Gear Basket

[lowangle al]

I also saw 2 pairs of T2 ecos new in the box for $75 each. Mens sz 24.5 and womens 25.5. They are at Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking, the leading nordic ski shop in town, they no longer carry telemark gear. Thay had fischer S112s and S125s that they are probably pairing with At boots and bindings.

[lilcliffy]

Yeah- I guess so...

We got another 18 inches of fresh, dry cold snow on Monday night...there's about 3 feet of very dense/hard base underneath that (since Xmas, we've been getting frequent small snowfalls, combined with a number of warm spring-like days).

I have been out three times on that most recent fresh, soft cold snow- have used my 205cm Eon Wax, 195cm Annum, and 210 Combats...

I took the Annums for a spin first (Tuesday) hoping there might be enough pow for them- there wasn't...they were kind of all over the place. I skied for about 1/2 a km and came back and switched them out- first for the Eon. The Eon was different, but equally "disappointing" as it sunk straight 18 inches down to the base...The Asnes Combat actually performed the best...It did not "float" as high as the Annum, but it performed much better- adequate flotation, and tracked better...

I am continually realizing how profile and width-underfoot (of course combined with flex) affect K&G performance in the snow that I ski on...

And when it comes to downhill performance- as I keep pushing myself on BC-XC tech- my technique has changed so much that aggressive sidecut isn't that valuable an attribute to me anymore...

Day-in-day-out I'd rather have a ski that gives me adequate and effective grip-flotation and tracks straight- I can "make" them turn when I need to...The Asnes performs so much better in a K&G context- that everything else feels frustratingly "squirrely"...BUT obviously the Combat is too narrow for truly deep pow...

And the performance advantage (i.e. "kick", climb and glide) of grip wax vs. waxless- on cold fresh snow- is hard to believe.

[lilcliffy]

I also saw 2 pairs of T2 ecos new in the box for $75 each. Mens sz 24.5 and womens 25.5. They are at Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking, the leading nordic ski shop in town, they no longer carry telemark gear. Thay had fischer S112s and S125s that they are probably pairing with At boots and bindings.

$75 for a T2? Crazy man.

[bgregoire]

And the performance advantage (i.e. "kick", climb and glide) of grip wax vs. waxless- on cold fresh snow- is hard to believe.

Absolut! Now take a nice pair of woodies, waxed with polar from tip to tail, appropriate wax for the day in the kick zone and go climbing, NOW you will be amazed!

[lilcliffy]

And the performance advantage (i.e. "kick", climb and glide) of grip wax vs. waxless- on cold fresh snow- is hard to believe.

Not too me! Now take a nice pair of woodies, waxed with polar from tip to tail, appropriate wax for the day in the kick zone and go climbing, NOW you will be amazed!

I agree- perhaps I wasn't clear- grip wax kicks ass on cold fresh snow! Kick, climb and glide!

I am becoming inclined to buy a wood ski myself...my father always used wooden skis in the BC...

As an aside- has anybody tried a similar approach to a p-tex base? (i.e. polar from tip to tail?)

[bgregoire]

And the performance advantage (i.e. "kick", climb and glide) of grip wax vs. waxless- on cold fresh snow- is hard to believe.

Not too me! Now take a nice pair of woodies, waxed with polar from tip to tail, appropriate wax for the day in the kick zone and go climbing, NOW you will be amazed!

I agree- perhaps I wasn't clear- grip wax kicks ass on cold fresh snow! Kick, climb and glide!

I am becoming inclined to buy a wood ski myself...my father always used wooden skis in the BC...

As an aside- has anybody tried a similar approach to a p-tex base? (i.e. polar from tip to tail?)

You were very clear, I was just pushing further. Never tried the full wax drill on ptex, have thought about it quite a bit though. One thing to consider is wood has an amazing capacity to retain wax. I'm assuming ptex tips and tails would loose the grip faster. Ohh, I forgot, I do now wax up to within 30cm of the tip (expanded kick zone) on my older waxable 10th Mountains when touring for turns. I can then ski up while my friends walk. I try and forbid skins then as I am stuck waiting for them to pull em on and off while I am always ready to zip away. Unfortunately, my goal is mostly misunderstood so I end up waiting anyway...

[lilcliffy]

I do the same.

I also carry my little kit with me on tour. Some of my 15-20 kms loops include both some excellent steep runs, but also steep climbs (30-50% slopes); some of them a few kilometres of climbing...

If I have a long sustained climb to make- I stop and extend the grip wax forward to vastly improve climbing traction.

I do the same on my waxless powder skis as well.

[connyro]

...The Asnes Combat actually performed the best...It did not "float" as high as the Annum, but it performed much better- adequate flotation, and tracked better...

I am continually realizing how profile and width-underfoot (of course combined with flex) affect K&G performance in the snow that I ski on...

And when it comes to downhill performance- as I keep pushing myself on BC-XC tech- my technique has changed so much that aggressive sidecut isn't that valuable an attribute to me anymore...

Day-in-day-out I'd rather have a ski that gives me adequate and effective grip-flotation and tracks straight- I can "make" them turn when I need to...The Asnes performs so much better in a K&G context- that everything else feels frustratingly "squirrely"...BUT obviously the Combat is too narrow for truly deep pow...

And the performance advantage (i.e. "kick", climb and glide) of grip wax vs. waxless- on cold fresh snow- is hard to believe.

Agreed LC! The Combats (Stormtroopers) are great for K+G with a hard base and several inches of loose snow. I have always disliked the squirrelly nature of the Guides/10th MTNS, etc. The Asnes Combat skis that you recommended track dead straight, so much so that I've found myself observing the forest more now that I pay less attention to how my skis are tracking. They get pretty good float too considering...It's funny...I don't mind the extra weight of those skis because they are so much fun to K+G on.

[lilcliffy]

Hmmm...Connyro- your descriptions of "xcd"-skiing with the Vector BC in the pow keep grabbing my attention...

Here's a question...in truly deep powder, when turning, do you think that the sidecut of the Vector matters much- or do you think the rockered tip means more?

In other words, for xcd-skiing in truly deep, soft powder, do you think a ski like the Vector BC would be even better if had less sidecut and was even wider underfoot? (i.e. more like a true powder alpine ski- but with rocker only in the tip- single camber underfoot).

[connyro]

The Vectors excel in soft snow. The sidecut has little to do with how they handle, IMO. The tip of that ski is what makes it such a great turner and also good for trailbreaking. More width underfoot would mean more grip zone for scales, so they may climb better, but I personally would not want to sacrifice the resulting additional drag on the down. For my use, the width to scale ratio is just right: they climb great even in cold soft snow but get enough glide to make the climb worth it on the down.