Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Hey yall

After resisting for a few weeks due to early season conditions --rocks-- i finally tried out my head kore 99 skis. So so so fun! I've always skied shorter skis with my previous daily driver being 176 cm k2 sidestash. These are much longer at 189, I was worried about them being unwieldy. But man. Holy crap. They ski like a dream! I almost feel like im cheating! Qt 6'2" and currently 200lb I feel so stable on them, and they turn with such ease! Even easier than my shorter skis.

I didnt realize skis got so much more advanced in like 6 years from my c.2013 sidestashes to my 2019 head kore.

Idk how durably these skis are built, especially with so much focus on being lightweight. Time will tell!

Both skis have hammerheads on pin position 4.



ANYWAY onto my T1s I have the black ones with red buckles. Got them used on ebay. Heat molded the liners.
Ugh they felt like alpine boots. So uncomfortable. So stiff. And indeed making tele turns on them felt like more of a chore than a smooth graceful knee drop. They were so stiff I almost felt like I had to alpine turn because they were just so aggressive on their control over the ski. Like the boots wanted to stay upright, I hated the feeling of fighting them, I even felt unsafe skiing them because I was worried the stiffness would cause me to catch a tip edge.

I was able to make long high speed carving arcs on them on a blue groomer. But I dont think that's my style!

I like making deep knee dropping, snappy, hopping tele turns. Sort of hopping from little one little puff of loose snow to another. And dancing and smearing my way down a slope.

My old boots are the old blue and grey T2s, idk what generation, but the color scheme screams late 90s lol. They're so soft and comfortable. So mushy.

So idk will my T1s break in and become softer, or do you think I should just try and stick with softer gear?

They were also very uncomfortable, though the fit is great. I think I might just have to have a few pressure points punched out by a boot fitter. Idk how worth it they are. Maybe I should just sell them and wait to find a good deal on T2s.

Or maybe I should keep trying to embrace the power? Idk.

You could try putting the hh's in pin position 2 or 3 (more neutral) and seeing how that suits you.

Jumping up to a stiffer boot is the hardest change of gear to get used to IMO. You need to figure out how to pressure the boots to break the bellows and get your edges engaged among other things while remaining centered over your skis. Unfortunately the centered position that had worked for you in the past may not be possible with the T1s. I would try to get a feel for it at home do you have an idea what you will need to do on snow.

I started with leather boots and then went to a T2 and that took some getting used to. From there I got a four buckle Chripi and that took a lot of getting used to. It took a lot of vert to get used to them and after a season or two I still wasn’t as proficient with them as I was on leather. That being said I was probably able to ski faster and more difficult terrain but it was the stability in the system and not skill.

I went back to the T2 and was happier. I then got some T4s and found that I had the same range of motion as I had with leather boots and skiing felt much more natural. For me the T4 gave me the natural feel of leather with the edge control of a plastic boot.

I think it will take a while to get used to them if bigger and stiffer is the direction you want to take.

I agree with the previous posts.
Try a more neutral setting on the HH's. And at least initially, you're probably going to have to press the shin against the cuff aggressively on that trailing foot. If you find part way through the turn that the rear foot pops forward into a more alpine turn, it's likely because you're not holding that pressure throughout the turn. The bellows will break down and soften a bit fairly quickly.

I'm assuming it's the forward stiffness, i.e. bellows related that you feel is too stiff, not the edge control stiffness?

@Telecat
1. As a minimum, try visiting a ski shop, tell them what's going on, and see if they have any ideas. Ski techs better at cost effective solutions than sales guys!!

2. T1 boots have ski mode with 2 forward lean angles. If forward lean is too much, try like this with boots donned...
a. Put into walk mode.
b. Lean back on your calves as much as possible, then
c. Put into ski mode.
d. Lean forward until you hear a subdued click.

ANYWAY onto my T1s...I even felt unsafe skiing them because I was worried the stiffness would cause me to catch a tip edge.

For your consideration: Try detuning the skis a little further than your used to. The week prior Thanksgiving this year at Keystone...I was not worried about catching edges, I was catching edges on a brand new set of T1's on brand new Enforcer 93's, week before Thanksgiving this year at Keystone.

After 2 straight days of catching edges, bruised hips/thighs/butts, and wondering if I just wasted a bunch of money on new gear, I consulted a ski tech that recommended detuning a bit further. Tech did it on the spot for free (5-minutes and a gummy stone); I would have gladly given a 6-pack. So, so, so, so much better [for me].

Good luck.

I'll give them a shot with hammerheads on pin 2 or 3.

Its definitely too stiff in the forward flex, the side to side edge control is fine, as it is with my old T2s..
I actually ski my T2 boots in walk mode, always have, and so that was my default going into the T1s and still found them aggressively stiff.


I never actually did catch an edge and fall, I just felt like a tele turn in those boots was really aggressively driving the front of the ski


But these are all good suggestions. But im definitely worried this level of stiffness just isn't for me. Which makes me worried about a few years in the future when NTN is the only thing available. I think the TX pros are scarpas lightest NTN boot, and my understanding is that they are about the same stiffness as a T1. Hopefully they roll out lighter options in the future.

You may want to verify what liner you have in the T1s. I bought a pair off eBay and they had the stiffest liner Intuition sells. Swapped those out and they ski just fine. Had same problem when I scored some TX 3 buckle NTN boots and had to swap the liner. Too bad Scarpa quit making those. They tour like my T2s. I have the Tx pros too and they are a slog touring on my Lynx. Glad I got the TX now.

voilenerd wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 12, 2020 6:23 pm

You may want to verify what liner you have in the T1s. I bought a pair off eBay and they had the stiffest liner Intuition sells. Swapped those out and they ski just fine. Had same problem when I scored some TX 3 buckle NTN boots and had to swap the liner. Too bad Scarpa quit making those. They tour like my T2s. I have the Tx pros too and they are a slog touring on my Lynx. Glad I got the TX now.

The straight up TX NTN got discontinued right? Only the TX pro now? Do you remember the stiffness number?

I'm not sure what the stiffness number was for the Tx NTN, which has been discontinued, but when I transitioned from the T2 ECO (stiffness of 95) to the Tx, it felt pretty close. The Tx Pro is 110, for comparison, as is the T1, so the Tx would have been less than those.

Telecat, as voilenerd said, if you're using the wrap liner, it'll be stiffer than a tongue liner.

I've had a few models of the T1's over the years, both 3 buckle and 4 buckle, as well as several T2's. I like a pretty soft flex, and the T1's I have now are pretty smooth.
A few mods are possible: First, I never use the ski mode; I set them in walk mode and tape 'em to stay there. I skied the T1's without the power strip for a couple years, and that felt pretty good. Finally, my current T1's started life as a 4 buckle boot. I removed one mid buckle, repositioned another kind of in the middle... I definitely find them smoother this way.

They will also beak in and soften a bit when you get some miles on 'em.