Archive for the 'Gear Reviews' Category

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Gold Label Glue Review

Published on March 23, 2011 in Gear Reviews. 4 Comments

Yes, Straightchuter.com is willing to take on the tough reviews that are too complex and sticky for Wild Lou and Randy Steve to even imagine.  Boots, bindings, beacons and skis?  Pffft.  Who needs ‘em if your skins fall off in the parking lot?

Black Diamond has had a few bad batches, but for the most part, the glue they use on their skins (Ascension) is killer.  I took this for granted, but came to appreciate it more when a group of European Ski Mountaineering racers came over for the Wasatch PowderKeg and had two unusual shopping requests – Snowclaw shovels and Gold Label glue.  They wanted the Snowclaw shovels as they were the lightest shovel that met the ISMC requirements and the Gold Label because Europe had some sissy laws about using or selling highly toxic chemicals, such as meat-eating skin glue.  Here in Utah we laugh at toxic waste and rejoice at the chance to use products that can cause brain damage in small children.

Gold Label previously came in dainty little cans with a useless brush, but is now available in a tube.  As is says on the box, it intended “For ski skin touch-ups.”  I’ve tried it on skins which have had all of the glue removed, but it seems to soak in to the backing so much that it would take many, many coats to get a working surface.  If I’m completely redoing a pair of skins, I’ll use BD Glue Renew and take my chances.  But, for touch-ups, or for putting down a tacky layer on top of wimpy Euro glue, Gold Label works great. Continue reading ‘Gold Label Glue Review’

OR Show Recap

Published on January 28, 2011 in Gear Reviews. 1 Comment Tags: .

The Fall 2011 OR Show has come and gone, and as usual, it was great fun.  I probably did more skiing and less reviewing than I should have, but with so many fun people in town it was hard to say no.  The skiing itself was a skiff of powder on top of bullet-proof ice, so I expect narrow, stiff skis will be making a comeback as they probably worked best on the day of the demo. Continue reading ‘OR Show Recap’

New Year’s Resolution – Lose Weight

Published on December 13, 2010 in Gear Reviews. 24 Comments Tags: .

The last couple of times I’ve been out skiing I’ve been moaning and groaning about the weight of my overall backcountry skiing kit and today I decided to do something about it.  As soon as I got home from a great day of skiing, I stripped off everything I used  and weighed it.  Hats, gloves, beacon, skis, pack, jacket, pants, socks, boots, shovel – everything.  I bundled all of the loose stuff together in a mesh sleeping bag sack and piled it all onto my hanging scale.

I was expecting it to be somewhere in the 30 pound range, but was shocked and a bit relieved to find out that it came in at 42.5 pounds!  Since we have two big dogs, I correlate all my weights to 40 pound bags of dog food, which are not only heavy, but a bitch to carry around, so this is like touring and breaking trail over thousands of feet while packing a big ol’ bag of Iams Healthy Choice.  This must get trimmed down. To make matters worse, I ski on what is considered a “light” set-up.  I can only imagine what some of the other people I’ve seen out touring are packing. Continue reading ‘New Year’s Resolution – Lose Weight’

Scariest Skis in the West

Published on December 6, 2010 in Gear Reviews. 13 Comments Tags: .

Deadbolt may be the “Scariest Band in the World” but they are nothing compared to this set of skis…

181cm K2 Darksides with Dynafit Titanium TLT bindings. Rockered to the gills, 156 / 128 / 144mm, no brakes, leashes or fore/aft adjustment in the heelpiece.  These skis must be approached from behind, spoken to in a calm voice and treated with respect.  No Dynafit rolling starts.

I originally just used these bindings for racing as they have no fore/aft adjustment (fixed boot size) and only tour in one height.  They had been languishing in my basement and seemed like a perfect compliment to the skis. On these skis they look more like an avalanche island of safety than a bindings  – something you could barely hide behind.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think these skis were bent, but no, they just have a lot of rocker.

A small child in danger of being crushed by skis.

I got these thinking they might be the ultimate Wasatch quiver ski for phat pow days/daze, but after mounting them up and weighing them with the custom fit K2 skins, the whole package only comes in at a svelte 12 pounds, which is only 2 pounds heavier than my main set-up (167cm Waybacks, ST Verticals, Ascension skins), so I might be using them more than I think.

Details to follow as soon as I get a chance to take them out.

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Help support StraightChuter.com and fear no evil with a pair of K2 DarkSide Alpine Skis from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

Dynafit Rolling Start

Published on December 2, 2010 in Gear Reviews. 14 Comments

WildSnow.com may be the center of the Dynafit world, but can they do this trick? Continue reading ‘Dynafit Rolling Start’

New Airbag Pack for 2010/11

Published on November 12, 2010 in Gear Reviews. 21 Comments Tags: .

I recently bought a Backcountry Access Float 30 airbag pack and got to take it out for the first time today.  Conditions were stable, so I didn’t get a chance to go for a ride and blow it off, but hopefully I will soon.  (kidding, okay… kidding).

This is the second airbag pack I’ve owned with the first one being an early ABS pack which, although it had an airbag, the rest of the pack was designed by Martians and was completely unusable for backcountry skiing.  The prohibitive price of airbags means that there is a large demand for used ones and I was able to sell the ABS pack for only a small loss, which was a major consideration with buying this new one. If for some reason I really hate it, I probably won’t be out the full price of the bag.  It takes some creative financial rationalization to talk yourself into buying one of these, even though you know deep down in your lungs you probably should.

