EarnYourTurns » Gear

Preview: Elan Adrenaline AT Binding

B.Litz — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:36:54 +0000

Elan/Head's Adrenaline
MSRP: $525 • Weight: 5 lbs., 13.5 oz. (2650 g)

Hot on the heels of Marker’s Duke revamp and Salomon/Atomic’s new AT binding comes the Adrenaline, yet another AT binding where beef is the obsession, not weight. Designed and built by storied Austrian binding manufacturer, Tyrolia, the Adrenaline with be sold under both the Head and Elan marques.

Utterly few and far between at this stage of the game stateside, both the Head (red plastic highlights) and Elan (green plastic highlights) versions were on display during the recent SIA show. The operative word here being “on display” as none were available for actual testing. The samples did give an indication though of what we can expect from the binding.

Elan Adrenaline will work with most alpine and AT boots.

Being the offspring of an alpine binding company it comes as no surprise that the Adrenaline takes aim at the free-ride sidecountry crowd, with an emphasis on downhill performance, a wide stance for driving today’s fat skis, true step-in ease of entry, and high maximum DIN settings — plus a free-pivot for skinning back from harvesting freshies out-of-bounds. Weight-wise, the Adrenalines will be competitive with the Duke and Guardian/Tracker. With a stated weight of 5 lbs., 13.5 oz. (2650 grams) per pair they will not be vying for a place on the feet of the minimalist light ‘n’ fast tourers and rando-racers — nor were they designed to.

Like other air-worthy backcountry bindings, the Adrenaline will accept all modern alpine boots and the vast majority of alpine touring boots on the market, but not all. Older-generation Dynafit TLT4-type boots, with their tightly cropped toes are not compatible with any non-Tech bindings.

Per Tyrolia’s marketing material, Adrenaline’s key attributes include:

Tool-less length adjustment and two heights of climbing peg (7° shown).

Estimated street price: $449.00
Two versions (DIN 13 and 16) each coming in two lengths: 270-330mm and 300-360mm (BSL).
Switch between ski and walk mode without exiting the binding – mode switch fully operational with a ski pole.
Lightweight Titanal reinforcements throughout binding.
Fiberglass reinforced polymer “plate”.
Toe height said to be lower than a Duke – no definitive numbers on this yet.
Adjustable toe height for alpine and AT boots.

True 90° range of free-pivot touring motion with fiberglass reinfoced polymer baseplate.

Wide 70mm anti-friction device for constant release values when used with AT boots.
True 90° range of motion (see pic).
71mm wide Titanal toe mounting plate.
80mm wide rear Titanal track/mounting plate for enhanced stability, especially on wider skis.
Tool-less, 60mm length adjustment.
Low tension “double-hinged” rear heel piece for easy non-emergency egress from the binding.
Freeflex design minimizes ski dead spot under boot/binding.
Four brake widths (88mm, 97mm, 115mm, 130mm).
Three climbing heights — 0°, 7°, 13°.
Wide-set climbing post set directly under the heel for stability and “effective force transmission”.
Dampened with rubber fittings.
Anodized aluminum crampons in three crampon widths (90mm, 105mm, 120mm).
Stated weight: 2650 grams/5 lbs., 13.5 oz.

Of course a preview is just that, a preview, and not a predictor of the efficaciousness of a product’s engineering and durability. However the Adrenaline, at first fondle, appears to be a thoughtful and well-engineered freshman entry into the modern world of alpine touring bindings though one best suited for fit backcountry skiers, sidecountry excursions, and for skiers wanting one binding that can ski just like an alpine binding for day-in/day-out resort riding as well as off-piste adventures. Of course only time, and some real usage, will tell whether the Adrenaline is in line to succeed the Duke, or, if it will remain merely a pretender to the throne.

A final note: There were a few discrepancies in the information provided by Elan and Tyrolia. This includes the fact that Tyrolia is claiming two separate DIN-range bindings, one DIN 5—16 and one DIN 3.5—13. Elan on the other hand spoke of only one binding with a DIN 5—16 range. This is just one of those situations where the bindings samples, and support materials, were so fresh that the folks at both companies were still getting a grip on all facets of the new bindings. We’ll certainly stay on this stuff until we get it all sussed out.

