Xplore & the advantages of stiff stole for XC

[Stephen]

Apparently, don’t drop a knee TOO far — no tellin’ where that thing’s gonna end up!

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[CwmRaider]

Apparently, don’t drop a knee TOO far — no tellin’ where that thing’s gonna end up!

.
5F8331E5-998A-46B1-87E8-F58FABDF961F.jpeg

Another situation where steel edges could be inconvenient

[Jurassien]

Anything that you can do easily will never make you a better man.

Should I stop taking the Viagra then?

[Rodbelan]

Anything that you can do easily will never make you a better man.

Should I stop taking the Viagra then?

No,no... just wait for the après-ski .

[lilcliffy]

Had my first big tur on Xplore yesterday-
several hours of backcountry trail and glade skiing in Upper Nashwaak hills.
18kms total distance- all breaking trail in deep snow
many laps in hardwood glades-
total ascent 1435m
total descent 1440m

Fischer E109 Tour- grip-waxed base
Xplore Binding with standard and hard flexor- also tested free-pivot plate
Alaska XP boot

My Alaska XP is completely broken in-
For me it has the perfect balance in terms of stabilty, resistance and striding flex- I LOVE this boot.
From my perspective- this boot is perfectly balanced for backcountry Nordic touring in hilly terrain.

As a note to some of the comments on the "hard" flexor-
I personally love the hard flexor. For me it is the perfect balance of resistance-flex- offering adequate resistance to improve stability downhill (vs the softer standard flexor), yet enough flex for effective XC stiding.
I ended up leaving the hard flexor in for almost the entire tur- switching to the free-privot for one very steep extended climb with skins (this was the only section that I needed skins).
Yes- the flexor could offer a lot more resistance if it were to approach the resistance offered by many "cable" bindings- but, for me the "hard" flexor is just right for the BC Nordic touring I do in hilly terrain.

For me Xplore offers better performance over NNNBC/NN-3pin in all modes of yesterday's tur (a typical local tour for me):
XC→ better stabiltity in a fully-extended stride due to the boot-binding interface
Climbing→ the free-pivot plate + heel riser- WOW!
Downhill→ better stability; better edge control

Very impressed.
YMMV

[fisheater]

Gareth some very eye opening statements! I am glad you’re happy, and your impressions carry weight.
My only negative comment is you are giving my a little snow envy!
I look forward to your evolving thought on this system.

[Stephen]

Had my first big tur on Xplore yesterday-
...

No Full-Johnny, in any sense of this emerging slang?
No free-pivot downhill?

All this talk of the Alaska Xplore has me a bit disappointed, in that my foot is just too wide for comfort in the Alaska.
But, will be trying out the Free soon.

Interesting that you prefer the Hard flexor when most seem happy with the Normal most of the time.
I wonder if it has anything to do with your style of skiing -- maybe more energetic?

[TheMusher]

Apparently, don’t drop a knee TOO far — no tellin’ where that thing’s gonna end up!

.
5F8331E5-998A-46B1-87E8-F58FABDF961F.jpeg

Another situation where steel edges could be inconvenient

So that’s what they mean when they say you shouldn’t ski steel edges with your furry friend out..

[TheMusher]

For me Xplore offers better performance over NNNBC/NN-3pin in all modes of yesterday's tur (a typical local tour for me):
XC→ better stabiltity in a fully-extended stride due to the boot-binding interface
Climbing→ the free-pivot plate + heel riser- WOW!
Downhill→ better stability; better edge control

Thanks for the report Gareth! This is pretty significant..!

[telerat]

Had my first big tur on Xplore yesterday-
...

...
All this talk of the Alaska Xplore has me a bit disappointed, in that my foot is just too wide for comfort in the Alaska. But, will be trying out the Free soon.

Interesting that you prefer the Hard flexor when most seem happy with the Normal most of the time.
I wonder if it has anything to do with your style of skiing -- maybe more energetic?

If you want the Alaska, I would suggest looking at the Alfa Vista or Skaget instead of the Free. A test in utemagasinet.no describes the Skaget as more supportive than the Vista, but actually also warmer which surprised me. It will of course depend on how thick/many socks you wear. I have the Skaget and am very happy with it, but would probably choose the Vista if I was looking for a boot for flatter terrain and longer tours, especially multiple days. The Vista also has Gore Tex membrane for better water proofing if you want that.

I think the normal flexor is good for light skis and flat terrain, as well as nordic/touring skates, but I think it is too soft for all-round skiing in hilly terrain. My hard flexor is unsuitable for anything else than downhill and very short and flat transport stretches.

It seems that there are at least two versions of the hard flexor out. I know the original review on utemagasinet.no had a softer version that they preferred for all skiing, but I think that one was white.

No, there is only one offical, commercial version of the hard flexor available on the market. The one you are talking about was the testing prototype sent years ago to Alfa and Asnes, and they were never available for sale. I have the one available on the shelves... And it's not even half as stiff as the hard NNN-BC ones...

That is strange as the hard flex I bought last year wouldn't differ much if it was made out of metal. It's hard plastic which barely deforms and it is the sole of the boot that flexes; see my earlier picture. It looks very much like in Tom M's videos. I feel that it is almost perfect for pure descents, except for the little play due to a small gap before it engages. The play also makes it feel soft when you first lift the heel, but it soon engages and adds significant resistance to heel lift. I will check out if the current hard flexor is softer than the one I have, as that sounds perfect for all-round skiing and is what I wanted for my all-round off-track skiing after trying both the normal and hard flexor.