New to Touring?
Your journey beyond the lifts starts here.
Ski touring is a complicated sport with a high barrier to entry. If you’re confused, intimidated, or unsure where to begin, you’re in the right place. Below, we’ll walk you through the essential gear, our product and bundle guide, and our educational resource hub.
The gear that gets you up — and down.
Touring skis are built much lighter than downhill skis to save energy on the climb, often using lightweight materials like Karuba wood and carbon fiber. They ski the descent just like regular skis, but prioritize uphill efficiency.
Unlike fixed resort bindings, touring bindings have a “walk mode” that frees your heel for a natural striding motion uphill. Most modern setups use “tech” or “pin” bindings, which clamp the toe of your boot with small metal pins — dramatically lighter than traditional bindings. Many also include climbing risers to make steeper slopes easier.
Strips of fabric that stick to the base of your skis with a reusable adhesive. Their directional fibers glide forward but grip the snow to stop you sliding backward, attaching at the tip and tail with hooks and levers. Skins blend mohair and nylon — more mohair glides faster, more nylon grips better.
Touring boots have a hinged cuff, operated by a lever, that lets your ankle flex naturally on the climb. They’re significantly lighter than resort boots and have metal inserts at the toe and heel to click into pin bindings.
Where resort poles are fixed, touring poles are usually adjustable — shorten them for the uphill stride, lengthen them for the descent. For racing and speed, we recommend fixed-length poles to save weight.
An electronic transceiver worn close to the body that emits a continuous radio signal. If someone is buried, the rest of the party switches to “search” mode to locate their signal.
A collapsible pole used to pinpoint a buried skier after the beacon narrows them to within a few meters, confirming exact depth and location before you dig.
A metal, collapsible shovel built to chop through dense, concrete-like avalanche debris. Plastic resort-style car shovels will break in these conditions.
Touring helmets are often dual-certified for skiing and mountaineering, and are lighter and far more ventilated than resort helmets so you don’t overheat on the ascent.
Touring relies on a layering system — you’ll sweat on the uphill and freeze on the downhill. Touring-specific layers, gloves, jackets and pants add specialized features to keep you comfortable on the skin track.
A backpack with a deployable balloon system. Pulling the handle during a slide inflates the airbag, helping keep you near the surface of the moving debris.
Metal traction spikes that attach to your bindings. When skins struggle on steep, icy skin tracks, crampons bite into the snow to prevent slipping.
Every skier dials in their own system. Often a beat-up pair of goggles handles the downhill, while large-lens, breathable sunglasses prevent fogging on the climb.
A small emergency kit to fix broken gear miles from the trailhead — zip ties, duct tape, a multi-tool, and spare binding screws.
The perfect setup, made simple.
Building your first touring setup shouldn’t require a spreadsheet. We’ve taken the guesswork out of gear compatibility by engineering curated packages where the skis, bindings, skins and boots are designed to perform flawlessly together. Save time, skip the stress, and keep more in your pocket.
Start with a curated bundle or mix and match your own setup — the discount unlocks automatically based on what’s in your cart.
(poles optional)
- Automatic savings: add the items to your cart — the discount appears at checkout, not on the initial cart screen.
- Full-priced gear only: applies to our current lineup of full-priced equipment.
- No stacking: bundle discounts are our best deal and can’t be combined with other promo codes.
Need expert advice?
There’s no single “right” combination of gear — only the right one for you. Your height, weight, ability and goals all shape how your setup should feel. Want to swap a boot, find your size, or dial in the exact setup for your backcountry goals? Email info@haganskiusa.com and a HAGAN expert will walk you through it.
Knowledge is the most important gear you’ll carry.
Stepping past the resort boundary is the start of an incredible journey — and a steep learning curve. Whether you’re untangling how a pin binding works, figuring out how to layer, or looking for your first avalanche course, we’ve gathered our best guides, tutorials and expert advice in one place.