Advice wanted re Asnes MR48: Skin or not?

[3pinjohnnie]

I want to buy a pair of Asnes Mountain Race 48 skis but the only ones I can find in my length (210 cm) are the skin models. I like using grip wax and have never been tempted by typical waxless skis, but the skin thing is new to me. Does anybody know how well these skis perform, compared to a typical fish-scale ski? Should I buy the skin skis or hold out in the hope of finding waxables?

[Musk Ox]

This is a subject.

My wife and I have both owned a pair of each at some point.

There’s not really so much between the two on looser snow. The skin's really good.

The skin drags a wee bit on consolidated snow – although I suspect this might be largely solved if you go a bit longer than the official recommendations. I was on the cusp of the 190 and the 200 by weight, and really squished my 190s, especially with a backpack.

The skins don't catch coming down steeps but you can tell they're there. The MR 48 generally is an, um... exciting ride coming back down again sometimes, especially on ice.

It sounds a little bit like a longer MR 48 with the waxable sole plus the narrowest mohair X-Skin in the drawer for shitty conditions is maybe what you're after.

The MR 48 is so, so much fun, being super nimble and just... stupidly fun in a 'I have had enough of this prepared track and believe I should go through the trees here, go across the frozen river and rejoin the trail at the bottom of the valley' kind of way, but I ended up selling them for wider, turnier and tour-ier options better in the mountains. If you're not going on prepared tracks, I kind of think the Gamme does everything the MR 48 does while being better on deeper snow (and less hair-raising coming downhill.)

I Have It On Good Authority From a Friend in the Ski Industry that this might be the MR 48’s final season.

[3pinjohnnie]

Thanks for that. I hadn't considered the Gamme because I assumed it was a burly expedition-type ski -- I have a pair of O.G. Ingstads for that -- and I'm looking for a light & lively ski for use on local ungroomed trails, linking a turn or two where possible. I currently use a pair of decades-old Atomic Mtn BC skis that still work well, and I'd hate to discover my sexy new replacements are slower.
My one comment on the Gamme, having spent many years being stared at by Helge Ingstad in his original black & white incarnation: Get a haircut!

[riel]

Thanks for that. I hadn't considered the Gamme because I assumed it was a burly expedition-type ski -- I have a pair of O.G. Ingstads for that -- and I'm looking for a light & lively ski for use on local ungroomed trails, linking a turn or two where possible. I currently use a pair of decades-old Atomic Mtn BC skis that still work well, and I'd hate to discover my sexy new replacements are slower.
My one comment on the Gamme, having spent many years being stared at by Helge Ingstad in his original black & white incarnation: Get a haircut!

I have a pair of 205cm Ingstads. I skied 12 miles on Woodserson's 210 Gammes. There is no comparison between the two.

The Gamme is much faster than the Ingstad, yet still pretty easy to turn, and also stable at speed. Presumably the Børge Ousland is similar, with maybe a little bit of the stability traded in for a ski that weighs less and goes marginally faster?

I have a pair of Gammes on order to add to my quiver this winter. If the snow is any good, I will put quite a few miles on them. I will use the Ingstad skis when I know I will need a little extra float, or sidecut, but the Gamme skis should be as good, if not better, most of the time.

[Musk Ox]

My one comment on the Gamme, having spent many years being stared at by Helge Ingstad in his original black & white incarnation: Get a haircut!

Ha ha! Yes. The advantage of the Mountain Races is that funky side-of-a-Space-Invaders graphic without a dead Norwegian mocking your fortitude and derring-do with every stride.

The Mountain Races are basically tapdancing shoes, so there is that. The Gammes I wouldn't say are 'burly', though. They're not the ultralight MR48s, true. But they're a bit more fun on the way down.

Buying skis does my head in.

I hate winter, and snow, and welcome the coming climate apocalypse.