Can I get fishscale metal edge skis to glide?

wrote:
I looked into Pellestovas but it looks like they are not produced
anymore, and my Glittertinds seemed like the closest match. I may
still be able to find them somwhere.
Did the Pellestovas have a double camber?

Yes, I stated that above. I looked up the Glittertinds, and they have
a softer flex, so that is a big difference.

Did you try them in powder in the backcountry?

Yes, but what kind of use are you asking about? Like any skinny ski,
they don't provide much float, and if the powder is deep enough, you
won't see the skis. I ski trails or routes, with the accompanying ups
and downs. I don't yo-yo up and down slopes, and I don't telemark,
so I can't say much about that.

On Mar 9, 12:08*am, wrote:
My first pair of skis, before I ever got any race skis, was the
Madshus Pellestova wax skis (with black sintered base), set up with
SNS-BC bindings. *They have a double camber, fullmetaledges, and are
just skinny enough to fit into set tracks. *I got them because they
were supposed to be decent backcountry skis (telemark writer Steve
Barnett was recommending them) that were still pretty fast. *I don't
use them anymore because the boots that I use with them are out of
commission (broken sole), and for backcountry, my waxless touring skis
are more convenient. *They take longer tokickwax because they are
wider than race skis. *The Pellestovas were fast enough that I could
keep up with my girlfriend, a good NCAA skier at the time, when she
was on her classic race skis, without any extra effort. *Basically,
they are almost as fast as race skis.

I looked into Pellestovas but it looks like they are not produced
anymore, and my Glittertinds seemed like the closest match. I may
still be able to find them somwhere.
Did the Pellestovas have a double camber? Did you try them in powder
in the backcountry?

Finding grip waxable (no "fishscale") backcountry touing skis in the
USA is difficult. The waxable Fisher E99 Tour and E89 are sold in
Canada but not the US as far as I can tell. Canada's Mountain
Equipment Coop sells the waxable E99 but will not ship the waxable
E99s to the States.

Finding grip waxable (no "fishscale") backcountry touing skis in the
USA is difficult. *The waxable Fisher E99 Tour and E89 are sold in
Canada but not the US as far as I can tell. *Canada's Mountain
Equipment Coop sells the waxable E99 but will not ship the waxable
E99s to the States.

Is going waxable in the wilderness a major pain in the butt? I mostly
ski in the Sierras where the snow turns to slush during the day.

wrote:
Finding grip waxable (no "fishscale") backcountry touing skis in the
USA is difficult. The waxable Fisher E99 Tour and E89 are sold in
Canada but not the US as far as I can tell. Canada's Mountain
Equipment Coop sells the waxable E99 but will not ship the waxable
E99s to the States.

Is going waxable in the wilderness a major pain in the butt? I mostly
ski in the Sierras where the snow turns to slush during the day.

Yes, in the Sierras it's a major pain because the snow conditions are so
variable throughout the day.

Yes, in the Sierras it's a major pain because the snow conditions are so
variable throughout the day.

Yup. That's why most if not all of us ski touring the Sierras and
Oregon Cascades switched to "no grip wax" skis in the late 70s and
80s.

But that said, the question started with getting good glide. If and
where snow conditions are blue wax all day, waxable touring skis glide
better than the "no-wax" skis. And waxable touring skis grip a whole
lot better than "no-wax" skis under certain conditions ("fishscale"
grip patterns do not seem to engage hard packed granular or hard
packed klister condition snow as well as properly selected grip waxes/
klisters).

Waxable touring skis are the better choice (IMHO) when skiing long
flat to rolling terrain where air tempeartures are generally under
0C. i.e Norway and Finland. When the next hut is 25 to 35 km away
good glide is good.

On Mar 11, 10:26*am, wrote:
Yes, in the Sierras it's a major pain because the snow conditions are so
variable throughout the day.

Yup. *That's why most if not all of us ski touring the Sierras and
Oregon Cascades switched to "no grip wax" skis in the late 70s and
80s.

