Check out Off-Piste Magazine’s expert ski gear reviews including backcountry skis, tech bindings, avalanche beacons, avalanche safety gear, avalanche shovels, ski jackets, backcountry ski pants, ski packs, headlamps, AT ski boots, crampons, climbing skins and more. We use the gear we write up, and the reviews here represent the best of the gear we have tested.
Light-is-Right or Fully-Featured There are enough tech binding options available these days that choosing a binding requires some real homework. Generally, the first step in narrowing down tech binding options is to decide whether you want a fully-featured model or a light-is-right model. Typically, fully-featured tech bindings have brakes, heel elasticity, a wide release setting range, multiple heel lift options… Read More
A Lightweight Ski Helmet for the Backcountry While helmets are the norm for resort skiing, their use in the backcoutry is still mixed. There’s no doubt that a ski helmet has the potential to save your life, and the excuse that a helmet is too heavy for backcountry skiing is no longer a valid argument. Today’s ski helmet designs are… Read More
Avalanche Rescue and Snow Pits – The BCA RCS EXT Shovel Does It All Avalanche shovels are the kind of gear we hope to never really use for their intended purpose of recovering a buried ski partner. But the shovels we all carry have many other uses, primary being to dig snow pits in search of weak layers and to… Read More
Surf, Slash, Slarve The latest board in the backcountry ski test quiver to get most-favored status is the Ogso Corbets. Named after the famed Corbet’s Couloir that’s accessible from the Jackson Hole Ski Resort, it measures in at 110mm underfoot. It’s a dedicated backcountry powder ski with a nimble, surfy feel and even-tempered personality that makes for effortless powder skiing…. Read More
Headlamps for Backcountry Skiing Have you ever tried to finish a ski tour in the dark or found yourself chasing daylight through the woods? Darkness takes on new meaning in the forest far from trailhead or home without a headlamp to light the way. Ounce for ounce, few pieces of gear can get you out of jam with a better… Read More
Voile HyperDrifter – Modern Powder Slashing for the Traditionalist Voile has long focused on wide powder ski designs. As a dedicated backcountry brand with the famed deep snow of the Wasatch as their testing grounds, it only makes sense. From the early Mountain Surf to the more contemporary Drifter and Charger models, they have been building skis that set the… Read More
Uphill Ease, Downhill Power – La Sportiva Vega We ask a lot of our ski boots when backcountry skiing. They need to be light and flexible enough for easy uphill travel, stiff and responsive enough to drive skis in a wide range of conditions, and comfortable enough to wear all day long. The new La Sportiva Vega ski boots do it… Read More
Tip Rise Meets Camber and Control If you’re not familiar with Ogso skis, it’s time to get acquainted. Based in Chamonix, France, Ogso Mountain Essentials is a rising new ski brand that makes a range of very fun and versatile touring skis – read more about Ogso and our review of the Ogso Schwarztor ski, which we awarded a qiver-of-one label…. Read More
Leather Ski Gloves Put your skins on. Take your skins off. Buckle your boots. Loosen your boots. Fuss with your bindings. Open your pack. Eat a snack. Take a photo. A typical day in the backcountry asks a lot of our gloved hands – far more than a day at the resort. Good gloves for backcountry skiing need to be… Read More
Breathability vs Weather Protection When evaluating waterproof, breathable outerwear, the question is rarely how waterproof a jacket is, rather it’s whether the jacket is actually breathable enough to keep you comfortable while working hard on the skin track. Breathability, however, is a somewhat relative term. We all heat up and sweat at different rates, and some breathable membranes are simply… Read More
Ultralight Insulated Jacket Down vs Synthetic A puffy or insulated jacket is essential gear for backcountry skiing. Ask a skier if they prefer down or synthetic, and you’ll find less consensus. While synthetic insulation is more durable, stays warm when wet and is better suited to the repeated stuffing and re-stuffing that a puffy experiences in the life of a… Read More
GORE SHAKEDRY GORE set the standard to which waterproof, breathable outerwear is measured, and their latest innovation, GORE SHAKEDRY™, takes everything GORE-TEX is known for to a higher level of performance – waterproofness, breathability and lightweight construction. SHAKEDRY’s distinct design uses a GORE-TEX membrane as the face fabric and a 100% polyamide fabric as a backer. What does that mean?… Read More
Osprey Soelden 32 Backcountry Ski Pack Skins. Shovel. Probe. Layers. Goggles. Food. Water. Check. Packing for a ski tour isn’t rocket science, but dialing in your ski pack for easy access to the gear you want when you want it takes practice and a pack with thoughtful organization. The Osprey Soelden 32 backcountry ski pack balances a quick-access main body… Read More
Outdoor Research Helium Jacket – Ultralight, Packable Rain Jacket The wet weather has arrived. It’s not quite ski season, so full-on GORE-TEX ski wear is not really necessary. But if you want to head for the hills during shoulder season, you need some sort of waterproof jacket. The Outdoor Research Helium jacket sets a high standard for ultralight rain jackets,… Read More
Multi-Tools For SkiersThree Leatherman Multi-Tools with Bit Drivers My backcountry repair kit is on the thin side when compared to many skiers, but I do always carry a multi-tool in my pack – read more about backcountry repair kits. In my experience, the highest use tools for addressing boot, binding and unforeseen backcountry issues are a scewdriver of one sort… Read More
