Ultimate Ski Touring Guide: Choose the Perfect Gear for Your Adventure

Ski Touring Gear Guide including reviews, tips and breakdown of Ski Mountaineering equipment.

This Ski Touring Gear Guide is aimed to help you navigate the challenging world of lightweight Backcountry Skiing equipment. Skimo athletes pay a high price to have equipment that is as light as possible. Reviews of skis and boots as well as information about different types of bindings, skins and clothes can be found here. I will be updating this page frequently as new gear comes out. Check out my full breakdown over the different types of Ski Mountaineering races if you want to know more about that

Ski Touring Skis

The skis used in races and training for Skimo are narrower and lighter than skis used for most backcountry skiing.

Backcountry skis used for Skimo generally fall into the following categories:

Under 64mm	64 – 75mm	75-85mm	85mm+
Sprint/Vertical	Race ski	Tour ski	Powder ski (just kidding)

Here I have compared the best Ski Mountaineering skis from the most popular brands.

Company	Usage	My opinion
Atomic 62 UL Vert	Sprint/ Vertical	A brilliant weapon for vertical, sprint and non-technical long-distance events.
Atomic 65 UL	Racing/ Training	A great all round racing ski. Lightweight, skis well and is predictable in most conditions.
Atomic 80 UL	Training/ Touring	A powder ski for Skimo athletes! This ski gives you the best from both worlds; still very lightweight and enjoyable to skin with, but more fun to ski with downhill.
Atomic 86 UL	Touring	A new addition to the Atomic team. I will be testing this as soon as possible!
Skitrab Sprint	Sprint/ Vertical	Durable & lightweight. Suits only on-piste events.
Skitrab Gara World Cup	Racing	A favourite of many on the World Cup circuit.
Skitrab Ski Gara	Training/ Racing	An entry-level race ski offering good durability.
Skitrab Maestro 2	Training/ Touring	A very good touring ski. The benchmark model for lightweight skitouring.
Skitrab Magico 2	Touring	A slightly wider, heavier touring ski. Still in the lightweight category.
Dynafit DNA Pro	Racing	The lightest race ski in the Dynafit race collection.
Dynafit DNA	Racing	Dynafits’ all-round race ski.
Dynafit Mezzalama	Training/ Racing	A more robust and slightly heavier ski than the DNA.
Dynafit Blacklight Pro	Training/ Touring	Similar to the SkiTrab Maestro and Atomic Backland UL 80.
Fischer TransAlp RC	Racing	A ski that has won the overall World Cup title a few times with Thibault Anselmet.
Movement Race Pro 66	Racing	A lightweight ski that is quite stiff.

Skins for Ski Touring, Ski Mountaineering and Skimo

Most backcountry skins have an attachement at the back. Skins used in Skimo skis generally don’t have a back attachement, and cover less of the ski. The rule for competitions is that the skin must cover 40% of the ski, however most will prefer a skin that covers 60 – 80% of the ski.

Skins have two different types of glue, ‘regular’ and ‘hybrid’. The regular glue has a stronger holding power, the hybrid glue means the skins rip off the skis very fast. For this reason, regular glue is used in events such as Individual races and training, whereas hybrid skins are used in Sprints. For a breakdown of the different types of Skimo races you can read this blog post (coming soon.)

Most skins are either Nylon, Mohair or a mix of both. Nylon generally offers more grip, Mohair offers more glide. Skins such as the Colltex Race Crystal – Speedmaster are made of 100% Mohair making them glide better, therefore faster. Some skins such as the Pomoca Race Pro Grip are specifically designed to grip well and work best in icy conditions. You could assume that the Pomoca Race Pro Grip is made of Nylon, after reading what I started this paragraph with. However, nothing is easy or straightforward in this sport, and this skin is actually 100% Mohair. Most producers will write out the technical specifications for their skins.

Pomcoa has a great skin chooser tool which you can access here.

Ski Touring Gear Guide – Carbon Boot Edition

Carbon boots are dominating the skimo scene right now. Backcountry boots suitable for Skimo racing have the following features

• Tighten with flipping down the walk/ski mechanism
• Good flexibility in the ankel joint
• As lightweight as possible

Most Skimo athletes are wearing full carbon boots at a World Cup level. If you are not competing on this level, a boot with a carbon shaft and a plastic shoe can be a great compromise. Some companies also make a full plastic shoe that is quite lightweight

Company	Material & Weight	My opinion
Pierre Gignoux Black	Full carbon 600g	Very similar to the Race option, but with an optional thicker liner and more touring focused gaiter.
Pierre Gignoux Race	Full carbon 500g	The OG of Carbon racing boots. Still the king of this segment.
Dynafit DNA	Carbon shaft, plastic shell 810g	A good ski boot for high level performance.
Dynafit Mezzallama	Plastic 875g	A good ski boot for training. The liner is thicker than the DNA.
Scarpa Alien 4.0	Full carbon 610g	Scarpa’s lightest and least comfortable shoe.
Scarpa Alien 1.0	Carbon shaft, plastic shell 785g	A very good training or entry level shoe for racing.
La Sportiva Statos V/VI	Full Carbon 530g (VI)	V is super lightweight, on the limit of what is legal according to the ISMF rules. VI is more readily available for customers.

Ski Touring Bindings

Most bindings used in Backcountry skiing are Tech Bindings. Also known as low-tech bindings, they are lightweight and efficient which therefore makes them the most popular choice for ski mountaineering. In general you want to be looking at a binding weighing 150g or less.

Bindings used in Ski Mountaineering races must include stoppers.

Features:

• Uphill Mode: In uphill mode, the toe of the boot is attached via pins, while the heel remains free. This allows for efficient, natural movement when skinning uphill.
• Downhill Mode: For the descent, the heel is locked into the binding

The leading manufactures of bindings are Dynafit, Skitrab, ATK Bindings and Grizzly.

The lightest Dynafit bindings are produced under the LowTech Race and Superlite series.

Skitrab bindings are produced in the Gara and Titan series. Skitrab bindings differ from Dynafit and ATK in that you have to actively hold the toe piece down while positioning the boot in the front of the binding.

Skimo Clothes/Other Ski Mountaineering equipment

Type	Pros	Cons
Race Suit	– Comfortable – Dedicated compartment for DVA – Dedicated pockets for skins during transitions – Lightweight, skintight, feels FAST	– Cold – Your friends who don’t Skimo will make fun of you
Wind Jacket & Pants	– Lightweight – Packable – Good protection against wind – Pants with a full zip can be taken on without taking boots/skis off	– Need to be paired with an insulating layer to offer real warmth
Helmet	– Protection.	– Can be warm and bulky if you choose an alpine style helmet
Insulation layer	– Warmth – Down will not stay warm when wet – Synthetic will stay warm when wet	– Can be bulky – Often not waterproof – Fragile
Gore-Tex clothing	– Keeps weather moisture out – Perfect for heat training	– Keeps body moisture in
Avalanche Equipment	– Race equipment is super lightweight (plastic shovels) and takes very little space	– Race equipment should not be used in avalanche terrain outside competition settings