Airbag packs are proven to be one of the best avalanche survival gadgets out there and if they were the price of a beacon (haaahaahaa) they would be ubiquitous in the backcountry.  As is now, they are up to fifteen times the price of a normal skiing backpack.  I was on the fence about getting one this year until I talked to Doug Workman who deployed one in a massive avalanche and described it as “the hand of God reaching down to save me.”  He was sure he would have died without it, and from my 5-10 avalanche incidents, I can only think of one where an airbag pack wouldn’t have made a difference and that was because the slide was large. Nothing is going to spare you from a Class 5 slide (destroying small towns) but from my experience, most backcountry avalanche accidents are probably in the Class 2-3 range where an airbag will definitely make a difference.

There are three major players in the airbag market – ABS, SnowPulse and BCA.  The ABS was out due to my prior experience with them and although the SnowPulse is a beautiful pack, it comes from $witzerland and is seemingly made by retired hedge fund managers to whom money is no object.  I tried to summon all my financial creativity, but just could not stomach the SnowPulse price tag.  My only hesitation with the BCA bag was that I had seen early crude prototypes of it for over a year and thought it had a long ways to go on the fit & finish.  But, 2010/11 production versions are very well made and detailed. Continue reading ‘New Airbag Pack for 2010/11′

Warm & Blister-free Boot Fitting

Published on November 8, 2010 in 02 Gear and Gear Reviews. 15 Comments Tags: , , .

I’m happy to say that I haven’t had a ski boot related blister for years and the last one I did get came from trying to mold my own liners.  Some things are better left to the pros.

Here’s the not-so secrets to my blister free success…

1) Go with boots that fit your feet.  I’ve been skiing in Scarpa’s for years and am not sure if they fit my feet or at this point my feet have conformed to the boots, but whatever the case, Scarpa’s are a known and consistent entity for me.   When I was into Alpine racing I wore a size 7 Lange, but for touring have gone up two full sizes to a size 9.

2) Use a thick, high quality sock like a Bridgedale, Smartwool or one of the new BC.com merino wool versions.  They are pricey ($25ish a pair), but they last forever, or seven years – which ever comes first.

3) Find an insole that fits your foot.  Some of the new boots come with substantial insoles (like the BD line), but I’ve found that SuperFeet fit my foot and are comfy.  I have been rolling them over for about five years and take them out of my old boots, then use them again for my new ones.

4) Use a good boot fitter who knows how to fit backcountry/touring boots, as a BC fit is different than an Alpine fit.  I’ve been going to Dennis Maw at Black Diamond in Salt Lake City who is a Liner Magician. Continue reading ‘Warm & Blister-free Boot Fitting’

Pulling Slope Angles

Published on January 29, 2010 in Gear Reviews. 18 Comments Tags: .

Trivia:
Inclinometers are used in aircraft to show magnetic dip or the angle from the horizon.
Clinometers are used by surveyors in order to measure an angle of inclination or elevation.
Goniometers are instruments that either measures angle or allows an object to be rotated to a precise angular position.

Regardless of what you use or what you call it, being able to measure slope angles is one of the best avalanche defenses available.  I’ve been skiing around for the last week in considerable, high and even extreme avalanche conditions without seeing or triggering any slides as I’ve been keeping my angles loooooow.  Like in the 20-30 degree range at the most.

For years my goniometer (I usually call it an inclinometer) of choice has been the classic Life-Link plastic card with a dingle-bob on it.  After a few seasons, the plastic breaks and you are left with a shard of plastic and a stuck dingle-bob.  Still, they were kind of cheap, lightweight and compact enough that you could whip it out, pull an angle and get on with life. With this in mind, I was overjoyed at the recent Outdoor Retail Show to see that Pieps had come out with a bitchin’ new digital unit that mounts to your pole and also includes a thermometer. Continue reading ‘Pulling Slope Angles’

Glue Renew Guru

Published on January 27, 2010 in 05 Uphill and Gear Reviews. 22 Comments Tags: .

I love the idea of regluing skins, not just because it is all eco earth friendly and vegan approved, but because a pair of moderately worn nylon skins have such a nice feel to them – they glide, climb and fold-up like butter.  With this in mind, I stripped the old glue off of a pair of skins last year and carefully documented my first outing with Black Diamond Glue Renew strips in eager anticipation of a KILLER BLOG POSTING.  Yeah, well, it turned out like crap as I have the patience of a two year old and once again forgot to read the instructions until after I finished the job. Continue reading ‘Glue Renew Guru’

Deep Snow and Shallow Batteries

Published on January 25, 2010 in Gear Reviews. 8 Comments Tags: .

It’s about time the Wasatch got some snow, dammit.  It was a mixed blessing to open my garage door this morning and find that the overnight snowfall was thigh deep and over the top of my snow-thrower hood, which necessitated a double pass, which in turn made me late, which led to getting stuck in the Cottonwood Canyons traffuck, and once we finally got to the trailhead almost an hour later, I pulled my beacon out to find that it had been left on and was reading “00″ as a power level (details below).  It wasn’t a great start to the day, but it soon improved, as photo Exhibit A shows below: Continue reading ‘Deep Snow and Shallow Batteries’