Light & agile tele: SB with the new transnordic leather?

[jyw5]

Fellow teleturners,

Greetings from an OG of backcountry Norway. Virgin post here, hoping for some expert advice and discussion.

I'm currently considering a light, agile & nimble tele rig for touring. Use case is touring in mountains and alpine terrain, steep but not avalanche steep (max ~30°):

Hence, I'm considering the following rig:
- Boots: Fischer Transnordic 75 (ie. new VERY stiff leather boots)
- Bidings: Switchback
- Skis: 85-95 waist

I have a NTN rig, but the rigidity and heaviness takes away the freedom & comfort I seek when touring in the mountains - the reason I tele to begin with. Not fitting the scarpa instep doesn't help either.

Having skiied since birth I also find the NTN overkill for 90% of casual alpine touring. I know I'm throwing a torch here, but I ride frequently with newbies, so maximum turning power and speed is really not a priority. Obviously have dedicated rigs for non-alpine terrain.

What do you all think?
A major concern is compatibility with the leather shoes and SB, however stiff the boots may be.

Picture of Store Ringstind for use case example.
193525.jpeg

have you considered the voile Ultravector BC white?

https://www.voile.com/voile-ultravector ... white.html

with NNN BC + Alfa guard adv.

I believe this setup would be great on your pictured slope in all but boilerplate and variable or breakable crust....even then, full skins coming down would be fine on some crust. Especially since speed isn't a factor. In ideal conditions like spring corn or light shallow powder, these skis would be a carving machine.

[connyro]

Another vote for the 3pin hw. it's as powerful of a binding as the SB but it's more versatile. I'm one of the folks that's tried to ski leathers with SBs and was not able to find success except when using a pair of super heavy Merrell 2 buckle leather 3pin boots. You may consider the Scott Excursions to use with SBs. They tour about as comfortably as a heavy leather boot...

[montrealer]

Fellow teleturners,

Greetings from an OG of backcountry Norway. Virgin post here, hoping for some expert advice and discussion.

I'm currently considering a light, agile & nimble tele rig for touring. Use case is touring in mountains and alpine terrain, steep but not avalanche steep (max ~30°):

Hence, I'm considering the following rig:
- Boots: Fischer Transnordic 75 (ie. new VERY stiff leather boots)
- Bidings: Switchback
- Skis: 85-95 waist

I have a NTN rig, but the rigidity and heaviness takes away the freedom & comfort I seek when touring in the mountains - the reason I tele to begin with. Not fitting the scarpa instep doesn't help either.

Having skiied since birth I also find the NTN overkill for 90% of casual alpine touring. I know I'm throwing a torch here, but I ride frequently with newbies, so maximum turning power and speed is really not a priority. Obviously have dedicated rigs for non-alpine terrain.

What do you all think?
A major concern is compatibility with the leather shoes and SB, however stiff the boots may be.

Picture of Store Ringstind for use case example.
193525.jpeg

have you considered the voile Ultravector BC white?

https://www.voile.com/voile-ultravector ... white.html

with NNN BC + Alfa guard adv.

I believe this setup would be great on your pictured slope in all but boilerplate and variable or breakable crust....even then, full skins coming down would be fine on some crust. Especially since speed isn't a factor. In ideal conditions like spring corn or light shallow powder, these skis would be a carving machine.

I have (and love!) those skis, but I’m not sure about mounting NNN BC bindings on them. They are beefier than the XCBC class of ski (3.1kg per pair @ 177cm) and quite wide (96mm underfoot).

I use em with Switchback X2s but I think a lighter 75mm binding would also work well to not sacrifice the downhill experience.

[connyro]

I have (and love!) those skis, but I’m not sure about mounting NNN BC bindings on them. They are beefier than the XCBC class of ski (3.1kg per pair @ 177cm) and quite wide (96mm underfoot).

I use em with Switchback X2s but I think a lighter 75mm binding would also work well to not sacrifice the downhill experience.

I agree with this. nnnbc is not a good match for that ski. 3pins would be the absolute lightest binding I would use for that ski. Ideally I would use SBs or 3pinhw.