Preview: The Dozer™ – New BCA Shovel

Dostie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:58:32 +0000

BCA's Dozer™. Human Hoe would be more accurate, but not as PC.

One of the best new products introduced at the recent Outdoor Retailer Winter show was The Dozer™, a new shovel from BCA. They wanted to call it the Hoeback, but didn’t think the association with Jackson Hole’s classic Hoeback runs would survive the translation across the Atlantic.

The Dozer™ is only the third snow shovel that converts into a backcountry hoe for excavating large amounts of snow quickly, because it reduces shoveling from a three step process, to only two. So says Bruce Edgerly, BCA’s VP of Sales and Marketing. He’s right.

A normal shoveling operation requires driving the blade into the snow for the first step, then lifting it up for step two, and finally, taking a third step to toss it. When you’re using it like a hoe, you first swing the blade in to grab hold of the snow, then pull it sideways in a stroke that simultaneously tosses the snow backwards. It allows you to move more snow, faster — waaay faster. In effect, it allows you to become a human backhoe, efficiently scooping and throwing snow in a what can become a repetitive windmill like motion that moves snow with relentless, machine like efficiency.

So far, the only other light weight aluminum shovels that do this are K2′s Rescue Shovel Plus, and the Kodiak by Ortovox. The Dozer™ looks fairly beefy, thanks to an ovalized shaft and a solid T-style handle that doubles as the critical right angle to transform a straight shovel into an angled hoe blade. One side of the T-handle goes into the ferrel welded to the backbone ridge of the blade. The other acts as a horn to place one hand on for steadying the blade as you pull the snow. A small rubber sleeve at the opposite end of the shaft provides a small hook so that you won’t lose your grip at the far end of the shaft. The blade is not only heat treated, but also “coined” for greater strength and rigidity.

In truth I’m not looking forward to ‘testing’ this shovel. Shoveling is a load of work. But I’m confident once I put it through the paces on one of the more common test pieces available in Truckee — a berm of frozen slush blocking me in to my driveway, courtesy of the local plowman — the Dozer™ will make short work of that impasse thanks to its hoe function. That and my trusty HS928.

Backcountry Access
The Dozer™
MSRP: $79.95
Weight: 33 oz. (936 g)
Blade Dimensions: 10″ x 11″ (25 x 28 cm)
Handle+Shaft Dimensions: 18½” (47 cm)
Assembled Length (Hoe mode): 24.6″ (62.6 cm)
Assembled Length (straight): 31.9″ (81.1 cm)

Related Posts:
Strategic Shoveling: Human Snow Conveyor
Ortovox Kodiak Review

First Look: Rottefella’s NTN Freedom

Dostie — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:27:06 +0000

Decision time can be a nail biting experience. At what point do you go ahead and make the plunge? When it’s time for a new binding or boot the question on the table is whether to stick with the duckbill (75mm) or switch to a duckbutt (NTN).

Getting off on the right foot with NTN Freedom.

Since its introduction in 2007 telemarkers are slowly being magnetized by the power and control that NTN provides. Those who spend most days burning turns have already fallen under the spell of NTN. With the announcement that the Freedom binding will have touring performance on par with 75mm offerings, NTN has even more appeal.

Telemarkers who earn more than they burn have been holding out for better uphill performance, at least 50° worth. Rottefella claims 90° but they’re talking about the range of motion possible at your knee, which is a combination of the range of motion of the toe plate, plus the flex of your sole, ankle, and knee. Based on a photo of a boot pivoted forward while in tour mode the ROM of the NTN Freedom is at least 50°. It may not be record setting, but 50° is plenty for making jack-knife sharp kick turns when you need them.

A solid 50° ROM is plenty for long strides and tight kick turns.

Like its predecessor the Freeride, there remains a light amount of tension while touring with the Freedom. Even though the pivot is not frictionless, it has way less resistance than when the toe is locked. If you’re just heading up a skin track, it is difficult to even notice. When you want to make a tight switchback, that resistance means you need to snap the tail of the ski just right, and with enough force to overcome the light tension to get the tips to come up. It isn’t anything a bit of practice can’t cure, unless you’re too lazy to learn.

