“Fast, lightweight and safe” is how Ortovox describes the Trace 25 and after testing I have no reason to argue. The Trace is as fairly minimalist pack and competes in the ultra-lightweight touring pack segment. It’s a 25 liter pack that weighs less than a pound with a claimed weight of 445 grams. If you don’t need 25 liters of storage you could look at the Trace 20 and the Trace 23 S and Trace 18 S (which are basically…
Every year we see an evolution (and occasionally a revolution) of backcountry gear and this year is no exception. I’m pretty sure I say this every year, but the selection just keeps getting better! Here are a few goodies that we’ve been drooling over at Hikeforpow. Get ’em while they’re hot! I’m not even kidding – supply is a bit on the short side this year because of the whole pandemic situation driving more skiers to the backcountry. BCA Tracker…
Backcountry Access avalanche transceivers are some of the most popular on the market. They’re reliable, easy to use and the BCA Tracker S continues that trend. “Simplicity is Speed” is the BCA mantra. The Tracker S is essentially a slightly pared down version of the excellent Tracker 3. The performance, ease of use and physical characteristics are the same but BCA has removed motion sensing auto-revert-to-transmit (aka revert-to-send) and USB upgrade capabilities. Neither of these are essential to an avalanche…
We’ve talked about backcountry skiing etiquette a bit in the past, but with all the new backcountry skiers this season we thought it would be good to go over a few things. I haven’t personally encountered anything too inappropriate in the backcountry this year (aside from my ass-camping friends) but have heard some good stories. Backcountry skiing etiquette isn’t rocket science. Being a decent human and treating others with respect get you most of the way there. But there are…
Update: check out the preliminary review here. Well Christmas is over but I got to unwrap another sweet toy today. Well not really a toy…new skins! After using the excellent Contour Hybrid Mix skins for most of the past couple seasons I’m switching it up. Enter the Pomoca Climb Pro S-Glide climbing skins. Nice concise name. Really rolls off the tongue. Jokes aside, these skins are highly regarded by backcountry skiers, so I thought I would try them out this…
This is a book that I had on my Amazon wishlist for quite some time…too long. But I finally got my hands on a copy. And once I opened it I had a hard time putting it down, despite some of the content being a bit scientific. In fact that was some of what I found most interesting, but I’m a bit of a geek for that kind of stuff. I read Training for the Uphill Athlete in a few…
Maybe you noticed the site hasn’t been active much in the last few months and maybe you haven’t…but the good news is I’m alive and have still been testing gear! After a summer with lots of mountain biking and covid-19 weirdness, we’re now fully back into ski mode. I’ve been out touring a few days already in fact…oh how I missed the powder. Anyway, we have some neat stuff coming soon so I thought I would give a bit of…
Well…what a different world we’re in from just a month ago. First off, wherever you are, I hope you’re doing your best to practice social distancing and staying healthy. Avoidance of interaction seems to be the best strategy to prevent the spread of COVID19 at this point. Our sincere condolences to anyone that has lost a job or even worse, a loved one. We’re all in this together. On a more positive note, hanging out in the backcountry where there…
Terrain management is one of the three pillars of avalanche safety along with the snowpack and weather. Unlike the snowpack and the weather, terrain doesn’t change much over time. The snowpack will develop crusts with warm weather, but the angle of your slope won’t change because of some sun or heavy winds. Terrain management is a skill that is critical to living a long and happy life in the backcountry. It’s the number one skill that can keep you safe…
I finally got to spend some time skiing and touring in the Salomon S/Lab Shift MNC 13 this season. Minds were blown when this binding was announced with its radical new design combining pins for touring with an alpine style toe and heel. But has it lived up to the hype? It isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. It tours like a tech binding (a heavy one, to be fair) but skis a lot like a high quality alpine…