Wow, I never thought my thread would generate so much interest. It's really been fun and educational following it. And I THANK everyone for all the input. You guys (and gals?) are really great.
After all this deliberation, fact finding, ski shop hopping, late nights on the forums, and millions of questions, I've come full circle and am back in the alpine camp. After the ski manufacturer and another person familiar with this ski recommended the burly Salomon alpine binding (STH 16), I decided to take their advice. I was still in the market for the Titans and was up at Marmot trying them on for a second time and for whatever reason this time they were big time shin biters. I put my alpine boots on for comparison and they were so comfortable. I thought real hard and realized that I was spending a lot of money to be able to bootpack and there was no guarantee that I could ever get the Titans to fit as well as my alpine boots. Plus, I think I'm going to have my hands full getting dialed in to these big skis but will probably have a lot of fun doing so.
I have gained so much knowledge from this quest and it has raised my interest level much higher towards BC skiing. My plan now is to rent the gear, go out with some friends, maybe take a lesson, and get a taste. My guess is I'm going to like it a lot, in which case I will do the right thing, and set myself up with gear just for touring and keep my alpine setup separate. May take a couple of years but I'm going to do it.
Now that I know you guys are here, I'll definitely pop back in and see what's going on. This is a great place with a lot of special people.
PS. Please keep this thread going. It's fun, interesting and enlightening. Oh, and I've started another thread about another idea I have.
