Opinions on beginner backcountry setup.

[chris54]

Hi

 

I've skied the resorts since I was little and want to step away from that into the backcountry. Money is my issue. I cant afford to drop a $1000 plus bucks on a setup. Looking for opinions on older skis and binding that will be the best bang for my buck.

Any info is appreciated.

 

[kevino]

gear trade .com

[Fairweather]

Removed due to a Leavenworth transplant with a personal axe to grind. (See below.)

Edited November 18, 2013 by Fairweather

[Pete_H]

The BD Kilowatts are widely considered to be one of the worst skis ever made.

 

If you're looking for a setup just for backcountry I definitely wouldn't get anything with Barons on them. You should be able to find something with Dynafits.

 

At any rate, $500 is way too much for that setup.

[letsroll]

Since you live in potland I would go to us outdoor store and Oregon mountain community to see if they have any used backcountry setups for sale, they might even have the skins to go with them. I would use fritchie or the barrons so that you could use your current ski boots. This should get you into the sport for under $1000. While not ideal to tour with resort boots you can do it, just realize that you will be giving up a lot with out BC boots and the heavier Barron's.

[Jason4]

No affiliation and I'm a splitboarder so maybe this stuff isn't all that rad but it seems like an incredible deal:

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1115128/FS_NEW_AT_Package_K2_Marker_BD#Post1115128

[AlpineK]

Spend money on comfortable dynafit compatible boots.

 

In general stay away from heavy bc bindings like the ones Marker makes. In terms of new gear even Fritchi offers a dynafit like set up now.

 

Buy a junker pair of skis.

 

Take an avalanche level 1 class, if you haven't taken one and or its been years since the last one.

 

Buy transceiver shovel and probe.

 

[max]

What he ^ said.

 

Spend your money on comfy dynafit compatible boots.

If you can find dynafit bindings cheap, get 'em. If not, start with a pair of fritchiis et al. Upgrade later. The boots will work for both.

Buy used skiis, preferably with bindings. The cost to benefit ratio improved ALOT when the denominator is small. The new generation of skis may be really awesome, but their also 3-4x more expensive.

 

Pay money for a field-oriented avy course.

 

I bought my setup (skis, boots, poles, bindings) for $600 total. I love the crap out of 'em.

[chris54]

Sweet! Thanks for the info guys.

[wetslide]

I have a pair of skis for sale if you're interested.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1116045#Post1116045