Movement's, "Alp Tracks", series of ski, plus 1

A meter of new snow!   The 2021/22 Movement 106 in its element.  

15 years ago Dave Goode, in Provo Utah, was making carbon fiber skis that still have yet to be surpassed for weight.

Ten years ago Dynafit did a run of very light weight touring ski that covered 3 different widths from  78mm to 98mm underfoot.  For what they were, all of them still skis exceptionally well for their width and weight as a touring skis.  And IMO all are still exceptional skis by any standard.

Here are some numbers for comparison:

The Nanga Parbat 80mm

171 x 80mm    Nanga Parbat 1052g

The Cho Oyu 88mm

174 x 89mm    Cho Oyu         1180g

and the Denali 98mm

176 x 98 Denali 

1299/1259 = 1279g average

1294/1305 = 1300g average 

Ten years on now, the general touring skis have gotten wider and overall lighter for the most part.  But few have match let alone surpassed that run on the earlier Dynafit skis for the weight compared to the width under foot.

Movement's skis for 2022 and 2023?  Construction?

• ULTRALIGHT CARBON
• wood core, ultralight paulownia
• DOUBLE PLATE TITANAL
• BASE SPEED
• RACE EDGE

Tour width skis available in the men's specific ski?  (Thy also have women's specific skis in similar

widths)

Weights listed are actual from my own skis.

This ski has a slightly different construction.  More on it coming shortly.

Race Pro 77.

77mm  838/828g per ki

833g average on my pair (161)

85mm

2022 version

968g (161)

This is a ski I took on a local 20 mile ridge traverse.  I'd done the traverse before on 65mm x 161cm race skis.  My day sucked because of that choice in skis.  Snow was really wet and the majority of the traverse is flat or slightly uphill until the last 1000 ft drop.  My race skins failed mid trip.  Life got old fast.  I ended up walking in knee deep, wet snow, for much of that trip.  The skkis were too skinny and the skins simply sucked.   This time around I used Movement's clip attach skis, which were great even after, literally, dozens of transitions.   It was an outstanding combination for that particular trip.  Nothing I  own was going to make it any better than the Movement 85.    That traverse is a lot better with no snow, on a mtn bike :)

90mm

1030g (162)  This is a ski I don't own.   It was a tossup between the 85 and the 90 underfoot.  The "on sale" price point made that decision for me.

95mm

1108g (161cm)  Short and stubby, intentionally.

98mm (2023/24) version

1273g/1275g per ski (178cm)

1274g average for my pair, which is outstanding.

This is the ski I bought to replace my aging 176cm, Dynafit Denali.    The Denali was listed as 131-98-116, 21.5m  and weighted in at a1290g.  The 98 is listed as 126-98-124.  20.5m radius and came in at  is 1270g.   So the two skis are very close.  A little less side cut, and hopefully, a little less hooky on the Movement in bad snow.   We'll have to see if they ski good enough to justify carrying the extra 1 pound in ski weight over some of my lighter 161cm ski for Spring and Summer corn.  I once thought so and skinned on a pair of Huascaran to Camp Muir.  Huascarans were a full 2.5# heavier than either of the two LWT skis.  For a run ski down from Muir to the bridge very fun, but a really dumb idea to carry an extra 2.5# on your feet..anywhere...if you can help it!  I expect the 98i to be just as much fun as the 2023 106mm version, just in a bit less ski in overall weight.   I'd guess it to be every but the ski the original Denali was and a good bit more playful and forgiving.  Which should equate to an outstanding b/c touring ski. More to come on that choice and why.

106mm (177cm) 2022 version 1340/1335g

2023/24 version 1296/1283g

When I went looking for a new ski in Jan. of 2023 it wasn't like I needed a new pair of skis.  The ski inventory in my shop is embarrassing in its selection.  But some of them are getting a little long in tooth if not by technology, then by use.  

