Marquette Backcountry Ski
MSRP: $189
So good of an idea I can’t believe it took so long for some one to do it! Marquette Backcountry skis will be all the rage very soon. Utilizing a great concept this little company is allowing folks to get out into the back country with ease for an amazingly affordable price. At just $189 a set these hybrid ski/snowshoes allow users to effortlessly explore snowy lands. By combining the two basic concepts of a scaled cross country ski and snow shoe you really do get the best of both worlds.
Pre-drilled for multiple mounting options and featuring plastic edges that can be fixed with a razor blade, Marquette Skis are ready to rock and roll and by removing the extra steps of drilling to mount bindings and re grinding edges and waxing to become the easiest ski set up to date. We simply mounted some 3 pin bindings and were off to play, yeah it is that easy! However these skis allow you to use tele bindings, the afore mentioned 3-pin set up or even a soft boot binding so you can use them with what ever you generally snowshoe in. Now the skis are pretty fat at 140cm long with a 150mm tip, 130mm waist, 140mm tail, so they float really well and the over sized scales on the bottom really grab powder well to keep the back sliding to a bare minimum. And by hollowing out the “core” the skis are lighter than you might think but still a hefty almost 10 lbs a pair!
A few weeks ago I skied all over the place in these things and was surprised at how easy they were to maneuver. Ascending as well as descending through trees was easy and given the short length I was able to whip between trees with no problem.
These skis will more than likely fit in for a fun day of secret stashes and a bit of play in areas you might not have thought was worth the time before. Long tours will probably smoke your legs trying to push these planks but the ability to simply play is uncompromised. When it comes to a product that can offer the gateway experience to a sport, these skis do it in spades by combining the ease of use, relatively inexpensive entry, and an amazing ability to take out the often high priced elitist BS and get us back into getting stoked at simply having fun in a new way.
I definitely can see these as becoming a rental market rage because of how inexpensive they are and how many folks will be able to use them with out lessons or having to commit the cash for a day at the resort.
Anyone looking seriously at buying this snow atv should be aware that there is no fixing the base should you manage the infamous “core shot” then again if you can get through it then they’re inexpensive enough to replace and to be honest these are a backcountry ski not a hucking steep plank so use them for what they are intended and you wont have any issues. After all these are best suited for deep powder and with the short length and early rise they provide nice floatation and snappy turning that will give you more than you think they can provide even with larger skiers. I think it is safe to say that this ski is a jack of all trades but master of none….just like most of us!
