Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Ingstad BC

[spopepro]

I think this is the ski I need. I’m starting to get into really long days (50-60km) and deep multi day traverses. My objectives are a ton of fun, but I think not efficient enough over that kind of distance. My one worry is how to try and find out just how steep I can ski something this cambered. Some of the trips I’m looking at will involve sections of 35-45deg slopes. I feel like I have to work the objectives in those conditions (and sometimes fail... I did a skimo race in t2eco boots, no cables, on my objectives... I was at the tail end of the Lycra crowd going up, crashing out of control on the way down). But with so many of these skis it’s hard to give them a trial. I really appreciate folks detailed descriptions of their experiences. I think we might have varied ideas of “steep”.

Fwiw... I’ll probably mount them with AT bindings. Yeah, I know... hand in my tele card. I’m just done waiting for the magical 1kg scarpa tele tech boot and need something light, stiff when locked up, and will take an automatic crampon.

[bgregoire]

I think this is the ski I need. I’m starting to get into really long days (50-60km) and deep multi day traverses. My objectives are a ton of fun, but I think not efficient enough over that kind of distance. My one worry is how to try and find out just how steep I can ski something this cambered. Some of the trips I’m looking at will involve sections of 35-45deg slopes. I feel like I have to work the objectives in those conditions (and sometimes fail... I did a skimo race in t2eco boots, no cables, on my objectives... I was at the tail end of the Lycra crowd going up, crashing out of control on the way down). But with so many of these skis it’s hard to give them a trial. I really appreciate folks detailed descriptions of their experiences. I think we might have varied ideas of “steep”.

Fwiw... I’ll probably mount them with AT bindings. Yeah, I know... hand in my tele card. I’m just done waiting for the magical 1kg scarpa tele tech boot and need something light, stiff when locked up, and will take an automatic crampon.

You doing 50-60 clicks in a day on the objectives albeit crashing out of control on the way down? That's impressive!
From what you describe (including going full AT), I'd stick with something more alpine oriented, just like yours OBJs.
Maybe all that's missing is a pair of Lycra pants?

If you end up going with the Ingstad+AT boots though, I'd be more than happy to year how your combi worked out for you!

[spopepro]

Oh no... I can do that distance now on the flats with my MR48s... but I’m not confident I can do that with the objectives. But maybe I really should be looking for an alpine ski for safety on the steeps. I’d really, really like something that felt like it was ready to crush miles like a real xc ski tho. I might be asking too much.

[riel]

As Ben points out- the current E-109 is a terrible XC ski in very deep snow or breakable crust as its very soft shovel and tip (even softer than the Ingstrad BC) bows like a banana and it is TERRIBLE in breakable crust!
Ironically I find the current E99 Xtralite a better XC in deep snow than the wider E-109, because with less sidecut, the very soft shovel-tip of the E99 does not float so much higher than the waist...

The Ingstad BC is totally stable in very deep snow- and as such it breaks trail very well in deep soft snow-
BUT- the Ingstad BC sucks XC skiing in the breakable crust because of all that tip rocker. And- all of the tip rocker makes the Ingstad a very inefficient XC ski on consolidated snow. The current Ingstad BC is a XC ski that is very narrowly tuned for deep soft snow and hilly-steep terrain.

The Ingstad BC is a great ski to have in a quiver with some other skis. I find that with just 1-2" of fresh snow on the ground, or with the snow just being soft enough to sink in an inch or so, the Ingstad makes enough contact with the snow to get pretty good glide, due to just how gradual most of the rocker is.

Only when the snow is really, really hard packed does the Ingstad become annoyingly slow.

It is not as fast as some other skis, but it's a hell of a lot of fun when going down even very modest slopes, and feels stable under every condition I have encountered with it so far. This includes groomed trails, going off trail with fresh powder, off trail with melting soft snow, and going off trail with (easily) breakable crust.

The tip of the Ingstad is much stiffer than the tips on my Alpina Discovery 80 (2018 model, similar to Fischer Traverse 78?), or my Fischer S-Bound 112. That makes more of the length of the ski dependable, instead of "hopefully being there".

I've wanted to not write any reviews on it until I have skied it 100 miles, but I'm up to about 80 miles now and the snow is starting to melt, so...

[telelikeitis]

How would the Ingstad BC handle north woods singletrack?

Typical mountain bike trails near me include:

(rolling hills, moderate terrain, some flats, some fun tight corners)

and winter conditions are variable

(untracked, consolidated, groomed snow-bike routes)

[lilcliffy]

I think that the Ingstad is ideal for trail skiing in hilly/steep terrain- but it performs best on soft snow.

The Nansen or the new Sverdrup might be better on packed out trails...
The Fischer 78 with its Off-Track Crown might be even better- depending on the snow temperatures...

[NMskier]

Took my 205cm Ingstad BCs out for the first time today. I wish they had a more aggressive grip pattern, but overall I loved ‘em. I used the mohair x-skin for part of the climb. They are going to perform super well when there’s a few inches of powder over the compressed base. Snappy skis with great Nordic camber and easy to turn. These are replacing my old Fischer e109 crowns.