AT convert

[Admin]

Well, I bit the bullet about an hour ago and ordered the new Garmont Adrenalins that I've been lusting after all summer:

This makes the transition nearly complete. Last spring I mounted a pair of CMH Edition Völkl Explosivs with Fritschi Freeride bindings, and even picked up some adjustable poles for those nasty traverse lines. Already have the beacon, shovel, probe and a modicum of avi knowledge (and the common sense to take the avi forecast and then err way beyond their most conservative estimate). That leaves me only the climbing skins to get.

And I'll still only need 1 pair of boots. Those Adrenalins are reportedly very stiff for an AT boot when locked in downhill mode, and come with an interchangeable Alpine DIN boot sole for using in Alpine bindings. The best of all worlds, or a Jack of all trades and master of none? I'll have to wait until the snow flies. I hate buying something for skiing without using it first, but it's hard enough to find the AT gear that you want to buy, much less find a demo opportunity -- especially here in the East.

What do y'all think? Am I making the right decision?

(And BTW, yes -- the "e" key on my 'puter does work! :lol: Both "Explosiv" and "Adrenalin" are spelled for some reason without their respective final letter "e." Coincidence? I think not!)

 

[woodi7259]

Definetly!! New gear is always good and from what i've read those boots are supposed to be really sweet. They tour really well and have almost the same amount of support as a typical alpine boot on the downhill. There was some discussion about em a few days ago on ttips. Now you just gotta decide what skins you want. red g3's purple accensions, or those nice light blue and white cow print glidelites. I just picked up a pair of 95mm accension seconds from mgear for 80 bucks, got lucky finding a deal this time of year.

Those boots look real nice and of course they're garmonts which I'm a big fan of.

 

[riverc0il]

marc, definitely report back throughout the winter on your experiences with that gear! i've been longing to get off piste but have yet to invest the time into learning telemark. AT gear looks like it would be a fantastic alternative to having to learn a different style of skiing AND having to buy all new gear. i can deal with new gear, but i can't seem to find time or desire to try free healing downhill.

 

[hamdog]

wholly cow! those things are expensive! did they come with a free pass somewhere? omg! thier only boots. what's the markup on those babies? 500%? that's my whole setup right there.

i looked high and low to find the best skins for my split last year, and found out a couple of things:

accension skins are suppossed to be the best skins you can get, good glue lasts long time. it's just to bad the BD makes them. oh well.

BCA has some good ones too. (Backcountry Access)

i have those voile skins for my split and they're holding up great. glue is still good for another year. i'll have to wait and see if i have to reapply more glue during the year depending on how much i use them. last year, i got about 15 days on them. this year will be a little less than that. i've heard of these voile skins lasting for 3 years before glue needed to be reapplied. accension makes the voile skins for the splitboards.

since you're using a ski(two of them), i'd suggest getting some skins with tail clips on them to hook to the backs of your ski's. the tails are the first thing to come loose when touring, and believe me, it is NO FUN trying to scrape the frozen ice and snow off of them while the wind is blowing steadily with already negative degree temps.........and warming them up in your coat or down your pants near your crotch close to the body doesn't exactly work either. argh! the clips will save the day. unfortunately, there are no skins made for splitboards that have tail clips to them.

don't go to short or to narrow on choosing your skins either. the more surface area in contact with the snow, the better. good luck, and enjoy your boot investment. wholly cow!

 

[NHpowderhound]

I had great luck with my Ascension Clip Fix skins last season.I'm guessing 10-12 days last season and the glue looks good.A couple days when the temps got above 40 the snow glopped up around the tails a bit but a good kick usually got it off.
I am definately in the market for some AT boot this year.Maybey even some boards too but we'll have to see.My mind is still open to brands.I am still trying to get more first hand reports but when it boils down to it they just better fit right.I'll try them on in North Conway or Intervale and then order them over the internet.
Congrats Marc, on your new purchase!I remember last year how excited I was to get my Frischti's!
((*
*))NHPH

 

[Admin]

unfortunately, there are no skins made for splitboards that have tail clips to them.

Have you tried fashioning Lou Dawson's Rat Tail for your split board skins? Simple, cheap, and effective.

 

[Admin]

I remember last year how excited I was to get my Frischti's!

Ditto for when I mounted mine to the Explosivs, but then my wife made me move them down into the basement from their rightful place against the bedroom wall, where I could ogle them. She just doesn't understand. :wink:

I'm just waiting for when she sees the Amex bill for the boots. :shock:

 

[hamdog]

Admin says:

Have you tried fashioning Lou Dawson's Rat Tail for your split board skins? Simple, cheap, and effective.

i have seen that system before, and since the tails on each ski is curved and comes to a point on only one side it would tend to slip off and not really be effective in holding the tail on if it were to come loose.

what needs to be made is a curved skin at the tip and the tail with a clip on each end. the skin at the tip is cut curved and follows the edges of the board, or each ski. it's just cut straight at the tail. the tail needs to be made longer and have the same design at the tip does, being curved to follow the edges of each ski. there is a right ski skin and a left ski skin for my split. i think that regular skins can be use on any ski. kinda hard to explain......

think of a snowboard split in half right down the middle. that's exactly what my tails are like.

i'm sure voile or accension/BD has thought of this, but hasn't come up with a solution yet. to bad there isn't a larger market for splittin. i could make a killing with this idea. haha

i don't know how effective that 'Rat Tail' system would be, and i'd rather not drill a hole through my precious baby to accept the tail hook thing, like shown in that picture. i just call it a day when i can't get it to stick back correctly. someone's trying to tell me that i shouldn't be out when that happens. plus, it's a good excuse if it's that cold out. there are other days.

