What is your Splitboard set up?

I am interseted in Splitboarding but more so as a means to enjoy alpinisim and ice climbing in a new way. What is the best gear for that use? Has anyone used a mountaineering boot in a splitboard binding? What board is the best for "ski mountaineering"? I want to purchase the right set up for next season, and can't seem to fi d the right info online.

So as per my imagination I want to use it in RMNP for skining in, climbing, and riding out. Roughly speaking.  

Thank you,

AL PINOCHET 

Disclaimer: I've never splitboarded before.

However, I have been quite interested and looked a lot into it. A popular setup is to use an AT ski boot (youtube has many videos comparing "hard boots" to "soft boots" for splitboarding), and phantom makes a binding to suit this style (link). Now that using a hard boot is an option you can utilize skimo technology. I just started skiing and climbing in La Sportiva's Sytron (link) boot this year and I absolutely love it. I've climbed up to WI4 without issues in them. I'm sure a lot of people will preach about how a soft mountaineering boot will always outperform a hard boot, but I haven't regretted switching from a traditional mountaineering boot to a skimo boot.

Now, with regards to RMNP climbing to splitboarding: this was my intent originally, but after spending the early season wallowing back and forth to the black lake ice in glacier gorge and experiencing the hilly terrain it seemed splitboarding would be impractical. I could imagine skinning up, having a blast climbing, boarding down... to a hill, wallowing up the hill, boarding down.... to another uphill. It seemed like it would be a pain since that type of terrain isn't strictly downhill. So I decided to suck it up and learn how to ski. I haven't regretted the decision, I have had a really fun time learning BC skiing and have really appreciated not having to take apart and reassemble a board in hilly terrain.

 Any splitboard will do. You can even make your own. I’ve used Nepal’s and split bindings. It got the job done but I can ride and ski down anything so lots of experience is the key.

 Splitboarding is way radder than lame ass AT skis... until you’re try to access rolling terrain. Then it’s either constantly switching snowboard to ski mode and back or you’re going to have to ski.. in ski mode.. with your ice boots. Again are you good enough?

 You can climb ice in AT boots, beware of thin ice wearing AT boots, plus AT skis make travel quicker. So skiing is a good choice unless you wanna climb and ride. In that case go for it!

If you're just going to use them as approach/descent, I'd say learn to ski. AT ski boots are great for climbing. Also rolling terrain is 10x easier on skis. They're also lighter, cheaper, more common, easier to service, and simpler than a hardboot splitboard setup. I also find it harder to ride a snowboard with a heavy pack.

That being said, I do ride a hardboot splitboard setup. I use TLT5's on a Jones Solution board, Phantom bindings, and Spark tech toes. I do it not because a splitboard is the best way to access climbs but because I also really like to ride. When there is going to be lots of rolling terrain and not too steep, I just ski instead even though it's not as fun and I'm not as good at it. Obviously it's an investment to have both but if I could only choose one for climbing, it would be skis.

On pure touring days or approaches that are pure uphill (like most of the Cascade volcanoes), I absolutely love my splitboard. So much fun harvesting the spring corn!

Skis are just a more efficient mode of transportation in most circumstances. If you are not just climbing up to ride down go AT as mentioned. I have a lot of fun skiing and riding. If you were limited on time to do it I could see focusing on one to get good at it, but I have so much fun doing both I encourage people to get competent at both and enjoy them both, and learn the pros/cons of each.

All 6 of my spkitboarding friends switched to skiing. Just do it already.

Started out riding in Vasque ICE 9000s, then switched to Spantiks with Spark bindings. With a power strap, they were serviceable for turns, but limited in their ability with respect to feel.  I've since switched to Phantom bindings and Dynafit hardboots.  More expensive setup, but FAR lighter.  Caveat being you have to be OK with iterative carving modifications on the boots to get them to your desired flex profile.  While I still ride soft snowboard boots in-bounds, I won't be going back to mountaineering boots and soft boot bindings for the backcountry.   Weight savings and touring efficiency gains were too great to revert back.  

For ice climbing you want AT boots. So just get skis.

For riding big lines a split/big Mountain boot is key. Either Jeremy's or Xavier's. I use Xavier's.

If the approach is very flat or you have a bunch of ticky tack transitions, ski. If you can generally ride down to the car or sled, split.

For example the spring I skied from the winter closure to mount toll. I split to do dragons tail. Both required axes and crampons. Ultimately it is about what you want to do and how you want to ride. Personally I am not a fan of hard boot snowboarding but some people love and swear by it. 

I am a splitboarder,  currently converting to AT skis.
 Just ski.

