Dakine Faction Pant
February 15, 2009
The Faction microfleece pant is a base layer for days that really, really require a base layer. Supersoft and thick, this is a base layer for deep, dark winter. I love how warm and soft it is. I don’t love how a crotch seam ripped within the first few wearings. Well, whatever, they’re still good, it’s only about an inch tear. But still, they didn’t last long before tearing. Perhaps I just got a bum pair. The crotch area is made of a different, and lighter-weight, fabric; so maybe that fabric is the culprit. Or maybe it’s just a good idea to buy these in a size up to prevent excess pressure on that crotch seam. And on that note, it’s probably also a good idea to just sum up by saying these are warm, but they might rip.
Marker Baron Ski Binding
February 12, 2009
OK, so I’m not a resort skier. I don’t even own a pair of resort skis. Chairlifts are boring, groomers are lame, and any powder stashes get tracked up by the masses so fast it’s not even worth the price of a lift ticket. Downhill boots are uncomfortable and the bindings are heavy. Alpine touring is where it’s at; you get a better workout, don’t get cold on the lift or stunk out on the tram, and (if you’re doing it right) you don’t have to endure crowds of fratty snowboarders. Best of all you get untracked powder all over the place with just a little good old fashioned effort. So of course when I demoed some new powder skis this year, I requested that they have A/T bindings on them so that I could take them to the powder. They came with Marker Barons, which are billed as alpine touring bindings, and to that I say “bunk”. These are big, heavy alpine bindings. They are big, heavy alpine bindings that ski really well, are stable and powerful, and deliver some serious edge control; but as alpine touring bindings? No, no, and no. They are a giant hassle to switch from ski to tour mode and back again, and they’re so heavy I honestly can’t imagine trying to slog them around all day on a tour. I cringe and whine every time I have to carry skis with these bindings on them, because they are so heavy they mark up my delicate shoulder and make me puff with effort, which I usually don’t mind as long as there’s a 2000-foot powder run at the end of the effort. When the effort just gets me from the parking lot to the bottom of the chairlift, I get a little disgruntled. So, while these bindings ski really well, I just cannot cosign with the idea that they are A/T bindings.
And not just because of the weight. Alpine tour skiers usually ski in alpine touring boots. Alpine touring boots have slightly thicker soles than downhill boots because they have Vibram soles for grip. The Marker Baron binding is not designed to accommodate the thicker sole, and as a result they are really difficult to click into with A/T boots. Worse yet, the undue pressure on the heel of my A/T boots has damaged the rubber sole of my precious boots. Grrrrr, do NOT ever mess with my boots or you’ll find a bad review of yourself posted on the Geargals site. So here it is, Marker Barons, you messed with my boots and now you must pay. Go back to the resort where you belong.
Volkl Kiku Ski
February 12, 2009
ON SALE for the crazy price of $524.21 at backcountry.com! Click here!
The buzz this year has been all about the Kiku, as evidenced by all the drool I had to wipe off the skis when the local patrollers saw them stashed next to the snow pit I was digging. OK, so I admit to adding a little drool of my own when I pulled the Kikus out of the box. And they deserve the admiration. These women-specific fatties look like powder boards, but perform in all conditions. The more I ski them the more I like them, and it’s a crying shame that my demo pair has heavy alpine bindings, because I’d love to schlep the Kikus to the backcountry and let ‘em rip in the real powder (which, sadly, we don’t have at the local resort here this year). But, as we know, I’m lazy, and the chances of me reaching for a heavy setup when I can take my superlight-can-be-lifted-with-a-pinky backcountry setup are pretty minimal. So I’ve tested the Kiku at the resort only. I wanted to hold off on this review until I could try these in deep powder, but it just doesn’t seem like this is the year. I’ll update the review with the report from the white room if I get that chance.
What I do know about the Kikus is that they’re a powerful, no-nonsense ski that can rip some serious big, fast turns. As the lucky recipient of knee surgery last year, I’ve been tentative about speed, but I had to just get over it when I got on the Kikus. They just do not want to do sissy little speed-shedding slalom-y turns, they want big, sweeping, wide, fast giant-radius downhill turns. Because it’s just not fun to wrestle with 105mm-underfoot skis to try to get them to do things they don’t want to do, I was forced to get over my post-knee-trauma hesitation and rip it up the way the Kikus are meant to do. And ever since then, I’ve liked them more and more.
I’ve read reviews criticizing the Kiku for being “soft” and to that I say “whaaaa?” This is not a soft ski. This is a powerful, stable, solid board, not a noodle. Beginners might not like it for this reason, and with my initial start-of-season hesitation, I didn’t like it either until I remembered how to ski with aggression. Usually I find Volkls to be a fairly forgiving, dependable ski, but the Kiku won’t do you any favors unless you ski with authority. This isn’t a downside by any means; the Kiku is very stable and has saved my bacon in a few sketchy chutes by holding the line when it really, really needed to be held. Once you learn the nuance of the Kiku, you can readily convince it to cooperate for short, tight turns, but the big-radius sweeps are where it’s at for this ski.
Because we’ve had such a lame snow year, most of my Kiku time has been on hardpack, chop, and crud. Yippee. But it’s still been fun, since this is a fun ski. My one complaint about the ski is that it chatters on hardpack at high speeds. I can’t believe I’m writing that, because ski reviews usually fall back on that standard complaint at some point, so I vowed never to use the phrase. But, there I was, straightlining it down the steep hardpack, and when I powered into a turn, it happened – chatter. But come on- it’s a fattie powder ski, can you blame it? Hardpack is lame. Personally I can forgive a little backtalk from the Kiku when it’s restricted to hardpack. What little powder I could find was completely demolished by the Kikus. My regular ski (also Volkl, by the way) is no skinny minnie, but the Kiku is so much wider I was tickled by how much higher I rode over the powder. I expected to lose a little speed in the 10″ of fresh but the Kikus just blasted through it, leaving me giggling inwardly and thinking “oooh, neat!” I usually return demos after I’ve posted the review, but I really want to hang on to these for a few more weeks just in case we get a powder dump at the resort. I suspect that 20-24″ of pow is where the Kiku will find its proper home.
Oh, I guess I do have one other complaint – the topsheets. They’re cream colored with red splashes with flowers. Not cool. I don’t let topsheets dictate my ski choice, but I do think this design could stand some improvement. They look like they’re supposed to form some sort of shape when put together, but I must be failing the ski Rorschach because I just can’t see it. If anyone can write in with a good explanation of what these topsheets are about, you’ll deserve a prize. In the meantime, ignore the topsheets and don’t worry – these skis are worthy. Enjoy.
