I want to buy ONE ski system only. please advise ?

[comradeporcupine]

Oh, ouch, 150 EUR for shipping. Not the same delightful experience as Telemark Pyrenees at all.

I'll wait for Veruste to get stock.

[エイダン.シダル]

Oh, ouch, 150 EUR for shipping. Not the same delightful experience as Telemark Pyrenees at all.

I'll wait for Veruste to get stock.

Who's charging that? I'm looking to import (to Canada) MTN Races as a 'one [ski] to bind them all', for my wife. Probably the skins, though it pains me, as someone who's waxed his own Nordic and Alpine for four decades. She'll care more about grip than speed.

[comradeporcupine]

Who's charging that?

Sport Albert for skis + bindings + skins + some wax.

To be fair I'm not sure what shipping would be for full-size skis from Telemark Pyrenees. But poles were $30.

Veruste advertises free shipping (!)

[エイダン.シダル]

Cheers.

[lilcliffy]

Veruste advertises free shipping (!)

Have you gotten to checkout with skis to confirm shipping to Canada/North America?

I have yet to see free shipping from Varuste to CAN...

If you DO get free shipping- PLEASE let us know!!!!!!!!!!!!

[comradeporcupine]

Veruste advertises free shipping (!)

Have you gotten to checkout with skis to confirm shipping to Canada/North America?

I have yet to see free shipping from Varuste to CAN...

If you DO get free shipping- PLEASE let us know!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have not, and I ended up deciding to get Fischer Sbound 98s from Telemark Pyrnees instead. I'll do the Asnes thing another year if I end up more serious about XCD

[AbnerLico]

I have also just come across the OAC skinbased system (https://www.skinbased.com/) and it seem really good. I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on these if you skied on them or know more information.

I just want to add, that traditional OAC are not for downhill, at all. Only in deep powder will you not have a very hard time. They have no metal edges and are not really skis. The universal bindings usually used with these (they are a succesful rental piece for daytours in forested/hilly areas) offer little support. For distance in deep snow, forest skis are better, but of course harder to control, not very agile and require a whole lot more skill in route selection. Hard to transport.

These are kind of a trend as a replacement of regular snowshoes, since they offer a bit better flotation, good traction, easy to transport, and are not as heavy powering through deep snow/flats as snowshoes. And you can use your everyday winter shoes. But yes, they better compare to snowshoes than skis. On hard snow these are awful as they escape to the sides, and with a wide underfoot, non-metal edge, you can not steer them down on hardpack, at all. People take them off and walk sometimes if they need to follow a snowmobile track for example

This is not to say, that they would not be fun for a day tour in powder snow, variable terrain on macro scale - not on big hills

EDIT: Okay, hold up, they have a new model with edges, sidecut - my bad. All models have received metal edges. Could be interesting, but definitely with NNN-BC or Xplore bindings (OR 75mm, leathers or plastics however you wish - I have managed to avoid these, so I am purely coming from a BCX background) which kinda defeats the universal nature of the system. Is that bad, I don't know. I did get the Falketind 62X for an all around pair of BCX skis, but also mainly to learn telemark better. It is reassuring to hear comments on their abilities in this discussion. But for a wider range of more downhill /deep snow kinda uses, wider may be better. I am not familiar with snow conditions in your location.

No idea how good the new OAC are, maybe I'll have to rent a pair this winter to try them out. The skin may slow you down too much on the downhill, as these are really meant to be a non-ski, easy to get into -kind of tool. Which means you do not want to go fast on the downhills, hence so much skin on the base to accommodate easier climbing and safer descents. Also BCD/XCD is not really a widespread thing in Finland, so there was not really any supply or demand for wider telemark skis, that do the same job, a better job perhaps, as these skinbased ones. By the way, they call these "liukulumikengät", translated to gliding snowshoes. Yup. We are a traumatized people that sufferend through every PE class we had track skiing, with crappy worn down skis grown moldy in school warehouses, or 3 times passed down kids' skis. Do not even mention the boots. The many norms in bindings, cold, cold and ill-fitting old boots. Why is that? It is (or was) mandatory in sports classes to ski. Hella expensive to upgrade with the length of ski/poles/boot size each year. Best part is, nobody taught anyone how to wax their skis. Yup. Think about that. So, they needed OAC to not be called skis, be waxfree and they would sell went well along with the skinbase hype in track skis too

The new model seems to have a stiffer camber which may help on the flats, but not certain is it even a single camber model. I think the village I am going to spend my season in, will have them available, need to go take a look. Anyways, I would stick to a real ski and detachable skins for wider range of uses. Maybe the OAC line of development is a sneaky way to gradually re-introduce people to telemark - next, detachable skins, and not long until they suggest using a real binding and boots for more fun!

Many sorries for the many edits. Last two years have been me learning to do stuff again after a few injuries to the head.

