Backcountry Magazine 134 - The 2021 Gear Guide

This is the year to go remote, and our 2021 Gear Guide has all the skis, boards, boots and bindings to get you there. Whether you're looking for your first backcountry setup or just updating those well-loved planks, we've got unbiased and in-depth reviews of 51 skis and 29 splitboards that will take you where you want to go, wherever that may be. Plus, 21 boots, 12 bindings and 28 pieces of apparel, all of which was tested at our annual Gear Test Week at Powder Mountain, Utah last March by our team of 43 testers, who hail from Vermont to California and everywhere in between. No matter what happens this winter season, our 2021 Gear Guide has you covered. THE 2021 GEAR GUIDE SKIS, BOOTS & BINDINGS Gear Test Week is a numbers game. Thirty-two testers. Four and a half days. One hundred and four models of skis; forty-three models of boots; and every notable backcountry binding. Three runs per tester multiplied by five to eight testers per product. Whatever algorithm to compute the fina