But that said, the question started with getting good glide. *If and
where snow conditions are blue wax all day, waxable touring skis glide
better than the "no-wax" skis. *And waxable touring skis grip a whole
lot better than "no-wax" skis under certain conditions ("fishscale"
grip patterns do not seem to engage hard packed granular or hard
packed klister condition snow as well as properly selected grip waxes/
klisters).

Waxable touring skis are the better choice (IMHO) when skiing long
flat to rolling terrain where air tempeartures are generally under
0C. *i.e Norway and Finland. *When the next hut is 25 to 35 km away
good glide is good.

Ok. Considering that the Asnes skis only come in waxless, they are not
a good choice for me (sure, having a ski that has been used in
expefitions to the North Pole would be cool, but the average snow
conditions at the NP and the Sierra are clearly different).

I think I will get a pair of Fischer E99's in 210 cm. My Glittertinds
may not be that bad, they are just too short/soft for my weight.
Expect to see them on ebay early next season.

In article ,
wrote:
Ok. Considering that the Asnes skis only come in waxless,

??? No, they don't. Their website is kind of awful; find a
dealer. Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder has waxable Asnes
skis, for example:
http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...dept_id=33 04
and:
http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...C&dept_id=3304

(sure, having a ski that has been used in
expefitions to the North Pole would be cool, but the average snow
conditions at the NP and the Sierra are clearly different).

The NP expeditions use skins, usually.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

On Mar 11, 4:15*pm, (Melinda Shore) wrote:
In article ,

wrote:
Ok. Considering that the Asnes skis only come in waxless,

??? *No, they don't. *Their website is kind of awful; find a
dealer. *Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder has waxable Asnes
skis, for example:http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...p?s_id=0&prod_...
and:http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...p?s_id=0&prod_...

(sure, having a ski that has been used in
expefitions to the North Pole would be cool, but the average snow
conditions at the NP and the Sierra are clearly different).

The NP expeditions use skins, usually.
--
* * *Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

* * * Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

It says "Waxable or available with the “skin lock” waxable/waxless
system which is unique to Åsne". No drawings explaining what this
“skin lock waxable/waxless system" is. I emailed both Neptune and
Asnes a few days ago, no response. I guess they are not interested in
my $450.

On Mar 11, 11:40*pm, wrote:
On Mar 11, 4:15*pm, (Melinda Shore) wrote:





In article ,

wrote:
Ok. Considering that the Asnes skis only come in waxless,

??? *No, they don't. *Their website is kind of awful; find a
dealer. *Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder has waxable Asnes
skis, for example:http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...p?s_id=0&prod_...
and:http://www.neptunemountaineering.com...p?s_id=0&prod_...

(sure, having a ski that has been used in
expefitions to the North Pole would be cool, but the average snow
conditions at the NP and the Sierra are clearly different).

The NP expeditions use skins, usually.
--
* * *Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

* * * Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

It says "Waxable or available with the “skin lock” waxable/waxless
system which is unique to Åsne". No drawings explaining what this
“skin lock waxable/waxless system" is. *I emailed both Neptune and
Asnes a few days ago, no response. I guess they are not interested in
my $450.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The "Skin Lock System" sounds like an adhesive kicker skin system with
permanently mounted attachment hardware.

If you are skiing a waxable ski that only occasionally needs skis,
just using adhesive kicker skins with the attachement strap and metal
plate forward of the binding and may be the more versitile
alternative.

While the concept of kicker skins is similar to grip wax (the kicker
skin only covers the grip zone), they really don't glide very well. I
only use the kickers when grip wax doesn't work (steeper terrain and
difficult waxing conditions).

Description from the Neptune website that Melinda posted:
Skin Lock System

The Skin Lock system from Åsnes of Norway is a removeable STRAPLESS
short adhesive skin that locks into little slits in Åsnes skis. The
Skin Lock system is far superior to any patterned base in our cold,
dry snow. It also works better on icy snow and very well in any moist
snow. The skins are easily removable and can be stuck on a normally
grip-waxed ski. Short skins are not a substitute for full length
skins. They work well if the slopes are not too steep.

Like other skins, when the conditions are wrong the Skin Lock skins
can ice. It is easy to carry spares. They’re replaceable when they
wear out.The system can only be installed in the Åsnes factory in
Norway. It cannnot be retro fitted to other skis.