Ski touring is the fastest-growing corner of skiing, and for good reason. You earn your turns, skip the lift lines, and find snow nobody else has reached. Getting started costs real money ($1,500–$3,000 for a solid kit), but the gear is purpose-built. Here's exactly what you need first, and what can wait.
By Colin B. · Published May 28, 2026 · Last reviewed September 14, 2026
Glidelite Mix Climbing Skins
— Mix-blend skins that climb any pitch and glide better than pure nylon. The practical default for most conditions.
Osprey Kamber 20
— A day-touring pack with a skin pocket and side-panel access. Carries a full kit without drama.
Budget total
$2700
Typical total
$3450
Bought new at current prices, a full kit (skis, bindings, boots, skins, beacon, probe, shovel, pack) runs about $2,700 to $3,500. The smart first season: rent skis, boots, and bindings, and buy only what you should never borrow, a beacon, shovel, probe, and pack, for roughly $575 to $725.
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Price tiers and budget totals shown above are editorial estimates;
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At a glance
Our top pick in each category
The fastest path through this guide — each best-starter pick by category.
Scroll for the budget and upgrade alternatives.
Rent before you buy skis, boots, and bindings. Most specialty touring shops offer multi-day AT rentals for $40–70/day. One weekend on a rented setup tells you more about what ski width and boot flex you want than any amount of spec-sheet reading.
Take an avalanche course before your first real backcountry tour. Not a YouTube primer; an AIARE Level 1 or equivalent with field practice. Book this before you buy anything except the beacon.
The beacon, probe, and shovel are the exception to the rent-first rule. Buy these on day one and own them. You practice rescue with your own beacon and your own muscle memory. Don't borrow this kit.
Every person in the touring party needs their own complete safety kit. 'My partner has a beacon' is how accidents become fatalities.
The gear
What you actually need
Touring Skis
Touring skis are built to climb and ski: two things that pull in opposite directions. Narrower skis (75–85mm underfoot) skin efficiently; wider skis (96–106mm) float in powder but you'll feel the weight going up. For most beginners, an 85–95mm waist is the sweet spot, versatile enough for the resort day after a tour and competent in a foot of powder. Demo before you buy. Most touring centers have multi-day AT ski rentals and it's worth using them.
Touring Skis — what's the difference?
A few common shapes, each making a different trade.
All-Mountain Touring (83–95mm)
The practical first ski. Skis the resort and handles any real tour.
Waist
83–95mm
Weight
~1,350–1,600g/ski
Best for
Mixed terrain, 4-season use
Best for Beginners and crossover tourers who still ski the resort
Tradeoff Less float in deep powder than wider options
Built for powder. Heavier skinning, better on big mountain descent.
Waist
96–106mm
Weight
~1,600–2,100g/ski
Best for
Deep snow, steep zones
Best for Dedicated powder chasers who accept the uphill penalty
Tradeoff Extra width is hard work on firm skintrack or icy traverses
Fast and Light (70–82mm)
Race-trim touring: ultralight, unforgiving. For experts who train for it.
Waist
70–82mm
Weight
~900–1,200g/ski
Best for
Ski mountaineering, fast touring
Best for Experienced tourers optimizing for vertical gain per hour
Tradeoff Barely adequate in powder; punishing on variable snow
Best starter
Blizzard
Zero G 95
$849.99 as of Sep 14, 2026
★★★★★Our rating· In Stock
The Zero G 95 handles both the climb and the descent without obvious compromises. At around 1,450g per ski, it's light enough for a proper skintrack and stiff enough to ski variable snow with confidence. The industry benchmark for all-around beginner touring skis.
What we like
At ~1,450g per ski, light enough for multi-hour skin tracks
95mm waist handles variable snow without being a powder pig
Industry-standard touring flex: not too flexy, not too stiff
What to know
Tech or hybrid binding required (adds cost if not already set up)
Too light for pure resort skiing: not great in bumps or hardpack ice
A heavier all-mountain ski that tours surprisingly well on mellow terrain. Not a touring-specific build, but the Bent 90 gets beginners on the skintrack without the full touring-ski investment. Spend the savings on boots.
