In reply to Doug:
> suspect its a bit dated now
Well it is certainly dated with regard to ski-touring gear, but that is inevitable given the speed with which that gear has developed and changed in the last 5-10 years. The most obvious gap is how ski-touring gear now has a very substantial trade-off between tending back to Alpine ski heavy and powerful to dominate the descent and light to make going up easier. I also rather suspect that your own (admitted), bias toward Nordic slightly obscures the fact that for most people, Nordic is not a realistic option if the skiing becomes at all difficult/unforgiving of mistakes and they have a much better chance of control with touring kit clamped down, though when done well (which is rare), Nordic can be very impressive. Typically, however, touring is more fool proof, easier and much closer to what people learn on pisted slopes.
But you cover all the essentials to give a flavour of what the Americans call "back-country skiing" is about, and indicate the areas that people need to find more about, which is about all one can do in that sort of high-level article. As you say, it is impossible to "keep up to date" with new gear.