Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Hello!

Now i'm a member of ski-mountaineering competitions, and it's wonderful.
I have Scarpa T2 boots, and its very good boots, but weight is too big.

Alpine skitour boots with TLT pins binding has weight like 1000gr (for example Scarpa Alien and etc.), but why there are no lightweight telemark boots?
What boots are most lightweight with 75mm? For NTN?
What do you think about telemark boots for races like ski-mountaineering?


Also, there are no lightweight active telemark bindings. G3 Targa T9 have 400gr single, and there is no step mode.
TLT by ATK, Dynafit and PLUM weight about 200-400gr for pair? Why we, telemark skiers, have no lightweight bindings?

3 pin? it is hardcore for downhill in big mountain...
22Designs Spike/Bulldog? there are no in stock...
G3 Ascent? Enzo? Axl? BD O2? weight...
Meidjo theMequipment? NTN standart, price...

What do you think about most lightweight bindings for race on telemark?

I know very little about this but I don't think anyone has historically had much interest in ski mountaineering races with Telemark so I think the ultra high tech development has not happened.

This of course is one of the lighter systems that I've read about:

http://www.wasatchski.com/tts.htm

Boots are always going to be an issue - I really have no idea but wonder if you could adapt a two buckle boot (Scarpa T4) to a tech system like above by adding the inserts.

You'd probably be able to control a very light and short randonee ski with those boots.

Other than that I have no idea - 3 pins and leather boots will be the lightest without some custom carbon fiber shells and you are still going to be heavier than the AT race stuff.

I know very little about this but I don't think anyone has historically had much interest in ski mountaineering races with Telemark so I think the ultra high tech development has not happened.

You're right. However, recently there have been light bindings, but they are under the NTN standard:
http://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/en/meq ... 33801.html
and
http://www.earnyourturns.com/15696/atks ... h-binding/

but one problem. It's NTN
no lightweight bindings for 75mm

boots is a second problem, and for NTN too. Tx is a heavy boot.
What reasons prevent take AT Scarpa Alien boots and integrate it flex and 75mm welt? Apparently, no one needs : (

Skin boots are heavy too, and has bad control, if skier is not a guru.

What do you think really interested in any other lightweight boots? It's good for tourism and backcountry. Lightweight, tall, high-performance telemark boot, what can be better?

Scott (Garmont) Excursion 75 mm boots are 1400g. I believe they can be made lighter by replacing the stock liner with a better (Intuition) liner. Voile Switchback bindings (75mm) are 1360g.

Hello narayanan,

If you're taking ski-mountaineering competitions seriously, it may be wise to forget about telemark gear and go for the one of randonee racing directly.
Needless to say about telemark gear, even the lightest end of XCD gear cannot beat the randonee gear as for lightness.

Off the top of my head:

The lightest 75 mm boot is either the T4 or T2 Eco. The T4 doesn't ski nearly as well and is less comfortable, but yes, it's a few grams lighter.

The lightest NTN boot is the Terminator X.

The lightest boot that can be used with a tele system is the Scarpa F1 -- they no longer make them but you can find used ones around. There is carbon version and that is pretty damn light. They can be used with the Telemark Tech System (TTS), which is actually pretty good (though I'd use Dynafit toes, not the OMG toes). Review here:

http://www.earnyourturns.com/24348/back ... a-binding/

TTS and Meidjo are competing for lightest binding tele binding. If that ATK Newmark binding ever comes back (I think there were breakages in the first go around), that would clearly enter the competition.

I wouldn't think racing in 3-pin would be efficient on the way up or powerful enough on the way down, at least to be competitive. AT gear kicks the shit out of tele gear for ski mountaineering races.

Scarpa F1 and TTS

Guys,

I agree that ski-mountaineering not for telemark, but this does not mean that we should not try

TTS... 400 gr with step mode.. it's much more than ATK Race, but less than most lightweight G3 Targa with no step mode.

F1 is about 1200gr.

T2 + Targa Ascent = 1700+600 = 2300 for boot and binding
F1 + Tts = 1600 for boot and binding

700 difference and 1400 for pair... well.


What about telemark on Scarpa F1? Is it ok boot for teleskiing? Flex is soft or hard?
Who has experience with F1?

narayanan wrote:What about telemark on Scarpa F1? Is it ok boot for teleskiing? Flex is soft or hard?
Who has experience with F1?

I used the regular F1 with the TTS system (not the F1 Race or the F1 Carbon). Yes, it is fine for teleskiing. That being said, some notes:

(1) The heel lever is big and clunky and prevents you from getting your heel throw on the back of the boot, so I removed it completely (which also saved some weight). Since I often ski without locking the heel, this was no big deal to me. Others have tweaked things a bit to make room for the heel throw.

(2) In my view, the boots are not comfortable on the way up or the very good performers on the way down. Obviously, lots of AT racers have used and continue to use them, so the comfort issue may relate to my feet.

(3) The bellows flex well and you can make low tele turns in them. Overall, it reminded me of skiing in T4s -- not quite the boot you'd want for steep or poor snow conditions, but one can get by just fine with it.

narayanan wrote:What do you think about most lightweight bindings for race on telemark?

I do sometimes ski mountaineering races with Rotte orange and TXPro's, but only for fun. There is no real chance winning against competition setups, but it does not matter (anymore! ).
As CIMA said before, ATK race + some competition boots will level the odds. Yesterday I’ve seen the ATK race bindings unmounted and I was VERY impressed how low weight they are.
narayanan , I've seen your picture on the other thread and you are not the last, even wearing tele bindings! Congrats!