Members of the backcountry media 'test' the tourability of the Freedom binding at Solitude ski resort before the lifts open.

That light resistance feels like a lot when you lift the toe plate with your hands in tour mode, but you can hardly feel it with your legs. There will, however, be a few other consequences to this. Firstly, ski tips will not float to the surface in super light fluff. This will be more evident the lighter the snow is, and less obvious as snow density increases, or the width of your ski increases. Also, that minor tension may take a toll on a big vertical day, sapping strength slowly but surely. However the good news is that light tension will allow you to do a side-stepping motion on a traverse without the tails of your skis dropping your way. For the majority of days and conditions though, the light resistance is an acceptable compromise to enjoy the many other benefits that NTN offers.

When I finally had a chance to handle the binding one of my concerns was that you would need to bend over to pull on the pink tab to put it in touring mode. Indeed, you can, but there’s really no need. To flip it in to tour mode, flip up the front lever with the ledge of your ski pole handle. This will release the clamp on the 2nd heel, but as it releases the cable tension in the binding it also causes the mode switch to pop up. With it accordioned up you can toggle the front lever back down leaving your boot clamped to the binding, but in touring mode. An easy maneuver, and you don’t need to bend over either.

Rottefella's Freedom will have two plate sizes.

To get the total weight under 3½ pounds and keep Rottefella’s touring mechanism – a design first seen on the Cobra Free and used with the NTN Freeride – required some serious rethinking. At a certain point weight does make a serious difference, and four pounds, while bearable, is pushing the limits of reasonable weight for a touring binding.

So Rottefella went back to the drawing board, so to speak.

Metal was pared back where ever possible, from skeletonizing the front lever to flat out eliminating the binding frame and mounting plate. I realized the necessity of the binding frame was questionable when I bent about four of them during a test for Backcountry magazine in 2008. They iced up on to the mounting plate and the plates were binding on the heads of the mounting screws. Since I didn’t have a hammer, I tried kicking them off and bent the frames in the process. Andrew McLean had big fun documenting that. After rebending ‘em with pliers they survived the rest of the test.

Current NTN customers will complain about the loss of the mounting plate but it simply had to go to keep the weight down. In addition the mounting pattern was changed from a 4-hole to a 6-hole pattern. This same 6-hole pattern will be adopted on future mounting plates for the NTN Freeride to make swapping bindings possible without drilling new holes, but swapping bindings between Freedom and Freeride won’t be easy.

Overall entrance and exit to the binding is the same as the NTN Freeride. It’s fast and easy, maybe even easier than the Freeride version.

How does it feel when arcing? . . . Like an NTN binding.

On an early morning tour at the recent Outdoor Retailer On-Snow Demo day Rottefella reps took pains to explain that the Freedom wasn’t as powerful, torsionally rigid, or as quick to respond as the Freeride. That may be true, but in two quick runs on scrappy hardpack the difference was hard to tell, even though I compared the two bindings side by side for half a run. My experience suggests the Freedom delivers powerful yet soulfully deep tele turns, and holds a solid edge on hardpack. For reference I was skiing in TX-Pro boots with blue springs at level 3 (out of 5).

Let freedom ring! Rottefella drops weight, adds more range of motion for better touring.

It is worth mentioning that not everyone in the media group was enamored with how NTN skied. Then again, I remember having to make adjustments to my telemark style when first converting from leather to plastic, and again from 75mm to NTN. Thus, the basic ‘feel’ of the Freedom binding is very similar to the Freeride and will require some technique adjustment if you’re coming directly from a 75mm cable binding.

I would be remiss if I overlooked one of the more compelling features of NTN — the release system. When the heel is flat it offers a safety release based on the tension of the clamping cable. It isn’t DIN rated or TUV certified, but it does seem to work. Plus, I’ll keep saying it, it has a quick release that could make it easy to jettison those skis on command if you’re riding a rumbling slab of doom. Just pull up on the front lever and your binding opens up and you get to say bye bye to those anchors formerly known as skis. This move ought to help you stay on top – but no guarantees.

