Accidentally bought Fischer e99 waxing version. First time to wax. Should I keep them?

[cwdz]

IMHO, even asking the question is so wrong that it is not even wrong....

The world has moved on from waxing, unless you have a wax tech and really good technique (or you are really into non-skiing time-sucking.)

Save yourself a bagillion brain cells and spend your time skiing instead of the hassle of waxing, thinking about if you have the right wax while you are skiing (as the conditions change, ya know), and the inevitable "wrong wax" bar talk.

If you don't believe me, survey the bottom half of the field at any endurance race, or even the bottom 85%.

[Rodbelan]

IMHO, even asking the question is so wrong that it is not even wrong....

The world has moved on from waxing, unless you have a wax tech and really good technique (or you are really into non-skiing time-sucking.)

Save yourself a bagillion brain cells and spend your time skiing instead of the hassle of waxing, thinking about if you have the right wax while you are skiing (as the conditions change, ya know), and the inevitable "wrong wax" bar talk.

If you don't believe me, survey the bottom half of the field at any endurance race, or even the bottom 85%.

I have to respectfully disagree... None of this is true FOR ME at least... It is more a matter of preference. Of course, there is the terrain, time of year, duration of the trip that needs to be taken into consideration. Everything is a matter of trade off... It *might* be more practical to use wl base ski in a long trip where you need to carry lots of stuff... But wax base is more efficient, in my experience at least, or should I say that's what I prefer...

[bgregoire]

IMHO, even asking the question is so wrong that it is not even wrong....

The world has moved on from waxing, unless you have a wax tech and really good technique (or you are really into non-skiing time-sucking.)

Save yourself a bagillion brain cells and spend your time skiing instead of the hassle of waxing, thinking about if you have the right wax while you are skiing (as the conditions change, ya know), and the inevitable "wrong wax" bar talk.

If you don't believe me, survey the bottom half of the field at any endurance race, or even the bottom 85%.

I also have to respectfully disagree on this one.Totally disagree. There is no nuance in this. When you have access to cold snow, nothing is more enjoyable than kicking and gliding scale free. Wax for the BC can be easy, if you to it right and stay clear from the nerdy track guidelines.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZeeeee ya!

[Musk Ox]

IMHO, even asking the question is so wrong that it is not even wrong....

The world has moved on from waxing, unless you have a wax tech and really good technique (or you are really into non-skiing time-sucking.)

Save yourself a bagillion brain cells and spend your time skiing instead of the hassle of waxing, thinking about if you have the right wax while you are skiing (as the conditions change, ya know), and the inevitable "wrong wax" bar talk.

If you don't believe me, survey the bottom half of the field at any endurance race, or even the bottom 85%.

I'm not really that interested in racing, though!

Waxing is ridiculously easy, takes two minutes of rubbing, and affords me one of my life's greatest pleasures, which is sliding silently, with no friction, over snow.

I have skin skis and kicker skins and love them, I use them all the time, but you can't beat the feeling of being slightly out of control on hills too steep for your skill striding out above the treeline with waxed soles.

[CwmRaider]

April in Hardangervidda? Leo and Moskus got it right. Temperature could be anything and all over the place. Air temp could be 10 degrees and sunny or - 20 and blizzard. I have experienced both of those conditions on two consecutive days in Central Norway. There is no doubt that if the temperature is stable below 0, waxing is better. Around and above 0 I have had little success waxing, although I am not experienced. It is precisely why I myself prefer waxless skis for my main touring skis. But I do have waxable racing skis and BC skis in addition, for when the conditions are predictably stable enough.


You may encounter ideal conditions, or you may have variable conditions or you may have wet snow or ice much of the way. As others have pointed out, 25km with long skins is probably not much fun.
So in your place, I'd probably get those waxless e99s, if they are well affordable and still on ebay. And as Al pointed out, it cannot hurt to have a second pair for more stable snow conditions.
From experience the Fischer Offtrack Crown will serve you in almost all situations and only rarely will you need skins. If the ski in sale isn't the short skin version, those waxless skis should still be fine most of the time and long skins may be useful anyways for steeper climbs especially with the pulk.

