New Gear - Limited Budget - Long Term Plans

[Grassi21]

So I dropped my Nordica Hot Rods off to get the brake repaired. I also left one of my boots because I figured they would have to check the bindings once the brake is repaired. As I handed him my boot I said that they were getting up there. He said how many days. I said 53. By the end of the season the boots will be in the mid 60s. So I started thinking I am going to need new boots at the beginning of or at some point next season. I already feel the liner packing out a bit.

I have a couple of gift certs for my local shop and I might be able to generate some more cash from the sale of other gear. Backcountry has some good deals at the moment as well. My question is which piece of gear should I focus on first? Boots, bindings, or fatter boards? My long term plan is to have a fatter set of boards that I can tour with but also use on inbounds powder days. I can use my Nordicas for hard pack/groomer days for 2-3 more seasons.

I'm thinking boots. I was really interested in the Garmont Endorphin. Its obviously an AT boot but seems like it would be stiff enough to be a good choice for inbounds skiing. As for the binding I was thinking Marker Barrons. Doesn't have the super high DIN but I don't think I need it. It also seems a good mix of inbounds/touring. As for skis, 90+ underfoot. No idea which ones to focus on yet. But I figure the skis will be the last item on my list.

What should I buy first?

Thoughts on my choice of boot? Any others I should consider?

What about the Barrons? Any others to consider?

How about a powder board?

NOTE TO ALL MY CLIT BRETHREN: Please hold off on the trash talk about getting a bump ski next. ;-) :lol:

 

[powhunter]

huh? You wanna be one of those telemarketers?

 

[o3jeff]

Do you think you will be able to get out touring enough that you want to invest in AT set up?

 

[riverc0il]

First of all, 60 days is not that long of a life span for boots. If you want touring boots, fine, get a touring boot. But you can't justify it by saying your current boots have 60 days. You can always just buy a new liner if you feel that is the issue. My alpine boots (and liners) have over 300 days on them at this point and I am just now thinking it is new boot time.

Regarding how to proceed... do you want a lot of pain now or even more pain later? Financial pain, that is. The longer you try to adapt your current needs to a different setup, the more you'll need to back out of your original purchase decisions later.

AT boot for everything? Well, some guys make it work. If you don't need a stiff progressive flex, you might be able to make it work too. Personally, I can't make an AT boot work for charging hard in bounds. Perhaps you should keep your current boots for in bounds and look at an AT boot for touring?

But... you don't "need" an AT boot to tour. You "need" a touring binding and skins. And if you don't have a ski to put the bindings on... you also need a pair of skis. I took the route of buying skis/binding/skins first and AT boots later. Now I am encountering the "more pain later" approach as I plan to rebuild an entire new setup from scratch due to changing needs.

 

[riverc0il]

Oh yea, you shouldn't use AT boots in Alpine bindings. So if you plan to replace your current alpine boot with an AT boot, by default you will need to also get a new binding and remount or mount to a new ski. Or you can look at AT boots with the alpine adjustable blocks... which are generally the expensive beef boot varieties.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I agree..I had my old Langes for 4 seasons...and my current boots have 160 days on them but are in need of replacing soon..An AT setup kills two birds with one stone..you have a fat all mountain ski for resort skiing but you can also skin and the positive is if you don't use those skis much, they will last you several years. I'm guessing my Blowers will last me way longer than my everyday skis. Moe Gohl has Coombas mounted with Dukes and he likes em.

Last April at Killington I saw how much fun MadSkier was having on his Gotamas that are 105 or so underfoot and my 88 underfoot scratch's seemed like slalom skis in comparison. My Nordica Blowers are great, I'm slightly over 200 pounds and like to really push a ski to the max..they are plenty stiff and plow through slush piles and untracked powder so well..They are alot of work to make short turns on groomers but with a turn radius of 29m and a length of 193 it makes sense..I freaking love my Blowers..it was a shame to be off them today due to the hardpack..I bought them for $325 on Tramdock/Backcountry.com

 

[Grassi21]

First of all, 60 days is not that long of a life span for boots. If you want touring boots, fine, get a touring boot. But you can't justify it by saying your current boots have 60 days. You can always just buy a new liner if you feel that is the issue. My alpine boots (and liners) have over 300 days on them at this point and I am just now thinking it is new boot time.

Regarding how to proceed... do you want a lot of pain now or even more pain later? Financial pain, that is. The longer you try to adapt your current needs to a different setup, the more you'll need to back out of your original purchase decisions later.

AT boot for everything? Well, some guys make it work. If you don't need a stiff progressive flex, you might be able to make it work too. Personally, I can't make an AT boot work for charging hard in bounds. Perhaps you should keep your current boots for in bounds and look at an AT boot for touring?

But... you don't "need" an AT boot to tour. You "need" a touring binding and skins. And if you don't have a ski to put the bindings on... you also need a pair of skis. I took the route of buying skis/binding/skins first and AT boots later. Now I am encountering the "more pain later" approach as I plan to rebuild an entire new setup from scratch due to changing needs.

Oh yea, you shouldn't use AT boots in Alpine bindings. So if you plan to replace your current alpine boot with an AT boot, by default you will need to also get a new binding and remount or mount to a new ski. Or you can look at AT boots with the alpine adjustable blocks... which are generally the expensive beef boot varieties.