Rottefella's NTN Freedom • 3 lbs., 4 oz./pair (1468 g/pr) • MSRP: $429 USD

Overall my first impression is that Rottefella has finally delivered a binding that not only provides powerful turns, safety release, convenient entrance and exit from the binding, and brakes, but now it comes with a touring feature that isn’t limited by a less than adequate range of motion. Rottefella is even planning to offer crampons to go with the Freedom binding. If you’ve been waiting for the promise of NTN to be fulfilled, there isn’t much reason to sit on the fence any longer, but you will have to wait until Fall 2012.

Preview: G3 Enzo

Dostie — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:30:18 +0000

Back in August, 2011 it was hinted that there were three new bindings to be introduced in the winter of 2012. Well it’s Winter 2012 and Rottefella’s Freedom is old news. A second binding I was referring to was the TTS binding, which, theoretically will have enough modifications to it to make it “new” from the standpoint of revised components and improved adjustability.

G3's Enzo • 3lbs. 13 oz./pair (1734 g/pr) • $289

The one nobody caught wind of until after Christmas was Enzo, G3′s return to the tele market. On first look Enzo appears to be a synthesis of numerous bindings already on the market.

The most obvious is the duplication of 22 Design’s cable configuration. There are a few noticeable differences like a different spring housing, regular compression springs instead of flat-wire springs, and a yoke of solid wire around the heel instead of braided cable, but that’s window dressing on the same basic design.

Then there is the toe plate which is reminiscent of the wrap-around design Voile uses with their Switchback — it’s rather immune to snow packing underneath. The same concept is also found in the Burnt Mountain Designs Tele Bulldog and Lite Dogz.

The mode switch is a combination of Black Diamond’s simple push-button switch that you toggle for touring or turning with a ski pole. At the back of the toe-plate, two prongs extend from inside a sealed toe riser to hold down a rear spreader bar, just like Voile’s Switchback.

With all those ingredients G3′s Enzo has a lot to like about it. Easy mode switching, adjustable power and lots of it, plus leagues of theoretical improvement over the Targa Icent to prevent icing up.

And what’s with the name? There’s always a story behind G3′s product names. Does the Enzo merely signify the end of new ideas for 75mm telemark, where the only changes possible are a rearrangement of the pieces? Or does it have something to do with Lorenzo? It will be interesting to see the marketing story on that one.

Preview: Marker Duke upgrade for 12/13

Dostie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:23:36 +0000

New colors on the The Duke signify a wider, stronger frame for more power.

It’s no secret that Marker’s Duke has dominated binding sales for young and aggressive backcountry skiers since it was first introduced in 2007. It now has three siblings, the equally capable Baron with a DIN rating of only 12, plus the more tour friendly F12 and F10.

Not content to sit on their laurels, especially now that Salomon has woken to the potential in the backcountry with their own version of a huck-worthy backcountry binder the Duke gets a face lift for next year, and a wider foundation for transferring even more power to the edges of today’s super fat skis.

To be more specific, the Duke’s new Extended Power Frame Chassis will be 88mm wide, a stunning 28% wider. Refinements to the heel and toe dimensions not only make the binding sleeker, but lighter too, although it still tips the scales at just over six pounds per pair. The Baron and the rest of the touring family from Marker remain essentially unchanged for next year.

Preview: Lange XT for BC

Dostie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:21:07 +0000

Lange enters the backcountry with the XT

Even Lange is joining the backcountry next year with their announcement of the XT boot. To which I can only say, sheesh, what took you so long? My very first pair of boots in the backcountry were Langes paired with Ramer bindings. That may have been why I had such a favorable impression of Ramer’s, because I had such good boots for downhill performance.

Ask almost anyone who is first getting in to the backcountry, especially if they’re a young ripper, and they’ll make it clear they’re only hiking for the turns. For them it’s totally about the down. Alpine companies are obviously waking up to that, but Lange, it seems, has been very slow to join the club.

A V-Lock switch frees the cuff.

