Shopping for Alpine Touring Gear

[Admin]

I prefer it over all others.

That makes me very happy to hear.

[kingslug]

Still waiting for the Fritchis..supposed to ship the 29th or there abouts...then I have to find a place to mount them..one that knows how as there isn't a lot of call for these round my parts. Might have to go to Eastern Mountain Sports in the city where I got the boots..oy.

[Admin]

REI has mounting jigs for Fritchi, at least they do here and they have a store in the city. But the web is your friend, and anyone who sells Diamirs is going to have the jigs and experience mounting them. In addition to EMS in NYC there's Paragon:

http://diamir.com/index.php?section=dat ... New%20York

[kingslug]

Guess I'll be lugging them into the city...oy

[Tony Crocker]

I tried on 4 AT boots at Mammoth Mountaineering this week. A question for the AT folks out there: how much does it matter for skinning up the hill if the boots weigh 9 pounds vs. 7 pounds? They thought I should be looking at boots on the lighter side because they considered the Verdicts and Barons heavy by AT standards.

[riverc0il]

I tried on 4 AT boots at Mammoth Mountaineering this week. A question for the AT folks out there: how much does it matter for skinning up the hill if the boots weigh 9 pounds vs. 7 pounds? They thought I should be looking at boots on the lighter side because they considered the Verdicts and Barons heavy by AT standards.

Depends what your needs are and intended use.

I recently did a gear weight in of all my gear. I found my heaviest setup (alpine boots and bindings with fat skis) was 31 pounds (give or take) and my lightest weight setup (Radiums, Dynafits, Watea 94) was 21 pounds (give or take). Two pounds is not insignificant if that is the difference between two different AT boots. What you gain in weight savings, you may give up in performance, I suspect--without knowing the boots you tried on.

Weight can't be looked at in absolute terms either since there are essential floors and ceilings to how much a given rig could possibly weigh while staying within a given set of parameters. So two pounds may not look like much in my example, but given my parameters, 21 pounds is essentially the bottom floor of weight for potential performance sacrifice I am willing to make. So two pounds is pretty significant in my case. The difference between my AT boots and Alpine boots is about 5 pounds (345 BSL) and the difference is night and day.

Essentially, I would say when touring, every pound counts but I don't count anything less than a pound.

[Admin]

When skinning, 2 lb on your feet is like 10 lb in your pack. Think about it -- you're moving that extra 2 lb forward with every stride.

Like river, I've pretty much separated my touring rig from my resort skiing rig. Over time I found that my lightest ski setup (G3 Reverends mounted with Silvretta Pures) is too light for everyday resort skiing because they're so light they get tossed around easily by cut-up snow. Unlike River, however, I'm using one pair of boots for everything.

[Admin]

East Coasters, be aware that Whiteface is having an alpine touring/telemark demo day this Sunday including both skis and boots with $35 lift tickets.

[kingslug]

I tried weighing my different boots and skis last night..of course the scale gave me varying weights...but it looks like I saved about 2 lbs on the boots..Garmonts vs nordica 120's...it feels like a lot more though..huge difference. The skis ...not sure , the scale was off each time but the s3's with fritchi pro's feel a lot lighter than my Sultan 85's..yet the scale shows about a 4 lb difference..feels like more though..the Sultans are tanks. I really noticed it when skating around on the flats and in the bumps. I was thinking of trying out the alpine soles on the Garmonts but don't feel like removing all the screws...so I just might have to change the bindings on the Sultans some day..maybe Barons as they will be used frontside only...and I really like the rubber soles on the Garmonts for walking around...and it looks like I'll have some powder to use them again in.

[Tony Crocker]

I tried on the Garmont Shogun at a shop in Hakuba. First lightweight AT boot that was fairly comfortable. Anyone know anything about it?

[Admin]

I tried on the Garmont Shogun at a shop in Hakuba. First lightweight AT boot that was fairly comfortable. Anyone know anything about it?

Not really an AT boot, more a freeride boot from an AT boot company.

[Tony Crocker]

Not really an AT boot, more a freeride boot from an AT boot company.

Yes, but 8.3 pounds is middle-of-the-road for weight on AT boots. Vs. 10.5 pounds for my alpine boots or 9.5 for the Salomon Quest.

[Admin]

Not really an AT boot, more a freeride boot from an AT boot company.

Yes, but 8.3 pounds is middle-of-the-road for weight on AT boots. Vs. 10.5 pounds for my alpine boots or 9.5 for the Salomon Quest.

But, it's not an AT boot -- Alpine DIN sole, no unlockable cuff.

[Tony Crocker]

no unlockable cuff

??? It definitely had a walk mode switch on the back, and I tested that in the shop. Cuff was lockable/unlockable, you could stand perfectly upright when unlocked.

I prefer the alpine DIN sole for the Marker Baron bindings I already have.

[Admin]

??? It definitely had a walk mode switch on the back, and I tested that in the shop. Cuff was lockable/unlockable, you could stand perfectly upright when unlocked.

Maybe they've changed it since the first gen I skied in, or maybe I've just had too many cocktails since then.

I prefer the alpine DIN sole for the Marker Baron bindings I already have.

You're missing the whole point, however. You don't buy AT boots to fit bindings you already own. You buy them for ease and comfort of touring. And sometimes, perhaps even often, a tour may involve a bootpack. I'd sure as hell rather do that in grippy, rockered Vibram soles than hard, flat, smooth Alpine DIN soles. Especially when walking over rock.

This whole discussion is moot, though, as the Barons are made to accommodate AT boot soles, so I really don't know what you're talking about.