What we like
Doubles as a resort ski, so one pair covers both
Proven all-mountain construction handles resort skiing well
Widely available for demo and rental: easy to try before committing
What to know
Heavy for serious skinning; you'll feel it past 500m gain
You'll eventually want a real touring ski as you progress
When technique has caught up with equipment, the Navis delivers confidence in steep, variable, and wind-affected snow. Wider than the Zero G with more float in deep snow and stiffer torsion for demanding descents.
What we like
100mm waist floats in deep snow most tourers eventually chase
Torsional stiffness handles steep couloir skiing and wind slab confidently
Black Crows construction quality holds up to serious use for years
What to know
Wider ski is harder to skin on icy, narrow skin tracks
About $700, worth it once you are chasing deep snow
AT bindings are more complex than alpine bindings and the choice genuinely matters. Frame bindings let any alpine boot click in, but they're heavy, and you'll feel every extra gram on long skin tracks. Tech bindings use a pin-toe system and are light and efficient, but require boots with tech inserts. Hybrid bindings like the Kingpin give you real DIN alpine-mode release on the way down and an efficient tech-pin walk mode on the way up. For most beginners, a hybrid is the practical answer.
Best starter
Marker
Kingpin 13
$799.99 as of Sep 14, 2026
★★★★★Our rating· In Stock
The Kingpin solved a real problem: a binding that walks like a tech binding but skis with genuine DIN certification in ski mode. For crossover tourers who still want resort-level retention on the descent, this is the binding that makes sense.
What we like
True DIN certification: real alpine-level retention in ski mode
Tech mode is efficient and light for the performance it provides
Works with any tech-insert AT boot (broad compatibility)
What to know
Heavier than pure tech bindings: noticeable on very long tours
About $800 before mounting, pricier than frame bindings
If you want to start touring on existing alpine boots, frame bindings are the bridge. The Ambition 12 is lighter than average for a frame binding and walks well enough for moderate terrain. Prioritize spending on boots and safety gear instead.
What we like
Works with any alpine or AT boot: no tech-insert requirement
Familiar DIN step-in for skiers converting directly from alpine
Lower price point than hybrid tech bindings: eases entry cost
What to know
400–600g heavier per binding than tech options, a real tour penalty
Walk mode is adequate but inefficient on extended skin tracks
The pure tech binding for tourers who have committed to going light. The ST Rotation 10 pairs Dynafit's pin-binding weight savings with a rotating toe piece that improves release in a fall. It needs tech-insert boots and rewards confident technique. Not the binding for your first tour.
What we like
Far lighter than frame or hybrid bindings on the skin track
Rotating toe piece adds elastic travel for more reliable release
Quick switch between walk and ski mode
What to know
Requires tech-insert boots; no alpine-boot compatibility
About $530 for a binding most beginners do not need yet
AT boots are the most personal piece of gear in your kit, and the most important to get right. They need to walk (articulating cuff, grippy Vibram sole) and ski (stiff enough to transfer power). The stiffer the flex, the better it skis; the softer, the more comfortable the uphill. Most beginner tourers land in the 100–120 flex range. Don't buy AT boots without trying them on first; a bad fit makes every tour miserable, and returns are painful once boots have been skied.
Best starter
Scarpa
Maestrale RS Alpine Touring Boot
$898.95 as of Sep 14, 2026
★★★★★Our rating· In Stock
The Maestrale is the boot touring instructors most often point beginners toward, and the RS is its stiffer, carbon-reinforced version. A big range of cuff motion makes the uphill feel natural, it drives a ski properly on the way down, and it works with tech and frame touring bindings. Around $900; rent a pair first if you can.
What we like
Big range of cuff motion makes long skin tracks feel natural
Carbon-reinforced shell skis stiffer than its weight suggests
Works with tech and frame touring bindings
What to know
Fit runs narrow; try before buying if you have wide feet
About $900, the most expensive single item in the kit
★★★★☆Our rating· Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
A stiff, well-priced AT boot from a brand that gets fit right. The DYN GripWalk sole makes on/off lifts easier, and the 120 flex skis better than most beginners expect. Often available on end-of-season sale for meaningful savings.
What we like
GripWalk sole for easier walking at lift towers and parking lots
120 flex provides real power transfer for varied terrain
Frequently discounted end-of-season: excellent value if timed right
What to know
Stiff flex is demanding uphill; quads notice on 1,000m+ gain days
Heavier construction compared to purpose-built touring boots
When your technique needs a stiffer boot, the Hawx Prime XTD 130 is a freeride touring boot built for demanding descents: 130 flex, a heat-moldable shell and liner, and a BOA dial on the lower shell for an even, precise fit. Tech inserts work with any pin binding. Buy this when you are ready, not before.
