2020-2021 Movement Alp Tracks 106

Intro

We’re excited to be reviewing a few skis from Movement, including their GOti 106, Fly Two 115, and the ski we’re discussing here, the Alp Tracks 106.

We’ll post First Looks of the other two skis over the coming weeks, but for now let’s dive into Movement’s extraordinarily lightweight, “free touring” ski, the Alp Tracks 106.

What Movement says about the Alp Tracks line

“MOVEMENT SKIS always wanted to be different and our ALP TRACKS range is part of a challenge that we put in place a few seasons ago. These exceptional products will only surprise you with their performance and reliability. Our premium ALP TRACKS line has been entirely redesigned with the introduction of a new exclusive carbon complex that guarantees even greater skiability with new levels of weight never been reached. This ski, manufactured largely manually and handcrafted, is one of the most sought-after skis on the market. The program is homogeneous and will satisfy the most demanding skiers seeking excellence above all in high mountain skiing.”

In their catalog, Movement also makes notes on how ideal each ski in the Alp Tracks series is for “performance,” “touring classic,” and “free touring.” In the case of the Alp Tracks 106 (the widest ski in the series), they simply list “100% free touring.”

The main story in Movement’s description of the Alp Tracks series is the lightweight, carbon construction, so let’s first cover that:

Construction

The Alp Tracks skis start with a lightweight Karuba wood core, a wood that’s become popular in many touring skis. It’s also worth noting that all of Movement’s wood cores are FCS & PEFC certified.

Around the wood core is a full carbon laminate with fibers running along many different axes to add longitudinal and torsional rigidity at less weight than a traditional fiberglass laminate.

Underfoot, there’s a titanal binding reinforcement and an ABS insert designed to reduce vibrations around the middle of the ski. Movement also added a rubber layer at the tips with a similar goal of reducing unwanted vibrations.

In order to further reduce weight, Movement uses their “touring edge” on the Alp Tracks 106, which isn’t quite as thin as the “race edge” on their narrower Alp Tracks skis or Race Pro series, but it’s definitely thinner than the edges on most inbounds skis.

As Movement notes in their description, the Alp Tracks skis are mostly made by hand, and they feature a mostly cap-style construction, except for the area around the bindings, which features a sidewall construction.

Nearly all of the construction elements of the Alp Tracks skis are designed to reduce weight, and that definitely worked (more on that later). The raw carbon just looks pretty cool, too.

Shape / Rocker Profile

The Alp Tracks 106 is pretty tapered in both the tip and tail, looking fairly similar in appearance to the Black Diamond Helio 105, K2 Wayback 106, & Atomic Backland 107.

The Alp Tracks 106’s rocker profile is on the more conservative / traditional side of the spectrum, looking fairly similar to the Backland 107 but with shallower rocker lines than the Helio 105, Wayback 106, & Blizzard Zero G 105. The Alp Tracks 106 also has a good bit of camber underfoot (around 4.5 mm on our pair) and a fairly flat, minimally rockered tail.

All in all, the Alp Tracks 106’s more tapered shape looks like it should make the ski fairly easy to pivot and maneuver, while the long cambered section / shallower rocker lines should equate to a long running length on firmer snow.

Flex Pattern

Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Alp Tracks 106:

Tips: 5.5
Shovels: 5.5-7.5
In Front of Toe Piece: 8-9.5
Underfoot: 10
Behind the Heel Piece: 10-8.5
Tails: 8-7

The Alp Tracks 106 is quite stiff around the bindings, has very soft tips, and a tail that’s not super stiff but notably stronger than the tips. Despite the significant difference between the stiffness of the ends and middle of the Alp Tracks 106, the transitions feel pretty smooth and not hinge-like.

As we’ve noted in the past, skis that are both super light and super stiff tend to feel, well, super harsh. So with that in mind, I’m excited to see that Movement didn’t make the Alp Tracks 106 incredibly stout, given how light this ski is. 

The Alp Tracks 106’s flex pattern is pretty similar to the Atomic Backland 107, though the Backland 107’s tail finishes a bit stronger.

Compared to the Helio 105, the Alp Tracks 106 is similar in the front but finishes softer at the tail.

Compared to the Wayback 106, the Alp Tracks 106 is softer overall, except for the area underfoot where it’s a touch softer.

Mount Point

While many skis in the ultralight category have very traditional mount points, the Alp Tracks 106’s mount point of around -8.8 cm from true center is neither super far back nor super far forward.