DO NOT SKI.   long time splitboarder/alpine guy here..   If you're serious about the snowboard side of things as much as the climbing side you cant go wrong with this set up..   I use a Rossignol XV wide 163 for steep and icy conditions it has magnetraction so riding on ice feels good and stable.. I use the Rossignol Sushi for powder and soft conditions its short and fat rides everything super well and is extremely light weight.. ive taken it to Mt. Stimson and Ciochetti's ribbon..  i rode it on the Great white icicle last season. climbed up 4 pitches of ice and on the way down rode waist deep powder...  Spark R&D Arc pro bindings are super light and burton compatible so parts are everywhere but I've never had any problems with them.. I use the K2 aspect boot..its a soft boot i love it for all types of boarding park jumps/rails to powder to alpine and had never had a problem climbing ice in them ever...super on the fly adjustable too..   routes like the GWI and Triangle couloir went down just fine.. Ive also used North Face mountaineering boots with spark bindings it wasn't bad but the upper ankle support wasn't all that great..  you could add a different stiffer liner to help with that though.. and mountaineering boots are typically longer and heavier than snowboarding boots so i just stick to the K2 aspects for now..  Fitwells are a good mountaineering/snowboarding boot to look into although i haven't used them..   Go with a Rossignol Splitty though you wont be disappointed the performance is next level.. Rossignol has a new set of poles coming out next year that are the lightest and compact and durable too 

I met James randomly climbing in Utah and have enjoyed watching his mountain exploits on a board via social media over the last few years. This dude gets after it in the mountains. Definitely someone with experience worth listening to. 

If you suck at snowboarding just start skiing.

If you’re halfway decent at snowboarding don’t switch to something you suck at and realistically need three seasons at a resort to be competent enough to be in the backcountry. I see more climbers learning to ski in the backcountry that are just a liability to their group (stay out of the backseat).

Ok rant mode off, I’ve been snowboarding since 93, splitboarding since 08. I now use dynafit tlt6s with spark dyno bindings. The tlt6 is heavily modified for more lateral and medial flex. They ride very similar to newer malamutes, predictable, responsive and powerful. Completely fine in steep narrow lines.

Atomic backlands seem to be the new hotness in AT boots for splitboarding now. I’m still rocking 2015 era

I had a lot of skiing experience and rode a few times over the years. I bought my first snowboard and in one year of resort experience I could ride most terrain. A lot of the principles transfer over. I don’t know what it feels like to learn skiing after snowboarding a lot but I imagine it would be similar. I love snowboarding but it’s less convenient than skiing (on traverses, stopping, flats, slight uphills). So I think it’s a good idea to learn to ski for the days you just want to get around efficiently and have a split board for when you are pushing your downhill limits and want your tool of choice.

I splitboard ski-mo regularly, have competed and placed as a split-boarder in several ski-mo events.  I do uphill with some exposure on places like S. Sister and Mt. Hood, but I don’t ice climb.
I have a Jones Solution 158, Phantom Bindings, Dynafit toe pieces, Dynafit TLT6 boots modded (cuff shortened medial, lateral and anterior as well as heat molding of liner and the actual plastic shell).  I also removed the metal fitting on the heel where the clip slides into for downhill mode (this gives a better downhill feel)

Disadvantages Skiers speak of
1. Speed, if you plan to ride with a group of skiers, unless you are easily the most fit in the group, you will likely be the caboose in your group.  It’s hard to keep up with skiers because the downhill transition takes longer.  They can rip skins while standing, you have to convert your ski’s to a board.  If your group is more recreational than competitive this shouldn’t be a huge issue. Hardboot setups also help with speed of transition.
2. Less traction side-hilling - in steeper terrain you need to turn so your side is to the mtn and you are on your ski edge and skin, this will prevent you from sliding on your skins.  Ski’s have an advantage because the inside and outside edge are straight, on a board your outside edges (inside edges in skin mode) are curved, so when going uphill your inside edge of your downhill ski will always be curved and therefore have less purchase and be more prone to slide.  This can be combatted by placing your downhill pole underfoot on the outside edge at the same time you are placing your downhill ski.  This way your pole acts as a brace preventing slip.  It took a while, but I feel very confident even with significant exposure with this method.
3. Rollers - I have pretty much eliminated this problem by learning how to downhill in uphill mode with skins on.  You can practice at a resort by uphilling to a low slope angle spot then turning around and riding downhill with skins on.  As you get more confident move to steeper terrain and try it.  That being said I’m probably still not as fast as a skier because of the drag of my skins on Roller terrain.

