Backcountry touring

it depends on if youd like a touring ski or something like that. usually touring skis are fairly light. you need trekkers or fritschis and yes skins can work on twin tips..check backcountry.com they should have some

plus one of the best touring ski was the pocket rocket

your mom was one of the best touring skis on the market...shut up. the pocket rocket is only good for 85 year old geriatrics who cant handle hardpack.


now if you want to go into the bc, any ski (twin tip or non)will pretty much work, but you need the aforementioned AT bindings (i recommend the aforementioned Fritschi Freerides if you want them with brakes, and Silverettas if you dont want brakes), a pair of skins (Black Diamond is the only way to go), and a willingness to put your legs to some serious work. i use a pair of scratchs with my fritschis and they work great. i can land forwards or backwards in just about any depth of snow, plus huck cliffs, and they hold tight. dont be a wanker and ski with them in bounds tho. get a pair of skis that are just your backcountry use, and get a pair that are just the resort use.

bump

I'm 6 foot 180 lbs and I ride my 185 ARV's with Naxo binders... they work great... I've dropped cliffs up to 30 feet on this setup... I've heard that the fritchi binders break easier

I think my new set up will be ARVs w/ Fritchi Freerides. My bindings that I have on my Crossbows havent broken, and Ive given them a bit of a beating for a few years now.

Gotamas w/ Naxos are a pretty popular combo here. Some people might go for a lighter ski tho. The Freerides are a dope binding too.

A guy PI worked with last year skied Pistols with Freerides.

ive seen a few pistol/freeride setups before, the ones i talked to said they dug it a lot.....freerides kick ass is all i can say, i love mine.

There are a few words of wisdom here.

It's true that any ski will work. But since it's the backcountry, you will - presumably - want a fatter ski for all the pow you are going to ride.

It's also true that Black Diamond makes skins. Yes, they are good but so are G3 and Backcountry Access. It doesn't matter which brand you buy, just get 'em fat enough to fit your ski and pay attention to the tip/tail attachment. You'll want a very secure attachment at the tip of your ski.

DO NOT get Silverettas. That would be dumb.

The only two bindings to consider are the Fritschi Freeride or the BCA Naxo 21. Which one is better? The one that you find on sale. Both work equally well and I've skied both extensively.

If the cost of the above bindings is too steep and you are truly worried about retention, skip the bindings and go with the somewhat awkward to use BCA Alpine Trekker system, a hinged device that works with your existing set-up. You put 'em in your pack for the ride down and they save you $$$ while adding weight. But you can use Salomons or whatever standard alpine binding you trust.

it can be dificult to get the tail clip on skins to stay n a twintip, however it can be done, for skins go BCA, G3, or BD. as for bindings I would go with the NAXO on this one, but the fritschi models are also good.  Your choce also should depend on what you are going to use the AT set up to do. Are you just looking to use it to access more untuched powder or to go touring, if it is to go touring I would go with an AT touring ski, however if you want to use it to access more big lines go with NAXO's on gots.