Gear of the week | Christmas special

As every year, we therefore present you with the PowderGuide editorial team's Christmas wishes as inspiration for Christmas gifts for freeriders, to give as presents, to give to yourself or just because.

Alex

This year's wish list doesn't include a new purchase, but rather the repair of an existing piece of equipment: Renewing the adhesive on one of my ski touring skins. Over the last few years, the adhesive surface of my skins has suffered noticeably and has now taken on a dark gray tone with "fur on both sides". It probably doesn't need to be mentioned explicitly at this point that these only stick to the skis with good persuasion and pre-warming under the ski jacket... Fortunately, in this case there is the option of renewing the adhesive yourself or having it renewed in a specialist shop and thus being able to experience the same adhesive properties as on the first day. This may mean that the ski to which the skins are tailored can be used (more) again. You can find the article on how to care for your skins and the instructions for renewing the glue on your own here.

German

I'm slowly getting fed up with my "heavy" Canon 40D with the 200 mm lens. Without a doubt, the backpack needs to be lighter. Nowadays, system cameras have established themselves alongside SLR cameras. At first glance, I find the jungle of products to be unmanageable. I first have to do some research. After reading countless test reports on the Internet, the Sony Alpha 6000 finally ended up on my wish list. Hopefully the effort was worth it.

Johannes

My beloved roof box is slowly retiring due to its age. That's why I want a new roof box for Christmas this year, so that nothing stands in the way of my next ski trips. With the Thule Motion XT XL, I hope to have a faithful companion with me again for the next few years. With a volume of 500L and external dimensions of 215x91.5x44 cm, the box is also long enough for the big powder boards. Here's to many new powder adventures and a great 2019/2020 season!

Patrick

I don't want any new items of clothing or equipment, but to offset my entire CO₂ footprint from last year. These offsets are often only advertised for air travel, but it is of course also possible to offset your entire lifestyle.

As most people know, it is quite easy to calculate your personal carbon footprint using various CO₂-calculators. This is certainly not a structural solution to the problem, nor is it a good justification strategy for the next transatlantic flight, but it is a small, reasonably efficient measure to take some responsibility for your own Western lifestyle. At atmosfair (test winner at Stiftung Warentest), offsetting one tonne of CO₂ costs around 23 euros.

Steffen

I would like a powder ski made from maple/pauwlonia wood (core) and reinforced with carbon fibers, the K2 Mindbender 116C. This is the all-round powder ski from the K2 forge and they know what they're doing. As it's going to be really powdery again this season, I'll be using it mainly for relaxed treelines, fun pillow jumps and dusty bigturns. For me, the size 186 fits well and the dimension 143|116|133| (radius approx. 23 meters) speaks for itself. K2 itself says that the Mindbender is "the best powder ski we have ever developed" - I want to test that.

Totti

I want the Downdays book 2019 - Book of ski stories for Christmas. Just published or rather just printed and now ordered in the presale, the book will make it under the Christmas tree just in time. Finally a printed, high-quality ski book again! The cover and back cover alone is a work of art in itself - designed by the two ski artists Eric Pollard and Chris Benchetler - and makes you want more. In addition to ten ski stories from the broad spectrum of freeski culture (athlete presentations, interviews, etc.), there are several more works by the two artists and a 24-page photo gallery with high-quality photos (by Klaus Polzer, Christian Pondella, Peter Morning, etc.). Just the right thing to have something to browse through and dream about on bad weather days! I'm already looking forward to it and I'm excited to see what other interesting content the book has to offer!

Was there nothing for your loved ones in the editorial team's suggestions? Then take a look at our "Books/Films" section, where you'll find plenty of inspiration, and a ski film or mountain book is certainly not the worst option as a last-minute gift.

The various PowderGuide books, from the risk check for freeriders to the best freeride areas in the Alps and the freeride tour guide for Tyrol to the freeski guidebook, have also done well under every Christmas tree!