Daughters & wife ski upgrade opinions

[Slimfinn]

So just thinking ahead to end of the season closeouts/REI Garage sales/criagslist(thought I wanted to xc ski) ads.
First off I am fairly lucking that currently all of the women in my life wear about the same size shoes 39's so have a collection of NNN and NNN-BC. We pretty much ski the rolling forest/mountain roads and trails sometimes groomed but more often not, and a a powder filled mountain meadow is too temping for the young ones to pass up and fall their way down.
I did recently pick up some 170 Alpina Discovery 68 that the youngest has claimed after this weekend so thats one out of the way.
The oldest likes her Rossi x-5 nnn boots and is skiing some Rossi glade 166 that I want to upgrade so sticking with the NNN I am guessing I will find some Rossi OT-65s, maybe BC 65's, or Fischer Spider 62s, Adventures worth a thought?. So first question is do I mess with the Rossi's OT's with the partial metal edge or just do Fischers? or any thoughts on what else might pop up with a metal edge and NNN binding?
Wife is in the process of learning and on some old Trak Outland XT 175(65-55-60) with a partial metal edge and NNN-BC, so what would a good upgrade be for a full metal edge that would be her one quiver ski, just starting the thought process so pretty wide open locally most are Rossi &Fischer, some Alpina and Madshus. thoughts Rossi BC 65 or 75, Fischer spider, outback or traverse. I havent read much here on the Rossi's...

Anyway I am open to suggestions and opinions. Just want to have some good knowledge if an opportunity pops up and I have to jump in right away.

[bgregoire]

68 mm up front would be about the max for compatibility with XC tracks. I thinks the classic E99 dimensions are great. but if a substantial part of your time is spent on tracks, you might like to go a tad narrower and have partial metal edges (as these tend to break the tracks at the tip, but you might have noticed this already).

Good luck on you deal search!

[Slimfinn]

68 mm up front would be about the max for compatibility with XC tracks. I thinks the classic E99 dimensions are great. but if a substantial part of your time is spent on tracks, you might like to go a tad narrower and have partial metal edges (as these tend to break the tracks at the tip, but you might have noticed this already).

Good luck on you deal search!

We really don't do any on track, the groomed trails are just rolled where we go, so not too worried about over all width other than them being able to control the skis. I shouldn't be worried after seeing how the youngest at maybe 100# fully outfitted got around on the 170- discovery on the first outing. She is pretty little light for them(but is 11 and knows everything so I cant tell her otherwise) so was thinking of having her see how much she is able to compress the camber and may add a little wax for extra grip.

On a side note over lunch I stopped by the local multi sports store and saw then had some Alpina Discovery 80s on the closeout rack, not a screaming deal ($210 I think) but they are known to run end of the season clearance at 40 to 60% off lowest marked price which may have me interested for the wife's upgrade.

[fisheater]

I started my son out on an Alpina Discovery, it was 60 at the waist and 68 at the shovel. I'm not quite sure which model that would be. I know I was able to buy it cheap, and at the time that was the only way I was buying. It seems to be a decent quality ski, I would call it forgiving with acceptable grip, glide, and edge hold for it's class. I think the standard for that class would be the Eon, however I don't know if they go on sale in your area. Based on the Ski I bought my son, I believe the next size up Discovery should be a nice ski. My son's (old) Ski has a nice trail breaking tip, don't be afraid to put those youngsters up front!

[Inspiredcapers]

The Discovery 80 does indeed have a good trail breaking tip, the one time I buried it was on a side hill in very loose snow. The grip and glide have worked well for me and they track pretty decently in loose snow. The couple of times I’ve been on a groomed trail they stayed in the track that was already there but I didn’t stay with it very long due to congestion. I’ve encountered breaking through crust but at 200# I’m going to do that with any ski.


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[Slimfinn]

I started my son out on an Alpina Discovery, it was 60 at the waist and 68 at the shovel. I'm not quite sure which model that would be. I know I was able to buy it cheap, and at the time that was the only way I was buying. It seems to be a decent quality ski, I would call it forgiving with acceptable grip, glide, and edge hold for it's class. I think the standard for that class would be the Eon, however I don't know if they go on sale in your area. Based on the Ski I bought my son, I believe the next size up Discovery should be a nice ski. My son's (old) Ski has a nice trail breaking tip, don't be afraid to put those youngsters up front!

The ones you got your son sound like the 68s, same as the ones the youngest has now. I haven't noticed the Eon's around but I'm going to hit the 3 smaller local shops this weekend, if I remember everyone pretty much has fishers and rossi's for the bc touring.

I am going to keep my eye on the Discovery 80's if they make it to sale time.

[lilcliffy]

The Eon is 83-62-70 and is a soft-flexing camber-and-a-half with a very soft, slightly rockered tip. Don't know how it compares to the Alpina 80 but the Eon is softer than similar-profiled skis from Fischer, Asnes and Rossi...

[Leo Tasker]

I've got a set of the Rossi OT65 which I've used a fair bit. They are a nice ski, narrow enough to fit in even fresh cut tracks but still wide enough to have a bit of float when there's a bit of fresh snow. The waxless pattern extends over a large part of the base, meaning the grip is good but they are pretty draggy and noisy on harder snow. The thing I like best about them is the 3/4 metal edges, these give a nice grip when herringboning/snowploughing but because they don't extend to the front of the ski, the tips are nice and supple when skiing in the tracks and going round corners. They also size up quite short for the recommended skier weight, so would be good for kids, especially lighter ones who might struggle with long skis.

[Slimfinn]

So found the OT65 165s with the the older black NNN bindings not the new turnamic white ones. Still in the plastic for $160. Sale goes for 2 more days, good deal? Also have alpina discovery 80s for $170 no bindings