New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

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Manney
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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Manney » Wed Oct 18, 2023 3:32 pm

Makes a great deal of sense, as one would expect from the Finns. Those models rated to 130 kg might be of interest to some of the bigger fellas on the forum who have broken skis.

@Theme: Are the skis the same length, differing only in stiffness? If so, are you aware of any indelible marks on the skis denoting stiffness? Might help to get this documented for when these skis eventually make it to the second hand market.
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mca80
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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by mca80 » Wed Oct 18, 2023 4:17 pm

@Theme, definitely looks nicer than in some othet photos. What lengths does it come in, and are there different stiffnesses for the same size?

Ha, @Manney, did you edit your post or did I just not see it so asked a similar question?



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Theme
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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Theme » Wed Oct 18, 2023 4:21 pm

There is only one length of the ski: 230cm

And it comes in those three stiffness classes

As far as I have noticed, there is only a sticker (like a pricetag) that states the stiffness @Manney @mca80



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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Manney » Wed Oct 18, 2023 4:48 pm

Awesome. Thank-you, @Theme.

We don’t get any skis like that here in the States. It’s a shame because they’d likely be phenomenal for the open spaces of the Midwest. Not a tele ski but incredibly interesting nonetheless.

Please give us a report at each step of your discovery process… finish and quality, skiability, durability.
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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Theme » Sun Nov 19, 2023 9:14 am

I had my first chance to touch the skis, after being back in Finland. Mounted with the Nato bindings. I am not a fan of the bindings, especially as they are mounted too far back for the type of ski. Build quality of the ski itself seemed alright. The scales are not as pronounced as in previous scaled skis from the same factory.

A trainee of mine already went ahead and purchased the skis, and is mounting them with NNN-BC. Her scale gave a number of 2,84 kg for the pair, so 1420g per ski. Which is way lighter than marketed! The previous information was 3200g per pair. Of course there can be some variance.

Also, the 230 cm length holds true, measured 231 cm per ski. Finally an accurate number!

Tempted to get a pair for myself too, but my ski budget was cut short as my PCT thru-hike was delayed from 5 to 8 months. Perhaps I will try them next winter properly, now borrow a pair for a short trip or two.

50-80 kg, 65-100 kg and 90-130kg are the stiffness classes



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Theme
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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Theme » Sun Nov 19, 2023 9:16 am

I had my first chance to touch the skis, after being back in Finland. Mounted with the Nato bindings. I am not a fan of the bindings, especially as they are mounted too far back for the type of ski. Build quality of the ski itself seemed alright. The scales are not as pronounced as in previous scaled skis from the same factory.

A trainee of mine already went ahead and purchased the skis, and is mounting them with NNN-BC. Her scale gave a number of 2,84 kg for the pair, so 1420g per ski. Which is way lighter than marketed! The previous information was 3200g per pair. Of course there can be some variance.

Also, the 230 cm length holds true, measured 231 cm per ski. Finally an accurate number!

Tempted to get a pair for myself too, but my ski budget was cut short as my PCT thru-hike was delayed from 5 to 8 months. Perhaps I will try them next winter properly, now borrow a pair for a short trip or two.

50-80 kg, 65-100 kg and 90-130kg are the stiffness classes, and seems the medium and soft are easiest to find.



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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Manney » Sun Nov 19, 2023 9:45 am

Nice! Thanks for posting @Theme.
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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by mca80 » Sun Nov 19, 2023 7:01 pm

@Theme were you able to physically inspect the stiffest version? Are they noticeably stiffer than any other bc xc ski around? Interesting that KSF list a top weight of 130kg for the stiffest range whereas Asnes just says 90+. 130 is quite a lot of weight so this may be the ski for people who weight 230lbs dry, of which there have been a few popping in and out here throughout the years.



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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Manney » Sun Nov 19, 2023 7:20 pm

230 lbs dry seems like a reasonable target, @mca80. It would give options to big guys wanting to pursue low impact, whole of body exercise.

Now all we need is a US distributor because individual shipping for 7’ skis would be costly.
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Theme
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Re: New skis for Finnish Defence Forces

Post by Theme » Fri Dec 08, 2023 4:06 pm

I'll try and find the different stiffness grades to compare whenever I have the chance

Meanwhile, spotted the Nato version already in use in Jaeger Brigade's 24 hour ski march competition

Image



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