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Selecting a new touring setup, cannot make a decision

lrc007

Diva in Training
It's been a great ski season so far in the Sierra! I'm finally ready to make the leap into a dedicated touring setup and, for the life of me, can't make a decision. With sales underway, I'm on the lookout. I spent part of last season and all of this season chugging around Tahoe in 162cm Moment Bellas with Shifts. I LOVE that ski and the Shifts gave me a big confidence boost, plus were great for powder resort days. They've become, surprise, a bit brutal on full-day tours with significant elevation gain. Steep kick turns and tight trees have also been doable but could be better. I'd like to shorten up a bit and lighten up. Somehow I'm still 5'0" tall. I find most of my indecision is a result of ski size given my height.

When I was looking for a hybrid setup last year, you all were very helpful and that was much appreciated! I went with the following strategy, one of two strategies @Analisa mentioned PNW skiers tend to go for:
*1 inbounds ski in the high 80s/low 90s (have that), 1 powder ski with a hybrid binding that's 105-112 in width (Bellas with Shifts), 1 lightweight touring ski with an ultralight binding in the 85-95 width range (looking for that now, maybe wanting a bit more mid to upper 90s range)

The only demo I've been able to access in my size range was a Moment Sierra 152cm. They were fun, but at a 91mm width, I found myself wanting a bit more in the conditions I frequently am in. I'd love to just get a Moment Sierra Tour but they only go down to a 162cm. I have not been able to get my hands on a Moment Sierra 162cm to try, yet.

I've shortlisted a few options given some suggestions from local shops. I haven't been able to find anyone who's ridden any of these for their input. I'd love to hear any suggestions/additions/subtractions you all have! Hoping to put something along the lines of an ATK Raider or Voyager binding on them. I'm an advanced-ish, definitely not expert skier, tour half to full days, 2000'-5500' elevation gain, some overnight trips.

*Elan Ripstick 94 Tour W 157cm
*Armada Locator 96 157cm
*Volkl Rise Beyond 96 156cm
*Faction Agent 2.0X. 155cm
 

arbusch

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I don't have any personal experience with the skis listed above. As someone who tours alot, lighter tech bindings will make a difference for the up than your shift bindings. As someone who tours more than they resort skis, I have powder boards with tech bindings and spring skiing boards with tech bindings. Then I have an all mountain resort ski with alpine bindings. You are on the right path. I have a guy friend who loves his fraction touring skis (he got the purple ones. I can't remember which ones those are.) If you want to lighten up even more you could look at the atk crest or rt binding.
 

lrc007

Diva in Training
I don't have any personal experience with the skis listed above. As someone who tours alot, lighter tech bindings will make a difference for the up than your shift bindings. As someone who tours more than they resort skis, I have powder boards with tech bindings and spring skiing boards with tech bindings. Then I have an all mountain resort ski with alpine bindings. You are on the right path. I have a guy friend who loves his fraction touring skis (he got the purple ones. I can't remember which ones those are.) If you want to lighten up even more you could look at the atk crest or rt binding.
Thank you for the binding recommendations! ATK crests look about spot-on for my needs. After yesterday's 10-mile tour to some local chutes on my Bellas with Shifts, I'm so ready to retire that setup to resort powder day skis (and the occasional short powder tour). That was helpful to hear your guy friend loves the Factions he's on. The purple ones, I believe, are the 2.0s I'm checking out, so that's good news! I've narrowed my pick down to the Factions and the Elans, but those Factions are looking like a pretty fun ski. I may just have to quit overthinking this and try them out!
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@lrc007 FWIW I have been using the 94 regular ripstick as my AT set up in the Sierras for the past 5 years. There was a lot of GP influence when I was trying to figure out what I should get and not that many options in shorter lengths at that time. I find they work great for variable conditions and float well for their size. I'm not sure about the construction of the past and current models or what's changed since then and I have not been able to demo the tours. For reference the women's tour in 171 (TR 15.6) vs the woman's regular in 170 (TR 16.2) is only 80grams difference per ski. The Ripstick has always been a light ski option..... can you demo the factions and the ripsticks?
 

arbusch

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Omg! That is a long tour on that setup. You will definitely be happier with a lighter setup. Just even lighter bindings on your bellas would make a huge difference. You might want eventually two touring setups. One for deep days and one for the iffy and spring conditions.
 

arbusch

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
You are right they are faction agent 2x. He got the women's version because they were cheaper and the only difference was the top sheet. They are a pretty.
 

lrc007

Diva in Training
@WaterGirl Thank you for your input with your Elan 94s! I see a lot of Elan skis in the stores out here but hadn't heard any specific opinions about them. I did track a place down to hopefully demo the regular Elan 94s with a tech binding. No luck with finding Faction demos, yet. It's a bit of a drive to get the Elan demo, but it'll be worth it. I definitely want a much lighter setup but without being on a ski SO light that I feel totally tossed around in crud. That was a reservation I had when looking at the Atomic Backland 98s. I might love these Elans!
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Not sure how comparable or useful this is, but I recently bought the Agent 1X, although I'm an east coast skier. Tried them at Killington where they did a surprisingly good job of transitioning from piles of snow to scraped off sections without getting tossed around. They're surprisingly damp and stable for a ski that's so lightweight; I've yet to really get tossed around on them. I'm fairly lightweight and small at 95 lbs and 5'1".
 

lrc007

Diva in Training
@arbusch It was such a beastly tour on my Moments! I wouldn't want to repeat it on that setup. A fun day, but definitely left me a bit physically wrecked. I think I'm the shortest person in our touring group by 11" and my little legs (and lungs) were working hard!