What we like
130 flex drives wide skis hard in technical terrain
Heat-moldable shell and liner for a custom fit
BOA dial gives an even, fine-tuned lower-shell fit
What to know
Punishing for beginners without solid technique
About $1,000, not justified until you need the stiffness
Climbing skins attach to the base of your skis with glue and let you walk uphill without sliding backward: the fundamental mechanic of ski touring. They need to grip on the way up and glide on the way down. Grip and glide pull in opposite directions: pure nylon grips in any condition; mohair glides better but slips in cold powder; a 65/35 nylon/mohair blend splits the difference and is the standard first choice for most North American conditions.
Best starter
Black Diamond
Glidelite Mix Climbing Skins
$184.95 as of Sep 14, 2026
★★★★★Our rating· In Stock
The Glidelite Mix is the beginner consensus pick. A 65/35 mohair and nylon blend climbs reliably in cold powder and glides better than pure nylon on long flat approaches, and the tip and tail attachments come fixed, so there is far less trimming and fiddling than with older skins.
What we like
65/35 mohair and nylon blend grips cold powder and glides on flats
Fixed tip and tail attachments cut setup time
Supple and packable enough to stuff in a jacket
What to know
Mohair wears faster than nylon in rocky spring conditions
Glue needs care: keep the sheets clean and store them cool
G3's Alpinist+ Universal is an all-nylon skin built for grip and durability. It holds better than mohair on steep, icy skin tracks, shrugs off dirt and rocks in spring, and lasts longer. The tradeoff is slower glide on long flat approaches. Made in Canada by a company that builds touring gear.
What we like
All-nylon plush grips steep, icy skin tracks better than mohair
More durable than mohair blends in rocky spring conditions
Every touring party needs three things: a transceiver (beacon), a probe, and a shovel. That's not optional equipment; these tools are why teammates can find and dig out a buried companion. Buy all three at the same time. Buy new: don't inherit a decade-old beacon from someone's closet. And take an AIARE Level 1 avalanche course before your first real backcountry tour. The gear doesn't help if you've never practiced using it.
Best starter
Mammut
Barryvox 2 Tour 280 Package (Beacon, Shovel, Probe)
$549.95 as of Sep 14, 2026
★★★★★Our rating· In Stock
The Barryvox 2 is Mammut's current three-antenna beacon, the successor to the Barryvox guides have carried for years, and this package bundles it with an Alugator shovel and a 280 cm Speed Lock probe. Buying the trio together means your rescue tools are matched and you are ready for an avalanche course on day one. Buy this and skip the separate shovel and probe below.
What we like
Three-antenna digital beacon from the brand guides trust
Shovel and 280 cm probe included, a complete rescue kit
Simple interface built for use under pressure
What to know
About $550, more than a basic beacon on its own
Practice with it before your first tour, not during it
★★★★☆Our rating· Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
If the Barryvox is out of budget, the Tracker S is the right call. BCA's signal-processing algorithm is proven, the interface is clean, and it's the beacon most beginners train on at avalanche courses. Upgrade to a three-antenna model when you move to serious terrain.
What we like
Trusted BCA algorithm: clear signal with minimal false positives
Clean interface makes learning at avalanche courses easier
Widely available at REI, Backcountry, and local ski shops
What to know
Less capable in complex multiple-burial scenarios than premium models
Older battery indicator design; check batteries before every tour
Every touring party needs a shovel and the Deploy 3 is the one professionals actually carry: the blade size, extendable T-handle ergonomics, and pack-down dimensions are well-calibrated for real rescue speed. It's $50. Buy it the same day as your beacon.
What we like
Extendable T-handle gives real leverage in consolidated avalanche debris
Blade size calibrated for rescue speed, not just powder stirring
Collapsible design fits any pack side pocket without bulk
What to know
Assembly under panic adds a beat compared to fixed-handle shovels
Blade too small for fast bulk snow clearing in very deep burials
A probe confirms burial depth and exact location before you start digging. The Quick Draw Carbon locks into a rigid pole in under three seconds with practice, and 240cm handles the vast majority of North American avalanche scenarios. Not optional.
