Gear Articles tagged ‘gear’

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Shoulder Season Sending: Tips for climbing in the cold

By: Andy Chapman | November 18th, 2011
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Winter is imminent, but you still haven’t done your proj. Don’t despair. Cooler temps are actually quite conducive to “sending.” With a few tricks, you could turn that draw-recovery mission into a productive day of climbing.

What to wear

"Warming-up" on a chilly day at the Motherlode.

The first rule is to bring a lot of clothing for your single-pitch climbing or bouldering session. I typically crag- or pebble-wrestle in cotton as it’s more comfy and less geeky. I rest easy knowing that, since I’m close to the car, weight and moisture management aren’t a concern. If you have a long approach or prefer something up top that wicks, choose a synthetic or merino wool tee. Pack for comfort (and style?), knowing that there’s no harm if extra layers stay in your pack all day. Read More …

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Posted in Climbing, How To |

Monday Q&A

By: Adam Riser | February 21st, 2011
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With seemingly endless snow pounding the Wasatch right now, everyone’s minds are pretty much stuck in powder mode. So, on that note, I’ll start this Monday Q&A with a question about my very favorite ski, the Black Diamond Megawatt.

Black Diamond Megawatt Ski

Black Diamond Megawatt Skis

Q: I would consider myself to be somewhat close to an expert skier. I demolished a pair of 2009 BD stigmas last year, skied a few days on a pair of BD ethics this year and was unsatisfied in the pow. I just ordered some 188 mega’s, I do a lot of backcountry skiing but Im more into the boot packing than skinning. I live in Colorado and it seems that every day I want to go backcountry the avie conditions are bad so I end up going on piste and boot packing past the ropes. What would be a good binding to drive this ski knowing that I really dont need the AT setup. Thanks!

By: Brian Sims
January 25, 2011

A: First off, good choice on the Megawatt. Given the pow-specific size of this ski, the situation you explain occurs a lot. You want a binding that will let you skin if you absolutely have to, but usually, you’re riding lifts or just booting up a ridge and want something as close to a standard step-in binding as you can get. My suggestion is to go with either the Marker F12 or the Fritschi Diamir Freeride Pro. Both give you a healthy 12-DIN maximum setting if you need it and provide the ability to release the heel if it’s necessary. Most skiers could argue all day about which one is better, but I’ll leave that to them. Just make sure you get brakes wide enough to clear the 125mm underfoot dimensions of your skis.

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Posted in Gear Guide, Newsletter, Skiing |

Full Mental Jacket | Choosing Your Ideal Ski Touring Shell

By: Austin Holt | February 9th, 2011
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Full Mental Jacket: Finding Your Ideal Touring Shell

Conquering the Quest for a New Piece of Kit

Pulling the trigger on a new jacket can feel like a daunting mission to gear newbies and veterans alike. Maybe you’re new to ski touring and looking for your first, truly “bomber” shell, or you’re a old pro upgrading from your withering old shell jacket. Either way, the options are seemingly endless. To add to this needle-in-a-stack-of-needles feeling, these days, even the cheapest technical jackets offer a surprisingly high level of protection matched with well thought-out features.

Dave Kelly touring in the Utah backcountry, photo: Austin Holt

Fear not, though; I recently embarked on a quest to find exactly the right hardshell jacket for my own personal touring needs, and here I explain, step by step, what I learned about narrowing down the options. Read More …

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Posted in Gear Guide, How To |

Monday Q&A: Brakes, Boots, Armada, Skins and Helmets

By: Austin Holt | February 7th, 2011
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We trolled around our community and found a few unanswered questions to tackle for our regular Monday Q & A. Maybe we’ll help you out by answering a question you were curious about, or maybe you can chime in and add your experience to the conversation.


I’m planning on buying the 173 cm Shoguns. I have Salomon

I’m planning on buying the 173 cm Shoguns. I have Salomon Z12 bindings that were on my old X-Wings. I know the brakes are too narrow so if I buy some 100mm wide brakes will it fit on the 173cm (99mm waist) Shoguns? or will I have to get the 110mm?

By: kkamo1

Brake width is a common concern these days. Sizing up to 100mm brakes gives you 1mm of space at the side for the arms to swing down, which isn’t much, but you can easily give each of the arms a slight bend to get past the edges. Any shop worth its salt can give your brakes a little clearance when you take the bindings in to get mounted. 110mm brakes would give you more than enough clearance, although if you’re looking to lay your Shoguns over hard on groomers, they could cause a bit of drag. So go with the 100mm brakes, even if they need a bit o’ modification. Read More …

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Posted in Gear Guide, How To |

Monday Q&A

By: Adam Riser | January 10th, 2011
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I’ve been doing nothing but ice climbing and backcountry skiing all winter, so I decided to answer a few crampon, boot, and binding questions for my Monday Q&A. Compatibility is a common theme with FAQ’s on ice climbing and touring gear, and these questions follow that track. Unlike rock climbing where any carabiner works with any sling or alpine skiing where all boots fit all bindings, you have to make sure all your gear works with anything that it attaches to directly. When you get your new gear in the mail, take some time and make sure it all snaps together right before you head into the mountains. Now, onto the questions.

