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Testing Out the Fuse Bindings– A Little Bit o’ Innovation, Courtesy of Spark R&D

Like many a splitboarder, I had spent years riding the standard Voilie slider plate setup. This was all fine and dandy until I got my hands on a pair of Spark R&D’s Fuse Bindings.

Since which bindings you choose for your splitboard setup is an important choice, and there really are a myriad of options out there these days, I wanted to really put the Fuses through the paces before delivering a solid review. From the waist-deep powder days to the bulletproof morning ice, I can say without a doubt that the Fuses performed above and beyond my expectations. I tested them on all types of snow and in all types of conditions, with well over 100 days and 300,000 vertical feet of riding.

Black Diamond Revelation Pack

The Black Diamond Revelation Pack is a great all-around ski mountaineering pack, especially if you want to have one pack that will do everything. The design is very clean and seamless, but the construction is burly. No major competitor exists for a similar pack. Osprey and Arcteryx both make packs for ski mountaineering, but the set up and construction is comparatively awkward. In some ways, Black Diamond can be considered to have cornered the market in terms of ski mountaineering packs with a similar pricepoint. Given that this is the case, I was eager to get my hands on the Revelation and test it out in its intended environment.

Oakley A-Frame Goggles

Oakley’s Time-Tested Standard of the eyewear world makes an appearance on a pro snowboarder once again. Yep, Kyle, who wears glasses on occasion, adores these goggles and has been using them for six years. Yeah, six, as in three plus three.

While we’re talking numbers, it’s pertinent to note that the versatility of these goggles is one of their major selling points. Specifically, there are fourteen different lenses you can put on them. Yeah, maybe owning all fourteen is overkill, but owning four? Kyle finds that to be essential.

Every once in a while a piece of gear comes along that is unanimously considered to be indespensible. Kyle’s insulated sleeping pad of choice, the ProLite 4 from Therm-a-Rest (recently replaced in their line by the equally innovative ProLite Plus), is one such item. For years, Thermarest has led the market for backcountry sleeping pads, and their weight-to-warmth ratios remain unmatched by other manufacturers. Patented insulating technology and superior design prompt countless reviewers to tend toward the superlative, whether they’re calling Therm-a-Rest’s design team “impossibly ingenious,” or touting its products as pieces of “engineered masterpiece.” Regardless, the industry’s positive response to Therm-a-Rest’s lightest four-season mattress is born of both a tried and true comparison of warmth to weight ratios, and the pad’s simple, and classically user-friendly feel.

Suunto X10 Wrist Computer

Kyle relies exclusively on Suunto technology for his GPS needs. Specifically, the X10 Wrist Computer (that’s mountaineering speak for, “Fancy GPS Watch,”) is what allows him to accurately record his speed, distance, and altitude, as well as later producing those cool Google Earth maps you see in his trip reports.

But that’s not all this watch/computer/GPS unit can do! Lost in a whiteout and can’t tell what’s up and down anymore? Luckily you have the to help you navigate back to basecamp! Feeling like recording massive amounts of data? The X10 can plot your speed and altitude. Want to see if it really is -10 outside or if it just feels that way? The X10 will let you know.

GoLite Adrenaline 0 Degree Bag

Engineered for lightweight, breathable warmth, the GoLite Adrenaline Zero-Degree Sleeping Bag is perfect for backcountry snowtramping.

When keeping warm isn’t just a matter of comfort, it’s a matter of safety as well, having a bag that will keep you toasty and conserve your nighttime calories is essential. For Kyle, this bag has literally been a lifesaver, in whiteouts and windstorms alike.

How does this bag keep you so warm? Every detail from the inside out contributes to a maximum-warmth, efficient design. The fit itself is tailored to a mummy-style silhouette, producing an optimally thin layer of air for your body to heat and maintain between itself and the bag.

The bag keeps heat in with the help of mother nature’s very own high-efficiency heat retention device perfected over years of evolution– 100% natural goosedown. Go Lite pumped the bag with this literally feather-weight stuff at 800 fill, meaning it’s full to the brim of lightweight insulating material.

Imagine having a new car but not having tires. Without skins, a splitboard is in a similar situation. 90% of your time spent backcountry will be on the uphill, so the skins you use for that ascent are crucial. They keep you on the surface in that deep backcountry powder you’ll ideally be seeking, while hikers and snowshoers sink to their waists. Skinning is also the preferred method for skiers. But with splitboards, we snowboarders can take advantage of the skintrack highway as well. Without skins, you might as well be bootpacking. Skinning is a work of art, and there is nothing in this world like a perfect skin track on an untouched slope.

Great for the avid ski moutaineer, the CAMP USA Corsa Ice Axe is the weight-efficient solution for self arrest, climbing, and anchoring. This super-lightweight package shines in conditions typically encountered by the backcountry snowboarder tackling technical lines.

While useful for climbing, you’ll carry the Corsa Ice Axe primarily for self-arrest. Unlike aggressive axes made of steel, the Corsa is entirely aluminum, making it ultra-light without sacrificing utility. When you’re ready to upgrade and need added peace of mind, look for CAMP USA’s more aggressive prototype, the Camp USA Nanotech, a similar tool which is now available. This new axe is bit more aggressive in that it employs a steel tip and steel shaft end.

JetBoil Personal Cooking System

It’s lightweight, it’s small, it’s fast… It’s the JetBoil PCS!

Simple and easy to use, JetBoil’s “Personal Cooking System” is Kyle’s go-to backcountry meal maker and hydration machine. In 2004, JetBoil blew people away with its revolutionary combination of both the stove and pot components of most backcountry cooking systems, and eliminated the demand for a number of heavier, and often more finicky stoves on the market. It’s been a few years since JetBoil revolutionized the world of backcountry cooking with this compact little scheme, but nonetheless it remains a backcountry staple.

Burton Driver X Boots

Snowboard mountaineers have to make a choice between two major types of boots for their backcountry expeditions– either hard boots or soft boots. “Hard boots” are the plastic-shelled, uncomfortable stiff boot of choice for the traditional ski mountaineer. But snowboarders, ever intent upon evolving existing snowsports technology, have come up with their own special brand of backcountry boot.

The Driver X is the perfect compromise between a stiff mountaineering boot (yes, it works great with crampons), and the cozy goodness of those boots you take resort riding. It’s a stiff, yet comfortable, softshell boot that rips it up in the pow and also lets you keep your footing on a steep face.