What we like
Deploys and locks rigid in under three seconds with practice
Carbon construction: lighter than aluminum at equal stiffness
240cm handles the vast majority of North American burial scenarios
What to know
Carbon sections crack if stepped on; store carefully in your pack
Practice deploying at home before relying on it in the field
A touring pack carries your skins, extra layers, safety gear, water, food, and survival kit. Day tour packs run 18–28L. Features that matter: a dedicated skin pocket (keeps wet skins away from dry layers), a back- or side-panel access system (so you're not unpacking everything in the snow), and a hip-belt geometry that works with ski pants and AT boot buckles. An airbag pack is worth considering from day one if your terrain includes real avalanche exposure; it's real risk reduction.
Best starter
Osprey
Kamber 20
$175.00 as of Sep 14, 2026
★★★★★Our rating· In Stock
The Kamber 20 (men's) and Sopris 20 (women's) are the packs ski tourers actually buy: dedicated skin pocket keeps wet skins from soaking your layers, side-panel access means you're not digging for a shell in the snow, and the hip-belt geometry works with ski pants and AT boots.
What we like
Dedicated skin pocket keeps wet skins away from dry layers
Side-panel access: grab a layer without unpacking in the snow
Hip-belt geometry designed for ski pants and AT boot buckles
What to know
No airbag compatibility; upgrade path requires a new pack
Narrower shoulder straps; not ideal for broad-shouldered builds
An airbag pack is real risk reduction: a deployed airbag does not guarantee survival, but it meaningfully improves the odds of staying on the surface in a slide. The Free 22 uses Mammut's Removable Airbag 3.0 system, so the airbag can move between compatible packs. Worth it once you are touring avalanche terrain regularly.
What we like
Airbag meaningfully improves the odds of staying on the surface
Removable airbag moves between compatible Mammut packs
22 liters carries a full day's food, water, and safety kit
What to know
Cartridge must be refilled or replaced after every deployment
Roughly four times the price of a standard touring pack
Most people overthink the gear and underthink the avalanche education. Here's what the first season actually looks like: the skills that matter, the mistakes everyone makes, and when it starts clicking.
Ski touring has a way of converting people permanently. The resort skiers who try it once, find untracked snow in a quiet mountain drainage three hours from the nearest lift, and come back the following winter with a full kit. This is a story repeated thousands of times every season.
The sport is also more serious than it looks. The same terrain that produces that untracked powder produces avalanches. Knowing the difference, reading the snowpack, making good decisions under peer pressure on a cold morning: that’s the real skill the sport demands of you, and it takes a full season to begin building it.
This is what that first season actually looks like.
Before your first tour: take an avalanche course
This is not the thing most people want to hear first. They want to know about the gear, the skintrack technique, the gear again. But the single most valuable investment you make in your first season is an AIARE Level 1 avalanche course: two days of classroom and field time, $300–400, and available through most mountain schools and outdoor education organizations.
You need it before your first real backcountry tour, not after. Here’s why: the skills aren’t just knowing what to do when a slope releases. They’re about learning to read terrain: which aspects are loaded, which run-out zones are dangerous, what a high-danger day looks like on a specific snowpack. None of that clicks from YouTube. It clicks from standing on a slope with an instructor, digging a snow pit, and watching what the layers do.
After the course, check your regional avalanche center’s forecast every time you go out. Not sometimes. Every time.
The first skintrack: what to expect
Your first few hours on touring skis feel strange. You’re walking on skis. The skins grip the snow on the way up and let you slide forward but not backward. The heel of your binding is free, so your heel lifts with each step like a very large hiking boot. You lean forward slightly, keep the ski flat (don’t edge), and find a rhythm.
What surprises most beginners:
It’s aerobic. Even a mellow touring pace gets your heart rate up in a way that resort skiing doesn’t. Dress in fewer layers than you think; you’ll be drenched in sweat within fifteen minutes if you start too warmly. The rule of thumb is that you should feel slightly cold when you begin skinning. You’ll warm up fast.
Kick turns are the hard part. On steep sections where you need to reverse direction, you do a kick turn: plant your poles, swing one ski 180 degrees uphill, shift weight, swing the other. It feels unnatural and awkward for the first few sessions. On a narrow skintrack with exposure below you, it can be genuinely scary. Practice kick turns on flat terrain before you need them on a slope.
