Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Hello Guays,

I have bought a pair of Åsnes Ingstad BC ski on online market but I have noticed that they have some kind of fish scale pattern and it’s not the waxless model. I am attaching the photo to show how it looks. Do you guays also have this on your Ingstads?

Thanks for the reply,

I don’t know for sure, but that ski looks like maybe a pre-production prototype.
You can see the current model here:
https://www.en.asnes.com/produkt/ingstad-waxless/
.

Oh wow, that's super weird. Where did you get these?

Reminds me of those weird (prototype?) Åsnes Sondres that turned up with the very home-made looking patterns, on here somewhere. I can very easily confirm that the waxable Ingstads have the coloured bases, like your picture, but they certainly aren't patterned!

edit: here
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4121&p=41110&hilit=sondre#p41110
and here
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=391&hilit=sondre&start=210

What kind of sorcery is this! Wax bases with proto negative crude scales from a decade ago... Wrapped in new plastic!!!

The devil's work

Wrapped in plastic is an interesting twist…

Hello,

Thanks for all the replies. I have bought them on internet auctions, in my country it’s almost impossible to bought them from shops. I’ve been told by the seller the they are new but now I am sure that this pattern shouldn’t be there and it was not wrapped by Åsnes. I took a closer look on those and I saw the tag saying it’s B-Grade model and also both right and left ski have exactly the same graphics but on Åsnes site left and right ski should have it different. I am not sure if should complaint to seller and try to return them or keep them and ignore this discrepancies but I don’t now if this pattern will have any negative impact to the ski performance?

What do you think guays?

Good question.

How much did you pay for them, and did you actually want the waxless ones?

If you're only having a single pair of new skis right now, and you wanted waxable soles, then I'd absolutely send them back. If you thought you were getting waxable bases when you bought them, then that's a pretty serious issue! What did the listing say, actually?

On the other hand... if they were ridiculously cheap, I mean cheap enough for you to get another pair of less weird Ingstads, and you can live with the fact that the graphics aren't paired, I'd maybe keep them to have a pair of waxless skis for waxless days? Maybe! I don't think anyone can really say what the grip will be like from experience, though... maybe someone with a pair of those equally weird Sondres.

Edit: Stephen below makes a good point that these can be converted to waxable soles, which is an option if you have the patience and they were a really good deal... still a couple of months until the season starts after all?

What you do depends on:
1. How much the skis cost (how good of a deal were they?);
2. What your skiing goals and expectations are (modest or hard core / ideal ski setup or “good enough”)
3. What your other options are (you say skis are hard to get whee you live).

These skis could work just fine if your expectations are modest, or be a big disappointment, if you you want the ideal setup.
If you want a wax ski, there is an example of someone here who used p-tex to fill in a pattern like you have on your skis and that seemed like it worked just fine, but would take getting some p-tex base repair candles and a scraper and doing the “repair.”
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4121

I don’t know what you paid, and if you believe you received good value.
What I do know is that the Ingstad receives good reviews from a wide cross section of skiers. I don’t believe those scales will vibrate excessively on hard trails. You can always wax in front of the pattern for more grip when you need it. With options for wax and X-skins I believe you have a good ski that will provide good performance. You will need to experiment with a bit of wax from time to time. If your trails are steep, you may want an X-skin.
Now I will also be honest and say I prefer waxable smooth based skis. I also will say that the reviews of any Åsnes waxless pattern have not impressed me. If I was to purchase a waxless ski I would lean towards a Fischer Crown or a Voile ski.
I also believe you could have a lot of enjoyment on the Ingstad you have. However you probably will not enjoy it if you feel cheated.

Dear all,

Thanks again for all your replies, they really help me with my decision what to do with them.
I have paid 180 USD for skis. I've checked them again really closely and beside that weird pattern and same graphics(which I don't really care about) everything seems new, zero scratches on both bottom and top, they flex very well. I choose this model because of many good reviews, comparing to my previous ski which I used for backcountry Salomon Equip grip(typical cross country ski) this Ingstad are still significant improvement for my BC trips , and I am also planing to buy two sets of X-skins(race one and 58mm nylon for steeps). Furthermore, I will keep them as I think it was still a good purchase.

@Stephen @Musk Ox Thanks for link to Sonders thread, it is similar case to mine. I have checked some nearby ski services which have those machines to repair/restore the slide of the ski, I will send them email with the photos and ask if the repair is possible and what are the costs. As from the beginning I wanted waxable base. I just hope to have a fun on them and to have better control/stability than my previous ski.

Also I am adding photo of my old set of ski comparing to new ones, Ingstads looks so huge