classic ski flex

I broke my old faithful - an old Kneissel Ultra classic - and am
looking for a replacement. While my RCS classic cold is great for
hard packed tracks, I found that I need to really exert myself to go
uphill. I also don't get good kick response when the tracks are soft.

I went through some old posts on "Classic Ski Flex" and found quite a
few expounding the virtues of softer skis. I dug out my really old
and soft Peltonens from the basement and was amazed that I can ski
easily uphill, the same hill I had to push hard when using the RCS.
On the other hand, I had to stride most of the time instead of DP on
flats. And I missed the control of the RCS.

What I am unsure about is the quantitative definition of a suitable
"softer" ski. I reverse engineered a table on fitting RCS classic on
a certain web site and found that the recommended range is 50 to 60%
of the skier weight. The old posts I encountered mentioned much
higher percentage.

Suggestions on how I should select a ski to complement the RCS would
be much appreciated. I am an enthusiastic skier with a small engine,
and enjoyed winding, rolling trails.

Mike

Ask Zach: http://www.caldwellsport.com

mike wrote:

I broke my old faithful - an old Kneissel Ultra classic - and am
looking for a replacement. While my RCS classic cold is great for
hard packed tracks, I found that I need to really exert myself to go
uphill. I also don't get good kick response when the tracks are soft.

I went through some old posts on "Classic Ski Flex" and found quite a
few expounding the virtues of softer skis. I dug out my really old
and soft Peltonens from the basement and was amazed that I can ski
easily uphill, the same hill I had to push hard when using the RCS.
On the other hand, I had to stride most of the time instead of DP on
flats. And I missed the control of the RCS.

What I am unsure about is the quantitative definition of a suitable
"softer" ski. I reverse engineered a table on fitting RCS classic on
a certain web site and found that the recommended range is 50 to 60%
of the skier weight. The old posts I encountered mentioned much
higher percentage.

Suggestions on how I should select a ski to complement the RCS would
be much appreciated. I am an enthusiastic skier with a small engine,
and enjoyed winding, rolling trails.

Mike

On Feb 25, 10:46*am, mike wrote:
I broke my old faithful - an old Kneissel Ultra classic

Check http://brokenski.com/ although the site was inactive the last
time I looked.

What I am unsure about is the quantitative definition of a suitable "softer" ski. *

I've got printed flex charts somewhere, but look here for a quick
guide -

http://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/sho...?articles_id=9

You can see that there are 2, sometimes 3 choices for a certain body
weight. A soft ski is generally longer and should have a wax pocket
that fully and completely collapses with (maybe less than) 100% body
weight. To my way of thinking, it is equally important to have a
reasonably short contact zone when half weighted so as to get a good
glide. I'd guess your Peltonen's are dragging the wax pocket during
the glide phase.

A high-end shop should be able to flex test several pairs of skis for
you and choose the softest ones from a batch. Be advised that
Fischer's are usually on the stiff side of things.

- Bob