Backcountry gear advice (JD- you out there?)

[Euler]

I'm starting to look for bargains in a backcountry set up to use in the woods and hills around my house, or to mess around with at a NELSAP area like Hogback. Reading JD's threads, and others, I'm now familiar with the skis to look for (Alpina x-terrain or Atomic Chugach or somehing of that nature...a burly, shaped cross country ski with a metal edge.)

What I still need to figure out is the boot/ binding combo to go with it. Looking at Ebay I see lots of boots and bindings that are clearly not all compatible with one another. Can anyone give me some names/types of boots/bindings I might look for? Some have 3 pins and look like a rugged version of the old 75mm cross country boots I used to have, while others say three pin and have a cable, while others have a cable, but don't appear to have pins, and then there's something called NNN...

Who can tell me a bit of basic boot/binding info before I start wasting my $$ on incompatible stuff?

 

[snoseek]

Just start out with a pair of trekkers and skins with your current ski gear. As you get into it more buy some A.T. bindings and boots. You could just skip the trekkers and pick up a good reliable at binding. I tour with alpine boots and they are kind of heavy and a little uncomfy but they work o.k. I guess for short approaches. You can talk live on the web with the folks @ backcountry.com and they can answer questions you might have.

 

[skidmarks]

Tele or not

The big question is do you want heavy duty XC gear that you can do some low angle downhill stuff on or more of a true down hill rig? The second question is do you want to learn to telemark?

I use lighter gear, Fischer Rebound & Super Tele 75MM binding with a Garmont Excursion boot and it's big fun to kick and glide and tour around with a little downhill mixed in. For steeper stuff like the Thunderbolt trail you'll need heavier gear or AT equipment.

 

[cbcbd]

Ok, copied my response from a similar question on another forum:

Just to clarify some terms...

Backcountry (BC) skiing - is a term used to define any skiing with any skis/bindings that is done outside of a ski resort boundary.

Cross Country - XC - usually skinny skis with no edges, NNN bindings, small leather boots - think kick and glide on groomed trails. Any real Downhill with this setup is basically survival skiing.

Backcountry skis and bindings (also referred to as BC skis or BC bindings) - this is a large and vague segment of skiing, IMO, since it can involve an array of ski/boot/binding combinations. It is usually called "touring" and BC skis and skiing is usually best for rolling hills where you'll see lots of ups and downs and actually be able to turn gracefully with it. Because of this you'll want to get a ski that you wax the middle for ascending, or a waxless - one that has a scaled middle bottom which lets you get up smaller hills and still gives you regular glide for the way down. This segment can include skinnier skis, softer bindings- but a little burlier than NNN (called NNN-BC), and soft leather boots. But it can also include fatter skis with metal edges, with tele bindings and a plastic tele boot. 3-pin bindings also fit in this category and they basically fit in between an NNN-BC and a Tele binding in terms of tourability/weight/stiffness. Note: BC bindings have a free heel. For more info on this segment only, this is a good site:
http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/DirtbagPinner/dirtbag.html

Alpine Touring (aka AT aka Randonnee) - is a binding that allows you to unhook your heel for ascent and to lock it back in for descent

Telemark - is a binding and a turn - allows to have the heel free for ascending and the toe connection is strong enough for you to pivot on it for descending using the telemark turn

So what kind of skiing do you want to do? Rolling hills - many ups and downs? A long uphill followed with a long downhill?

 

[Euler]

Thanks for the responses so far. I want to be able to mess around in the hills and woods near my house...some right out my back yard. So it will involve logging roads, hiking trails, etc over rolling terrain, and also want to be able to come down some moderately pitched tree terrain. I know I don't want Trekkers, by the time I buy the Trekkers and the skins I'll have a couple hundred invested in a heavy, uncomfortable set up. I think that sounds more appropriate for slackcountry, semi-lift served terrain just off the beaten path in a resort.

The page cbcbd referred me to, Dave's Nordic Backcountry Skiing Page
really helped out a lot in figuring out some of the terminology, thanks.


I've got bids in right now on a Rottafella 3 pin binding w/o a cable, a pair of Rottafela "Chili "bindings which seem to have a cable but no pins, and a pair of Scarpa T1 boots. I'm hoping I'm right that these boots could possibly work in either of the bindings I'm bidding on.

 

[cbcbd]

Yep, Dave's site is right up the BC skiing alley, which sounds like what you'll be getting into.

The T1s (and most Tele boots) have holes on the bottom to be compatible with 3-pin bindings. And they are a 73mm tele boot (aka duckbill) so they will also fit the Chili tele bindings.

Post some pics of the setup when it's all set and have a blast!

 

[Euler]

I came across a good deal on these skis at a local shop yesterday:

Rossignol Backcountry 65 Positrack AR 08/09
I could get them for about $100 from a store down here in W. Dover, but I don't think they're the skis I want.

Anyone know anything about them? They look wimpy to me, like I wouldn't have much luck trying to maneuver downhill on a hiking trail with them.