For years, backcountry skiers have sought the holy grail of backcountry ski gear: Skis that are extremely lightweight and perform flawlessly in any terrain/condition. Boots that tour with the comfort, warmth and weight savings of a tele boot, and are stiff enough to drive any pair of skis. Bindings that are strong enough to survive cliff hucks and weigh next to nothing. Each year, through the introduction of new designs and materials, we get one step closer. After several years of testing multiple setups, I decided to take full advantage of the latest technological improvements in backcountry ski gear. In order to bank roll this project, I unloaded the following:A. 159cm Sims Snowboard + Burton Boots + Ride LS bindings (really heavy)
B. 177cm Atomic Kongur skis + Fritchi Freeride bindings + Garmont Endorphin Mg boots (est combined weight: 21.4 lbs)
C. 178 cm Karhu Kondor skis + Riva tele bindings + Scarpa T3 tele boots (est combined weight: 13.2 lbs)
When putting together my new AT setup, the bindings were the easiest choice. Dynafit recently came out with a DIN 12 binding (the F12) that weighs around 500g per binding. Sold.
My choice of skis was a bit more difficult. As a ski mountaineer who is very focused on weight savings and uphill performance, I decided to go with Karhu’s XCD 10th Mountain Ski. It’s a very lightweight backcountry ski that has Karhu’s Omnitrack waxless base for superior touring performance on flat/rolling surfaces. The waxless “fishscale” bases allow the skis to glide much better than skins (which add both friction and weight). Skins will still be required for steeper ascents where better traction is needed.
Finally, after trying on a half dozen different Dynafit compatible AT boots, I chose Garmont’s Mega Ride as my boot of choice. Even with my thick Scarpa Intuition liners, all Scarpa and Dynafit boots were too wide for my skinny feet and therefore disqualified as potential contenders. If Scarpa had been an option, the F3 would have tempted me based on weight, comfort and touring performance. The final two contenders were the Garmont Mega Ride and the Garmont Mega Lite. The Mega Lite weighs 230 (or so) grams less, but lacks a 4th buckle (which could come in handy on more difficult descents). A great deal + the 4th buckle convinced me to choose the Mega Rides. I’m hoping that the Mega Rides + Scarpa Intuition liners + carbon fiber orthotics will meet my requirements for comfort and touring performance over time.
In summary, my new AT setup weighs around 14.9 lbs. That’s 6.5 lbs (or 30%) lighter than my previous AT setup and only 1.7 lbs heavier than my already bare bones tele setup.
Since weight is of no consequence at the resort, I decided to hang on to my very heavy/very sturdy double-edged 177 cm Volkl Super Speed Supersport skis for skiing the groomers in style at mach 2. My new setup is headed to the shop for mounting. I’ll post a review/pictures of the new setup after I’ve put it through a few tests.
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