Tag: splitboard

First Look: Spark R&D Dyno hardboot binding

The vast majority of snowboarders prefer soft boots for the same reason I prefer tele boots over alpine boots — comfort. Unfortunately when you need mountaineering versatility soft boots don’t perform the way hard plastic boots do. True, hard plastic boots don’t perform in soft snow the way soft boots can, and soft snow is …

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G3 Expands Climbing Skin Connections

  When it comes to climbing skins it’s important to be mentally prepared to split hairs when it comes to differences. Which is another way to say that if you’re new to the sport of backcountry skiing, don’t worry about who makes the best climbing skins, just get a pair. You need to get some …

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Review: Voile Light Rail binding

First Impression The first thing you notice when pulling these bindings out of the box is how slick they look and lightweight yet solid feeling. All the moving parts articulate smoothly and feel nice n’ snug. These bindings get seriously light by reducing the baseplate down to mere bones. Sizing & Adjustments The bindings I …

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Skiing down, tele up? Sifting through SIA’s data.

  The latest Participation Report from SIA indicates a few trends you might expect, and one that continues to confound the free heel faithful. As you would expect after two years in a row with below normal snow levels participation in skiing was down this last year, but only by 2% according to the SIA …

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Review: Spark R&D resurrects Verts™

So it was a revolutionary moment when Paul Ramer sent me a pair of his Assault Snowshoes – an oval shaped platter of stamped aluminum with cookie cutter edges. As usual I thought it was a kooky idea, but as with his Ramer Classic alpine touring bindings, their beauty was only visible after experiencing their performance.