 

[Admin]

think of a snowboard split in half right down the middle. that's exactly what my tails are like.

Understood. That makes complete sense.

 

[mapadu]

What do y'all think? Am I making the right decision?

Without a doubt, yes. I'm in a pair of Garmont's best of two years ago, the G-Ride G-Fit, and what you're getting is certainly a step up from that. It took a bit of getting used to for me, with the ultra-light, relatively soft (by DH standards) G-Ride, but I have used them every day since this past January and am loving them. Too bad they're starting to die now that they've become my exclusive boot - lift served or not. The walk mode is awesome, even if only used for walking from your car to the lifts. And your choice of binding and ski is perfect in my opinion - that's exactly the setup I use. You're gonna love it, 'specially when you get some skins to complete the package. Doors are about to open for you that were always locked before....

 

[JimG.]

What do y'all think? Am I making the right decision?

Good move Marc...we discussed these boots at the end of last season and I think you are going to love them. Remember, as much as these Garmonts are promoted as being like DH boots, they are still going to be softer than what you are used to and will take a little getting used to. I'm going to be spending alot of time in my AT gear this season regardless of snow conditions...I'm looking forward to my spring trip to Tucks this season as it will be my oldest son's first trip there in the spring .

 

[Admin]

The good news: my boots arrived yesterday. Yippee!

So, last night I went about fitting the thermoformable liners to my feet. Unformed, I could barely fit my feet into the things, and could do so only with my toes not only touching the front of the boot, but literally all scrunched up. I was assured by many others that the G-Fit liners are un-Godly small until you cook them.

So, I fired up the oven to 250ºF and prepared toe caps and spacers from old socks and duct tape. I popped the liners into the oven, set the timer to 15 minutes, and grabbed a beer.

<sniff, sniff> "What's that smell?"

Rule #1: When these liners heat up, they open up like a butterfly, so be sure that there's enough space between the oven rack and the top of the oven to keep the liners from touching the metal at the top of the oven.

Damn.

About 8 minutes go by. <sniff, sniff> "Hmmm...what's that smell?"

Rule #2: Make absolutely, positively certain that you did, in fact, set the oven at 250º, and didn't leave it at the 400º setting from the last time you made dinner.

Double damn.

Now that I'm done, I have a very snug, yet agreeable boot...with some ugly cosmetic scarring/scorching/burning to parts of the liner, particularly that section that sticks up beyond the shell.

Triple damn.

 

[JimG.]

Nice! My bootfitter is ordering mine and I'll avoid the inevitable damage that occurs when I try to cook things other than food and have him fit the liners. You got custom footbeds in there?

 

[Admin]

You got custom footbeds in there?

At the moment my custom footbeds take up just enough volume to make it a tad too snug in there. The stock footbed has decent support, and I'm going to leave that in there until the things pack out a little bit and then swap the footbeds.

An alternative that I haven't yet ruled out is picking up a pair of size 25.5 G-Fit liners. I confess that I'm a bit heartbroken at destroying the cosmetics of the liners, and the scorching also led to some thin areas that may compromise comfort and/or insulating qualities. As things are still a bit more snug than I like, I may get that half-size larger liner (both the 25.0 and the 25.5 employ the same shell) and just knock off two potential issues with one reasonably small (sub-$100) purchase and be done with it.

Then again, I may just see how they pack out after a few days first. That money is best spent on skins right now. If the boots remain too snug, or are downright painful after a few days of skiing, then the new 25.5 liner will definitely be the way to go.

 

[JimG.]

I think I'm going to be glad that I'm getting the 27.5 liners instead of the 27's. I would feel lost without my custom footbeds.

 

[Admin]

JimG., take care with those liners on your Adrenalins. I've learned that Garmont North America doesn't have any separate liners for the Adrenalin yet, and likely won't any time soon.

Along with the scorching, the 25 is just going to be too darned small. If I keep going with the situation like it was last Thursday at Killington, I'll be less a couple of toenails come spring. I ordered the G-Ride's liners in a 25.5, and I'm told that they're slightly different from the Adrenalin's but should work out.

 

[JimG.]

JimG., take care with those liners on your Adrenalins. I've learned that Garmont North America doesn't have any separate liners for the Adrenalin yet, and likely won't any time soon.

Along with the scorching, the 25 is just going to be too darned small. If I keep going with the situation like it was last Thursday at Killington, I'll be less a couple of toenails come spring. I ordered the G-Ride's liners in a 25.5, and I'm told that they're slightly different from the Adrenalin's but should work out.

Thanks Marc; I tried mine on the first time this past weekend and I'm really glad I got the 27.5 and not the 27. My foot just barely snuck into the boots and they were TIGHT, but my toes had enough room to wiggle a bit. Once my bootfitter and I get to fitting them this coming weekend, they are going to fit just right.

We'll use a convection oven to heat the liners and hopefully avoid the scorching issue. Keith is a real pro so I'm confident we'll get it right. I'll probably ski the Adrenalins a few days before fitting the custom footbeds just to get them broken in a bit.

My initial impressions of the boot is all positive. I was particularly impressed with the overall stiffness considering just how lightweight these boots are! Even though they were tight, my foot was relaxed and comfy. Psyched!!!!!