Xplore bindings on larger skis

[InTeleVeritas]

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine wanted to get himself the Xplore + Voile Objective BC kit. He’s 6ft tall for about 200lbs.

Since the longest Objectives at 178cm are a bit short for the float he’d like (we can get a lot of snow up here around les monts valin) he was looking at mounting them on the Ultravector, the V6 or the Kom 174

Has anyone seen these bindings mounted on skis this large? I haven’t found any information so far on the internet and the guys at my local ski shop didn’t know if it had been tried yet.

With one of the stiffer boots like the Alfa or the new Fischer and the stiffer XP flex, it could work in ideal snow conditions I suppose but I’m worried about control when they aren’t so ideal (heavier snow, crust et al)

The kit wouldn’t be for resort skiing nor anything really steep in the backcountry.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/views/ideas

[lowangle al]

to compare, my T4/ultra vector is not enough boot for firm resort conditions.

[InTeleVeritas]

Hi Al,

I see what you mean.

I have a similar setup ( G3 Findr 94 xcd with Excursion boots)

I do resort skiing on it from time to time but I stick to the intermediate slopes.

[Rodbelan]

I haven't tried it but I wouldn't go that way. Simple logic case. Big ski, big guy and a binding that's made for relatively light touring. I Agree with what Al is saying...

Puisque tu es du Saguenay, et en voyant ta photo, j'ai eu l'impression que tu faisais parti d'un groupe de skieurs auquel un de mes potes fait également parti: Joël, technicien audio à l'UQAC... Je me trompe? Je travaille là moi aussi...

[InTeleVeritas]

Yeah, I tend to agree as well… perhaps a longer s-bound 112 would be a better avenue to explore in this case… like a 189cm maybe? Not sure how that would turn tho.

Je connais pas vot'e gang mais si vous skié le Mont des Allemands (la ou la photo a ete prise) ou bien le couloir de l’est au mont valin p-e on s’est croisé deja…

Mais je demeure an Alma et je ski surtout le mont apica dans le tit parc.

Au plaisir de se rencontrer cet hivers p-e…

[Tom M]

I've been thinking about this post for a few days. I'm on my second season skiing the Objectives @178 with the Xplore binding. It is a great combo paired with the Alfa Frees and the stiff flexor. By great, I mean as a downhill ski in soft snow. I'll leave it at home if the tour is mostly kick and glide as it doesn't track worth beans on the flats. The objective is an alpine downhill ski not an XC ski. I'm not as heavy as your friend and I'm skiing the longest length. Today I was skiing very deep soft snow and I was testing the downhill control with the softer Alfa Vista boots and the standard flexor. It was fine and felt very much like when I skied the Objectives with my soft 3 pin boots. I do own and ski the Voile Hyper V6 as a plastic boot downhill setup, so I was trying to extrapolate if the Xplore system would work with the Hyper V6 at 188 cm. Keep in mind I haven't skied this combo. Most people would probably say it would be foolish to mount the Xplore binding on the Hyper V6. But I have to say, if I needed the float of a v6 and was willing to limit the setup to soft and deep snow (non-resort) downhill skiing, I think it would be fine. It might even be a blast. Just my two cents. The neat thing about this setup would be that it would be easy to add a second set of long and narrower XC skis to the quiver, and use the same boots for when the extra float is not needed, or the tour is more of a kick and glide tour as opposed to a tour for turns. The big advantage of the Xplore system is that it is light and agile. That appeals to me and I know I could make it work. It wouldn't be a one ski quiver, but a special purpose setup. This photo is from just a couple of hours ago, skiing the Objectives/Xplore/Vista/Standard Flexor. I know that the Hyper V6/ Xplore / Free / Hard Flexor would have worked just fine in these conditions.

[lowangle al]

to compare, my T4/ultra vector is not enough boot for firm resort conditions.

I was out today on heavy but wornout Merril Ultras on my old vetor bcs with a cable binding. Skied in about 4 inches of powder and they actually skied great, so it depends on the snow.

The advantage of a 75mm binding is being able to go leather or plastic, if your friend didn't make a purchase yet.

[Stephen]

... This photo is from just a couple of hours ago, skiing the Objectives...

@Tom M, your killing me, man!

[Tom M]

... This photo is from just a couple of hours ago, skiing the Objectives...

@Tom M, your killing me, man!

@Stephen, just to rub it in a bit more. Flat light, but Julie really enjoyed the flocking on the trees. Dang, this thread now has put a vision of Hyper V6's and Xplores in my head. Hopefully it will go away.

[wabene]

It's raining here, Tom