Touring ski reviews/chat anywhere?

I'm curious as to how the mid-length ski concept measures up to
traditional skis.

(Will any perform like a 210 will for a 6-foot tall tour skier? Maybe
better?)

I wonder about the shorty combi skis.

(Do they actually work for real skiers? I tried a nowax Revolution the
other day and it just seemed off but maybe there are conditions?)

Anyone know any links to reviews or discussions?

For touring skis in general?

Thanks, JP

wrote:
I'm curious as to how the mid-length ski concept measures up to
traditional skis.

(Will any perform like a 210 will for a 6-foot tall tour skier? Maybe
better?)

I wonder about the shorty combi skis.

(Do they actually work for real skiers? I tried a nowax Revolution the
other day and it just seemed off but maybe there are conditions?)

Anyone know any links to reviews or discussions?

For touring skis in general?

Thanks, JP


You might try www.telemarktips.com. Mostly tele reviews, but
occasionally bc touring. They have big active forums and lots of review
articles. You might also ask your question there.

Cheers
Craig
www.xcottawa.ca

Craig Storey wrote:

You might try www.telemarktips.com. Mostly tele reviews, but
occasionally bc touring. They have big active forums and lots of review
articles. You might also ask your question there.

Close! But I couldn't find any mention of touring skis or combo tour/
track skis so it just seemed too much of a stretch.

So, anywhere online where touring skis are actually an area of
interest?

Boy, I sure liked my old Fischer Touring Lights. Very light and quite
wide at 57mm and strong---they lasted 17 yrs of abuse. A fine modern
ski. Has anyone heard of a better one? Or even heard of THAT one?

Oh well---still looking for pointers to touring ski info...

--JP
outyourbackdoor.com

On Mar 7, 10:35 am, wrote:
Craig Storey wrote:

You might trywww.telemarktips.com. Mostly tele reviews, but
occasionally bc touring. They have big active forums and lots of review
articles. You might also ask your question there.

Close! But I couldn't find any mention of touring skis or combo tour/
track skis so it just seemed too much of a stretch.

So, anywhere online where touring skis are actually an area of
interest?

Boy, I sure liked my old Fischer Touring Lights. Very light and quite
wide at 57mm and strong---they lasted 17 yrs of abuse. A fine modern
ski. Has anyone heard of a better one? Or even heard of THAT one?

Oh well---still looking for pointers to touring ski info...

--JP
outyourbackdoor.com

Hey JP,
are you looking for skis that float well and don't have to
fit into classic tracks? I have been enjoying Salomon's super short
ski "Xtreme". Alpina has some new mid length skis which I havenet
tried yet.

Ed V.

EdV wrote:
[ ]
Hey JP,
are you looking for skis that float well and don't have to
fit into classic tracks? I have been enjoying Salomon's super short
ski "Xtreme". Alpina has some new mid length skis which I havenet
tried yet.

I'd like to see reviews from folks who've used these various skis, new
and old, the different kinds, and how they actually worked.

I need touring skis that fit into tracks but also float. So probably
the biggest that will fit. I'm hoping that 60mm Fischer Country Skis
will fit. But I don't know because there is NO INFO out there that I
know of. Actually, the company info says that ski is for dual use so
it's probably fine.

I had a 57mm ski before and it was darn good all around. Maybe a
little narrow for soft stuff float.

I occasionally link turns with my touring boards but I don't need em
to be turny skis really.

Yeah, I'd like to know what's up with the midlength concept or even
with the new 3 size sizing systems---sm, med, lg.

I'd like to know if people blow up the cap touring skis or if they
just enjoy the light weight. My last Fischers lasted 17 yrs. Could a
cap do that? 10 would be fine, really.

Does a 6 foot 180 lb-er really need a 210 ski? I think some companies
aren't making 210's---but a whole lotta folks weigh 180+! How do the
new sizing systems compare to the old----do they glide as well? I'm
talking real skier expectations. Close doesn't count for nuttin. A ski
that's noticeably slower to a real skier is called a "dog."

