How to Build Your Backcountry Ski Repair Kit
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When I first started backcountry skiing, I carried no repair kits. But in my seven seasons of backcountry skiing, I’ve seen everything from poles snapping in half, skins glopping, bindings ripping out, you name it. And it especially sucks while you’re out on a tour or hut trip that is far away from the nearest repair shop.
Last year I went down the rabbit hole of research to assemble my ideal backcountry ski repair kit so I could go on a hut trip and ski in peace, knowing that I had all the tools at my disposal to MacGyver a temporary fix for most things.
Multitool
The Leatherman Skeletool CX is better than just having a pocket driver. It’s easier to use to change binding size to your boot due to the slimmer profile. It also has a knife and pliers to help you cut things and twist things together when you’re trying to make repairs work.
It comes with a bit driver with a Philips and flat head, but I like to have the Leatherman Ratchet Driver attachment in my kit as well to be able to change out different bit-heads tailored towards ski bindings.
Screw Bits & Drill Bits
The screw bits I like to have on hand that covers a wide range of ski and splitboard issues are:
Philips
Flathead
Pozi #3
Torx 20 — Most often used for Dynafit bindings.
I also like to have a 9/64” hex drill bit that can attach to my ratchet driver attachment to remount bindings or fix broken skis.
Climbing Skins & Poles
There are frequently issues that happen in the backcountry with climbing skins and poles. so these are the items I like to keep extras on hand in my repair kit to deal with the issues:
Powder basket — Not all powder baskets fit on all poles, but they usually work well enough. And if not, you can zip tie it for extra security to your poles. Grab whatever spare basket you have lying around!
Hose clamps — Great for repairing broken ski poles. I snapped a pair of carbon poles once at the beginning of a long day out. While I was able to splint it with a stick and some duct tape, a host clamp would have made for a much better repair that day.
Skin tip and tail clips — There are often spares when you buy your skins. Keep them and put them in your repair kit. Otherwise, voile straps and wire often do the trick.
Waxes
Skin wax prevents your skins from glopping up. I like to use the BCA Skin Wax or the mountainFLOW ecowax Skin Wax. I also bring some liquid wax for my skis just in case I get some glopping on my skis as well or just need a little extra glide. My favorite is the TOKO Liquid Glide Wax.
Tapes
I always bring 3 different tapes with me:
Mini duct tape roll — You can purchase a pre-made mini roll or just roll some tape on itself off of an existing duct tape roll. Kind of a jack-of-all-trades and is a quick fix for so many things.
Leukotape — This doesn’t necessarily fix gear, but it can prevent and stop blisters from getting worse when boots don’t fit quite right. I make my own mini roll by wrapping it around an old hotel key card.
Tenacious tape — I buy mini patches to stick in my kit to repair ripped jackets, pants, and backpacks.
Miscellaneous Repair Items
AAA batteries — Most of our outdoor electronics run on these (avalanche transceivers, headlamps, etc.)
Steel wire — Good for makeshift skin tip attachments or boot buckle repairs.
Steel wool — If you have a stripped screws and your binding is loose, steel wool in the hole helps tighten down the binding.
Crystal card — A crystal card is handy for snow evaluation, but also as a ski scraper as well has helping to splint a broken ski.
Lighter — Making fires, dripping p-tex, burning frayed ends, need I say more?
Joshua Tree winter stick — No this doesn’t repair your gear but it does prevent the cold from biting your face.
Binding screws — You can easily reach out to the manufacturer of your bindings or your local ski shop for some extra binding screws that work for your specific binding.
Extra binding toe piece — I certainly don’t carry this on all of my trips, but I do try to bring it for longer hut trips when I’m in the backcountry for an extended amount of time. Make sure to bring one that has the same drill pattern as the one that is on your skis.
Ski straps — From strapping on failing skins to repairing a broken boot buckle, ski straps do it all.
Pouch — I love this water resistant pouch to keep everything in, but use whatever you have at your disposal!