Cassin C14 Crampon

Q: Has anyone ever put these on tele boots for vertical ice climbing?

Has anyone ever put these on tele boots for vertical ice climbing? – Randomintelligentguy – Jan. 7, 2011

A: Well, the short answer is maybe. Regular crampon toe bails (with a few rare exceptions) don’t fit over the wide duck bill on the front of telemark boots. Some companies like Petzl make replacement toe bails designed specifically for telemark boots, but I can’t find any indication that Cassin makes a similar attachment. However, nearly all toe bails attach the same way, so you may be able to get away with using the Petzl bails on these crampons, but I’m not positive. Anyone? To address the vertical ice part of the questions—You won’t get the same performance as you would with actual climbing boots, or even close. Putting crampons on tele boots is generally a ski mountaineering move. The problem is that the duck bill will cover part of the front points and you won’t get very good penetration no matter how hard you kick into the ice. You can definitely climb this way, but if you want to get serious about ice climbing, just get some ice climbing boots.

Have a better answer? Post it here

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Posted in Gear Guide |

Monday Q&A

By: Beth Lopez | January 3rd, 2011
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We’re following up last week’s post-holiday gear Q&A with some fresh questions and answers that just might help you make your winter gear choices. Whether Santa left some money in your stocking this year, or he left you a lump of coal and you’re determined to buy yourself something anyway, Backcountry.com’s flourishing gear question and answer forum is here to help. Here are a few recent questions posted on our site. Feel free to cruise over to the product pages to add your own two cents to the conversation.

Smith Phenom Goggle

Q: Fogging is the big issue for me. No downhill for me; it’s all backcountry XC or snowshoe, sometimes way back there and alone, often hot and sweaty work. I just had a pair of Bolles (gift) fail during a typical Pacific NW storm today—my own private whiteout. These Smiths are pretty much advertised as the solution to my problem. I’m also looking at the Anon Hawkeyes and the Oakley Crowbars. Obviously I will have to try them on for fit but what does anybody have to say about ventilation? Side issue: peripheral vision.  –Myron Hudson, Dec. 28, 2010

A: We feel your pain, Myron. Nobody likes a whiteout that exists within their own goggles. Read More …

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Posted in Gear Guide |

Post-Holiday Q&A

By: JGW | December 29th, 2010
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If you’re like the majority of the nation, you probably just spent the last few days figuring out how to use your new (insert your respective cultural-holiday indication here) gifts. In an effort to make the rest of the gift-receiving season as painless as possible, we’ve rounded up five unanswered questions from our Community that may just help you along your way. Read More …

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Posted in Gear Guide |

Five for Friday: Questions – Ski Edition

By: Justin Mool | November 12th, 2010
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utah-pow

Not Vermont

I live in Vermont, and it’s a beautiful fall day. As I look out my window at blue skis and bare mountains, I have to admit … I absolutely hate my Utah friends who are out making pow turns right now.

I don’t know about you, but I’m champing at the bit. So to cope, I browsed around and found five ski questions that need answers. Who cares that I’m a snowboarder? These riders need your insight. If these folks live out West, they need answers ASAP. But if they’re out here with me and my Green Mountain compatriots … well … there’s some time. Read More …

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Posted in Gear Guide |

Hook Me Up, Bro: The Rules of Swag

By: Adam Riser | October 28th, 2010
2 Comments »

Ryan Strong in desperate need of new gear after losing his pole in an avalanche.

“Dude, you work at Backcountry.com? Can you get me a deal on gear?” I cannot even count how many times I’ve heard these words. Pro skiers, sponsored climbers, shop employees, and even lifties know that it’s a rare week that goes by without someone asking this question. Unfortunately, the implications of this seemingly simple question can be surprisingly harsh. Under most circumstances hooking up a friend can cost an employee or athlete their job or sponsorship.

Most importantly, you need to understand that asking your friends this question puts them in a very difficult situation. Turning down your friends is a very hard thing to do, especially given the nature of partnership in mountain sports. “Dude, I dug you out of a damn avalanche last season. You’re seriously not going to help me get a hookup on boots?” There are cases where it’s OK to ask for a hookup, but if you want to avoid being a total ass and asking for the wrong things at the wrong time, then read on and see when you can get your hands on some swag and when you should keep your mouth shut and buy your own damn gear.

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Posted in Commentary |

Five for Friday – More Unanswered Questions

By: Justin Mool | October 8th, 2010
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About a month ago, we published five pesky questions that had gone unanswered by the Backcountry.com gear community. Within minutes of posting to the Backcountry Facebook page, every single question had at least one answer.

Not bad.

Let’s see how you do with these ones. Some of ‘em have been waiting for answers since November of last year.

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Posted in Gear Guide |

Five for Friday – Unanswered Questions

By: Justin Mool | September 17th, 2010
1 Comment »

questionsFor quite some time now, Backcountry.com has had a feature that allows customers to ask each other questions about gear. To be honest, I was skeptical at first. Who would take time to answer this stuff? Why?

After giving it a try myself with a pair of Stoic Bombshell Bibs, I realized that it actually works. And it works well.

Even so, there are plenty of questions that need answers. After perusing some category RSS feeds, I found five good questions that need your insight.

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Posted in Gear Guide |

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