Sbounds...leathers

[JB TELE]

I tried out my new s-bound 98s with merrel ultras and voile traverse bindings at the resort today on nice packed powder and a bit of fresh powder. They turn great, they seem optimized for turns in stiff leathers, yes they are more downhill than XC but they are much better than flat cambered skis for low angle touring. Considering I live in the San Juan mountains of Southwest Colorado, turning is a bit more of a priority.

[greatgt]

Same here. Hardwood forest skiing is full of.....er.....trees.....Hardwood trees....Several decades back we had the incredible luck to ski in an "Old Growth" forest. Magical!!!!!!!! TM

[connyro]

Same here. Hardwood forest skiing is full of.....er.....trees.....Hardwood trees....Several decades back we had the incredible luck to ski in an "Old Growth" forest. Magical!!!!!!!! TM

I've also had the "pleaure" of skiing old growth hardwoods and I have to say it was not what I expected. While there's not much in the way of whips or brush, the monster blowdowns choke the forest floor out, rendering the skiing experience little more than finding ways around one enormous dead fallen tree after another. ymmv.

[lowangle al]

I tried out my new s-bound 98s with merrel ultras and voile traverse bindings at the resort today on nice packed powder and a bit of fresh powder. They turn great, they seem optimized for turns in stiff leathers, yes they are more downhill than XC but they are much better than flat cambered skis for low angle touring. Considering I live in the San Juan mountains of Southwest Colorado, turning is a bit more of a priority.

I thought the 98s were a flat, or single camber ski. I'm glad they worked for you. The good thing is that as conditions deteriorate you could switch to a plastic boot to compensate.

[JB TELE]

I tried out my new s-bound 98s with merrel ultras and voile traverse bindings at the resort today on nice packed powder and a bit of fresh powder. They turn great, they seem optimized for turns in stiff leathers, yes they are more downhill than XC but they are much better than flat cambered skis for low angle touring. Considering I live in the San Juan mountains of Southwest Colorado, turning is a bit more of a priority.

I thought the 98s were a flat, or single camber ski. I'm glad they worked for you. The good thing is that as conditions deteriorate you could switch to a plastic boot to compensate.

I think they are a single cambered ski. When I'm equally weighting both skis on the downhill, the camber seems like its flat on the snow. But the camber is much stiffer and more pronounced than a typical downhill or backcountry downhill ski. In one of Tom M's video, he measured camber and found that his s-bound 98 took 13 pounds of force to compress while his voile objective bc took 3 pounds. I own the wider voile hypervector bc and the difference is very noticeable. The stiffer and higher camber gives it great glide when touring but it doesn't have so much camber that it's difficult to turn. Seems like the best compromise for my use.

[lowangle al]

That sounds really good because I like the glide of my Vectors(for a scaled ski) Are they as quiet as the Vectors?

[JB TELE]

That sounds really good because I like the glide of my Vectors(for a scaled ski) Are they as quiet as the Vectors?

It was a loud, windy day so I'm not sure.
If you want something a little more XC oriented than your vectors without going full double camber, then I bet you would like them.

[greatgt]

Beautiful in the Hardwoods. Bout the width of a leaf for snow making paths of white and brown with dark trees. Quiet and nothing was stirring up on Teleknob. All tracks mostly gone but openings were standing out and noted. If the thin layer is there could be skied, but, World Cup is up. Decent teams left. Different styles and a fun watch. TM

[greatgt]

Total blue sky with a temp of 8 degrees. 12 feet up to ground level a see through wall of silver ice being formed. last of moisture in the air being reduced by the cold. Seen that up in the Highlands where at eye level it was snowing with no clouds. Up above clear as clear and cold as it could get Anybody know what that's called? TM

[lowangle al]

Hoar frost?