Petzl

For snowboarders who are travelling on steeper terrain, in harder conditions or on bare ice, there is no way around the use of crampons. However, due to the nature of soft boots (wide fit & relatively soft sole), there are a few special features to bear in mind.

Once again this year, we would like to present the PowderGuide community with a few suggestions for (more or less) suitable Christmas gifts for winter sports enthusiasts. Members of the extended editorial team present one of their Christmas wishes, irrespective of manufacturer, price and usefulness.

Petzl, known for climbing equipment and headlamps, has an ultra-light set of crampons and ice axes in its range that is perfectly suited to ski touring and ski mountaineering. I was allowed to test the Ride ice axe and the Leopard crampons last year.

With the Laser Speed Light, Petzl combines the lightness of aluminum with the strength and "bite" of steel in an ice screw. The result is quite impressive, as light weight is practically not at the expense of performance...

Nao - Chinese for brain - is the name of the "thinking" lighting miracle from French manufacturer Petzl. The secret: a brightness sensor in the lamp regulates the light intensity in real time so that as much light always reaches the eye as necessary. No more and no less.

Attention! Please do not think that the Petzl Ultra is a normal headlamp. The only normal thing about it is that you wear it on your head. I have been using the lamp for 10 months. The lamp is the best in headlamps. You can use it to carry out delicate repair work on skis or drill holes in ski bindings, even on a moonless night.