VT woods setup?

[wrsamuels]

I am assuming the leathers will be too soft and sloppy...they are old Asolo's that my dad has been to shit, so likely as soft as they come. But I imagine this as being some of the fun factor...

I actually have telemarked in the past, so can make tele turns, but it's been years and I was only starting to flirt with being a novice. I do have a pair of k2 workstinx with hammerheads, but i sold my scarpas years back.

Noted on the t4's - you might be right...

Entering analysis paralysis!

Also - it seems crazy hard to find any of these skis anywhere?!?

Who out there is skiing tight trees with fischer 88s or even 98s, nansens, ingstads or ft 62s? I know Gt does, but only where there is an opening in the tight trees.

Right! This gets to my hesitation about some of these longer ski's. @Woodserson The skis you just mentioned, do you feel they fit this:

Down priorities: variable snow performance, easy to turn. They can even ski slow as that can be helpful in the tight stuff.

Up priorities: Remember I am more used to stomping around in the woods with my AT gear, so I am used to very limited K&G, so anything better is going to be perceived as an upgrade. I don't care much about speed. I would like to be somewhat efficient, but don't really care much about that, either. No wax, ideally. I am used to skin transitions.

Sounds like I am pushing myself towards Kom's or voile's! Convince me otherwise! Also, can leather boots drive Kom's?? I know they can't drive voile's. I am going to start with the old leathers.

@Woodserson you know this terrain, so I assume the skis you just mentioned fit the terrain and what I mention above? What about sizing?

If your leather boots are on the heavy duty side they will work good in soft snow but can be frustrating on a hard surface. The skis won't react as fast with leather boots as they do with plastic boots but it can be a fun setup. I think you will end up with a plastic boot eventually. The lighter the better, I ski a T4.

As far as ski length, I would go with the shortest ski that fits your weight range.
I assume you want to learn tele turns. If so the wider skis will be easier because of the stability. The wider skis will also be easier to do P turns on right off the bat, and will have a much shorter learning curve.

[lowangle al]

People like the Koms and they are a lot cheaper than the Voiles. You won't feel as bad when you hit some rocks. Voile does have the V6 though which would probably be the best tree ski.

[Woodserson]

Yeah, what Al said. If you don't want to worry about speed, like at all, then get some Koms. Those things rip tight turns and the big tall tips keep you out of trouble. I love mine. Search "ski kom" or whatever on youtube. Maceo1234 or something is our resident Lo-Fi. But you're not going to get any kind of distance kick and glide efficiency out of them. But weirdo snow? Check. Variable terrain? Check. Tight turns? Check.
Better with a plastic boot. T4, Excursion, hell I use T2 Eco in walk mode on my 174 Koms.
The more turny a ski, the less XC efficiency.

[turnfarmer]

While I’m in total agreement that the KOM or Voile V6BC are the best choice for what you want to do, I think the Voile ObjectiveBC would be a better choice with an Asolo Extreme boot. The narrower Objective will be much easier to edge with leather and still ski miles better than any of the more Nordic options. I also agree that the shortest length you are comfortable with would be a better match to the Extreme.

For what you are doing, I don’t feel kick nd glide performance is a hig priority.

If your pair of Extremes are thrashed they are readily available on eBay. Just do a saved search and your size will eventually show up. Most are priced well below $100.

Another boot option if the Extreme fits you well(they ran narrow) is a Garmont Gouda. They were basically a plastic Extreme that fit very similar.

[Woodserson]

While I’m in total agreement that the KOM or Voile V6BC are the best choice for what you want to do, I think the Voile ObjectiveBC would be a better choice with an Asolo Extreme boot. The narrower Objective will be much easier to edge with leather and still ski miles better than any of the more Nordic options. I also agree that the shortest length you are comfortable with would be a better match to the Extreme.

For what you are doing, I don’t feel kick nd glide performance is a hig priority.

