Outdoor Retailer, the annual gathering of outdoor gear/clothing manufacturers and industry pros, was held in Salt Lake last week. We checked out a wide variety of cool new and upcoming products at the show, but one of the highlights was a day of skiing in the Uintas Mountains with SCARPA, G3 and Park City Powder Cats to test the new… Read More
Archive | Gear Reviews
Check out Off-Piste Magazine’s expert ski gear reviews, including backcountry skis, AT ski boots, tech bindings, avalanche beacons, 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’ve tested.
Insulated Jackets – Patagonia Stretch Nano Storm vs Nano Air
Patagonia Nano Air vs. Nano Storm An insulated jacket is on the must-have list for backcountry skiing. It’s the layer that keeps you warm during breaks or transitions and offers a safety margin should you have to wait out a repair, deal with an injury or adjust to changing weather. I’ve developed a preference for synthetic insulation versus down over… Read More
Ski Clothes for Kids – setting kids up for the backcountry
Ski Clothes for Kids – Setting Kids up for the Backcountry A big part of getting kids to enjoy backcountry skiing is making sure they stay warm and dry. We (adults) take managing our body temp and comfort level for granted, but kids have to learn how to manage uphill and downhill comfort. It’s not rocket science, but it requires us… Read More
DPS Lotus 124 Powder Skis
DPS Lotus 124 When asked for backcountry ski recommendations, I often turn the conversation to where the ski will see most of its use. And for most of us, this means mixed snow conditions, which usually leads to talking about skis in an all-purpose backcountry range of something like 100-114 mm underfoot. It’s the rare person who is looking for a dedicated… Read More
Patagonia Nano Air Light Hoody
Patagonia Nano Air Light Hoody Finding the magic layering system that is warm yet breathable enough to handle breaking trail and uphill travel is no simple feat. First off, every day is different – sun, wind, temp, precip – they all vary by day and even aspect. Second, everybody is different – some of us run hot, others run cool…. Read More
Arc’teryx Sawatch Pants – Off-Piste Gear Pick
Off-Piste Mag Gear Pick – Arc’teryx Sawatch Pants The Arcteryx Sawatch pants are a piece gear that works and wears just the way you want it to. These softshells have become my go-to ski touring pants for a variety of reasons. In fact, I’m on my second pair and not because they don’t wear well. But because they fit and feel so… Read More
Off-Piste Mag Editors’ Choice Ski Reviews 2017 – Round II
Off-Piste Mag 2017 Ski Reviews – Editors’ Choice Round II Here is our second round of 2017 ski reviews and Editors’ Choice picks. We’ve got three boards that you should consider for your backcountry touring needs. We’d gladly consider any of these boards for a day of slashing the pow and you should too. DPS Wailer 112 Tour 1 141-112-128; 178cm, 3kg, $1050 The Wailer 112… Read More
Dynafit Radical 2.0 Binding Review
Dynafit Radical 2.0 Binding Review Competition breeds innovation. And as Marker, G3 and Fritschi commit to the tech binding market, Dynafit continues to refine and evolve their binding line-up to keep pace with market demand. Dynafit’s impressive binding offering features more than 10 models ranging from the ultra-light race DNA to the modestly minimalist Speed Radical and the burly pro-freeride edition–the Beast. But it’s the Dynafit… Read More
Ortovox S1+ Avalanche Beacon
Ortovox S1+ Avalanche Beacon If we find ourselves needing our avalanche beacons for a search, something has gone terribly wrong. Either we underestimated the avalanche hazard, we broke safe travel protocols, we made a poor terrain choice or, quite likely, some combination of the above. Regardless, the first step in recovering from our mistakes is to move into companion rescue mode as quickly and… Read More
Off-Piste Mag Editors’ Choice Ski Reviews 2017
Off-Piste Mag Editors’ Choice Ski Reviews 2017 – Round I Here’s our first round of Editors’ Choice ski reviews for 2017. We’ve got three boards that are worthy of quiver-of-one status for backcountry skiers: The Voile SuperCharger, The DPS Wailer 106 and the Völkl 90EIGHT. We’d gladly grab any one these boards as our go-to ski for a full season of mixed backcountry… Read More
Scarpa F1 Ski Boot – Preview Look
Scarpa F1 Ski Boots Alpine Touring boots are lighter and more svelte in design than ever. The result is a growing collection of ski boots that challenge the status quo of what a ski boot feels like and is capable of doing. The latest boot to challenge the norm is the Scarpa F1. Following in the mold of the F1 Evo, the new F1 drops… Read More
Backcountry Ski Packs
This winter, we took 10 backcountry ski packs for an extended spin. The line-up included ski packs from Arcteryx, Black Diamond, Cilo Gear, Deuter, Exped, Gregory, Jones and Mammut, Ortovox and Osprey. Here are excerpts from the reviews and a link to the full backcountry ski pack review – pdf. Arc’teryx Khamski 38; $299 Weight: 3lb The newly revamped Khamski… Read More
2017 Backcountry Skis – Beta part III
2017 Backcountry Skis Finally, a third installment previewing 2017 backcountry skis! The weather patterns shifted this week to yield a glimpse of fall. There’s nothing quite like the first dust of snow in the mountains to turn your thoughts toward ski season. The big picture for 2017 backcountry skis is lighter weights, modest widths and impressive performance through a range of conditions. Basically, skis… Read More
Arc’teryx Procline Ski Boot Review
Arcteryx Procline Ski Boot Review Joshua Cole – Guide and Owner, North Cascades Mountain Guides – AMGA Ski Guide Notwithstanding the ski industry’s “quiver-of-one” marketing hype, most diehard skiers sport a quiver of skis – the rock skis, the powder skis, the spring skimo skis and probably a pair of straight skis you’re keeping for posterity. The new Arc’teryx Procline ski boot is… Read More
Outdoor Research Elevator Pack
Outdoor Research Elevator Pack – A Technical Daypack for Mountain Scrambling For me, summer is a time to travel light in the mountains, a time to enjoy the simplicity of the warm weather and summit views. There is something very freeing about hiking and scrambling without the burden of skis or technical climbing gear. The Outdoor Research Elevator Pack is… Read More
