"A solid understanding of preliminary searching and following proper backcountry protocol of only one person on a slope at a time makes range a non issue."

Tell that to an SAR professional on a recovery mission!

But, then again, I hadn't heard any complaints about it's range from before this, and this is one of the most popular beacons in use right now IMO.

yeah you can remove all the hardwear, but dollar to donuts you'll just cough up another 150 and have a 2 splitty quiver!

Cutting the board cleanly is half the battle. An old splitboard is like a longboard (surfboard), you'll never need more than 5 minutes to find somebody who wants to borrow and tour with you!

You can ski 'em. But other than those long approaches with lots of rolling terrain, you wouldn't want to. I've seen guys rip tele-turns on splitters just to prove it can be done.

You can meadowskip all day though, and if you do alpine turns (carefully, there's no way to lock your heel down) you do indeed have a shaped edge to turn off of on your downhill foot.

spare parts at voile, like Cory said, but you don't need to buy that piece, just tie a loop of shock-cord around the pin and girth hitch to your binding. The cables suck anyway. Shockcord should be inspected from time to time, but it holds up a long time and is a cheap easy fix.

"I really want to stop carrying my board on my back!"

That's exactly why you should by a splitty and don't worry about the transition times. There are tons of guys using this board in the sierra where the seasons go 6 months long and the conditions range from powder to (particularly in the spring) icy in the am to corn in the pm. So yeah, guys (and girls!) are riding these things and traveling on them in all conditions.

Transition time vs. skiers...a bit slower. Practice speeds it up though and if you just get to the transition area a minute before your skier friend you'll mititgate the difference anyway. It's minor..unless you're out trying to keep up with some rando racers, you'll be fine.

I've yet to meet a splitter who would ever go back to snow shoes unless it's a coolie straight up without any approach, even then, most will skin the apron and switch to boots.

uh...yes. That's IS it's intended use: head warming. :-)

Dude, Jason brought the goods! Nice work Jason, very helpful (for me at least!).

It doesn't say that at all in the description. This is as close as it gets and it's quite vague: " The S-Series takes a standard Voile split binding setup (sold separately)"

I was asking an honest question before dropping 7 bills on a splitboard and have been splitting for several years, your tone is neither helpful NOR appreciated. Thumbs down!!!

Shovel Pocket is INSIDE the pack in the WET side of the WET/DRY DIVIDER. Your shovel handle and probe both have homes in there as well. No need to strap the shovel to the outside of the pack unless you're overloading it in the first place....

It IS a very roomy daypack, but an overnight would be a tight squeeze even with ultra light/compact gear.

Hey Eric, maybe it's popular for top roping without a backup belayer? It's not such a mystery afterall! I know when I have a new belayer I appreciate the autolocking function!

That said, if you're alpine/ice climbing or glacier walking, the thinner rope you're probably using is very manageable with this device! So this device and the grigri have different applications, choose the appropriate device for your purposes!

Bionic is quite a bit heavier, and not as breathable. The gore windstopper on the marmot also appears to repel water better imho (I own them both). The biggest difference is the stretch panel/breathability of the marmot.

In general, if it's cold out and I'm riding lifts, not aerobic, I'd probably opt for the Apex. If I'm doing anything at all aerobic, or layering, I opt for the leadville. Hope this helps.

The medium's sleeves will probably fit you right, but the large may be the fit around the torso you'd prefer.

If you want it fitted go with the medium, if you want it more relaxed, go large.

GL

I'm 5'9" 150 and I wear a small. I'm lanky, but it's cut like I am. I have long arms and skinny torsoe. It works over 2 thin base layers, or 1 thin baselayer, 1 100weight fleece.

YMMV

I think you should be confortable down to 0 degrees with that system WITHOUT the front point down jacket.

2 layers of down is for some seriously cold temps. You should leave the front point at home and get a gore shell. The "wet" part of your conditions pretty much mandate it.

You could also forego this jacket as a layer and just keep your front point in the pack for when you're sedentary, but if you want to wear a down layer all the time this is probably the right jacket.

Clear as mud? Here's my system YMMV:

Base: short sleeve polypro, long sleeve patagonia zip neck polypro (thin kind with a silverish reflective fabric), Marmot Leadville softshell jacket with gore windstopper, OR Mentor jacket with gore pro-shell and this jacket as my down layer. This jacket will usually be worn over my gore shell (when I stop to rest), but if it's butt cold I'll go ahead and put it underneath the gore shell and keep it on all day.

This system keeps me comfortable easily to zero degrees (actual temp NOT windchill), and the windstopper and gore layers prevent any other windchill issues.

If it's gonna be below zero I'll substitute this jacket out for my Mountain Hardwear Phantom jacket, which is much loftier but about 3/4 lb. heavier.

Yes, It fits perfectly. I use the Mission pack, but the heli pro handle holder is exactly the same.This is one of the lightest full shovel/probe setups around and super easy to use.

Yeah, polyurethane coated nylon = waterproof generally speaking. Your "wet" trip is probably attributable as much to condensation as it was to rain. When humidity is high outside the tent, it won't breathe well. This tent should however breathe well since it's got mesh walls.