Everyone knows about the backcountry skiing essentials: beacon, shovel, probe, pack, boots, bindings, skis, partner. However, there are so many additional pieces of gear that help days spent out-of-bounds shine as some of the best of each ski season. We’ve rounded up seven products—from crampons to climbing skins—that’ll help you up your backcountry game this winter.
Day Tripper First Aid Kit – Adventure Medical Kits
$33
Accidents happen in the backcountry, it’s a fact. Keeping a first aid kit in your bag, like this one from Adventure Medical Kits, is the best step in preparing to handle an injury in the wilderness. It has bandages, gauze, tweezers, aspirin, alcohol swabs, tape, antibiotic ointment and Moleskin blister treatment to assist in caring for minor to moderate injuries in the field.
MountaineerX – Dragon
$220
Those traveling in the alpine are subjecting themselves to intense UV rays from the sun. The MountaineerX is an ideal offering for high elevations. It protects your moneymaker from the sun’s wrath with removable leather sun shields and provides visual clarity with a light filtering, hydrophobic, oil-repellent and fog-resistant lens.
XLC Nanotech Crampons – CAMP
$200
If you’re looking to bag peaks and conquer burly couloirs, you’ll need a pair of crampons. These bad boys from CAMP are built with lightweight yet strong 7075 aluminum and feature reinforced steel in the front jaws for a boost in penetrating power to successfully climb those ultra-spicy (read: dicey) ascents.
Camlock 2 Carbon Ski Poles – Voilé
$130
These poles from Voilé have all of your backcountry bases covered: The carbon fiber and aluminum build is strong and lightweight, pole length adjusts between 100 and 135 centimeters and the scraper on top of the handle rids your topsheet of heavy snow and ensures easy access to your binding’s heel risers. They’re a home run.
Profoil Skins – Fischer
$225
Glide, baby, glide. The Profoils are designed for smooth touring. These skins feature a fish-scale grip pattern inspired by Nordic ski construction which ensures optimal glide over the snow. The synthetic material in the construction also prevents dreaded soggy skins.
Scala Climbing Skins – G3
$225
The Scala Climbing Skins are a hybrid, utilizing traditional mohair in the majority of the construction with a plastic, scale-shaped pattern towards the tip. The mohair provides traction and grip underfoot, while the scales help cut through deeper snow when breaking trail on those mouth-watering pow days.
Classic 27 oz. FREESKIER Edition – Klean Kanteen
$21
This water bottle from Klean Kanteen is light and small enough to not bog down your pack load, but still has a 27-fluid-ounce capacity to keep you hydrated out there. To top it off, the incredible artwork—that skier looks mighty satisfied, eh?—etched into the bottle is sure to fuel your stoke. The water bottle and additional FREESKIER gear can be purchased at freeskier.com/store.