Weight

This is arguably the most notable aspect of the Alp Tracks 106’s design. For a 106mm-wide ski, it’s incredibly light.

Our pair of the 185 cm length is coming in at an average weight of 1342 grams per ski, which is lighter than any other similarly large ski we’ve weighed. It’s even lighter than many of the narrower touring skis we’ve weighed.

As frequent readers of Blister know, we’re always wary of lightweight skis if you want to ski fast, especially in variable snow. So we’re very curious to see how the Alp Tracks 106 compares to slightly heavier options in this category when it comes to stability and damping. Though I will say that the idea of easily dragging a ski this light up to ski some perfect corn or powder sounds pretty dang appealing…

For reference, here are a number of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. Keep in mind the length differences to try to keep things apples-to-apples.

1337 & 1347 Movement Alp Tracks 106, 185 cm (20/21)
1476 & 1490 K2 Wayback 106, 179 cm (18/19–20/21)
1446 & 1447 Line Vision 98, 179 cm (19/20–20/21)
1489 & 1545 G3 FINDr 102, 179 cm (19/20–20/21)
1543 & 1565 Salomon MTN Explore 95, 184 cm (16/17–20/21)
1547 & 1551 Black Diamond Helio 105 Carbon, 185 cm (17/18–19/20)
1605 & 1630 Line Vision 108, 183 cm (19/20–20/21)
1606 & 1641 Blizzard Zero G 105, 188 cm (19/20–20/21)
1642 & 1651 Renoun Citadel 106, 185 cm, (18/19–19/20)
1642 & 1662 Atomic Backland 107, 182 cm (18/19–20/21)
1660 & 1680 Moment Deathwish Tour, 184 cm (19/20)
1692 & 1715 Moment Wildcat Tour 108, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
1706 & 1715 Volkl BMT 109, 186 cm (17/18–20/21)
1725 & 1774 Faction Agent 3.0, 180 cm (20/21)
1745 & 1747 4FRNT Raven, 184 cm (16/17–19/20)
1752 & 1771 Amplid Facelift 108, 189 cm (18/19–20/21)
1784 & 1790 Volkl Blaze 106, 186 cm (20/21)
1787 & 1793 Fauna Pioneer, 184 cm (19/20–20/21)
1787 & 1806 WNDR Alpine Intention 110 – Cambered, 185 cm (19/20)
1806 & 1862 Armada Tracer 108, 180 cm (19/20–20/21)
1818 & 1823 Folsom Cash 106 Carbon, 184 cm (20/21)
1820 & 1821 Majesty Havoc, 186 cm (20/21)
1825 & 1904 Black Crows Corvus Freebird, 183 cm (16/17–19/20)
1828 & 1842 Elan Ripstick 106 Black Edition, 188 cm (19/20)
1848 & 1903 Line Sick Day 104, 186 cm (17/18–20/21)
1918 & 1931 Sego Condor 108, 187 cm (19/20–20/21)
1951 & 1953 Elan Ripstick 106, 188 cm (20/21)
1959 & 1975 Volkl V-Werks Katana, 184 cm (15/16–20/21)

Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About

(1) The biggest question on our minds is how stable and predictable the Alp Tracks 106 will feel on firm and / or variable snow conditions, which is usually where super lightweight skis can become very difficult to ski. Is this a ski that should only be used in pretty perfect conditions, or is it manageable when the snow isn’t ideal?

(2) When the conditions are nice and forgiving (e.g., powder or soft corn), will the Alp Tracks 106’s low weight still be noticeable, or can you push it pretty hard when the conditions are good?

(3) The Alp Tracks 106 has pretty tapered tips and tails but its rocker lines aren’t super deep, so how loose and easy to pivot will it be, and how precise and secure will it feel on firm snow?

Bottom Line (For Now)

The Movement Alp Tracks 106 certainly stands out in the wider touring-ski market. It’s far lighter than most of its competition, and we’re extremely curious to see just how well it skis compared to its heavier counterparts. We’ll be getting it on snow ASAP, so stay tuned for a Flash Review soon and then a full review down the line.

Flash Review

Blister Members can read our Flash Review of the Alp Tracks 106 for our initial on-snow impressions. Become a Blister member now to check out this and all of our Flash Reviews, plus get exclusive deals and discounts on skis, and personalized gear recommendations from us.