--JP

On 8 Mar 2007 wrote:


I need touring skis that fit into tracks but also float. So probably
the biggest that will fit. I'm hoping that 60mm Fischer Country Skis
will fit. But I don't know because there is NO INFO out there that I
know of. Actually, the company info says that ski is for dual use so
it's probably fine.

I bought a pair of Fischer BC Country Wax skis last season. Their
profile is 60-52-57 mm. They are not cap construction, they are wood core
with air channel. They seem nice so far. The only tracks I ski in here are
those I make myself. I wanted a replacement for my Madhus Voss- same
profile, but with metal edges. The problem with the Voss is that after
only 4 years the metal edges are separating from the ski.

I have used a similar profile Karhu Kodiak in set tracks in Alberta-
Canmore, Blackfoot-Cooking Lake Park, Peter Lougheed Park etc,
with no problems. I saw some people training for the Canadian
Birkie using 65 mm Gresshoppa Finse wood skis, and they had no problems
with the track.

I have also used my Fischer E99 65 mm skis is set tracks in Norway
with no problems. The big problem with the E99 is that it has no real tip,
it dives into snow.

I'm 6 ft 150 lb and have always used 210 cm skis.

--

David Dermott , Wolfville Ridge, Nova Scotia, Canada
email:
WWW pages: http://www.dermott.ca/index.html

wrote:
EdV wrote:
[ ]
Hey JP,
are you looking for skis that float well and don't have to
fit into classic tracks? I have been enjoying Salomon's super short
ski "Xtreme". Alpina has some new mid length skis which I havenet
tried yet.

I'd like to see reviews from folks who've used these various skis, new
and old, the different kinds, and how they actually worked.

I need touring skis that fit into tracks but also float. So probably
the biggest that will fit. I'm hoping that 60mm Fischer Country Skis
will fit. But I don't know because there is NO INFO out there that I
know of. Actually, the company info says that ski is for dual use so
it's probably fine.

I had a 57mm ski before and it was darn good all around. Maybe a
little narrow for soft stuff float.

I occasionally link turns with my touring boards but I don't need em
to be turny skis really.

Yeah, I'd like to know what's up with the midlength concept or even
with the new 3 size sizing systems---sm, med, lg.

I'd like to know if people blow up the cap touring skis or if they
just enjoy the light weight. My last Fischers lasted 17 yrs. Could a
cap do that? 10 would be fine, really.

Does a 6 foot 180 lb-er really need a 210 ski? I think some companies
aren't making 210's---but a whole lotta folks weigh 180+! How do the
new sizing systems compare to the old----do they glide as well? I'm
talking real skier expectations. Close doesn't count for nuttin. A ski
that's noticeably slower to a real skier is called a "dog."

--JP

You probably don't want waxless, but I have Fischer Nordic Cruisers I
like a lot. The current Cruiser model is 47-45-50-43-45 wide. The Large
(184cm) sizing works well for me, a bit better glide, though my weight
puts me on the cusp of the M or L.
The whole Cruiser line has many models, width up to 55-60mm.
http://www.fischer-ski.com/en/

I am pretty rough on my skis, so these guys are pretty strong.
gr

Well, I would advise not getting the combi ski. It does work, but is
very labor intensive. After doing classic, and applying kick wax, to
do some skating, you have to wipe off the kick wax, and put some glide
wax on, to skate effectively. It is better to have a decated skate
ski, and one for classic. As far as your question about a shorter ski,
with skate skiing you go could probably get away with a shorter ski,
but in classic, the ski length that you have is right for your height,
and if you go shorter, your kick zone will not be right. I have one of
the revolution combi, and it it worked for skate, but was horrible for
classic. It is collecting dust in attic.

gr wrote:
[ ]
You probably don't want waxless, but I have Fischer Nordic Cruisers I
like a lot. The current Cruiser model is 47-45-50-43-45 wide. The Large
(184cm) sizing works well for me, a bit better glide, though my weight
puts me on the cusp of the M or L.
The whole Cruiser line has many models, width up to 55-60mm.
http://www.fischer-ski.com/en/

I am pretty rough on my skis, so these guys are pretty strong.
gr

Waxless seems good for slush, sometimes. Or really mixed conditions
(shade/sun/leaves).

