Totti Lingott

The bobble hat used to be the best helmet for off-piste skiing. Nowadays, people (and women) often wear helmets on their backpacks when touring. This is only logical and, in my opinion, the helmet is far too often missing from the official list of safety components in off-piste terrain. The argument of additional weight only counts to a limited extent nowadays, as modern freeride helmets do not contribute significantly to the overall weight and hardly weigh more than an extravagant bobble hat. In any case, you hardly notice the Symbol helmet from Scott on your head or on your backpack on the ascent.

As every year, PowderGuide is once again reporting on the new products from our partners at Ispo 2017 with a slight delay. Some of the articles have already been mentioned in the other ISPO reports, but here we will once again explicitly cover the ISPO highlights from our partners for the coming winter 2017/2018. The second part is about products from Dynafit, Icebreaker, Mammut, Marker, Salomon, Scott, Sweet Protection and Völkl. Have fun reading and find out about neon-colored skis, water-repellent wool, the new long-range Barryvöxes, heat-regulating helmets, ski touring boots with walk mode at the front and particularly light ski touring boots with walk mode at the back, a backpack with back protector and a few more efficient ski touring skis.

As every year, PowderGuide is once again reporting on the new products from our partners at Ispo 2017 with a slight delay. Some of the articles have already been mentioned in the other ISPO reports, but here we will once again explicitly cover the ISPO highlights from our partners for the coming winter 2017/2018. The first part is about the products from Arc'teryx, Bergans, Evoc, Fritschi, FRM, G3, IAS and Julbo. Enjoy reading and find out about highly functional ski clothing, new ski touring bindings, ski touring boots specially adapted for women, backpacks that are particularly comfortable to wear, new topo maps for freeriding, innovative skis, women's ski goggles and an avalanche backpack that can do more than just inflate balloons.

For over 50 years, the Madrisa round tour has been the epitome of the lift-assisted freeride tour par excellence. From Austria to Switzerland and back or, as in our case, from Switzerland to Austria and back. After it was first published as a 'bold adventure' on PowderGuide.com in 1972, here it is finally as the current and modern freeride tour of the week.

When Tim S. Leatherman patented the so-called Pocket Multiple Tool in 1980, initially only craftsmen and technicians were interested in his tool. Then, according to legend, it was the stage technicians who were happy that they didn't always have to carry an unwieldy tool case on the ladder. Nowadays, every child knows the pocket tool with the name Leatherman, there are different sizes and even special versions specially adapted to the needs of different user groups. It was long overdue to finally recognize Leatherman's many years of service here on PowderGuide.com as Gear of the Week.

What you shouldn't actually do in a test report I'll do anyway: by simply quoting the manufacturer to introduce the test: "Whitedot's flagship powder ski is a versatile and reliable friend in the mountains." Apart from the fact that I expect a little more from friends in terms of interpersonal values, a thick (128 mm center width), reliable (even in rough and demanding conditions), profound (especially there it shows its strengths) and fun (in all respects) friendship has developed over time.

There is now a huge range of avalanche backpacks on the European market. For winter 2014/2015, Scott launched a new backpack line with the removable Alpride system: four backpacks can be equipped with the same airbag system or used individually. We tested the Scott Air Free AP 30 and the Scott Air Mountain AP 40 for you.

It is not the legendary ship of the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, with which he sailed through the Northeast Passage at the beginning of the twentieth century. But the two-master is also called 'Maud': 'Maud of Ålesund'. The small fishing boat was launched a year after the famous original was trapped by pack ice on the American side of the Atlantic in 1930 and sank. Nevertheless, I feel a bit like the great polar explorer as the bow of the 'Maud' makes its way through the thin sheets of ice through the straits around Ålesund in the early morning.

For a few years now, the young company Forsake has been producing very durable shoes for outdoor enthusiasts. My favorite model is the Forsake Clyde - if Clyde had worn a pair of these shoes with Bonnie back then, they probably wouldn't have been caught so quickly. Waterproof, durable, extremely trendy and most importantly: super comfortable. You can't break them even if you're on the run from cops for months! At least I think so ...

Freeriding and ski touring is 'en vogue' and one of the few areas that is still growing in the winter sports industry. As a result, the range of avalanche airbag backpacks has multiplied in the last five years and there are now several dozen backpack models with avalanche airbag technology available for freeriders and ski tourers. But a lot has also happened with the various airbag technologies: a decade ago there was only the ABS airbag system, but now there are five different systems competing on the European market, which tends to lead to falling prices, but also makes it difficult to keep track of this dynamically growing market.

Isn't this just another pointless gadget for the kitchen that jumps on the 'mountains are totally in' trend? My initial skepticism fades with every snack I make. The more often I prepare my ham in slices and cut my slices of bread with millimeter precision, the more I like the PanoramaKnife. And every time I think of this ridge tour on the Blassen...

Goggle change!