I can't help but blurt it out…
I've been involved in the ski industry for more decades than I wish to admit. Either as a competitor, a sponsee, an athlete, in product development, in marketing, in engineering, in testing - in many many capacities. I only say this because to me?? This whole front side vs backside vs back country vs slack country vs freeski vs freeride….it's all just a bunch of horseshit for the most part.
The products - not all, but most - being designed today and marketed to a specific performance niche are just make-overs of already existing gear with some tweaks. They're not made to be pushed into the physical/environmental niche - they're made to be pushed into the psychological niche of the consumer. The consumer runs the show (or, their dollars, at least) - and since skiing has had its peaks and valleys (no pun intended) - went dead with snowboarding, came back due to snowboarding with the parabolic ski, then went dead with the half-pipe, then came back with twinners (thanks Brothers Mike and JP (RIP) and JF), then went dead on race courses only to come back as fatties and do-alls, moguls died down, cliff drops ramped up. It's all just finding the next mental landscape to exploit in the collective mind of the consumer. Fucking electric socks?!?!?!?! Give me a fucking break people…. Just "leave"!!
The 'core riders and skiers know their shit - and know what they need - and have gotten their jobs done on the gear they've had for years….some decades. Improvements are just another form of mass marketing - yes - some of it is kickass; but since when did everyone really start wanting to "earn their turns"?!?!?! It's horseshit. It's "fashion". Those who have earned their turns sure as shit know what they want and how to get it. And for the record - I'm not a skinner, nor a free-heeler….I just bootpack my ass to whatever ridge is necessary through lung and limb and don't care about the cardio kill. It's just me, call me old school. Whatever. It works, and costs me "nada" to convert :)
/rant over.
You can boot pack in waist deep snow. I will skin up. Also, if one is new to the sport, asking questions is kind of relevant.
But, I could rip on my old Rossignol Roc skis and I even had some Spalding Skis too. And those were dad's garage sale specials I had to learn on.
The tech is excellent but head spinning. The only downside is it took years to carve turns and bomb runs in powder and now anyone can do it.