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.
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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 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 – 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
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
Avalanche Beacon 101 If you’re in the market for an avalanche beacon (avalanche transceivers), today’s units are incredibly proficient search tools. Digital signal processing and directional guidance are all standard fare. We handed a collection of the latest avalanche beacons to rank novices with no tips or directions beyond how to switch to search mode. Search results for a single… Read More
The opportunity to ski a wide variety of backcountry skis back to back for direct comparisons is the foundation of our ski testing program and our subsequent ski review write-ups. This season’s fresh crop of backcountry skis includes a few highly regarded favorites like the Voile V6, the DPS Wailer 112 and the Volkl BMT 94 but it also includes… Read More
Spring ski testing is behind us! We tested and compared over 30 new backcountry skis in April. Everyone rolls their eyes when they hear how much work is involved with ski testing – kind of like saying, “. . . and then we had to try another beer to compare flavors . . .” Anyway, it is a fair bit of… Read More
2016 Ski Reviews As winter fades, it’s time to release our 2016 ski reviews into the archives. If you’re still in the market for new skis, now is the time to score a deal on hold-over inventory. Take a look at what our ski reviews have to say and stock your quiver with an end of the season deal. We ski… Read More
Coffee fuels adventure and, whether you’re in the backcountry or simply road tripping, a good cup of coffee is part of the experience. Like a good addict, I’ve always got an eye out for new ways to get my fix. The latest coffee gadget to find its way into the office for testing is the Minipresso portable espresso maker. It’s a portable, hand-operated espresso… Read More
It’s a luxury to have a ski quiver, so the search for the elusive quiver-of-one backcountry ski is always on our minds when testing skis. There are certainly skiers who will argue going wider but, generally speaking, a mid- to upper-90’s waist makes for a reasonable do-it-all ski width. Sure, you give up some flotation on super deep days, but you gain agility… Read More
G3 Alpinist LT Climbing Skins Review We spend many an hour working our way uphill while backcountry skiing and our choice of climbing skins can make a big difference in our efforts on the skin track. Think lightweight and good glide. The lightweight part is obvious, but the good glide part is often overlooked in favor of grip. Today’s wide skis translate… Read More
DPS Wailer 112 Tour 1 Review The DPS Wailer 112 has been a consistent crowd pleaser since its introduction. The 112mm wide waist hits a sweet spot for powder touring, and DPS has fine-tuned the profile over the years to create a refined but always energetic ski. This season they added a new edition – the Wailer 112 Tour 1…. Read More
Backcountry Ski JacketsShell Jacket 101 Hardshell – We define a hardshell as any waterproof / breathable jacket that features waterproof membrane construction like GORE-TEX®. It’s essentially a sandwich featuring an outer face material, a waterproof/breathable membrane and a backer material. Hardshell materials have come a long way in recent years to offer softer, less hardshell feeling materials. High-end three-layer hardshells… Read More
Ski Pack Testing Testing new packs often tests my patience for locating my gear, as every pack has a different pocket scheme and loading style. Some speak to me, some don’t. In general, I like a simple and pretty traditional top-loading design. Other design characteristics that top my list include a dedicated avalanche safety tools zone, easy access pockets for… Read More
Aeropress Portable Coffee Maker The AeroPress is the best travel coffee maker on the market. It’s simple to use, durable and easy to clean. But most importantly, it makes a great cup of coffee. From car camping to road trips and backcountry to bikepacking use, AeroPress is our go-to portable coffee maker. How The AeroPress Works Using a small paper… Read More