[fisheater]

I have (and love!) those skis, but I’m not sure about mounting NNN BC bindings on them. They are beefier than the XCBC class of ski (3.1kg per pair @ 177cm) and quite wide (96mm underfoot).

I use em with Switchback X2s but I think a lighter 75mm binding would also work well to not sacrifice the downhill experience.

I agree with this. nnnbc is not a good match for that ski. 3pins would be the absolute lightest binding I would use for that ski. Ideally I would use SBs or 3pinhw.

I agree with both statements. I don’t think leather (Transnordic) is a good match, but if you had both leather and plastic you have options. If I didn’t mention the Rotte ST/Cable is a hardwire binding. I have not tried the cables as of yet.

[Nick BC]

I’ve found that the Alaska 75 and Rottefella ST cable pair well for telemark turns. The rods stiffen up what is a fairly soft boot.

[Stephen]

Tossing out the idea of Voile Objective (or FT62 Xplore) + Xplore binding + ALFA Free for debate…

Keep in mind the poster said:
“I ski to experience the approach & uphill only to endure the downhill.”

[lowangle al]

Tossing out the idea of Voile Objective (or FT62 Xplore) + Xplore binding + ALFA Free for debate…

Keep in mind the poster said:
“I ski to experience the approach & uphill only to endure the downhill.”

I used to enjoy the uphill more than the downhill too at one time. The reason was that I didn't crash on the uphill. The UV will be more capable than the objective on the downhills. NNN bc isn't enough for this ski in the majority of conditions.

[TheMusher]

A lot of valuable insight here - appreciate it!
Even more data point to confirm that SB and leather is a tough match.

Based on your input I've boiled down a few preliminary alternatives:

Alternative 1:
- Boots: Transnordic 75
- Bindings: 3pinHW or Rotte Super tele
- Ski: TBD - Anything from probably Aasnes Nosi to Voile Ultravector

Pros: More versatile for non-alpine terrain, better for approaches?

Alternative 2:
- Boots: Lundhags Guide Expedition 75
- Bindings: SB / X2
- Ski: Voile UV or similar (96 waist)

Pros: Free pivot for trail breaking, better future match with T4s of the world?

The Lundhags Guide Expedition is an interesting cookie. I'm a sucker for Lundhags boots and find them to be the best mountain boots in the summer by a landslide - far above other Nordic favorites such as Alfa and Crispi (which are also great). Never tried their skiing boots, but I was surprised to see that Lundhags has explicitiy stated that the Guide boots are best used with Switchback or Rotte Super, and not(!) advised for 3-pin due to breakage.

Anyone with experience with these? I know they may be tough to find in the US. Wonder how they compare to e.g. Transnordic and Alaska, in terms of ancle support and stiffness.

Also intrigued to see some of you are exploring such alpine terrain with NNN-BC. I have more than five Aasnes skiis that I pair with Crispi Stetind for polar style touring (an absolutely long-haul comfort machine), or simple 3-pin with Crispi Bre (torture machine). At a closer look, both the Alfa Guard and obviously the new explore system would provide much more stability than these. Xplore is definitely one to watch for the future.

Pic of the Lundhags Guide Expedition (heavy duty leather)

[TheMusher]

Tossing out the idea of Voile Objective (or FT62 Xplore) + Xplore binding + ALFA Free for debate…

This is such an interesting development.

While I'd like to see more user reports in steeper terrain (and even stiffer boots?) before I pull the trigger on these, I can definitely see a large user base for this. They still look somewhat soft for a dedicated alpine touring rig, but a great well-rounded mountain BC alternative.

Do we believe that these will ski as well as NNN-BC cross country as well, while outperforming downhill?

@TheMusher I will say that the Super Telemark fits the thermomolded Vibram sole of the Alaska better, really noticeably better. The Transnordic also has a Vibram thermomolded sole, is it thicker? I don’t know, I don’t think so, but I don’t know.
I am impressed by the Super Telemark, so I’m a new convert, and you know what they say about new converts!

Appreciate this info! The Transnordic seems to have a different heel wedge than the Alaska, so hopefully its compatible with 3pHW. If not, the Super Tele sounds like a safe fall-back.