Gamme/Amundsen....again....sorry

[Podborski]

Hi all,
New to the forum, just wanted to flog this dog again. Lots of mountains where I'm at, already have BC110 and 125's and V8's. Want a ski for frozen river's and lakes, and logging roads with minimal relief, sometimes pulking.
I'm 70kg (170lbs) barely clothed and 182cm, thinking gamme/amunds.
I've read talk that for lighter skiers like my self, gamme might be a challenge to gain traction when I'm out for the day with a light pack.

Q1 Is amundsen similar in this respect?
Q2 Some say nansen may be better for lighter skiiers (though I'm not really interested in a turny ski, already have those, interested in a long distance tracking, trailbreaking, and consolidated snow ski, mostly on the flats)
Q3 45mm mohair x skins, could I run these skis all day with this on rather than waxing?
Q4 Any suggestions on recommended lengths given my situation?

Thanks for your help,
Pod.

[riel]

Hi all,
New to the forum, just wanted to flog this dog again. Lots of mountains where I'm at, already have BC110 and 125's and V8's. Want a ski for frozen river's and lakes, and logging roads with minimal relief, sometimes pulking.
I'm 70kg (170lbs) barely clothed and 182cm, thinking gamme/amunds.
I've read talk that for lighter skiers like my self, gamme might be a challenge to gain traction when I'm out for the day with a light pack.

Q1 Is amundsen similar in this respect?
Q2 Some say nansen may be better for lighter skiiers (though I'm not really interested in a turny ski, already have those, interested in a long distance tracking, trailbreaking, and consolidated snow ski, mostly on the flats)

If you get the Gamme, Amundsen, or Børge Ousland that is right for your weight (see the charts on the Asnes web site), you will be fine.

The expedition class skis are definitely faster than Nansen.

Q3 45mm mohair x skins, could I run these skis all day with this on rather than waxing?

On flat terrain with minimal relief, 30mm mohair x-skins might work fine too, and give you even better gilde than the 45mm mohair x-skins. I have used 45mm mohair x-skins with my Ingstad skis, and they glide alright. I have not used them with my Gamme skis yet. Wax alone has been enough to get me up anything I've wanted to ski down with my Gammes.

Q4 Any suggestions on recommended lengths given my situation?

The Asnes website suggests, for 75kg:

Amundsen: 194cm
Børge Ousland: 190cm
Gamme: 190cm

If you plan to always use skins, and have either a backpack or pulk with you anyway, one length longer will be fine too. With skins on, you do not need to fully compress the wax pocket to get contact with the snow.

On even moderate downhills, the Børge Ousland and Gamme will both turn much better than the Amundsen.

[wabene]

The Gamme I have is the older generation "green man" version at 200cm. At 5' 9" (175cm) and 182 pounds (82.5kg) if anything I sometimes long to try out the 210cm version. My stiffer double camber more track oriented skis are 205cm and it is harder to get kick than the Gamme, especially off track. The Gamme is double camber but has a softer first camber. It is a really sweet set up for backcountry travel. I do love this ski it's, probably my favorite. Fast, but stable and easy to ski. I always feel confident on this ski.
Edit to add: The way I used the Gamme was as my go anywhere ski for covering distance especially. When scouting out unknown trails, I knew with this ski that no matter the terrain encountered I really couldn't go wrong with the Gamme. If I did find some precious big vertical, I may return with a more turn oriented ski. When the weather warmed past blue extra temps, I used the 30mm mohair X-Skin for very fun spring outings. Just grab and go. Besides my Madshus Fjeltech M50 with the integrated kicker skin (which is fast and amazing), this is the only non-integrated (non-recessed or add on) kicker skin set up I have skied that was fast and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Theme]

As the Ouslands have been mentioned, and we have the exact same measurements I thought to jump in. I would choose the 200cm Ouslands for these measurements if skins were used all the time. Could consider 210 if also a 10-20kg backpack on. But 190 is fine with just wax and no equipment. If you have 30% of the time or more climbing/challenging snow, you most likely do want to slap the skins on and let them stay on. Also if skiing with a backpack or pulk.