The XT has all the basic features you would expect in a randonnee boot, like a cuff that locks forward at ~20° but releases for walking comfort. The cuff buckles have a touring latch that allows the buckles to open wide but not let go. No tech fittings yet and hopefully Lange won’t drag their feet in seeing the value of adding those to future offerings. In the meantime, the boot at least has lugged soles for grip while scrambling over talus.

The biggest thing Lange is potentially offering with the XT is the classic Lange fit which translates in to superior control and power. The jury is out on that last feature, but theoretically the promise is there with a shell stiffness rating of 130 and Lange’s reputation for fit. It’s been over 25 years since I last wore Lange boots but at least their posters still suggest they are the ultimate in comfort.

Review: A closer look at Hammerhead (beta)

Dostie — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:29:56 +0000

Rerun: This article first appeared on Couloir Online 08aug01

Rainey Designs beta program delivers major improvements

The Hammerhead increases control for 21st century plastic boots to the same degree that the SuperLoop or Voile 3-pin cable did for leather boots back in the day. Which means the Hammerhead must be doing something dramatically different than other bindings. It is. The key elements are a 6 inch spring with a full two inches of travel (so you can’t bottom it out) and a cable that’s routed underfoot.

The original Hammerhead, circa 2001, that changed telemarks perception of itself.

In a nutshell, performance was improved over the beta version at either end of the tension scale. In high tension mode, the spring was softer, allowing it to engage more progressively. By comparison, the beta version kicked in pretty hard. Then, at the touring end, the new Hammerhead provides gobs more freedom in the heel for easier uphill skinning.

Perhaps the biggest testimonial on how the Hammerhead can improve your telemark technique was witnessed during recent tests on Mt. Hood. Jeremy, a Portland local, was having a tough time weighting his rear foot on his 2nd day ever tele’ing. After locking into a pair of Hammerheads his trailing foot was no longer precariously trolling for snow snakes several feet behind while his arms flailed wildly attempting to gain control. Instead his rear foot was only a foot behind and, unlike before, he was clearly able to hold an edge with the rear ski. While not in perfect position (c’mon, it was only his 2nd day), his arms ceased to flail wildly as well. Now imagine adding a Hammerhead to your finely honed technique.

Not everyone will appreciate the way, or degree to which it increases control. If you prefer a neutral feel, you might consider it too much. However, Rainey maintains his tradition of adjustable pivot points, so you can easily achieve a neutral feel.

The Hammerhead does more than deliver downhill power. Backcountry skiers will be grateful for the attention given to ease of adjustment, the reduction of rocker launch, and most importantly, the ability to adjust the pivot points for a truly free heel touring experience (note: this was before free pivoting tele bindings). Adjusting tension is as simple as spinning the spring-like cable sheath between the cable spreader and the heel yoke. For major changes in tension, push the button on the cable guides and move ‘em forward for less, back for more. For that true, free heel feeling alluded to above, you can completely remove the cable guides. It should also be noted that cutting the cable will be near impossible because it is routed inside the protective armor of the toe plate, not outside it.

We do have a few concerns about the Hammerhead, notably its long term durability in regard to its ability to stay attached to a ski (it creates more force, hence more force to rip them out), the longevity of the cable guide push pins, and snow buildup. Despite that, we must confess that analytically the Hammerhead appears rather bombproof. We will however, emphasize our caution until time proves otherwise.

Rainey Designs
Hammerhead
Weight/pair: 34oz
Price: $200.00
Options: Climbing Bails, Ski Crampons

Hammerhead Beta Program Breaks Ground

Breaking new ground is standard fare for Russell Rainey. Having been through 10 years of trying to make the SuperLoop break proof, Rainey decided that was way too long to develop a solid product. Those who broke their SuperLoops agree, and unfortunately lots of telemarkers with a scared past are slow to forgive. Many blame manufacturers for “testing” their product on the consumer.

So Rainey decided to turn the tables. Rather than trying to respond to consumer complaints with annual upgrades, he decided to reverse the classically cynical sales mantra, “sell, then tell”, and tell his customers up front that if they bought the first 300 pairs of his new binding, the Hammerhead, they would be participating in a beta test program.

