Open main menu

Alpine Touring Gear

The best alpine touring gear, reviewed and curated by the Trailspace community. The latest review was added on February 27, 2024. Stores' prices and availability are updated daily.

Recent Alpine Touring Product Reviews

rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Åsnes Rabb 68

A high-performance, lightweight, and wide mountain ski that tours well enough for hut-to-hut adventures and turns well enough for some summits on the side. Best in friendly snow conditions, but can handle some degree of crust and crud. Requires some driving rather than just riding in difficult snow. Me and my Rabbs doing our swing  Here's the deal: you’re coming to Norway for a multiday hut-to-hut ski tour, with side trips to big slopes and summits, in late March or April when the mountain gods… Full review

rated 5 of 5 stars
Flylow Scotty Comp Vest

This vest is my favorite new accessory for the resort and the side country. I recommend it for skinning up the resort trails or mellow, low risk, side country excursions. I am a six foot, 185 pound skiing male with broad shoulders and a 34 X 32 pant size. I ski 100 days a year between resort, backcountry, and Nordic. I picked up the Scotty Comp Vest to try to solve the backpack problem... let me explain:   Flylow Scotty Comp Vest My routine on Tuesdays and Thursdays is to get to my local mountain… Full review

rated 4 of 5 stars
Marker Griffon 13

Great overall binding. Good range of DIN, price to performance, light-ish for an alpine binding, and looks good. Suffers from an imprecise feel, and creaking with soft snow wedged in the binding. I mounted my 2018 pair on a set of K2 Marksmen, to use in various B.C. resorts. I used them for three seasons, before buying a new pair of 2021's to mount on some Blizzard Rustler 11's. Both times I've used a pair of Lange RS 130 with them, in 29.5. I've skied 200 days total, doing everything in the resort,… Full review

rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Leki Vario XS

Leki's Vario XS four-season poles are designed for kids, but are fully functional on trail or in the snow. Adults or children who use poles in the 80-110 cm (31-43") range will find these two-piece poles are easy to adjust both for length and strap position. Leki's HTS 5.5 aluminum balances strength and weight, making the Vario XS a four-season pole that can adjust for growing children.   Leki Vario XS  The Vario XS replaced the Leki Vario Jr. SpeedLock and, while aimed at younger hikers and skiers,… Full review

rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Åsnes X-Skin 58mm Mohair

A lightweight, short skin that integrates with Åsnes skis via dependable locking system. Gives a solid kick and moderate climbing power while still allowing some glide on easy terrain, at 1/4 to 1/3 the weight of a full-length skin. Small enough to fit a pair in a chest pocket. Ideal for hut-to-hut trips, and good skiers can take them to the summits. As backcountry or mountaineering skis have gotten bigger, skins have followed along. My full-length skins for my biggest skis, G3 Finder 107s, weigh… Full review

rated 3 of 5 stars
Leki Guide Lite V

For this review, I'm going to break the Leki Guide Lite V ski pole into each of its components and go over each one separately, since I have some very mixed feelings about the pole. Pole Body The main body of the Guide Lite V pole is a two-piece, all-aluminum construction adjustable from 110 to 140 centimeters. The construction of the pole itself is more or less what you'd expect from a high-end ski pole designed for backcountry skiers. Due to its all-aluminum design, the Guide Lite V is slightly… Full review

rated 4 of 5 stars
Black Diamond Compactor Ski Poles

Lighter, faster, and easier to use than other poles, yet worries about durability linger. Despite the worries, I really like these poles. Summary: From Black Diamond: "The aluminum compactor pole adjusts between popular pole lengths and uses an internal Kevlar cord to instantly break down to packable size and redeploys in a flash. One, rock solid, point of adjustment means you can keep moving instead of being the one always fiddling with your poles." I trek on my ski poles. Or maybe I should say… Full review

rated 4 of 5 stars
Scarpa F1

Looking for a lightweight, flexible AT boot which I can fit a wide foot into following some foot surgery. Very accommodating thermal fitting options, including a mold-able outer shell I had to sit out last year's season here in Colorado due to extended recovery following bone spur removal surgery. Nevertheless, I'm back in the saddle so to speak and am looking to expand into the AT realm. Following doing a fair bit of boot research and getting good advice from a Scarpa rep I spoke with I chose the… Full review

rated 4.5 of 5 stars
Volkl Attiva Aurora

"Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman" just like SECRET deodorant used to be! Ha Ha. If you read my intro and thought "Oh no, he's reviewing women's deodorant", you'll be sadly mistaken. In fact, I'm reviewing a pair of alpine (downhill) skis. Full disclosure: I'm a 6'1" and ~230lb adult man who proudly and confidently rides this pair of Volkl women's skis. I'll start with a little backstory for context: in the fall of 2014, I was not yet an alpine skier. I had attempted to ski on ONE… Full review

Other Types of Skis and Snowshoes

Find more skis and snowshoes reviewed in these related categories:

Snowshoes

Nordic Touring Gear

Telemark Gear

+7 more types