The TGR Skinny Ski Ski Tourers' Refuge Thread

in my research, i thought the la spo had the widest last and would be best for wider foots but the stratos i tried on was quite narrow. the shop guy said the scarpas are the narrowest followed by la spos. can confirm as an alien rs was way too narrow for me. the dna wasnt on my radar because i thought it was narrow but surprisingly fit my foot (though will need some work for comfort). i hear the PGs have the most generous last and would love to try these on some day. i think my lasts are 101ish as well (maybe a tad more on the right).


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FYI skiuphill up in Canada got some 180 dynastar m-vert 88s in. I grabbed a pair. Not 100% confident till they show up. Will confirm when in hand. Pretty hopeful on em as 1200 ish gram spring and distance ski

oh man im really lookin at them in 172 but cant justify it this season. cant believe theyre 1150 grams at 88mm (at 172). too bad theyre not at the shop here in squam, i wanted to check em out in person next time i went.


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PG has a very unusual fit, wide ish with an open, accommodating instep but low vertically around the sides of the toebox. Aliens feel roomier to me except they are a little shorter. The regular Alien is a good option to consider for traverses, it has a full liner but still only weighs 800-900g.

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Originally Posted by doebedoe

Finally breaking down and replacing my decade old Praxis Yetis this season.

Looking for a ski ~95mm, <1400g in 180-185, ~20 turn radius. Prefer something that has a reasonably sized and not insanely stiff shovel for soft snow performance, but ideally a bit longer effective edge and stiffer than my Flex 3 182 Yetis. Prefer a flatter tail than the yetis but ideally something that has some taper/releasability back there for weird snow conditions and poor skiing form.
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Took a flyer on some cheap sticks because I really liked the shape of them (22m radius, long tip rocker, slight tail rocker), and the weight (1398 and 1402 respectively). I had skied a couple mini laps last Jan in British Columbia on them...but the conditions were good so not an entirely comprehensive test.

Looking forward to dropping 540g per foot with new ski/binding setup, even if it ain't quite "skinny"

Binding is Kuluar LT 12 plus leash, ski is 2022 Rossignol Alpineer 96 185cm.

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thats an impressive and fun weight imo for something that seems like you could ski it fairly enjoyably in the bc. the kuluar lt looks so sweet. think youre gonna have alot of fun on those.

what kinda boot(s)are you planning on pairing?


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Originally Posted by ktoor

thats an impressive and fun weight imo for something that seems like you could ski it fairly enjoyably in the bc. the kuluar lt looks so sweet. think youre gonna have alot of fun on those.

what kinda boot(s)are you planning on pairing?


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Skorpius CRII at ~1300g. While it only saves me 50g on my modified first gen Hawx Ultra it walks sooo much better

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Originally Posted by doebedoe

Skorpius CRII at ~1300g. While it only saves me 50g on my modified first gen Hawx Ultra it walks sooo much better

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Great setup. Holy shit I am jealous, well done.

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Originally Posted by tgapp

Great setup. Holy shit I am jealous, well done.

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You convinced me. Luckily the new CRII has just enough additional instep room to make it work.

Curious if anyones skied both the the Alp Tracks 85 and Trab Magico.2 and have any thoughts, mostly on which one is more damp on refrozen, edge hold, or any other thoughts. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by dub_xion

Curious if anyones skied both the the Alp Tracks 85 and Trab Magico.2 and have any thoughts, mostly on which one is more damp on refrozen, edge hold, or any other thoughts. Thanks!

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Haven't skied the Movement 85 but I have skied wider Alp Tracks. Movement and Trab are the dampest light skis, I didn't get along with the very old school Trab shape at all so I can't speak to it but several Skimo dads I know swear by the Magico.2

Anyone near summit Colorado have a dynafit race binding jig I can borrow?

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Originally Posted by dub_xion

Curious if anyones skied both the the Alp Tracks 85 and Trab Magico.2 and have any thoughts, mostly on which one is more damp on refrozen, edge hold, or any other thoughts. Thanks!

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Haven't skied both. But the magico.2 is the Goldilocks ski for me for mountaineering. If I could have only one ski it would be it. Handles hard snow really well and is very confidence inspiring if you can ski a bit forward.
I prefer my mistico for fast powder touring. The magic.2 gets a bit bogged down with too much soft snow.

ive been looking hard at the magico2 for mountaineering. was wondering if yalls opinion is that they work best with a beefier (ie ~1100g) boot than a race-ish boot? planning on having an adjustment plate to allow for both but dunno if thatll be usefulat all.


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Originally Posted by ktoor

ive been looking hard at the magico2 for mountaineering. was wondering if yalls opinion is that they work best with a beefier (ie ~1100g) boot than a race-ish boot? planning on having an adjustment plate to allow for both but dunno if thatll be usefulat all.


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I find a light, stiff boot is fine. I use the newer alien 1.0 and it's a great match

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Originally Posted by Benneke10

Haven't skied the Movement 85 but I have skied wider Alp Tracks. Movement and Trab are the dampest light skis, I didn't get along with the very old school Trab shape at all so I can't speak to it but several Skimo dads I know swear by the Magico.2

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Trab and movement don’t hold a candle to Aski though. If you’re after damp and very light, Aski is the king

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Originally Posted by Climber Joe

Trab and movement don’t hold a candle to Aski though. If you’re after damp and very light, Aski is the king

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‘Aski is a really unique construction, they use a thermoplastic composite versus a thermoset which is how all other skis are made. From what I’ve seen on Skimo, they could use some modern shaping. Climber Joe can you share more?

I have a pair of Aski Verglas. They are not as light as others in the size range, but in less than perfect snow they they are FAR better. They dampness is a big factor.

I hardly ever use them, though, because I pretty much don't go skiing when the snow is bad.

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Originally Posted by Climber Joe

Trab and movement don’t hold a candle to Aski though. If you’re after damp and very light, Aski is the king

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I would agree Aski is more damp, although I would consider them to be in a higher weight class, as they are ~150-200g heavier than Trab and Movement skis in equivalent sizes, apart from their race skis which are certainly special. I'd put the Askis in a category closer to Volkl V-Werks. I am interested in trying the Verglas though... maybe they will make disregard the small weight penalty.

Just found (somehow) a pair of lightly used vario heels, tore em down and rebuilt them. Interesting construction with conical spring washers and two ball detents for lateral release, but the bom is huge - upwards of 25 small parts. Are the gara titans of similar design? I've read online that the vario heels were heavier and had more elasticity, but have seen no proof of that anywhere.

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Originally Posted by Westcoaster

Just found (somehow) a pair of lightly used vario heels, tore em down and rebuilt them. Interesting construction with conical spring washers and two ball detents for lateral release, but the bom is huge - upwards of 25 small parts. Are the gara titans of similar design? I've read online that the various heels were heavier and had more elasticity, but have seen no proof of that anywhere.

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Did you get that pair on eBay? I was thinking about it and noticed someone else grabbed em. Not sure about the internals as I've never taken them apart, but the Gara Titans are different. They are significantly (50g or so?) lighter and much less powerful. The Vario heels are one of a kind, the most elastic light binding ever made. Happy to trade you a pair of Gara heels if you want something lighter...

Also... I did a lot of spring and summer skiing last year and my Vario heels saw a lot of dirt and mud. I was thinking about rebuilding them but you are making it sounds pretty involved.

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Originally Posted by Benneke10

Did you get that pair on eBay? I was thinking about it and noticed someone else grabbed em. Not sure about the internals as I've never taken them apart, but the Gara Titans are different. They are significantly (50g or so?) lighter and much less powerful. The Vario heels are one of a kind, the most elastic light binding ever made. Happy to trade you a pair of Gara heels if you want something lighter...

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Yeah I did. They were dirty but not too abused. I did a terrible job of documenting the disassembly and reassembly, but here are some photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vFjSXf6ErN7MaHmM6

They're not that complicated, it's just a lot of individual parts. If you have circlip pliers, some loctite or vibratite and lithium grease it takes about an hour to do both. I threw everything in an ultrasonic cleaner and they went back together great. Since the detent balls are in the middle of the pedestal, and not exposed at the bottom of the pedestal like atk heels, I think they should be less susceptible to fouling from dirt and grime.

Relevant to this discussion, Ebay has the best option I have found for a Dow Molykote equivalent binding grease that is safe for plastic binding parts (i.e. Dynafit SSL 2.0 heels with a plastic body). G3 binding grease appears to be discontinued.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/280646126932
or search "DOW MOLYKOTE EM-30L Synthetic Grease, Electronics Audio"

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Originally Posted by skis_the_trees

Relevant to this discussion, Ebay has the best option I have found for a Dow Molykote equivalent binding grease that is safe for plastic binding parts (i.e. Dynafit SSL 2.0 heels with a plastic body). G3 binding grease appears to be discontinued.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/280646126932
or search "DOW MOLYKOTE EM-30L Synthetic Grease, Electronics Audio"

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Ah great advice. Was going to buy some atk grease for generic use.