Lots of folks scoffed, but it makes sense. In larger industries with larger customer bases it is a simple procedure to get a large customer sample to prove product concepts, work out bugs, and refine them before taking them public as a finished product. The problem with the telemark industry is that the available number of testers that manufacturers will trust is typically small. They are only willing to work with those on the inside circle. The boldness of Rainey’s move was to open up and work with his customers.

From the revisions evident in the production version of the Hammerhead, it appears to have paid off. Rather than working with a group of insiders, Rainey opened up the field and got real feedback from real people who were willing to gamble $200 bucks that the Hammerhead was better than any other telemark binding. Unlike inside testers, they had something at stake and were intent on getting their money’s worth.

Now that the production version is refined enough to start selling, Rainey is confident enough to kick in the second part of his beta program. Everyone who paid their entrance fee to be on the Hammerhead test team will receive a completely new pair of Hammerheads. For those who laughed about the beta testers getting stuck with a premature product, it appears the testers are having the last laugh at everyone who didn’t get in on the program.

Furthermore, Rainey has said that he will provide the beta test team with whatever functional upgrades are developed as a result of this first year’s lessons. He’s banking on the fact that the number of significant changes between the beta and production version of the Hammerhead equated to about five years of development time by the old method of responding to customer complaints. That should mean there aren’t many more to go before it can’t be fixed anymore without developing a totally new product.

Telemark bindings as a whole come up short compared to randonnée on several counts. Now that boot design has stabilized consumers will be impatient to see the rest of the backcountry features absent from the telemark equation filled in. It would seem that adoption of this sort of Beta test program might speed things up. It might not either. The market will be watching the success or failure of the Hammerhead very closely for more than one reason. Stay tuned.

Look for more insight on this and many other bindings, plus an in-depth look at the direction telemark bindings are headed in the October 2001 issue of Couloir Magazine (shipped mid-September to subscribers).

Note: This article first appeared at Couloir Online 08aug01

Preview: TNF Patrol 24 (ABS Pack)

Dostie — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:28:02 +0000

The North Face's Patrol 24. Dual airbags with the ABS system for a cool $999.

The North Face will be entering the avalanche airbag market next season with two products, a 24 liter pack and a vest. Aside from staying home, airbag packs are the most reliable way to avoid being buried in an avalanche with a 97% survival rate. The North Face’s interest in the product stems from their team of athletes. TNF pro snowboarder Xavier de la Rue was caught in an avalanche and survived a 2,000-plus foot ride thanks to use of an ABS pack.

The first pack delivered will be the Patrol 24, a 24 liter pack built around the life saving system using dual airbags and a pyrotechnic trigger pioneered and perfected by ABS of Germany. Fabric for the pack will be a durable 315 denier Cordura® with an avalanche tools pocket and organizational sleeves inside, plus a simple tuck-away ski/board carry system. The quick deploying airbags will be made from Bombastic™ nylon, similar to that used in auto airbags.

Total weight for the Patrol 24 is targeted at 6 lbs. 9 oz. (~ 3 kg). This will include a new cartridge developed by The North Face which is even lighter than the carbon-fiber cartridge developed by ABS.

Still under development is an airbag style vest. The vest will have several utility pockets designed with ski patrollers in mind, as well as a small sleeve for tools like a shovel and avalanche probe. No word yet on the cost.

This announcement by The North Face is important for a couple of reasons. The most obvious is that the marketing clout of one of the outdoor industries largest companies is now building and promoting a life-saving product for backcountry aficionados, whether they earn their turns with sweat, pay for a heli ride, or burn petrol for their freshies. More importantly, by adopting the ABS system The North Face will be instrumental in overcoming the restrictions to traveling or shipping the cartridges that trigger with a small explosive device.

In the paranoid states of America if a device is known to be explosive it is automatically considered dangerous. A legal loophole already exists per the IATA (International Air Transport Association) to allow flying with an ABS pack, but few TSA agents are aware of the exception. With The North Face actively promoting a product that uses the ABS pyrotechnic trigger they will necessarily be pro active in not only raising awareness of the legality of flying with ABS packs, but could be instrumental in lobbying for more realistic guidelines. This writer hopes they won’t use that influence to have the rules rewritten to give them an unfair competitive advantage with regard to avalanche airbag system technology.

