack 14 inbounds and for a comp ski and really like the way the heel snaps in when you clip into your ski. if youre into pivots, then they're sweet too.

Dedicated touring binding that still rips...beast or kingpin probably

For a good all-round boot, Ive heard from a bunch of crew that the dalbello lupo is the jam for sure. You'll find that with lots of AT boots, they will be slightly more upright in the cuff and that can be a bit weird to get used to as far as initiating turns etc. Ive used the Lange XT 110 and had mates in the 130 and they've said its a soft 130 especially when its warm out. Honestly, it really comes down to the shape of your feet and calves. Theres no point in you throwing yourself into a specific boot if you're going to have nothing but problems trying to make it fit. Some plastics are way easier to work with and some have buckles and crap that get in the way of punching out specific spots.

If you're touring a lot and there are days when the snow is a bit harder, I would go for a ski that isn't fully rockered. (better grip going uphill)

Have you looked at line skis? They tend to be pretty good for jibby peeps. Dyl siggs said he loves the way they ski and he crushes on them.

 

[XtRemE11]

Heyo,

Ive been getting into a bit of the same these days and have a bunch of friends that have given me pretty good insight into heaps of gear lately.

As far as binding, a shift is probably the go if you want the best of both worlds. I have heard they can have icing up troubles because of so many moving parts and are a bit of a bugger to get adjusted initially. But all in all, I would go with those because you can reliably slay decent lines while you're out in the backcountry and you don't have to worry about possibly blowing a shoe or a knee.

I rock a tyrolia attack 14 inbounds and for a comp ski and really like the way the heel snaps in when you clip into your ski. if youre into pivots, then they're sweet too.

Dedicated touring binding that still rips...beast or kingpin probably

For a good all-round boot, Ive heard from a bunch of crew that the dalbello lupo is the jam for sure. You'll find that with lots of AT boots, they will be slightly more upright in the cuff and that can be a bit weird to get used to as far as initiating turns etc. Ive used the Lange XT 110 and had mates in the 130 and they've said its a soft 130 especially when its warm out. Honestly, it really comes down to the shape of your feet and calves. Theres no point in you throwing yourself into a specific boot if you're going to have nothing but problems trying to make it fit. Some plastics are way easier to work with and some have buckles and crap that get in the way of punching out specific spots.

If you're touring a lot and there are days when the snow is a bit harder, I would go for a ski that isn't fully rockered. (better grip going uphill)

Have you looked at line skis? They tend to be pretty good for jibby peeps. Dyl siggs said he loves the way they ski and he crushes on them.

Thanks, I'm totally set on the shifts for my big ski now, just need to buy some and get them mounted.

I had a big (for me) day yesterday, with my cast setup. the most transitioning i've done yet with it. I feel like i had my system down as well as you can in terms of transitioning quick but it was still painfully slow and clumsy. two instances where they got a little iced up and i spend a good 5 mins just trying to get tiny bits of ice off. luckily it was a warm calm day, that would be hell if it was super cold and windy.

What you said about initiating turns with touring boots, I feel like thats my issue with my scarpas. they're good at full speed when you can really open it up, but i wouldnt say any better than my medium-stiff flex park boots ive had. but for slow and medium speed stuff, where you need to pivot around, make some quick turns back to back, etc.. they're terrible. it feels like ive got no control initiating turns, its like your inputs dont transfer to the ski, even if you try to muscle it a lot. super weird feeling. I think the ascendent or lupo is gonna be the way to go.

I was trying to pay attention yesterday to how much i actually needed as capable of a ski as i was on, I dont think out of all 6 hours I skiied hard enough to use even half the potential of my setup, i just dont ski as hard and full blast as i do inbounds.

I think for my lighter setup, I could go pretty damn light. and boots wise really emphasize comfort/warmth. The ski needs to be easy to ski, pivot, initiate turns, etc. I can deal with a soft ski, washy tails etc.. when i decide to open it up.

I reeealy like the design of the raven's for that purpose, they're light, full rocker is awesome, only iffy part is how much the full rocker will hurt hardpack climbing. maybe i'll get 2 sets of skins for it, and just have a super grippy set for when its firm.

any other softer, light flat underfoot/rocker skis I could be looking at?

 

[cg.99]

Thanks, I'm totally set on the shifts for my big ski now, just need to buy some and get them mounted.

I had a big (for me) day yesterday, with my cast setup. the most transitioning i've done yet with it. I feel like i had my system down as well as you can in terms of transitioning quick but it was still painfully slow and clumsy. two instances where they got a little iced up and i spend a good 5 mins just trying to get tiny bits of ice off. luckily it was a warm calm day, that would be hell if it was super cold and windy.

What you said about initiating turns with touring boots, I feel like thats my issue with my scarpas. they're good at full speed when you can really open it up, but i wouldnt say any better than my medium-stiff flex park boots ive had. but for slow and medium speed stuff, where you need to pivot around, make some quick turns back to back, etc.. they're terrible. it feels like ive got no control initiating turns, its like your inputs dont transfer to the ski, even if you try to muscle it a lot. super weird feeling. I think the ascendent or lupo is gonna be the way to go.

I was trying to pay attention yesterday to how much i actually needed as capable of a ski as i was on, I dont think out of all 6 hours I skiied hard enough to use even half the potential of my setup, i just dont ski as hard and full blast as i do inbounds.

I think for my lighter setup, I could go pretty damn light. and boots wise really emphasize comfort/warmth. The ski needs to be easy to ski, pivot, initiate turns, etc. I can deal with a soft ski, washy tails etc.. when i decide to open it up.

I reeealy like the design of the raven's for that purpose, they're light, full rocker is awesome, only iffy part is how much the full rocker will hurt hardpack climbing. maybe i'll get 2 sets of skins for it, and just have a super grippy set for when its firm.

any other softer, light flat underfoot/rocker skis I could be looking at?

Im gonna be honest, I am a huge j skis fanboy, but the vacations seem like something for what you are looking for. They are 104 underfoot, have a stupid amount of rocker, and are pretty light. They would more seem to fit a one ski quiver, for what you are looking for they seem like they would get the job done

 

[NigelStein]

I've got this years Meridian Tours. No issues skinning up refrozen mank conditions. Not uber light, but light enough with a