New skis (for when Ingstad WL do not work)

[lilcliffy]

@LaplandPaul
Excellent contextual comparison post on your Ingstad WL and Transnordic 66 Crown- thank you!
The profile of your TN66 looks identical to the last-gen E99 Xtralite.

Curious- what is the final stiffness underfoot like on the TN66 vs Ingstad?
(My E99 XL has a much more resistant final camber underfoot than any of our Ingstads/Tonjes.)

[LaplandPaul]

Thank you for the kind words! And thank you Capercaillie and TallGrass for your clarification how you actually wax! You convinced me now to try wax!

Actually, I am even thinking now to sell the Ingstad WL 205 and get a waxable ski to complement my new TN66 how quickly things can change...

I also own the TN66 Crown, and like the ski a lot - and especially for "D" pictured above

Nice to hear that you observed the same! What length of ski and weight do you have if I might ask?

Curious- what is the final stiffness underfoot like on the TN66 vs Ingstad?

I will try to compare the stiffnes on my next skiing day. I did not pay attention to stiffness yesterday. I will update

[Krakus]

There are a lot of old myths about grip waxing on the Internet: that it is better to grip wax when the skis are cold

I find grip waxing better when the WAX is cold. It is less sticky, there is no globs. So, I put wax in a freezer before waxing.

[corlay]

Nice to hear that you observed the same! What length of ski and weight do you have if I might ask?

5'10" 190lbs (86kg) 205cm

I couldn't find a 210 *anywhere* when I was shopping for this ski back in Aug/Sept 2021,
but I bet I would like the longer one just slightly better...

[lilcliffy]

Thank you for the kind words! And thank you Capercaillie and TallGrass for your clarification how you actually wax! You convinced me now to try wax!

Grip wax is pure Nordic magic- there is simply nothing like the grip and glide of grip-kick wax for Nordic ski touring.
And in the context of Nordic ski touring- learning how to grip-kick wax for one's specific skiing context is straightfoward.
(most of the current kick waxing knowledge base and technique is focused on track-based performance- not touring.)

Actually, I am even thinking now to sell the Ingstad WL 205 and get a waxable ski to complement my new TN66 how quickly things can change...

Suggestion→ grip wax you Ingstad WL.
I grip wax all of my "waxless" scaled skis- including my Nansen WL.

[corlay]

Suggestion→ grip wax you Ingstad WL.
I grip wax all of my "waxless" scaled skis- including my Nansen WL.

I've been grip waxing (polar) the tips/tails of my Fischer Crown skiis,
and using F4 Universal in the Crown portion - mostly to keep snow from sticking.
Works well.
The Fischer Crown is so damn good, no extra "grip" is required...(for me)

[DG99]

Good discussion.

I used to have waxless E99s for trail skiing. I got them one size too short for better turning. Quite a soft tip contrasting that high camber. They weren’t much faster kick and gliding vs. the Fischer Boundless I had then. Sadly I pretty much killed the waxless pattern on the E99s skiing on overly shallow snow over gravel roads.

Around here we have dry periods with ice or slush which would require klister. Or new snow, and generally it goes from below to above freezing and back in the day. I’ve tried klister, picking up tree bits and lichen but not getting not enough grip. Or on new snow, wax blue, it’s not enough, add wax red, it cools down, then I’m picking up a ton of powder stuck on my skis. Arrgh. I’ve long ago given up on grip wax and nobody seems to use it around here.

So there’s some things NOT to do.

[randoskier]

Hi. I ski a lot in your region and in neighboring Norway, so in similar conditions. I don't like waxing skis, I prefer scales, I only use glide wax. I am using the Fischer 88 Excursion in 188cm length. It works pretty well in the familiar conditions that you describe, I do wish I had bought the longer length (I weigh 92kg).

I think you should really try the Fischer Traverse 78 in 196cm. I will buy a pair myself next year when I change to the Xplore binding system from NNNBC. I see this ski is used quite a bit in northern Sweden, I think it is ideally suited to the tours in Lapland. It is a little faster than the 88 and it is a good all around "fait tout" ski. The Off-track Crown is the best scale system out there, nobody is close. I carry both kicker skins and if I am pulling a pulk- full length skins.

The Traverse 78 is also fairly priced. Asnes moved their manufacturing to Eastern Europe but has kept their Norwegian (high wage) prices.

[LaplandPaul]

5'10" 190lbs (86kg) 205cm

For me (6', 175lbs, 80kg,) the 205 cm allready feel a little soft and I expected more 'spring' from the higher camber. My Ingstads 205 feel more 'springy'.


UPDATE on the Fischer TN66 crown:
I hot-glide-waxed the skis (Swix PS6) and added liquid glide wax to the scale part (Swix F6L). They turned into ROCKETS! I was skiing 9km on snow mobile tracks at -6ºC on the weekend and they were wonderful (picture A). I compared them to grip-waxed Madhus BC50 from a friend who joined the trip, and I could not notice a glide difference. The also fitted nicely in tracks, no problems as long as the track was straight (B). When there was maybe 5cm of fine snow on the tracks, they still worked wonderfully (C). On the deeper sections where I sank into the snow more than 15cm, they became awfully slow. NO FUN. I noticed the soft shovel bending constantly and causing resistance.


UPDATE on waxing Ingstads WL:
I got some Swix VG30 + V30 grip wax now for the Ingstads. I went down a rabbit hole with all the waxes available and concluded, that I will just permanently have some VG30 melted on the Ingstads, starting from where the X-skin mount is to maybe 15-20cm in front of it. Then I'll add the V30 and maybe get some lower temperature wax too. Some of you suggested the Polar wax, but doesn't that soften up too much when skiing around -5 - -10ºC?

Actually, when reading up on grip-wax, I wondered: It seems like grip-wax is problematic when the snow is soft and wet. Klister is then required. But what if instead you have a combination of scales and grip-wax. Åsnes scales for example. They only work well in exactyl this conditions, soft snow, around 0ºC or warmer. And for the colder temps, you add some grip wax in front of the (too short) scale section. This also makes it possible to add skins without ripping off wax and making the adhesive bad over time as the skinds are placed over the scales. So the most versatile grip would be a combination of short scales + a waxable section + skins that attach over the scale part to not worry about ripping wax off. Has anyone come to a similar conclusion and uses this ON PURPOSE?

[LaplandPaul]

I grip wax all of my "waxless" scaled skis- including my Nansen WL.

Interesting! Where do you put the grip wax exactly? In front of the scales only? Or also behind? Also directily on scales? How long?

I am using the Fischer 88 Excursion in 188cm length. It works pretty well in the familiar conditions that you describe

Nice to hear your experiences! How do the Excursion 88 work for you on crusty or deep powdered snow when breaking trail?