Factory-fresh edges are magic underfoot, but let those tips and tail go untouched for long and you’re aiming to hook your way into edge-catch city and tip-dive town. Sharp, tuned edges are there to help you slow and control your descent on the mountain (and so you don’t die on East Coast ice). Thing is, while most of your ski is wrapped with a metal edge, you don’t actually use your entire tip-to-tail edge for control. In fact, the tips and tails of tuned and new skis often hook and catch on the snow, making for bad days on the mountain. Read More …
Gear Articles tagged ‘DIY’
On A Magic Carpet Ride: Cutting & Caring for Your Skins
By: Andy Anderson | January 28th, 2010
Paired with some AT or telemark bindings and a hulking set of quadriceps, climbing skins are like your own person ski lift that requires no diesel fuel, packs up to the size of a Nalgene, and costs just a bit more than a day pass at your local mega resort. Some skin manufacturers make pre-cut designs, but most require at least some custom trimming to your skis before you can paste them on and set off into the backcountry. Here are a few tips for cutting your new skins to fit and keeping them fully functional throughout the season. Read More …
Make Your Own Splitboard – DIY – What You Need
By: Justin Mool | January 27th, 2010
Crave fresh tracks? Stop lugging your snowboard on your back, leave those snowshoes in the garage, and upgrade to a splitboard. Backcountry split snowboards give you a highly specialized weapon for finding untracked pow. Even professional riders like Backcountry.com athlete Jeremy Jones have seen the light of a splitboard. Backcountry splitboarding connects you with the snow and your surroundings like none other. But if you’re not willing to drop a bunch of cash on a factory-made splitboard like the Burton S-Series or the Voile SD Mojo Splitboard, you can make your own splitboard—provided you have the tools, patience, and cajones.
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How to Make Your Own Splitboard
By: Justin Mool | January 27th, 2010
This page presents general instructions on how to make your own splitboard using the Voile Split Decision Kit. Not sure where to begin? Check out What you need to make your own splitboard. These steps can help you decide if splitting a snowboard is something you want / can do. They correspond to our DIY splitboard detailed instructions. Read More …
The Birth of a Ski: When Wood, Fiberglass, Metal, and Beer Meet in a Garage
By: Beth Lopez | October 19th, 2009
If you love talking skis as much as we do, you follow ski companies’ every development, own a coffee table just for a spot to pile the annual Best Of mags, and gorge yourself at resort demo days. But the ability to rattle off a few tech terms, materials, and construction types doesn’t necessarily equate to a commanding knowledge of how skis are actually made. I do know the difference between torsion box construction and a baby unicorn, but for a more in-depth understanding of ski building, I spent some time at the Salt Lake garage workshop operated by Dwyer Haney, HardwoodSkis.com blogger / sandwich-eater extraordinaire. Read More …
Boost Your Survival Smarts
By: Genevieve Mount | July 17th, 2009
You’ve probably thumbed through your fair share of survival books at the bookstore. When it comes to remembering any specifics, though, the most you might recall is something about punching a shark on its nose and a foggy idea of how to float in quicksand. That’s helpful if you encounter a great white while you’re navigating a vat of quicksand, but not too helpful in the backcountry. Read More …