If your pair of Extremes are thrashed they are readily available on eBay. Just do a saved search and your size will eventually show up. Most are priced well below $100.

Another boot option if the Extreme fits you well(they ran narrow) is a Garmont Gouda. They were basically a plastic Extreme that fit very similar.

yes, definitely this. I also think the Objective would pair nicely with the Xplore binding option and the stiffer boots offered with that binding compatibility.

[John_XCD]

Plug for Fischer S-bound 98. I ski these with leather boots and NNNBC bindings in Utah. They are narrow enough to drive on hardpack/mixed conditions with soft boots yet float enough to ski great in 18" powder (can sink in thigh deep cold powder). Grippy no wax pattern, kicker skin attachment works well. Narrow radius tele turns are well within possibilities but it does take a bit of practice. Certainly keeps moderate terrain exciting.

I think these are reasonable center between true xc skis and AT skis. I started here and have since expanded my XCD quiver in both directions. Objectives are great soft snow skis with leather boots-- but not at all "versatile" unless you go towards plastic boots (maybe really heavy duty leathers or some newer XPLORE offerings would do the trick, haven't tried).

[wrsamuels]

Copy, turn farmer. I have attached a pic of the asolos I have. Are asolo extremes higher with the heel retention buckle?

While I’m in total agreement that the KOM or Voile V6BC are the best choice for what you want to do, I think the Voile ObjectiveBC would be a better choice with an Asolo Extreme boot. The narrower Objective will be much easier to edge with leather and still ski miles better than any of the more Nordic options. I also agree that the shortest length you are comfortable with would be a better match to the Extreme.

For what you are doing, I don’t feel kick nd glide performance is a hig priority.

If your pair of Extremes are thrashed they are readily available on eBay. Just do a saved search and your size will eventually show up. Most are priced well below $100.

Another boot option if the Extreme fits you well(they ran narrow) is a Garmont Gouda. They were basically a plastic Extreme that fit very similar.

[wrsamuels]

Thanks John, super helpful. Keeping moderate terrain exciting kinda nails what I’m Looking for.

Plug for Fischer S-bound 98. I ski these with leather boots and NNNBC bindings in Utah. They are narrow enough to drive on hardpack/mixed conditions with soft boots yet float enough to ski great in 18" powder (can sink in thigh deep cold powder). Grippy no wax pattern, kicker skin attachment works well. Narrow radius tele turns are well within possibilities but it does take a bit of practice. Certainly keeps moderate terrain exciting.

I think these are reasonable center between true xc skis and AT skis. I started here and have since expanded my XCD quiver in both directions. Objectives are great soft snow skis with leather boots-- but not at all "versatile" unless you go towards plastic boots (maybe really heavy duty leathers or some newer XPLORE offerings would do the trick, haven't tried).

[Stephen]

Based on the boots, I would be looking at skis on the narrower side -- some of these skis seem too wide for the boots in question.

@John_XCD, curious what you mean by "not at all "versatile"?"

I have skied the Objective with ALFA Guards and enjoyed it -- I'm not suggesting I think it would be "versatile" -- just curious what you were thinking.

Even though I liked it out West, I I have no idea if that would translate to Vermont.

I'm thinking to re-mount the Objective with Xplore and use with the ALFA Free, both of which I now have.

For reference, ski dimensions:

Altai Kom: .......... 124-98-120 .........18 meter turn radius?
Voile V6: ............ 129-98-110 [173] . 18 meter turn radius
Voile Objective: ... 114-82-97 [171] .. 18.5 ...
Fischer S-Bound 98: 98-69-88 .......... 17-19, says @Johnny

Regarding the Altai Kom, this post might be interesting: viewtopic.php?t=1948#p22159

[John_XCD]

Lots of enjoyment as sort of a goofy xcd powder set up for me. But really difficult to edge that wide of a ski effectively on harder snow surfaces with soft boots. Not what I would choose for hard pack or threats of ice (or other new england surprises) without stiffer boots (maybe FREE will do)