What is important for the splitboard and binding?
mr.splitboards: The splitboard should be tested on the piste and not in powder, as the core of the riding characteristics should be experienced on the hard piste. If you get along well with the shape and length here, you will also like the board off-piste!
Splitboard bindings can be divided into three categories:
Plastic (recommendation from mr.splitboards: Union binding)
Aluminum with puck system (recommendation from mr.splitboards: Spark or Voilé)
Aluminum with its own mechanical system (recommendation from mr.splitboards: Plum, Rossignol or Karakoram)
The plastic bindings are slightly cheaper and have a good ride. The aluminum bindings are more durable and offer more direct power transmission, even on the ascent. The aluminum bindings differ only minimally from one another. Puck-based aluminum bindings are all built to the exact same pattern, so it doesn't matter which type of binding you try on your test splitboard. What is essential is that you try out the conversion procedure with the binding of your choice. It's best to get a few tips from the manufacturer on site.
What should I bring/know before the Testival?
It is important to bring your own boots, to know your stance and to assess your backcountry skills correctly.
What is not as important as generally thought?
The ascent is actually not decisive, as most splitboards are very similar when converted into skis. Especially if you are new to the splitboard business, you will only notice a minimal difference in the board and binding on the ascent. To get started, it's enough if you feel comfortable with the conversion and can switch the board safely and easily from riding mode to ascent mode. Of course, you should also be able to do it the other way round, both with and without skins. Once the splitboard has been converted, i.e. the binding-specific conversion has been completed and it is in front of you as a ski, they are all very similar. You hardly notice that. It's the ascent technique, which is usually not yet available, that is the limiting factor. You can climb better with a Plum than with a Union, but you need experience to feel it. And you only get that after a few years.
