Fischer

[Woodserson]

In New England we get persistent compacted wet-granular snow conditions that can last months and going short on the skis makes life miserable-- while the same ski on cold, dry snow, such as what is prevalent in Scandiland, glides just fine. These local conditions are as important as weight.

I want to hop on this train quickly. I am also looking at some S-98's and am debating length as well. Since I'm a beginner with XCD I don't mind getting a cheaper setup and found some older Fischer Boundless Crowns nearby with 75 mm Voile bindings.

Assuming these fit basically the same as the S-98s, would you recommend going longer? I live in the Upper Valley of VT/NH so the snow conditions are the same as yours. My weight (180-185 lbs) is right on the cusp of the 179/189 cm line according to the Fischer website.

Careful, the Boundless Crown had the terrible negative-scallop fishscale design which is very poor. Look here for picture and don't take my word for it: https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic. ... =10#p26820

The Boundless as a ski is fantastic-- I ski it in a 179 at 160lbs and I love it. But the Wax version.
If you are ok with a pretty terrible grip system and will be using skins to climb up and then ski down, or you want to dabble in the weird world of waxing, then you can grab the Crowns and try them out, or fill them in, or use skins or whatever. But you are planning on using the crown for anything but basic flat-land skiing in particularly gentle ski conditions you could find yourself cursing up and down.

[qcoughlin]

Sheesh, I didn't realize that. I'd imagine with our wet snow conditions those divots would immediately clog up. Thanks for the red flag!

So I *think* that leaves me with only non-Fischer options locally, unless someone knows of a vendor online with S-98s in stock. Would you happen to know if Rossi BC 100s are a good alternative for someone getting into this? It seems most of my local shops only carry those.