That's a great idea to switch out the bindings on the Moments and create the two touring setups (pow & early/late season). I do take them inbounds on powder days and am wary of tech bindings inbounds. Do you happen to have any suggestions regarding that dilemma? Or maybe I should just convert the Bellas to an exclusive pow touring setup and look for an all-around inbounds-only ski?
 

lrc007

Diva in Training
@tinymoose Thank you, and that's absolutely useful information for me regarding your Factions! I really need to see if I can get my hands on a Faction demo. The Agent line is really appealing to me!
 

WaterGirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@lrc007 I had a quick chat at my BC shop about the differences in the skis -- the tour 94 is a different form the tour Glen Plake 104 - they have different characteristics. And as noted above the 94 tour is different than the alpine model. You may want to look at the specs and shape of the skis to determine what would work for you. and FWIW and YMMV My Ripstick 94's are 5 years old and just a bit different construction from the current model.....
 

lrc007

Diva in Training
@WaterGirl for sure! I hadn't really looked at the GP 104s. I was more considering the regular or tour version of the women's 94s. I have a comparison spreadsheet going (yes, went there) with the different skis I'm considering. I have both the regular and tour Elan 94s on there. The local-ish shop with demos only has the regular 94s with tech bindings for demo, no tour versions.

Such a hard decision given that I tend to dabble in all things in all conditions! My absolute favorite terrain includes big bowls and little chutes (nothing remotely death-defying). Trees aren't my choice, but I'm inevitably in them frequently given where I live. Conditions are, of course, very variable. I appreciate feeling a solid ski beneath me that holds an edge well and can pivot/slide when I need it to. My Moments really made me enjoy some tail rocker! I really wish Moment had a mid-150s touring size in a mid/upper 90s width because I do enjoy that ski shape. My 162s are just a bit long (and heavy) to be nimble like I want. The 152cm alpine options they offer ski a bit short and are narrow for my preference (91cm). I've definitely put myself into a bit of a goldilocks situation. Two touring setups would fix that, and I just need to settle on one direction for this year with my budget. Analysis paralysis...I'm checking that box!
 

arbusch

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@arbusch It was such a beastly tour on my Moments! I wouldn't want to repeat it on that setup. A fun day, but definitely left me a bit physically wrecked. I think I'm the shortest person in our touring group by 11" and my little legs (and lungs) were working hard!

That's a great idea to switch out the bindings on the Moments and create the two touring setups (pow & early/late season). I do take them inbounds on powder days and am wary of tech bindings inbounds. Do you happen to have any suggestions regarding that dilemma? Or maybe I should just convert the Bellas to an exclusive pow touring setup and look for an all-around inbounds-only ski?
For years I skied our little local hill in touring gear. Not ideal but doable. I think it depends on your ski goals and where you spend most of your time. For years I mainly backcountry skied like 90% of the time so investing in backcountry gear was and still is priority which is why I have two set ups (and some old rock skis). Yet we have been skiing some resorts more (like 80/20) and tech bindings feel rough on certain conditions on area. I was finally ready to invest in resort setup. I focused on an all mountain ski and fell in love with the moment sierra at 172 which is 99 underfoot at that length. I am glad I did. An injury kept me out of the backcountry most of the year and I could resort ski before I could backcountry so super grateful I had an inbounds setup. If you are spending more time backcountry skiing then yes you might want to put new tech bindings on your bellas, get early/late season touring setup and all mountain inbound setup. I think you know your ski goals the best and where you ski the most. And no need to go all in at once. Focus on the new touring setup for now and see how you like it first. Just know you have options for the future. The options can make it overwhelming. I think you are on the right path.
 

arbusch

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@arbusch It was such a beastly tour on my Moments! I wouldn't want to repeat it on that setup. A fun day, but definitely left me a bit physically wrecked. I think I'm the shortest person in our touring group by 11" and my little legs (and lungs) were working hard!

That's a great idea to switch out the bindings on the Moments and create the two touring setups (pow & early/late season). I do take them inbounds on powder days and am wary of tech bindings inbounds. Do you happen to have any suggestions regarding that dilemma? Or maybe I should just convert the Bellas to an exclusive pow touring setup and look for an all-around inbounds-only ski?
For years I skied our little local hill in touring gear. Not ideal but doable. I think it depends on your ski goals and where you spend most of your time. For years I mainly backcountry skied like 90% of the time so investing in backcountry gear was and still is priority which is why I have two set ups (and some old rock skis). Yet we have been skiing some resorts more (like 80/20) and tech bindings feel rough on certain conditions on area. I was finally ready to invest in resort setup. I focused on an all mountain ski and fell in love with the moment sierra at 172 which is 99 underfoot at that length. I am glad I did. An injury kept me out of the backcountry most of the year and I could resort ski before I could backcountry so super grateful I had an inbounds setup. If you are spending more time backcountry skiing then yes you might want to put new tech bindings on your bellas, get early/late season touring setup and all mountain inbound setup. I think you know your ski goals the best and where you ski the most. And no need to go all in at once. Focus on the new touring setup for now and see how you like it first. Just know you have options for the future. The options can make it overwhelming. I think you are on the right path.
 

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