I ski hoks with a tiak exclusively. All backcountry, lots of vertical, pretty much every day there's snow around here. It started as a way to get into bc skiing but after 6 years I can't see any reason to go with anything else. It's just the best way to do what I like to do which is explore the mou...

Thanks for all of the insight, folks! I went ahead and placed an order for a Tiak from Altai. Once I check out the actual dimensions, I may make a 2nd one of my own. Perhaps, I might try to make one like an old school alpenstock. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes for general touring with it, b...

Hi Alpendrms. (Disclaimer: I'm an Altai ski dealer). I've been using the tiak with the hoks and koms for 5 yrs and love it. I think for small skis like the hoks the tiak is the better way to go.. depending on type of terrain. If there is a lot of flat-land touring then the tiak gets tiring and isn'...

Howdy folks! Wondering if anyone here has tried a Tiak or”Lurk” while out in the backcountry. Seems pretty inefficient for touring, but looks like a helluva lot of fun on the downhills. Just wanted to get some insight and opinions from the experienced folks here.

If it helps at all...it appears that Mountain Gear in Spokane has them in a 174 length. Had they existed when I bought mine, I probably would have gone with this length...just because I'm used to longer skis, and certainly they would pair with my height and weight even better. However...I'm still ve...

Cool! I hope you get a pair and love them! The additional width underfoot is nice. In the early part of my military career, we were on the proverbial "white rockets of death" skis...but later got issued Völkls with Silvretta randoneé bindings....neither ski had much shape to them to speak of. Which ...

No worries...glad to help! When I skied them at Whitegrass in West Virginia last year...a lot of the local free heel folks, including Whitegrass owner Chip Chase, were coveting them, too! It gets really cold in that part of WV...teens into the single digits. The snow is often ice crust, but still de...

alpendrms: the Koms only come in 165 length, right? Do you feel they are too short for your height/weight or is the short length not an issue? They're actually 162s. Nope...I'm 6'2" and 210 lbs soaking wet. I have yet to feel like they are too short for me. Must be something about the design of the...

lilcliffy wrote: Also- I'm intrigued- what is the "Hill People Gear Winter Gathering camp"? Here is a thread about this year's event: http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/tabid/679/forumid/25/threadid/16951/scope/posts/Default.aspx And also a link to the Facebook page about it: https://www.facebook.c...

YES- please! REVIEW. Here is a write-up I did about these skis on the Hill People Gear Forum: http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/tabid/679/forumid/23/postid/9363/scope/posts/Default.aspx#9363 I continue to be impressed with them. I opted for these over the Altai Hok, because the Kom is more like a...