The pace matters more than the fitness. Skinning at a pace where you can hold a conversation is sustainable for hours. Skinning at a pace where you’re breathing hard is unsustainable for twenty minutes. Go slower than you think is correct. The mountain will still be there.
Most beginner tours climb 300–600m vertical over 3–5km. That’s two to three hours of skinning. For your first outing, pick a mellow, south-facing slope on a low-danger day, go with someone more experienced, and aim for half that distance.
Taking your skins off and skiing down
The transition from ascent to descent (skinning mode to ski mode) takes time to feel smooth. You’ll stop at a safe, flat spot near the top, pull your skins off (warm them under your jacket first in cold weather so the glue stays sticky), fold them sticky-side-to-sticky-side, stuff them in the dedicated pocket of your pack, and click your binding heels down into ski mode.
First-time transitioning skiers often:
Forget to click the heels down and wonder why the skis feel wrong
Drop a skin on a slope and watch it slide away
Overheat standing still after a sweaty climb, then get chilled in ski mode; have a mid-layer ready
The descent is where the sport pays off. Untracked snow, no lift lines, no other people. It’s also ungroomed, variable, and often harder to ski than you expect. The ski runs shorter than you’d like at first. The ratio of two hours up to fifteen minutes down can feel absurd until the fifteen minutes becomes extraordinary.
What you’re actually building in your first season
Avalanche awareness is the slow-building skill. After an AIARE Level 1, you know the framework. Over a season of checking daily forecasts, reading terrain, going out with more experienced partners, and starting to recognize danger signs (shooting cracks, whumpfing sounds, recent avalanche activity nearby), the framework starts to feel like intuition.
Skintrack efficiency improves quickly. After ten days of touring, the kick turn feels natural. After twenty, you’ll find your rhythm and stop thinking about your feet.
Route-finding comes slowly. Choosing the right line up a mountain (where the slope angle is reasonable, the terrain trap exposure is low, the aspect is less loaded) is judgment that builds over seasons, not weeks. This is why going out with guides and experienced partners in your first season matters more than your gear.
By the end of your first season, you’ll have:
A handful of routes you know well enough to lead yourself
A sense for your own fitness ceiling and how to pace within it
Opinions on what gear actually matters and what was marketing
The beginning of a mental model for avalanche terrain
You won’t be a backcountry skier yet. You’ll be someone who has done it enough to understand what it takes to become one, which is a different and more useful thing.
Common first-season mistakes
Ignoring the forecast. The avalanche forecast is not a suggestion. A considerable danger rating (3 of 5) kills experienced skiers every season. Know what you’re accepting before you leave the car.
Touring with people who push too hard. The social dynamics of ski touring are real; it’s easy to follow a more experienced group into terrain that’s above your decision-making level. Pick your partners carefully. It’s fine to say the slope looks wrong to you.
Buying everything at once. Rent skis, boots, and bindings for your first season. Your preferences will change dramatically after five tours, and the ski that fits your touring style at tour twenty is probably not the ski you’d have bought on day one.
Underpacking. The backcountry is not the resort. Extra layers, water, food, a basic first aid kit, and your emergency communication device (a satellite messenger like a Garmin inReach) should be in the pack every time. Weather changes fast at elevation.
What to do in your second season
By mid-first-season, you’ll know if touring is your sport. If it is:
Take an AIARE Level 2 course (more field time, more complex scenarios)
Find a touring partner who’s one or two seasons ahead of you and willing to mentor
Buy the gear that your first season told you you actually needed
The sport compounds. Each season’s decision-making experience builds on the last. The mountains don’t change; your ability to read them does.
Save your money
What you don't need yet
Beginners get pressured to buy a lot of stuff that doesn't help them play
better. Here's what we'd skip on day one.
Custom boot liners — Get your stock liners heat-molded at the shop on day one. Custom liners (Intuition, Palau) make sense after a full season when you know the fit problems you're solving.
Ski crampons — You'll eventually need them for icy morning starts and spring alpine tours, but not in your first season. Add them once you're skinning regularly.
A dedicated GPS device — Your phone with Gaia GPS (free tier) is genuinely sufficient to start. A dedicated GPS unit makes sense when you're doing multi-day or navigation-critical routes.
Splitboard setup — Splitboarding is a distinct sport with its own gear ecosystem. Great choice if you snowboard, but it's a different build-from-scratch kit, not a crossover.
