Very interesting conversation. Once you start trying to retrofit and convert existing gear to do BC it starts getting complicated fast as you mull over the permutations and combinations. Do you have one or two pair of boots? Fully dedicated BC setup or not? Which bindings? Gripwalk, WTR considerations. I began my education and coursework 3 years ago and have been on out in the BC in the last few years. Very mellow...low angle stuff and just enjoy the leisurely pace and solitude of the experience. Not out to shred any gnarly lines...I'll leave that to some of you guys. I still ski resort 80% of the time because I don't get as many days as I'd prefer in the mountains anyway...so if lift-served is good I'll opt to get more turns in. When the snow is skied off or its been awhile, I'll opt to head out to find softer snow and less people.
I ended up with a pair of Lange XT Frees...which are heavily biased toward downhill but are fine on the way up and don't have the largest ROM in the world. I have two hybrid setups with the Shift and Kingpin....I far prefer the Shift and am even thinking of ditching the Kingpins. The Shift feels like it skis like an alpine binding to me...much more than the Kingpin. I have never skied a tech binding that does NOT have an alpine heel. If I were to do it all over, I probably would've just bought a dedicated setup BUT you do have to haul it places if you don't live near the mountains you plan to ski. Its very hard in the beginning if you don't know whether you plan to spend a ton of time in the BC or just dabble when you get bored in the resort or are looking for a completely new ski experience. I'm still stuck somewhere in between, but I'm glad I do have the ability to throw my skins on and change it up if I want.
Wait till you try on the new XT3 series boots! They're a game changer in Lange world! Stiffer, more range of motion, better upper and lower boot connection.