Why Hardboots:

1. Efficiency uphill, this can’t be understated you spend most of your time traveling uphill, I can’t estimate how much more efficient, but I do think it is very significant.
2. Side-hill traction, I can’t speak from a lot of experience but multiple soft booters tell me the boots flex too much and kink/rollover in steeper terrain.  This is a huge advantage for hard boots as steep terrain sidehilling is pretty much the most sketch time you will be on your board and your edge sliding there could be a major buzzkill (I hear this effect is worse with mountaineering boots, but as with anything I’m sure it’s variable boot to boot depending on stiffness). 
3. Speed of transition is greatly increased. I haven’t ridden softboots much, and I am good at transitioning with hardboots, but I’ve been in large avi-groups and compete against soft booters and they always seem to be much slower in transition.  If you intend to ride with skiers you won’t lag behind as much.

Modding hardboots - I’m not sure how many people that converted did so before modding their boots, but I would say this is essential.  I could barely ride my board before modding them and it was uncomfortable to painful side-hilling.  Best advice do one mod at a time and try it out before doing another, they are expensive and if you do multiple mods you may overdo it.  Additionally the more mods you do the less stiff the boot (the stiffness is the primary advantage so you might as well move to soft boots at a certain point).
 
Solution - love this board it eats up rough snow so well, it’s like comparing a downhill mtn bike to cross country vs. some of the other boards I’ve ridden.  It’s ok in pow, my legs burn out pretty quick, I would move my bindings back next time I ride pow.  

Phantom - The newer versions have less moving parts, I would recommend this as I have to tighten the screws regularly.  I have e-mailed the phantom guy a couple times with concerns and he literally e-mails me back within hours so customer service has been great.  He’s also always willing to replace a part, I haven’t replaced any yet, but he said if I run into problems just let him know.  I have heard about the spark setup with the pucks, IDK how good it is, I would be curious to try it vs the phantom, but I have been happy with mine to be honest so haven’t had a reason to switch it up.  

Hope that helps

The beginning of last season I invested in a new board, Jones Carbon Solution, and Phantom split tech bindings along with a pair of Scarpa Maestrales. A big investment but very worth it. There is nothing like cruising down on your board. Yes switching to skiing would make things a little bit easier, but it is and never will be the same as being on a board. I'd say snowboarding in this setup is especially nice with how responsive it feels. Dont listen to anyone who skis, they will always tell you to switch over. The only downside to it is if you get into rescue scenarios. If I was doing big mountain climbing like in Alaska or Himalaya I would be on skid, just for the versatility. Join the world of split tech!

Yep. Tech splitting it the way. TLT6s, Spark Dyno, Rossignol XV 163 for me.
The efficiency difference is out of this world and probably rivals AT skis in some ways.

Dont listen to anyone who skis, they will always tell you to switch over. 

Lol. I’d say don’t listen to anyone who only snowboards. For “as a means to enjoy alpinisim and ice climbing“ skis are more efficient. I have friends who snowboarded for years and got AT skis for backcountry stuff and realized they were missing out by never skiing. Kind of like when I got a snowboard and realized I had been missing out on the fun of snow boarding.  Of course you need the time and money for both, but for the use mentioned it’s silly to not consider skis. 

If you're mainly interested in climbing, and using the splitboard for mainly as a means to approach on fairly mellow terrain, then I use my normal leather mountaineering boots pretty happily. I use a voile strap through the back of my highback and around my lower leg to add support. It works surprisingly well.

I haven't invested in proper splitboard mountaineering boots yet, but I've done more technical climbs and descents the ol' dirtbag way carrying my snowboard boots in my pack for the climb.

I typed up a detailed response but it got lost in a server glitch.  The short version of it is that I'm on a Lib SplitBRD 167W, Phantoms, and Atomic Backlands.  Hardboots are the way to go for splitmo.  Don't ski unless you aren't very good at snowboarding already but know that skiing is a good tool in the mountains.  I just lack a passion for skiing and still very much have a passion for snowboarding.  Let me know if you have any specific questions about my set up or my thoughts on splitboarding with skiers or to approach a climb.

*Edited to add that I picked up skis this winter and am determined to get proficient on them but splitboarding will always be my choice for challenging terrain or deep snow.*

Glowering wrote: Lol. I’d say don’t listen to anyone who only snowboards. For “as a means to enjoy alpinisim and ice climbing“ skis are more efficient. I have friends who snowboarded for years and got AT skis for backcountry stuff and realized they were missing out by never skiing. Kind of like when I got a snowboard and realized I had been missing out on the fun of snow boarding.  Of course you need the time and money for both, but for the use mentioned it’s silly to not consider skis. 

I have skis, and am learning to be a better skier, I would definitely say snow boarding and splitboarding is much more fun. I did say that for certain circumstances, skiing is the right choice, but just because you are ice/mixed climbing and in alpine terrain, doesnt mean you need, skis.

Carbon G3 board.

Spark R&D Arc Bindings.

La Sportiva G5 boot.

Tours and rides just fine. Don't overthink it.