Allround Touring Skis

More about Allround Touring Skis

It's been a while since fresh snow fell, and strong winds made their mark on the mountain with a hard, compact layer of base? The search for champagne powder seems to be in vain … but somewhere you'll find it, the Holy Grail, protected from the wind and untouched – 30 centimetres of chilled powder snow!

In case you get that lucky, all-round touring skis give you the backup you need to get uphill and downhill in the most adverse conditions without failing at traversing. And if the deep snow paradise awaits you, sufficient mid-widths ensure maximum fun in back country!

With our partners such as Salomon, Blizzard, Fischer, Kästle, Dynafit and many more, we offer you a selection of light, ascent-oriented skis or tip & tail rockered all-purpose machines. Don't be confused by the slightly reduced centre widths of the skis. There is robust potential hidden here!

Whether you consider yourself a beginner or have been skiing for many years, this category guide will help you find the perfect fitting all-round touring ski. The filters in the online shop help you to select according to your wishes and to get a quick overview.

All-round touring skis are too heavy for you? Is it all about uphill speed, and you don't care about the rest? Take a look at the category of Uphill Performance Touring Skis. If anything less than 100 millimetres in width seems like cross-country skiing to you, we recommend you take a look at our Free Touring category, there you'll find all touring skis that have been designed for use in steep gullies and decent fresh snow. We are sure there is something for you!

Everything about centre width, radius & Co.

You're still here! Let's dive into the key figures of all-round touring skis. Basically, all-round touring skis differ from ascent- or downhill-oriented skis in their layout and offer the compromise of both categories. With all-round touring skis you will find skis between 80 and a maximum of 100 millimetres center width. The width of the ski ends and the shovels also result from the center width. Attention, this is about floatation! In addition to other factors such as the rocker profile, the centre width also provides information about the lift behaviour in snow. In compact conditions, less is more! The narrow width allows more pressure to be exerted on the edges. In deep snow, on the other hand, the wider ski relays on better floatation.

The proportion of the ski is indicated by the cut of the ski. The maximum width of the ends and shovels as well as the minimum width (centre width) under the mounting area of the binding serve as measuring points. The degree of waist directly influences the radius and has an enormous effect on the ski's performance. Together with the camber construction, this results in lift behaviour, turn handling and stability.

The radius indicates how open or tight directional changes can be skied. It is calculated from the ski length and the cut. The radius also indirectly provides information about smoothness at higher speeds. If you like to make tight turns on the downhill, a small radius is recommended. If you like to keep things flowing, go for the larger radius! Finally, there is the rocker type.

The rocker type provides information about the beak behaviour of the ski under load, and thus also the edge load. More features in our blog: Which rocker type is right for me?

Are there any special features in the materials of the Allround touring skis?

Yes and no! There are no significant differences between extremely light uphill performance touring skis and freeride versions. Here, the advantages of both areas are combined to offer the widest possible range of use. However, where alpine skis use wooden cores with a lot more layers, touring skis are based on a thinner and lighter cores. This core is made of wood in almost all touring skis and, depending on the requirements, varies in wood types such as caruba, poplar, ash, or paulownia wood.

The material mix of different types of wood creates damping, weight and stability properties, which are then reinforced by other raw materials such as carbon, fibreglass, aluminium, and titanium.

The edges and sidewall distortions are also reduced in this way in order to save weight on the one hand and to create the best possible bending and torsional stiffness on the other. Titanal plates below the bindings and above the wood core compensate for vibrations and optimize power transmission. In addition, many manufacturers use plastic top layers which, due to their surface structure, prevent snow collecting on the ski.

All-round touring skis benefit from technologies that on the one hand come from racing ski laboratories or on the other hand have already proven themselves in the freeride segment. One example is the Atomic Horizon-Tech Tip. This feature improves the floatation of the shovel by bending the sides upwards in a V-shape, and prevents you from digging in during the first powder turn and taking the final metres like a tomahawk. The combination of Horizon and eyelets for attaching skins, for example, makes even a simple shovel enormously functional.

Which length for Allround touring skis?

The shorter the ski, the easier to turn, the longer the ski, the more stable the run? That's right! Depending on how you plan your tour, you may come across one or two hairpin bends. Here the shorter ski clearly has the advantage. For beginners, touring skis with a length just below your body height are recommended. With advanced skiing technique, you can also opt for somewhat longer skis, but of course this depends entirely on your requirements.

Boots and bindings for Allround touring skis?

You have already decided on your pair of all-round touring skis and are perhaps already one step further in our set configurator? Then we'll quickly explain what you should look out for when buying the right binding or boot.

To make the selection and compatibility as easy as possible for you, both touring bindings and touring boots have been given corresponding areas of use in our online shop. Simply select Allmountain in the "Range of use" filter and you will get an overview of suitable bindings and boots that fit perfectly into the set in terms of weight or crampon compatibility.

Almost all bindings incl. stoppers are available in different widths, so make sure you choose the right one for your ski. For a centre width of 95 mm, a binding with a stopper width of 97 to 100 millimetres are recommended. If you are unsure, simply contact our support by using our contact form. By the way – The stopper exchange doesn't cost you anything more in the set price!

What kind of equipment for Allround touring skis?

So far so good! You have chosen your ski set and are excited about your first tour with new equipment? If you've been touring for a while, you might already have everything you need in your luggage. If you're still missing something or you're just starting out with ski mountaineering, we've put together a small "hardware" material list below, tailored to all-round touring skis.

Bucket list Allmountain touring skis

• Touring ski skins, which we can cut to size on request (order note)
• Crampons, matching the binding, for icy climbs and traverses
• Crampons & ice axe, for summiting in tough conditions
• Touring ski poles, in telescopic version for small pack size
• Ski touring helmet, light, well ventilated, also suitable for ascending mountains
• Avalanche transceiver set with shovel, probe and locator
• Avalanche backpack, gas pressure or compressor system
• Thermos bottle and bottle pocket for backpack strap attachment

Would you like to read more and go further into the subject of touring skis? Then you might be interested in the following Sport-Conrad blog posts:

Tips & tricks: Cut ski climbing skins

Find the best equipment for your next ski tour

How to choose the right Avalanche-Safety Equipment

Find your new Dynafit Skitouring Outfit

We hope you enjoy reading!