I would go shorter Musk Ox. The longer skis might glide better but they will be a lot more work to compress the camber for a kick and also to flex them to turn. You will have to use more energy to get enough weight on them for grip and turns and you will have more kicks that slip and more turns that...

@lowangle al I agree, but let us know if you have any input on robust field repairs as new boots fail on expedition too. I never thought about it, but here is an idea. Take a piece of plastic about 75mm wide and at least as long as your boot. Predrill one end to match the screw hole pattern of your...

I had the same thing happen to my boots but was close enough to the car to carefully ski out. Both of my boots and both of my wife’s boots cracked on the same day during a short boot up a snowshoe trail. We both had on Merrill’s about twenty years old. My take on this is that if your boots are old d...

I don’t have an answer to your question but I will say that you will have better luck with newer scarpas that have thermo mountable liners for your wide feet.

If I were looking for a new pack I would definitely look at the ones with storage built into the belt and straps. For a half day pack I don't think a full weight supporting belt is necessary.

TC if waxing the tips doesn't work I wouldn't be afraid to wax the scales as long as you have a chemical wax remover . Last season I had good luck on "crusty" snow using the Swix red/silver that I had on during the warm spell that preceded the freeze. On crusty snow I find wax sticks real good so yo...

Measure the insole in centimeters.

I think your cardio is fine. If you want to increase your chances to keep up with alpine skiers i will suggest again to do some strength training.

I have skied my vectors with leather boots and they were fun in soft snow. I don't think I could have gotten them on edge if I needed to and they were lousy at tracking on hardpack. So if you don't mind spending that much on a ski that isn't that versatile they will work in the best conditions. I th...

I'm surprised that your traditional xc gear is that much better than the FTs on those crappy trails. When the trails get like that I need to jump up to my T4s. Skiing is inherently dangerous and I'd rather get hurt skiing something good than crashing on a hard packed, rutted up low angle access trai...