Wow... I am so impressed with the responses. It's my first time delving into the world of forums and you all have been very generous with your responses. I am going to have to take some time to digest all this information. I currently have a pair of Rossignol BC70 with NNN bindings so I am definably going to go on the wider side and either with what has been recommended in the 3-pin system OR take a chance on the Xplore. That's my big dilemma. It looks like the Rossy 3-pin has an edge over the Voile)

I think I will go with the Alpina Alaska regardless as this boot get only positive reviews. In terms of the ski it's looks like the Fischer 98, the Åsnes or the Madshus (I like the price)(I'll still have to figure this one out). And the OAC's are no longer a consideration thanks to the responses.

Also I have been convinced to either shop domestically (La Cordee) has a great selection or look to the EU as the imports are not an issue.
Thanks everyone!!!!

[CwmRaider]

Wow... I am so impressed with the responses. It's my first time delving into the world of forums and you all have been very generous with your responses. I am going to have to take some time to digest all this information. I currently have a pair of Rossignol BC70 with NNN bindings so I am definably going to go on the wider side and either with what has been recommended in the 3-pin system OR take a chance on the Xplore. That's my big dilemma. It looks like the Rossy 3-pin has an edge over the Voile)

I think I will go with the Alpina Alaska regardless as this boot get only positive reviews. In terms of the ski it's looks like the Fischer 98, the Åsnes or the Madshus (I like the price)(I'll still have to figure this one out). And the OAC's are no longer a consideration thanks to the responses.

Also I have been convinced to either shop domestically (La Cordee) has a great selection or look to the EU as the imports are not an issue.
Thanks everyone!!!!

Several facts here:
Rottefella 3 pin bindings:
- clamp much better/more securely on all boots except for full plastic telemark boots.
- The bail is less stiff and easier to operate.
- The binding is powdercoated black.
- The cable (recommended option if you go with this binding) is a hardwire with spring cartridge option.
- without the "cable", a bit lighter than Voile without cable.
- With the cable, a bit heavier than Voile with the cable (but more rigid --> better control).
- the cable is a bit trickier to add and remove than the Voile, but with practice it takes 30 seconds per ski. You need to take the ski off.

On the other hand, the Voile 3 pin:
- clamps better on thicker, hard plastic duckbills
- stiff bail, even with some oil
- Anodized aluminium, somewhat thicker than the Rottefella (and stronger?)
- The cable is a spring, a bit lighter than the hardwire + spring cartridge from Rottefella
- The cable can theoretically be added and removed without removing the boot from the binding (though this may be a bit awkward
- perhaps better suited to plastic telemark boots

Summary - I much prefer the Rottefella with cable for anything but plastic telemark boots.

That said - you mention the Alpina Alaska: IF you go with the 75mm / 3 pin option, the Alpina Alaska has a history of the sole separating from the boot. If this happens it is either ducktape and very careful skiing back to the start, or game over. The NNN-BC or Xplore versions have no such issues.

[fisheater]

The question has been raised if the Alpina Alaska 75 mm duckbill failures are more related to the Alaska being a poor match to the Voile 3-pin binding.
I searched and found some Bluebird Day 3-pin plates, as the fit didn’t seem secure to me when I skied the Alaska with the Voile binding. The connection seems much better to me with the Rotte ST. I didn’t raise this question, it was raised by a long term forum contributor. It was his question that prompted me to try the Rotte ST.
While I feel confident in my Alaska 75, Rotte ST combination, it shouldn’t be taken for meaning anything more than the combination has been working for me.

[AbnerLico]

@AbnerLico :
I agree with what @fisheater says here regarding 75mm bindings- I prefer the Rottefella Super Telemark with cable (actually a hardwire) over Voile 3 pin cable for combined use XC + telemark, as the Rottefella clamp better on touring boots.

when you reply with quotes, please put your own part of the reply outside of the "quote" section. No biggie, but now it looks like we said, what you wrote in your reply.

Voile skis are not sold in Norway so I have never even seen one. The Fischer SBound 98 is appealing too, but it is only available in waxless version, whether that matters to you. Fischer and Åsnes skis mentioned here both have a short skin system, to complement the waxless pattern or the grip wax, respectively.

After a careful analysis of all the great advice my decision has been narrowed down to the following
In summary I am still needing to decide between the Xplore system or 3-pin but the 3-pin, 75mm is slightly more favored.

My investigation has brought me to the following choices:

Skis
Fischer sbound 98 Vs the sbound 112
(the 112 may be too much for the east coast but I don't want to regret not having the wider ski)

Bindings
Rottefella Xplore, or 3 pin (Voile 3 pin vs the Rossignol - I hear the Rossignol are better)

Boots
Fischer transnordic (75mm) or if I go to the Xplore system a comparable Alfa boot (the Guard or the Skaget?)

This is my criteria
-I live in Toronto, Ontario (eastern Canada); although 80% of my skiing will be on flat and hilly terrain I want to upgrade to more hills and Eastern mountains in Quebec, Vermont and New York (Appalachian/Adirondack).
-Even when I ski in Ontario I look for hills to go up and down
-I am willing to sacrifice ease on the flats for better control on the hills with better ability to make tele turns.
And lastly I already own a pair of Rossignol BC70 with a Rossy BCX10 boot (which is perfect for the terrain where I live but I want more mountains.