There is another possibility, Madshus makes skins which only have fur in the middle part of the ski and there is some glide zone in front.
https://varuste.net/en/p38014/madshus-i ... T8QAvD_BwE
So if you were to take your skis with wax for cold temperatures and use this skins when you lose grip when the snow is too warm, this could work. I don't know how much better they are than full length skins, but they cannot be worse

[cwdz]

"Waxing is ridiculously easy." said no one ever (except here.)

If it is so "ridiculously easy" then what wax would you recommend for pulling a pulk...in spring from Am to PM...over a long distance...for many days.

My god man, you're trying to ruin this guy's trip! He has enough to do and see and enjoy without spending 20 minutes every two hours changing waxes (and hoping he didn't make the wrong call, which even pros do 50% of the time.

OP: just do a little Google searching on the subject and again see what others are using (just email the RD and ask). There really isn't a debate in the real world.

[Eärendil]

Hej Ollie,
For sled pulling, I would recommend what you already tested before, Amundsen Waxless with the possibility to attach X-skins. E99 Easy-skin is another option.

I like waxable skis for day trips when I can prepare the skis in room temperature. For winter camping on the tundra or as we say ”kalfjället”, everything needs to be more functional. As mentioned, in April, snow conditions are challenging when it comes to waxing. Universalklister is usually the best working both below and above 0 C.

I hope the borders will open up in April. Right now I’m in my mountain home 5 km from Norway, but forbidden to cross.

//Rickard//

[lowangle al]

April is just a tough month for waxing. At some point during the month temps got too warm for me to get it right. At that point I would switch from XCD to skinning up the steeps with heavier gear. Usually the snowpack would be more stable at that time too.

If it was winter it might be worth the chance, but not April. Like Earendil said, he should stick with what he is familiar with.

[bgregoire]

"Waxing is ridiculously easy." said no one ever (except here.)

If it is so "ridiculously easy" then what wax would you recommend for pulling a pulk...in spring from Am to PM...over a long distance...for many days.

My god man, you're trying to ruin this guy's trip! He has enough to do and see and enjoy without spending 20 minutes every two hours changing waxes (and hoping he didn't make the wrong call, which even pros do 50% of the time.

OP: just do a little Google searching on the subject and again see what others are using (just email the RD and ask). There really isn't a debate in the real world.

Youre a funny guy CW! With a decent sized pulk in scandinavia, the way I'd go about it is half skins. They work just as well over a waxable or waxless base. There ain't a scaled ski in the world that I would depend on for hauling a pulk with.

I would not follow any wax pro's advice in the BC. We come up with our own simpler workable solutions. It's worth the effort to me.

[fisheater]

There is another possibility, Madshus makes skins which only have fur in the middle part of the ski and there is some glide zone in front.
https://varuste.net/en/p38014/madshus-i ... T8QAvD_BwE
So if you were to take your skis with wax for cold temperatures and use this skins when you lose grip when the snow is too warm, this could work. I don't know how much better they are than full length skins, but they cannot be worse
[/quote]

This post from Roelant was excellent. I only edited the quote to draw attention to the pearl of wisdom I missed In my first reading.I overlooked the unique Madshus skin recommended. It essentially allows the user to use the ski as a regular wax ski. However while the “skin” is full length allowing it to be used on skis without manufactured skin insert receivers. Rather the “skin” is polyethylene over most of the ski length with a mohair section in the kick zone.
This unique product will allow the OP to use his waxable E-99 in cold, easy waxing conditions with wax, while when temps rise near the point of freezing the Intelligrip skin can be utilized, approximating the the generally recommended skin insert performance.
It is at least another very viable option.