OK, so we have a report that these skis are strong. But really I need
some specifics. This is a fine short report, and I appreciate it. But
the ski market would need a lot more coming from the ski media and ski
makers if they wanted to sell a lot of skis.

I'm personally as much into touring skis as a racer is into race skis.
Well, not that much but in their own way the tour ski must perform.

I think we do at least need ballpark glide testing. How does the 184cm
ski glide or kick compared to a regular fit ski? If a 6-foot person
take this Large size, let's compare it to a 210. Is there any hope
that a mid-length ski could float and perform in deeper conditions,
ungroomed snow, like a 210? Or are they trying to create a market for
skis that really could be said to S*CK compared to their previous
offerings. Good strategy for a weak market? I personally can't imagine
how a shorter ski could be as good but I haven't tested them---unlike
thousands of other people (and likely all shop owners) out there in
this surprisingly silent market.

As for strength, "rough" is a bit vague---how rough and how many years
will these hold up approx? Benchmark might be 15 yrs for woodcore ski.

Then there's weight---the Fischer BC is 1800 gm. My Fischer Touring
Light were, what?, 1400. A pound lighter. Huge difference in my book.

Then there's camber---I've heard the BC has a single camber---how's it
compare to double?

I glanced at the new Trax mag with the perennial Bob Woodward Buyer's
Guide. It looked like Fischer had a 60mm wide "NC" ? ski---part of a 3-
ski series. Called the Explorer? Maybe it's a wide cruiser? Offhand I
didn't see LENGTHS noted anywhere in the Guide.

--JP

On Mar 5, 2:41 pm, wrote:
I'm curious as to how the mid-length ski concept measures up to
traditional skis.

(Will any perform like a 210 will for a 6-foot tall tour skier? Maybe
better?)

I wonder about the shorty combi skis.

(Do they actually work for real skiers? I tried a nowax Revolution the
other day and it just seemed off but maybe there are conditions?)

Anyone know any links to reviews or discussions?

For touring skis in general?

Thanks, JP

There is no one touring ski that will make everyone happy.

I was on a hut to hut tour Finland to Norway with 9 other skiers using
everything from track skis to 3-pin Telemark type skis. Most of us
used medium width metal-edge mountain skis (4 of us had E99s of
different vintages). The guide and one other used patterned ("no-
wax") skis and the rest of us waxed. The skier with track skis ended
up skating most of the way because he didn't want to use klister.

One of our tour mates polled everyone about their equipment after the
tour ended and found that everyone was perfectly happy with their ski
gear selection. However, I should note that the tour was supported
and we only carried light packs (5+ kg). We were also skiing spring
conditions mostly on crust, frozen lakes or consolidated snow so trail
cutting in fresh snow was not an issue.

The answer to your question is that almost anything works. That said,
different skis work better for different conditions and of course the
skier's ability plays an important role in ski selection. A skilled
skier who can ski with finesse will place a lighter demand on the
gear. A strong skier can ski heavy gear and not slow down the group.

What may be a more significant decider on ski touring gear is what the
rest of the group uses. If you are using heavier gear than the
others, you may be slowing down the group unless you are a lot
stronger. If you have wider skis, you will be plowing track even in
the 4th or 5th position if the lead skiers are using narrower skis.

On the other hand, if your gear is not as suitable for descents in
fresh snow, your tour mates will be waiting at the bottom for you to
kick-turn traverse the slope.

The right answer if there is a right answer is to pick the lightest
gear suitable for the tour. That is, pick gear that can carry the
weight you are carrying, with reasonable flotation and is strong
enough to not break under the expected conditions. Only you can
answer that question.

Edgar