Åsnes NOSI 76 Ski Review
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:38 am
This is Telemark Talk, I cannot let this happen... The world HAS to know about THE telemark ski...!
Ok ok, this is not a full review. I am quite fed up with the common-telemark-skier species so I am not going to bother anymore*. I'm done with full reviews that people don't even bother to read before commenting.
So I am not going to post nice pictures of the tips and tails and rocker and sidecut and stuff. Or try to describe flex, camber, torsional rigidity or the Nosi's super-polyethylene properties. If I do, someone will say that one of the ski must be depressed. Another user who has never seen the ski will say it's the opposite. Another one will pretend I have never seen other gear to compare with. And yet another one will ask someone else to chime in because he doesn't believe a word I said. Come on Johnny, this is nothing new to ski forums! Yeah I know... Only as I grow older, I just cannot stand that BS anymore. But for you, true and passionate silent observers who care and can read between the lines, here are a few words that might interest you... Especially if your entire life revolves around fresh, fluffy champagne-type powder snow and the peaceful silence they bring both to the ears and to the mind...
Well, what can I say about the NOSI 76... It's THE real new Super Guide. It's THE ski a lot of people (including me) have been waiting for over 2 decades. Ski designers have unlimited choices of colors for their products. Out of the 3 primary ones, they can make millions of different colors. A standard computer monitor can display 16,777,215 different colors. Now look at the picture below comparing the old Karhu skis and the new Asnes ones. Look at the colors. A mere coincidence you think? Really?
The Asnes family know exactly what they are doing. The almost 20 years old Karhu Guide hasn't been updated since it's conception. And nobody ever came up with a new model in that unique ski class. That famous "109-at-the-tips class", so much cherished by the XCD Knights themselves in Finland and Norway... (And even from the Knights in the Peruvian Andes, as you can see in the last picture...) Finally, Asnes came to the rescue and gave a supa-chupa ultra-dupa power boost to this already near perfect weapon. No need for Bri7's homemade wired punk rockers anymore:
Although they have slightly different sidecut profiles on paper, they look quite the same. 111-76-98 for the NOSI 76 according to Asnes and 109-78-95 for the guide. For fun, I took one of my 172cm NOSI ski and placed it base-to-base on my old 175cm Guide. Wow, to my surprise, they are *exactly* the same! Well, almost the same identical sidecut profile... Beautiful!
Of course they are MUCH better than the Guides, which once were my #1 powder skis. Think of all the best aspects of the old Guides, and add to this:
- A nice rocker
- A nice Nordic Rocker
- A nice Nordic Rocker with REAL tips for real skiers
- A 18% weight reduction (!!!)
- Super-nice surfy FT-style tails (!!!)
- And of course unlimited possibilities of X-Skin attachments
They can do anything, from snowshoeing to heli-skiing. From the glades in your backyard to that FIS-homologated downhill racing trail on a waist deep powder day two hours before the lifts open. Whether for sportive, recreational or utilitarian use, they shine everywhere like crazy diamonds.
Seriously, how could it be better than this? Seriously, this might be the only BC ski you will ever need. MUCH faster and more nimble than the Objective, with MUCH more flotation than the Rabb. Seriously, I could get rid of my other 100+ pairs of skis and wouldn't mind at all.
Yep, personally, the Nosi 76 is THE only backcountry powder ski I will ever need. Period. Seriously.
But unfortunately, not until they come up with a waxless version...
"On the way down, the Nosi 76 offers the feeling of a classic touring ski, solid and stable. On the ascent, however, it feels like you’re shinning up the hill on a pair of rando-race class skis.
The Nosi 76 is the perfect ski for those who want to explore the mountains, logging as much altitude as possible during the season: at a mere 1075g underfoot, don’t worry about the height of the approach.
A turn radius of 18.2m (172cm) and a slim waist makes the Nosi 76 perfect for turns on solid and hard surfaces. On snowy winter days, the soft tip and the construction of the rocker and taper floats you easily over the fresh new snow."
The Nosi 76 is the perfect ski for those who want to explore the mountains, logging as much altitude as possible during the season: at a mere 1075g underfoot, don’t worry about the height of the approach.
A turn radius of 18.2m (172cm) and a slim waist makes the Nosi 76 perfect for turns on solid and hard surfaces. On snowy winter days, the soft tip and the construction of the rocker and taper floats you easily over the fresh new snow."
But seriously, I am curious to know how it compares to its closest Asnes relatives even if it is only for the sake of it 