Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try anything Xplore; it's still pretty scarce here as yet. What I'm wondering is how wide and stiff a ski I can get away with before edge hold on firmer stuff is a problem. My suspicion is that while S-Bound 98s might be okay in powder - which we never have here - on crust or ice they'd probably be a recipe for sore feet and a lack of control.
In another thread the Åsnes Ingstad skis were said to be good in soft snow, but not so much in firmer conditions. I suspect anything much wider would be a problem a lot of the time here with non-plastic boots, but I'm guessing. FWIW temps here are usually near freezing, rarely much below, so we tend to get wet snow and it metamorphoses quickly into crust, ice or corn most of the time. So, edge bold is important, but float in (nonexistent) dry snow is not.
Anyone have theories on what skis might work or not given the snow conditions and Xplore boots and bindings? I'd prefer wider, more sidecut and turnier as long as edging is still possible; it wasn't with Atomic Rainiers and midweight Salomon XA boots when things got icy, instead the boot soles just twisted until the skis were flat on the snow.
Thanks for any suggestions.