At the start of the pandemic, I had sent a deposit for what I had hoped would be a fun 4 or 5 days of steep skiing.  It took a couple of years a change of ownership before that deposit was finally honored.  Turned out it was the biggest ski season in decades and the snowpack to match.  I've never left home with the avi danger so high in the back country.

But that trip or at least the promise of that trip sent me looking for a new ski with at least the weight and surface area the older Dynafit Denali.  

The Denali has been my go-to ski for a while now.  It had replaced my much-loved Cho Oyu that I have spent even more time on.   The Denali was a bit more forgiving, and I liked the added 10mm under foot, both of which bettered the Cho.

I have skis going from 65mm under foot, all the way to 138mm under foot.  Usually more than one and between them a number of great skis that overlap on width.  The Denali is 98 under foot.  It was replaced by the Dhaulagiri @ 95mm underfoot.   And eventually replaced again and again with a few tweaks by the Dynafit to arrive at the Blacklight 95, which is the current, touring oriented, 95mm from Dynafit.

I bought and skied on two different sized 95 Blacklights.  Although the BL 95 is close in weight,  IMO it is no Denali when it comes to how they ski.  A decent ski sure.  But nothing to write home about either.

So the search continued throughout the winter.

Skimo Co. in SLC generally has a great selection of back country skis and, more importantly to me, reliable data.

Movement Alp Tracks 106 - 2021/22 (skimo.co)

What they offer IMO are very reliable descriptions of how the skis actually perform.  I would prefer more in hand reviews that a J. Peterman catalog of fantasy writing.   The best I could hope for on reliable data was what the end users were commenting on in Skimo's Q&A section.  Even then I found some of the comments totally at odds to my own from actual use.

Which in turn got me to write about my experience with a number of Movement skis here.

The 106 was my first Movement ski.  So the conversation really starts here.

There was some back and for the between SKIMO comments and perspective buyer's comments on the two versions of the 106.  Which made me favor the "more traditional style 106 from 2022.  Flat tail, a little stiffer maybe and a less "fun" ski by what I would consider "modern" standards.   I think the "less fun" comment is spot on when compared to a dbl rockered, twin tip style, modern freestyle ski.  The Praxis GPO is a classic modern, and really fun ski.  DPS 112RP is different yet but another.   Both are also a good bit more under foot @ 112/116mm and weight well over 9# for a pair.  The Movement 106 comes in 3# lighter for a pair.

So not the best comparison.  The 2022 version is not the best for shape as a comparison either.

Don't get me wrong I really like the 2022, Movement 106 version.  But it has its place.  And it is not the 2023 version.   I skied the 2022 version in all sorts of snow.  And it would be a great all around ski for me as is in soft snow conditions.

But playful it is not.  You have to work the ski.

The 2023 version with pronounced twin tips and a slightly softer flex is flat out a better soft snow ski.  And at least in the two pair I ski, the 2023 version is a bit lighter.

Everyone very likely has one run that stands out from the 2022/2023 ski season.  I have a couple of them.  Both on the 106.  And earlier winter run made me think the 2022 version was one of the best skis I have ever skied on for size and weight.  Same run, in similar conditions, 2 months later convinced me the 2023 ski was without a doubt the best lwt "mid fat" ski I have been on.   I am stuck on that conviction even now.  The 2023 version is simply an easier and more forgiving ski in soft snow than the 2022 version.

That said, I'd still carry the 2022 version to ski off Rainier, early season.

Which such a quiver of sizes to choose from it is fun to pick and choose what width and length of ski you might want for your own adventures and the time of year.

There is no doubt that the Movement ski line up really are good skis.  Isay that  even when not focused on ski weight.  Every Movement ski I own skis exceptionally well.   But the reason I bought them is their weight.  It is the weights specs that first grabbed my attention with Movement.  The weight alone has continued to hold my attention on this width of ski.

I wrote this comment on the 106 first, but I'll try to give some perspective on the other with ski widths as well before I am done.