Two weeks ago I wrotethis piece encouraging folksto work on their own gear.
I explained how tweaking and repairing my ski gear adds to my overall experience as a skier.
I came of age during the era of skittle suits and kids poles.
I like short poles for going downhill.
But, I am tall, and I also like walking uphill a lot.
So I always ski with adjustable poles.
I just put a single wrap of electrical tape just below the 125 cm mark on both poles.
So, glove leashes are my best friend.
I truly dont understand why everybody doesnt use them.
I add them to everything, from Kinco mittens to my light liner mittens I skin in.
I love slipping out of gloves and knowing theyre not going anywhere.
My $12 grommet tool from Amazon gets a lot of use modifying bike gear.
More and more brands are including purpose built pockets for avalanche transceivers on their pants and bibs.
Im fully in the Beacon in my pocket, not on a chest harness camp.
There are three things that make a pocket beacon-specific.
The first one is easy: It needs to be zippered.
No velcro or snaps.
It must also be an interior pocket.
The bag of the pocket must be welded or stitched inside the pants.
It cant be a cargo pocket on the outside of the pants.
Most ski pants with hand pockets meet these requirements.
The third is a little more complicated: it must have an anchor point for your beacons lanyard.
The lanyard makes sure this doesnt happen.
Purpose built pants will often have a little plastic clip to snap your lanyard into.
Boom, youve got a beacon pocket.
This one is sorta weird, but its worked well for me.
I hate when snow builds up on my bindings, making it hard to click in or out.
There are fancy sprays with dubious science to back them up, designed to repel snow.
It works well, its free, and now your skis smell like focaccia bread.
One of best ways to make your touring boots ski better is some kind of aftermarket power strap.
I really like this thing.
It works well on Roxas boots, and on other boots as well.
Its just plain better.
Its simple, its light, and it works really, really well.
As I mentioned above, I like to ski in mittens.
But that means it can be hard to access pockets or pit zips without taking them off.
My solution has been to add oversized zipper pulls to my gear.
I use repurposed friendship bracelets, but loops of paracord work well too.
I have these oversized pulls on key pockets, and my pit vents.
I use my phone for a lot while skiing.
I grab clips with it, I navigate with it, and in an emergency, its my lifeline.
Thats why Ive built specialized phone pockets into my favorite pairs of bibs.
But all of them have made my days skiing just a little more efficient.
So let me know, what do you like to do to your gear to make it truly yours?
