GrimSurfer wrote: ↑Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:18 am
There is a noticeable difference in speed between a mild backcountry ski (maximum width of 68 mm) and a track oriented ski (nominal width of 44 mm) when skiing on a compressed, groomed, and tracked surface. That difference is on the order of 10-20% for a proficient skier.
I would largely agree with this statement.
Before going into details, here’s the TLDR summary:
- If you find yourself needing powder baskets on your poles on flat/rolling terrain => light touring skis (70+mm)
- If most of your skiing is done in set track and there’s no fresh snow to break => track skis (44mm)
- If you ski in snowcat-set tracks => track skis (44mm)
- If you ski in snowmobile-set tracks and sometimes there’s 2-5cm of fresh snow => track compatible light touring skis (50-60mm)
- If you ski in skier-set tracks => light touring skis (70+mm) or track compatible light touring skis (50-60mm)
I would not recommend running track compatible light touring skis on snowcat-set tracks. The sidewalls of the tracks are very hard and each time your ski shovels make contact on a corner, it feels like your skis are rubbing against a cheese grater. It sounds as terrible as it reads, and it feels as terrible as it sounds. The MR48 with its more tapered shovel is a bit better but the M50 with its wider shovel and soft flex sucks in the corners on hard tracks.
Track compatible light touring skis would be ok in a snowmobile-set track as the sides of the tracks are much softer but if you hit a fast turn, your skis are more likely to ride out of the tracks than to get steered by the tracks like on a 44mm ski. And, you’d also ruin the track for everyone else as well.
In general, the MR48 Skin is far superior to the Fjelltech M50 on most terrain unless you’re skiing on very undulating terrain where you go up and down by 0.5-1m over the span of 2-4m. It’s no fun to ski in, so just avoid it. Why I say this is because the M48 has much better lateral and longitudinal stiffness compared to the M50 and has better edge hold on off camber traverses. The longitudinal stiffness also helps to carry speed and the stiffer double camber of the MR48 results in noticeably less skin drag compared to the Fjelltech M50.
The MR48 will do well in skier set tracks, is comparable if not faster than narrow 44mm track skis if there’s 2-3cm of fresh snow in the tracks. On firmer tracks, especially snowcat-set tracks and fairly packed snow-mobile set tracks, you’d be way faster on 44mm racing skis. Like 20-30% faster than on the MR48. That’s not to say the MR48 is slow in such conditions, it’s just that XC racing skis are that much faster and more fun.
The MR48 and M50 class skis are a bit of a compromise for kick and glide. The skis use track ski-width skins to reduce skin drag and improve glide. However, this means there’s a lot more p-tex under foot and results in poorer kick. I find myself needing to herringbone much sooner on the MR48 than on a pair of Madshus Race Pro Skin. The latter, I can literally jog/run up 5-10 degree slope without having to herringbone and I’m only limited by my ability to keep my weight forward and put enough pressure to compress the double camber and fully engage the skin, and not stop because the moment you stop, you’ll slide backwards. Whereas with the MR48, there’s no way I can do this because there’s just not enough grip no matter how much you jump on the ski.