The Ousland skis a little short imho, because of the nordic rocker. That makes it quite turny, and also easy to ride on sastrugi, though the Otto may be even better for that? In my experience Ousland has been very fun in moderately deep pow going down, quite ok on windpacked snow, ok on snowmobile tracks and does not lose grip. They do kinda wander to the sides on hard snow because of the NR and placement of the skinlock plastic front plate. More of an agile ski compared to Amundsen, which just wants to go straight.

Ouslands break trail very nicely, I have had to go though knee deep heavy and fluffy snow fields and they just want to stay on top. Easier to get grip on Ousland. I do not have experience of the Gamme, sadly. I expect Gammes may be faster. Amundsens probably are faster/more efficient too, regardless of the weight difference. I'm going MR48S just to try something new/even lighter than Ousland, which does not fit the tracks regardless of what Åsnes says. Sized up as these are not as stiff, regardless of higher camber. Can't speak for them yet, though. Downhill on very long distances is never a priority anyways, usually there is no need to carve in any turns. But if there is more off-track skiing, a Nansen would also interest me.

[lilcliffy]

Hello and Welcome Pod!
(no need to apologize- worst outcome is someone complaining that this thread is not about "Telemark" skiing..)

I have:
- 210 Gamme 54 BC (1st gen)
- 210 Gamme 54 BC (2nd- current gen)
- 208 Amundsen BC (current gen)
- 201 Amundsen BC (current gen)

I weigh 82kg and I am 178cm tall.

The Amundsen is a better XC ski than the Gamme 54-
the Amundsen-
- has a longer glide zone
- has even more support/stabilty in deep snow
- is better in breakable crust

The Gamme is better in steep terrain-
the Gamme-
- has a shorter effective edge (tip rocker) easier turn initiation
- planes more effectively at downhill speeds (tip rocker)

That being said-
the Gamme-
- is still a stiff supportive and efficient XC ski in all conditions
- has about as much tip rocker as one can get away with in breakable crust
- is stiff, cambered and has little sidecut- you still need a LOT of room/space to carve open linked turns with the Gamme

The downhill advantages of the Gamme 54 can really only be realized-
a) in completely open mountainous terran (i.e. above treeline)
b) in a very short length*

*if one reaches for a short Gamme for downhill turns- there are better skis for this- including the Nansen (and many others skis)

Neither of these skis have the camber profile of a double-cambered Classic track ski-

These skis are stiff and cambered over their length-
they are not highly cambered-
I do not have any issue with compressing their camber and associated grip-
they are both near impossible to bend in a carved downhill turn- they are both too stiff for this.

I would not want either of these skis in shorter lengths. You are lighter than me.

Both of these skis shine in long lengths- I use different skis for more downhill objectives.
Gareth

[lilcliffy]

The Amundsen and the Gamme 54 have more in common than they don't.

You don't know until you know- but I would not have known how much I would appreciate the old-school Amundsen unless I owned both.

[lilcliffy]

I'm going MR48S just to try something new/even lighter than Ousland, which does not fit the tracks regardless of what Åsnes says.

Ousland BC- "which does not fit the tracks"- this is useful information.
Thank you!

[lilcliffy]

Another note-

"The Gamme is better in steep terrain"

The Amundsen is just as stable and as light as the Gamme.

If one is making step/striding jump turns- there is no difference between either of these skis when you point them downhill.

[JohnSKepler]

So is Asnes shipping the current year skis yet? Most places still seem to have the 21-22 skis.

[Woodserson]

Q2 Some say nansen may be better for lighter skiiers (though I'm not really interested in a turny ski, already have those, interested in a long distance tracking, trailbreaking, and consolidated snow ski, mostly on the flats)

The Nansen is not a turny ski in the sense that it wanders while gliding on the flats, it tracks straight. The softer camber helps it turn easier than Gamme or Amundsen. But out of the three, Gamme and Amundsen will be better on consolidated flat terrain. Trail breaking though-- Nansen doesn't have any rocker, it's all camber, which means it breaks trail a bit better than the Gamme since the tip resists riding up and over crust.

You're going to have to consider how much of what you are doing, and then choose accordingly. If the terrain is mostly flat with consolidated snow, then the Gamme-Amundsen is your ticket and the difference really is rocker or no rocker.

I'm on the 200 at 188cm/72kg without clothes and gear and I would not go shorter. I have issues with the 210 climbing hills at this weight however.