The North Face
Patrol 24
MSRP: $999
Weight: 6 lbs., 9 oz. (3 kg)
Sizes: S-M, M-L
Airbag System: Dual Airbag ABS system

Preview: Garmont’s Power-Lite AT Boot Series

Dostie — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:11:49 +0000

Garmont Cosmos • $700 • 1450g/boot
EZ Fit Liner • Sizes: 25 - 31.5 (mondo)

Garmont will be introducing a new series of Alpine Touring boots for next season aimed at true backcountry skiers, the kind who demand high performance going down and uphill. Four models will be available, the 4-buckle Cosmos and Celeste, along with the 3-buckle Orbit and Nova boots (mens and women’s respectively).

Most of the features listed in the press release indicate this is the sort of progression in design and functionality you would expect. Garmont did a bang-up job of recognizing early on that to pull more people out-of-bounds they had to provide downhill performance on par with resort boots. Weight was a key component to acceptance of these boots, as exhibited by their Delerium.

With the introduction of the Radium though, Garmont signaled they hadn’t abandoned core turn earning skiers and they up the ante with the Cosmos and Orbit in the Power-Lite series. Borrowing elements from their welter weight Alpine Lite series, the shells will be built from Grilamid, a thinner and lighter but stronger PU based plastic. Overall stiffness of the shell is rated at 125, meaning it isn’t the stiffest boot on the market, but it’s hardly soft.

Garmont's Orbit/Nova: Specs MIA, but lighter and less expensive than Cosmos/Celeste.

The EZ Fit Liners will come pre-shaped to placate those who insist on their boots fitting well out of the box without the benefit of thermo-molding. The liners remain moldable for those who know better.

Weight is in the mid-range, not so light that it compromises confidence, but light enough that it saves energy on the climb.

Where these boots really improve the touring side of the equation though is with a cuff that delivers a 60° range of motion in walk mode. Key to this claim is a patent-pending dual-hinge system that allows the cuff and locking bar to both pivot, allowing uninhibited motion throughout the full 60°. All other boots provide increasing resistance as you approach their limits.

Prior to Garmont’s new Power-Lite series, if you wanted that much range of motion in the cuff for touring you needed to use a rando-race boot and accept some loss of downhill control. I can’t wait to see this cuff system proved out and get incorporated in the Voodoo, Prophet, and Kenai.

Review: Black Diamond Aspect Ski

Dostie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:53:16 +0000

For the turn happy skier Black Diamond’s Aspect ski makes an easy first impression. There’s a lot of shape compared to many of today’s moderately curved skis as evidenced by a wide 126 mm at the shovel, but only 90mm at the waist.

Black Diamond Aspect - Won't weigh you down or knock you up.

Whether it’s delicious powder, velvety corn, even soft chunder and day-old funk the Aspect likes to make short, rounded turns. It does okay with medium radius turns as well, and can be made to run straight but it prefers to keep turning. That same 126mm early rise tip that makes for quick turn engagement also makes it act like a much wider ski than you would expect.

Considering its overall surface area it is surprisingly, noticeably light. This makes it a delight on the skin track where the slight early rise tip helps with breaking trail, perhaps even more obvious than how it helps the ski rise above the junk in cut up conditions.

Although the Aspect can hold a decent edge on hardpack if you just need to hold on, at speed it gets a bit chattery. I guess there are simply some limitations that can’t be overcome in a light ski, but may be acceptable compared to a relentless weight penalty.

As a sub-100mm waisted ski the Aspect isn’t getting a whole lot of attention from the larger ski world. If you recognize the value of a not too wide ski for earning turns, you’ll appreciate what the Aspect provides. And, a word to the wise, if that appeals to you, get ‘em while you can.

Black Diamond Equipment
Aspect
MSRP: $629
Dimensions: 126-90-114 mm
Lengths available: 156, 166, 176, 184 cm
Weight: 2.47 kg, 5 lb 7 oz (156 cm)
2.69 kg, 5 lb 15 oz (166 cm)
3.00 kg, 6 lb 10 oz (176 cm)
3.23 kg, 7 lb 2 oz (186 cm)