Touring-specific apparel — Your existing ski jacket and pants work fine for your first season. Dedicated touring softshells make sense when you're touring often enough to notice the difference in breathability.
First week
Your first seven days
A short, real plan to get from gear-on-doorstep to actually playing.
Book an AIARE Level 1 avalanche course before anything else. Avalanche education is the foundation of backcountry skiing and should happen before your first tour. · Action
Order your beacon, probe, and shovel: these you own and practice with. The Mammut Barryvox 2 Tour package covers all three in one box; the BCA Tracker S plus a Deploy 3 shovel and Quick Draw probe is the budget route. · Buy
Book a ski touring rental for your first weekend out. Most specialty shops rent full AT setups (skis, boots, bindings); use that to figure out your preferred ski width and boot flex before buying. · Action
Download Gaia GPS on your phone and load a beginner touring route in your area. Read the trail notes and check the terrain ratings. · Action
Gaia GPS · Best mapping app for backcountry navigation
Bookmark your regional avalanche center and check the forecast daily for two weeks before your first tour. Getting comfortable reading danger ratings before your life depends on it is the point. · Action
Find a touring partner with more experience than you. Do not go into the backcountry alone as a beginner. Most touring clubs and local shops run beginner group tours. · Action
FAQ
Common questions
How much does it cost to start ski touring?
Bought new, a practical starter kit (skis, bindings, boots, skins, beacon, probe, shovel, and pack) runs about $2,700 to $3,500 at current prices. You can cut that sharply by renting skis, boots, and bindings for your first season (most specialty touring shops offer multi-day AT rentals) and buying only the avalanche safety gear and a pack outright, roughly $575 to $725.
Can I use my regular alpine ski boots for touring?
Only with frame bindings. Frame bindings accept any alpine boot but add significant weight (400–600g per binding). You can start this way, but you'll quickly notice the uphill penalty. Most dedicated tourers move to tech-compatible AT boots within a season or two.
Do I really need to take an avalanche course?
Yes. Backcountry terrain carries real avalanche risk, and the beacon, probe, and shovel are only useful if you know how to use them under pressure with a buried teammate. An AIARE Level 1 course (typically two days, around $300–400) is the minimum. Take it before your first real tour, not after.
How fit do I need to be to start ski touring?
More fit than you think, but less than you fear. A comfortable beginner tour gains 300–600m of vertical over 3–5km. If you can hike steadily for 2–3 hours without stopping, you have enough fitness to start. Skinning is rhythmic and steady, not explosive; it rewards pacing over strength.
What level skier do I need to be before I start touring?
Solid intermediate and above: you need to ski blue and black runs comfortably in varied conditions before heading into the backcountry. The descent on a ski tour is real terrain: variable snow, no grooming, no ski patrol. If you're still working on parallel turns on groomed slopes, spend another season at the resort first.
What's the difference between ski touring and splitboarding?
Same basic idea (ascend on your own power, descend on your own terms): ski touring uses skis with climbing skins and AT bindings, while splitboarding uses a snowboard that splits into two ski-like halves for the uphill. The communities overlap but the gear is entirely separate.
American Avalanche Association — The standard-setting body for avalanche education in the US. Their course finder lists AIARE Level 1 programs by region. Your first stop before your first tour.
Avalanche.org — Links to every regional avalanche center in North America. Bookmark your local center and check the forecast before every single tour. This is not optional.
Colorado Avalanche Information Center — The most data-rich avalanche center in the country; their educational content and forecast archives are useful for anyone learning to read terrain, even outside Colorado.
The Mountaineers — Pacific Northwest-based outdoor education organization with excellent online and in-person courses for backcountry skiing, navigation, and mountaineering. Their book 'Backcountry Skiing' is a deep reference.
Earn Your Turns Podcast — Long-running backcountry skiing podcast covering terrain, technique, gear, and safety. One of the best audio resources for aspiring tourers.
Powder Magazine: Backcountry — The ski culture bible. The backcountry coverage skews expert, but it's useful for understanding terrain, gear evolution, and the culture of the sport.
r/backcountry — Active subreddit with gear advice, trip reports, and safety discussions. Skip the gear-brand wars; search the safety and technique threads for grounded advice.
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Our top pickBarryvox 2 Tour 280 Package (Beacon, Shovel, Probe)
Best starter 