Thanks for the info. I was thinking of replacing the liner on my alpine boots and keeping them for inbounds. As for the AT boots I was interested in the Endorphin because the soles can be swapped for AT or alpine. I'm def not a hard charger. When inbounds I like short to mid radius turn. But the argument that keeps popping into my head is that alpine boots can be used to get me a started with touring. If I can squeeze a few more seasons out of my alpine boots I can go boards and bindings now and save for new steezy alpine or AT boots down the line. The added expense of skins will have to factor in as well.

 

[Grassi21]

huh? You wanna be one of those telemarketers?

i'm pretty close to a dirty telemarker as it is. i don't want to go too far. :lol:

due to location i will always spend tons of time at sundown. but the option of doing some local touring to get in shape makes the prospect of touring in vt, nh, or maine more realistic.

 

[Grassi21]

Do you think you will be able to get out touring enough that you want to invest in AT set up?

that is the big question. i'm looking for a more physically demanding challenge in the winter than just going down hill. this is one of the reasons i am liking the barrons. they don't appear to be the lightest AT binding on the market but they should hold up inbounds nicely.

 

[Grassi21]

I agree..I had my old Langes for 4 seasons...and my current boots have 160 days on them but are in need of replacing soon..An AT setup kills two birds with one stone..you have a fat all mountain ski for resort skiing but you can also skin and the positive is if you don't use those skis much, they will last you several years. I'm guessing my Blowers will last me way longer than my everyday skis. Moe Gohl has Coombas mounted with Dukes and he likes em.

Last April at Killington I saw how much fun MadSkier was having on his Gotamas that are 105 or so underfoot and my 88 underfoot scratch's seemed like slalom skis in comparison. My Nordica Blowers are great, I'm slightly over 200 pounds and like to really push a ski to the max..they are plenty stiff and plow through slush piles and untracked powder so well..They are alot of work to make short turns on groomers but with a turn radius of 29m and a length of 193 it makes sense..I freaking love my Blowers..it was a shame to be off them today due to the hardpack..I bought them for $325 on Tramdock/Backcountry.com

my nordicas are 78 underfoot. on the few pow days i have had i was yearning for more girth..... :lol: i said girth... :lol:

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

my nordicas are 78 underfoot. on the few pow days i have had i was yearning for more girth..... :lol: i said girth... :lol:

Do you mean Garth???

 

[Grassi21]

Do you mean Garth???

I meant girth silly steeze.

the idea of new boards and bindings before boots is intriguing.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I meant girth silly steeze.

the idea of new boards and bindings before boots is intriguing.

new skis are alot more fun than new boots..breaking in new boots suck..I buy new boots as infrequently as possible..I've had 3 pairs in the past decade..

 

[andyzee]

i'm pretty close to a dirty telemarker as it is. i don't want to go too far. :lol:

due to location i will always spend tons of time at sundown. but the option of doing some local touring to get in shape makes the prospect of touring in vt, nh, or maine more realistic.

You want to be a telemarker, fine, just don't call me when I sit down to dinner!

Tuckerman this year?

 

[madskier6]

Just remember that if you're buying new skis & new boots shortly thereafter, it makes the most sense to have the new skis mounted to the new boots or else you run the risk that 2 sets of holes may need to be drilled into the new skis. This is only a concern if the new boots will be bought within a month or so (or within the same season) as the new skis.

I ran into this issue last Feb when I got my new Gotamas. I knew I would be in the market for new boots shortly thereafter (i.e. a month or so) but it made no sense to have the shop mount the bindings on the new skis to my old boots when I knew they would be replaced within a few weeks. Could have had 2 sets of holes in skis that were 2 months old? No thank you. So I pushed up the timetable for buying the new boots & then had the shop mount the skis with the new boots.

This may not be a huge issue if (1) you'll be getting similar boots with a similar size as your older boots, or (2) there's a large enough gap in time between purchases of new skis & new boots. Just something to think about.

 

[mondeo]

HighwayStar has some bump skis he's looking to unload. You could mount AT bindings on those.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

HighwayStar has some bump skis he's looking to unload. You could mount AT bindings on those.

don't buy anything from highwaygnar..all his equipment requires mandatory GS turns..:smash:

 

[Grassi21]

Just remember that if you're buying new skis & new boots shortly thereafter, it makes the most sense to have the new skis mounted to the new boots or else you run the risk that 2 sets of holes may need to be drilled into the new skis. This is only a concern if the new boots will be bought within a month or so (or within the same season) as the new skis.

I ran into this issue last Feb when I got my new Gotamas. I knew I would be in the market for new boots shortly thereafter (i.e. a month or so) but it made no sense to have the shop mount the bindings on the new skis to my old boots when I knew they would be replaced within a few weeks. Could have had 2 sets of holes in skis that were 2 months old? No thank you. So I pushed up the timetable for buying the new boots & then had the shop mount the skis with the new boots.

This may not be a huge issue if (1) you'll be getting similar boots with a similar size as your older boots, or (2) there's a large enough gap in time between purchases of new skis & new boots. Just something to think about.

Good point. If I do skis and bindings first I would be putting off boots for 1 or 2 more seasons. Maybe new liners for the alpine boots.

 

[jack97]

NOTE TO ALL MY CLIT BRETHREN: Please hold off on the trash talk about getting a bump ski next. ;-) :lol:

If I was a clit ... i would say go for either the krypton, full tilt or a modify lange.

 

[Grassi21]

HighwayStar has some bump skis he's looking to unload. You could mount AT bindings on those.

don't buy anything from highwaygnar..all his equipment requires mandatory GS turns..:smash:

I offered to trade him these for the bump skis. He didn't bite. :lol: