UKC

Hello,

I am in the process of buying my first ski touring set up.

I am planning on spending next winter in the Alps ski touring. I will be mainly be doing day tours but also some longer hut to hut tours. I am after one ski to do everything. I know this doesn't really exist but I can't afford more than one pair.

I have been skiing since I was kid, but am by no means a great skier. I can get down most things on piste but don't look particularly stylish. Before anyone suggests I am planning on having lessons.

Anyway I have found a pair of (new) Plum Guide Rental bindings lying around at my work. I could probably acquire these very cheaply.

I was thinking about putting these on something like a Blackcrows Camox Freebird: http://www.black-crows.com/en/categories/0-skis/products/18-camox-freebird

My boots are Scarpa Maelstrale. Would this be a good set up?

I have heard you can get brakes for the Plum bindings but these aren't very good.

Does anyone know if you can retro fit Kreuzpitze brakes to Plum bindings? http://www.kreuzspitze.com/EN/prodotti-15.php

Cheers, Tom

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Hi Tom,

That sounds like a perfectly fine set up.

I wouldn't bother with trying to fit those brakes, but just go for a leash.

Cheers,

Jack

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Hi

I have Plum guides on Movement response skis (+Maestrale boots) which I use as a one setup for everything - piste skiing with the good lady, lift based off piste, day and multi day ski touring. Seems a fine setup for me.

I have fitted the Plum Guide brakes but they can be a pain in the arse as they don’t always engage/disengage when you need then to leading sometimes to some unnecessary faffing on steep slopes. They also seem to interfere with the dynafit harscheisen with heel in the lowest position (ie when you really need the harscheisen to grip on icy traverses). If it wasn’t for the piste skiing bit I would probably dump the brakes in favour of leashes.

In reply to Jack Geldard - UKC Chief Editor:

ding ding.

Good rig, forget about them brakes, get a leash.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:
As others have said - sounds fine to me. I have the Kreuzspitze brakes and they seem to work well, very light, easy to fit and remove in a couple of seconds.

In reply to Dave:

Can I thread-hijack a little to ask about the Kreuzspitze brakes? What's the width like: spot on or few mms to play with? I'm considering getting some for a BD aspect ski, 90mm at the waist, and wondering if I should go for the 90 or 105mm?

Getting back to the OP, I got Plum Guides as my first foray into tech bindings. I did like them, but found it fiddly to get into the pins: fine on flat ground, but on icy traverses or steeper slopes, could be annoying. This would, I imagine, improve with practice, but I've switched to the G3 ion for my main ski, and find these much easier to use.
Additionally, something to watch for, probably not limited to plum, is the build up of ice under the toe piece. This caused constant pre release on me on a steep slope, until I realised what was causing it. Worryingly, the pins seemed to click and engage each time. I now would be more aware to watch out for this and prophylacticaly clear it before any descent.

In reply to damowilk:


This is pretty much a problem with all tech binders. One way to try to mitigate the problem is always try to fully lock the toe after stepping in, before setting it back to the ski mode. If the pins don't engage properly, you really can't get the toe locked.

In reply to HeMa:

Thanks, good tip. This works with Plum, as well as Dynafit?

In reply to Dave:


Thanks for your help everyone.

Why do I not want brakes?

Please can someone explain the difference between the Orb Freebird and the Chamox Freebird? Which would be better for me I am 180cm and weigh just shy of 85kg.

In reply to damowilk:

Pretty any tech binder, on which you have the lever to lock the toe for uphill progress.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:


Wideness of teh ski. Orb is 90mm at the waist and Chamox is 97mm or so. Also Chamox has a longer sidecut turn radii, meaning that it is a bit more relaxed and forgiving in higher speeds and difficult snow, but requires more user input when its tight.

My pick would be Chamox, but then again some people here seem to think that my preference is on wider skis. Your size would suggest a ski in low 180s length. So it would be teh 177 or 186 for ya. 177 if you like long uphills and guido turns, 186 is you also like to open it up a bit more and do longer high speed turns.

To be fair, I'd prolly get the 177 as I'm smaller than you (174cm/71kg). But to be honest my real pick would be the 183 Corvus.

You could also consider Navis Freebird in 179.

And say Hi to Toby next time your out climbing.

In reply to damowilk:

There is a few mm to play with on the brakes, the arms are quite thin and could easily be bent a fraction as well if need be.

In reply to Dave:

Thanks

In reply to Dave:

Hi Dave,

Where did you buy the Kreuzspitze brakes? Are they available in the UK?

Cheers, Tom

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:


Tom, if you find another pair (or anything similar) that needs to be sold, can you let me know? I want to build up a set of AT gear for next winter so I don't have to rely on Dave's charity/old gear!

Having skied on a set up with no brake but with leashes I can say they are a bit of a faff when piste skiing. My current tele skis have brakes so don't need a leash are are much less hassle for it. I think some people say leashes are a bad idea if you get avalanched, but maybe just not getting avalanched is the best way to avoid that issue!

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Not as far as I know, neither here in Finland.... I mail ordered direct from Kreuzspitze via their website. It took a bit of time as they didn't have the wider brakes I needed in stock but they did eventually arrive. Maybe like all this special skimo gear they are expensive for what they are. Just to divert slightly I also swapped my Dynafit radical heel towers for Maruelli versions which are much neater and a fraction lighter with a better ramp angle for me, but are also expensive for a lump of aluminium. Frankenbinding... Great fun.

In reply to TobyA:


I got good skis for ya. You only need to get some dynafiddless (pre Radical toe-piece) and you don't even need to drill...

In action here...
vimeo.com/38732842

Also showing the method of lockin' the toe first to make sure they are indeed "in".

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

Hi Tom,

Set up sounds fine. I would probably go with those bindings if they are really cheap. A few things to consider, mainly what I've concluded from lots of lift-based weekends this winter:

- If in reality you are going to spend a lot of days lift-based piste or off piste skiing (you should if you want to improve your skiing) then you will find not having a brakes a pain.

- That set up will be pretty light which will be harder to learn/improve on, especially when the pistes are icy.

- It might be worth keeping your eyes peeled/asking around for a second hand pair of more piste-orientated skis with alpine bindings that you could use when not intending to go uphill. There must be loads of people in Sheffield with an unloved pair of skis sitting in their garage.

- Don't be too worried about the exact model of ski to go for, just don't get anything too specific. A bigger brand like K2 or Fischer will probably be cheaper than Black Crows. E.g. the K2 Wayback is a popular do-everything ski. Black Crows are very popular in Chamonix and hence with Brits, but you don't see them so much elsewhere.

- Personally I wouldn't go wider than 90mm for a do-everything ski.

Get in touch re weekend tours next winter/spring!

Chris

In reply to chris_B:


What about routes Chris?! You sound like Hamish...

Cheers for the advice. Think I'm going to go a for a pair of Blizzard Bushwakers that I've found cheap. They're supposed to be good for improving on.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:


Yup, good skis albeit my (bad) memory says that they are a tad heavy for their size. Then again, I seem to recall them having a real metal laminate layer on 'em...

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:

The climber to skier conversion happens to the best of us!

Potentially up for routes, but not if I have skiing plans...

In reply to HeMa:
They look very pretty, but the edit cuts in the video: was that to hide when you smacked the skis straight into those bigger birches? Would the skis be OK for Scottish hard iciness along with Tamok powder and Lyngen sea-level gloop in April?

TRip - re: the polkadot tree wells I mentioned to you in connection with thread: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OoWLbDymfSY/UZs_eR7AWtI/AAAAAAAAGPw/O2dkRpJ-DH8/s...

In reply to TobyA:


I stopped, no point in showing me lookin' around where to ski and get me legs back up for skiing...

But yeah, they'll work even on ice (I've skied a bunch of groomers here in the land of tilted ice rings), but softer snow is where they shine. Perhaps something skinnier (and shorter) might be in order for Scotland though...