Ski Review: 2014 Fischer E-99 Crown Xtralite

[Woodserson]

An authentic heel locator woods. Mostly a conversation starter to
Be honest! What is your edelweiss look like?


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On the left (green) is the early 80's E99, 210cm. Mismatched serial numbers. The graphics match up with Fischer downhill skis I see in early 80's ski races on youtube, so I imagine they just painted their whole lineup the same. I think I got these for something like $60 on ebay.

On the right with the edelweiss is what I believe is their E99's from the later 80's maybe early 90's. They are a little softer, with a lower profile tip, which is weird. Lower than the current E99's, actually. Still pretty solid. These are 180cm I got for my wife, but she has not skied them yet. I got these for $45 on ebay.

Disregard all the fun in the background. My Xtralites (which used to belong to Cannatonic) are on the far right.

[bgregoire]

Yes I’ve come across the l’edelweiss ones before. Looked decent for an old ski. Take care bro


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[lilcliffy]

I can smell it in the air here in the hills...

It has been crazy busya- crazy busy here for too long- I am looking forward to being buried in white.

So- to get back to the topic of the E99 Xtralite-

I truly do love this ski-

It is light, snappy, fast, smooth, and Fischer's Offtrack Crown is fabulous!

However- in my personal backcountry I find the E99 Crown Xtralite unstable-
unstable to the point of it being dangerous-
I have almost broken my leg- and my face- one too many times...

The spring snow here is very deep- and it melts and rots-
the E99 Crown is light and fast-
I get up to cruising speed very easily on Spring snow with this touring ski- but it is built for consolidated, stable snow- not deep melting snow.

The Fischer 78 is more stable than the E99 Crown Xtralite- though it is heavier and slower-
The Asnes Gamme 54 is more stable than the E99 Xtralite- and the Gamme + X-skin is just as fast over distance on wet warm snow. But- the kicker skin sucks downhill-

[mx.deiters]

Hi e99 fans. Found this ski in a second hand shop for 40 USD (350 Swedish Kronor) and was super happy about. I wanna explore the Swedish fjellen with these but hoping on some advice from the experts here. Are these good for long tours with sled? Is 75 mm binding preferred? And does the wax less version provide good enough grip?

Thanks in advance from a grateful newbie

[Woodserson]

2 versions. Waxable and waxless. I would assume the graphics changed several times without an actual change of its specs in that era.


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ahHA! I found a WAX (Tour) generation of the E99 that was produced just prior to the Xtralites. This is the last non-rockered E99. It is the BCX Europa 99 Crown/Tour, as bgregoire notes, it came in a many graphics but same dimensions with slight construction differences to the binding mounting area. Not to fanboy you too hard, @bgregoire , but I had to find one after your recommendations. I found the crown last year, and I just scored the wax. I can't believe it in my length too! Unreal.

The dimensions of this pre-Xtralite 99 are 68-55-62, no rocker, a slightly less camber than the Xtralite. Between the Crown Xtralite and the Crown Europa 99 I've found the Xtralite to be slightly faster, but the Europa has a more solid feel on the snow, which makes sense as they are heavier (duh, not Xtralite).

I am absolutely chuffed I found the Tour version, I can't wait to take it for a spin. I've been trying to show my wife but she doesn't get it, and nods politely but the excitement, this ski, doesn't light that fire for her as it does me. Thanks Ben!

(now I need to get an Xtralite Wax/EZ-Skin so I can compare the Xtralites)