If bindings were cars, the Switchback would be a Subaru for its all conditions versatility. It isn’t the most powerful binding on the market, but it easily goes where others can’t. Weightwise it’s light, three pounds per pair. On the “road” it tracks superbly, uphill and downhill, and if you know how to drive ‘er,...
The Hope and Risk of TTN
To eliminate issues of boot/binding incompatibility, Pierre Mouyade is proposing a Telemark Tech Norm (TTN) to define the sole of a telemark boot that is compatible with bindings like Lynx or Meidjo. The TTN specifies dimensions related to the tech inserts that are absent with the current NTN specifications. It nails down the width of...
22 Design’s Double-Up Heel Post
For years I’ve considered 22 Designs spring loaded climbing post to be the easiest to use. Just hook your ski basket or the handle beak under the wire and lightly pull up. The bar snaps to attention. Climbing bars like BD’s O series, the classic G3 Targa, or Voile, offer two climbing bar heights, but...
Telemark Tech Norm – Another one?
There’s a move afoot to develop a new “norm” for telemark boots, a Telemark Tech Norm (TTN), to account for the presence of tech inserts in NTN boots. Whether such a norm will be approved and adopted remains to be seen. According to Pierre Mouyade, the man pushing the new norm and Meidjo’s inventor, Scarpa...
BCA introduces Tracker S
Backcountry Access has announced a new avalanche beacon, the Tracker S — S for Stupid Simple Searching (my interpretation, not their claim). It’s the most intuitive avalanche beacon out there. You can find other beacons with more features, or more range, but not easier to use. In the hands of a pro who practices regularly...
