Fat Ski Skinning

Help, I'm in a big quandary. The guy who makes the ski I talked about on the first post has recommended that I stay with my Salomon alpine STH 16 bindings. He and others on TGR think that this ski is too big to tour (165, 133, 149) and that it would take legs of steel to push that big shovel through the snow (and "balls of an elephant"). A guy at work also said that he would love to follow me but would not want to be skinning these skis.

So now I have to sit back and really ask myself is this a good thing to do. It sounds cool and I'm the kind of guy who likes to hedge all his bets and cover all the bases but I have to think about reality. Which is that I'm going to be skiing mostly in-bounds with some side-country added in. Probably no real touring. My thought was that if I was in the side-country (Alpental or Crystal), how many times would I be with people who wanted to skin someplace, or would I want to skin up by myself somewhere (safe). I don't know. But I wanted to have the gear just in case. Is that nuts or not?

You guys are the experts, I'm a pure newbie. Is putting Dukes on these fat boys a good idea? Andyski, you have them on Megawatts and they're a 153 shovel. Is it hard skinning? Is thinking that skinning in the side-country real? My work buddy mentioned that you have to keep your skins warm to use them so keeping them in your pack then taking them out for a quick jaunt up a side-country bowl isn't all that feasible. What do you guys do? Am I just fantasizing?

I was just about to pull the trigger on Titans and Dukes when I started having second thoughts. They're not cheap and I need to know that I'm not blowing away needed money (plus my wife would shoot me).

Any advise both negative and positive will be greatly appreciated.

BTW, this forum is quite a relief from TGR.

All the cool kids have Dukes on their skis. But, did they bother to buy skins?? Side country skinning?? Where?? Most areas have side country that does not require skinning. Jackson Hole seems to have a strong bootpack mentality. Crystal is mainly traversing or booting. Alpy is a traverse. The reality is most people get the dukes because they like the idea of being able to skin, but in reality, how much do they actually use them?? Yes your skis are friggin fat. This means they will not fit in most skin tracks and you will be constantly breaking more trail to go uphill. Where was it, you were going to use these again? Are you touring in Alpine boots? Ugh. Have you priced skins that will fit your skis?

All the cool kids have Dukes on their skis.   But, did they bother to buy skins??  Side country skinning??  Where??   Most areas have side country that does not require skinning.  Jackson Hole seems to have a strong bootpack mentality.   Crystal is mainly traversing or booting.  Alpy is a traverse.  The reality is most people get the dukes because they like the idea of being able to skin, but in reality, how much do they actually use them??   Yes your skis are friggin fat.  This means they will not fit in most skin tracks and you will be constantly breaking more trail to go uphill.   Where was it, you were going to use these again?  Are you touring in Alpine boots?  Ugh.   Have you priced skins that will fit your skis?

Thanks khyak. I need someone to bring me down from the clouds. I ski Alpental and Crystal and just got into side-country last year. My side-country partner (oldest daughter) is off to grad school so I may be limited a little this year. I'm really thinking now that the best thing to do is to put solid alpine bindings on the ski, especially since the manufacturer recommends it, and then go and have fun. I'm still thinking of getting the Titans for bootpacking, although my alpine boots are just fine. A friend offered to take me out on a tour and I could then just rent BC skis. If I really got stoked, then going for a light weight setup sounds like the way to go.

Now I have another question for those who have bootpacked at Crystal and other places. Like I said, my alpine boots are just fine but I've been thinking about getting a pair of Dynafit Titans. It was a toss between the Factors and Titans but the Titans fit just a little bit better. For bootpacking here in the NW, is it worth buying AT boots? Will these boots work if I want to get into BC skiing later? They're not cheap, darn near the cost of the skis so again I have to put up a good case with my sweet wife.

Well I was at Crystal today with my Dukes and I was kicking myself for not bringing my skins( Left them in the car).
Sure there is a lot of lift served backcountry at Crystal BUT there is a whole lot more that can be accessed by either a short skin in OR a short skin out.

The Dukes are heavy but as I said , manegable for short side country skinning.

My son just bought a pair of Titan's and loves them for both in-bounds and touring.
They are light and have a terrific walk mode. That being said, the most important thing is fit!
He wanted Factors but they did not fit him as well as Titans. Fit is most important so he bought Titans.Can't stress this enough FIT FIT FIT. Try lots of different boots until you find the magic pair.
I've just bought my first pair of ALPINE boots EVER with a DIN sole and I can tell you that the vibram sole on AT boots does make a difference in grip on rocky sections. I'm slipping way more on DIN soles.

Good luck with whatever you choose. But remember FIT , FIT, FIT!!!!!!!!

For bootpacking here in the NW, is it worth buying AT boots? Will these boots work if I want to get into BC skiing later?

Bootpacking? IMO, it's worth buying AT boots for the comfort. Nearly the same performance as alpine boots, and way easier on your shins, etc. Safer for walking around on icy stone alleys in Europe, too. Come to think of it, that's why I own a pair of Dukes, so I can wear AT boots all the time!

Sure they'll work for skinning when and if you decide to get into it. I suggest thinking about it until about the last week of February, then buying them on sale.

Edit to add: I have my Dukes on skis with a 105mm waist, and I have no intention of ever touring on them. Even if you do have legs of steel and balls of elephant, if your touring partners do as well and are on lighter gear, they leave you in the dust. It's no fun getting to the top totally wasted and find your group having already eaten, ripped skins, and ready to ski.

You guys are the experts, I'm a pure newbie. Is putting Dukes on these fat boys a good idea? Andyski, you have them on Megawatts and they're a 153 shovel. Is it hard skinning? Is thinking that skinning in the side-country real? My work buddy mentioned that you have to keep your skins warm to use them so keeping them in your pack then taking them out for a quick jaunt up a side-country bowl isn't all that feasible. What do you guys do? Am I just fantasizing?

BTW, this forum is quite a relief from TGR.

I skinned all weekend at Hyak with my Dukes/Megas and had an absolute blast, except that the damn wet snow kept jamming up the track on the Dukes making getting into ski mode a super hassel. I'm getting Dynafits for them. It is NOT hard skinning on the Megas in powder or anything soft. Obviously, on icy stuff they're going to be a pain, but I wouldn't take them out on days or tours like that anyway. I've skinned to Camp Muir with them a couple times in the spring with zero problems, even passing a bunch of people on leather boots/tele gear. There are also lots of times that I tour with skinnier skis/dynafits, but I take the Megas out whenever I can because they're much more fun.

That said, I don't do a lot of touring from lifts. I'm either lift skiing or touring, for the most part. Skins are a little harder to stick when it's real cold, but this isn't Montana. You need to ask yourself how much you're actually going to tour. Oh, and don't even bother unless you're also going to get touring boots.