What is the ultimate compromise ski?

[lowangle al]

Verskis, I think you are experiencing the problem of not getting enough weight on the rear ski. Your Atomic and OACs are designed to turn easy. They are probably responding to the tip pressure created by the cable on the chillis, causing them to turn. The cable may help turn the Eons but from my experience with older Karhu xcdGTs they don't respond well to tip pressure because the tips are so flimsy. The ski has changed over the years so maybe you will have better results.

At any rate I think you need to work on getting enough weight on the rear ski to get it to turn and achieve a more centered (balanced) stance.

[Verskis]

I think you are right Al, I definitely have some issues of keeping a good stance with enough weight on the rear foot when the conditions are not optimal (bumpy snow etc.).
I'll try the cable and then just ski more with the added focus on keeping a good stance.

[fisheater]

The cable will help a lot, especially with plastic boots, but it still helps. A really good back foot exercise is to hockey stop tele, more or less 50/50 front foot, back foot. I read it here recently, I figured I would reemphasize as it really helps.

[Verskis]

Resurrecting an old thread here:

After skiing the OAC KARs and Madshus Eons and still longing for something in the middle of them (better glide than OAC, easier turning than Eon), and catching the Åsnes fever on this forum, I will be buying Åsnes Rabb68 skis in 180cm length once the Finnish retailer gets them, maybe right after Christmas.

I am pretty excited, I hope this will finally be my ultimate compromise ski that I am happy to ski everywhere! I really would like to have a quiver of one, where I can just grab the skis and go for a mixed tour in rolling terrain (some trailbreaking, some hiking trail cross country skiing, some uphill, some downhill in the trees) and be happy with my equipment. Also to be able to go for (a medium) distance and to do some yoyo skiing with the same equipment is my dream. The boots are still causing me a bit of headache; should I choose my Ski Marches for better touring or my Excursions for better turning? I guess I just need to ski more to see if I will get good enough to do downhilling with the Ski Marches.

I will probably mount them with Voile 3 pin cable bindings with Rottefella Chili cables (I like these better than the standard Voile cables) with my own simple cable locking method to be able to XC with only the 3 pins and to be able to quickly deploy the cables for any serious downhills. I will post a picture of that once the method has been proven.

Of course, I still have a lot to learn to be able to ski downhill really well, but I feel like I am getting better at groomed resort downhill skiing, so maybe my new skills and the new Åsnes skis make me able to raise my backcountry skiing up a notch too!

I may also want to try the Rabbs at a resort, but I don't think I want to strip the grip wax for that, if I go for lilcliffys ironed in polar wax method. Is it frustratingly slow to ski with fully grip waxed skis on the groomed slopes? I have never tried that. Maybe I need to bring my glide waxed old resort skis along as a backup.

Long story short, I just wanted to express my excitement and report that the Great North American Åsnes fever has hit me in Finland as well, it's very contagious!

[lilcliffy]

Wonderful! Great to hear from you! I was hoping we would!

I think that Johhny has a set of the Rabb 68 as well. I will be VERY keen to hear of both of your experiences on that ski.

My Storetinds are simply amazing for traveling in very hilly/mountainous terrain.

They are wonderful and powerful downhill skis- with magnificent edge-hold. The rockered tip provides beautiful earl-tip rise and float at downhill speeds, but they are narrow enough and cambered enough that they want to charge and carve- they don't offer the playful smeariness of a modern phat rockered powder ski.

The Storetind is a pretty decent XC ski on soft fresh snow. This ski is a little dead and all over the place when XC skiing on dense/consolidated snow- HOWEVER- much better than softer, skis- MUCH better than my Hok/Eon/Epoch/Annum.

I greatly appreciate my T4 boot on the Storetind on very steep and treed terrain. The Storetind would be just fine on moderate terrain with a boot like the Ski March. I think I have finally got my Ski Marches adjusted to the point that they won't tear my heel apart from heel-lift! I want a properly fitting leather boot to use my Storetind on more moderate terrain. I would end up using it more often. I need a completely open day to get my Storetind onto T4 terrain! I am determined to get the Ski March to work for me- otherwise, I may end up buying an Alaska 75mm or something similar...

[Verskis]

I think I have finally got my Ski Marches adjusted to the point that they won't tear my heel apart from heel-lift! I want a properly fitting leather boot to use my Storetind on more moderate terrain. I would end up using it more often. I need a completely open day to get my Storetind onto T4 terrain! I am determined to get the Ski March to work for me- otherwise, I may end up buying an Alaska 75mm or something similar...

My Ski marches were causing me serious blisters on the heel as well, but I think I have it in control now.
Some tips that worked for me:
-Use double socks
-Tape the heel
-Keep the laces tight below the ankle, slightly looser above the ankle (I use lock lacing below the ankle https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/locklacing.htm)
-Retighten the laces after you have skied for about 5 to 10 minutes, they get loose at the beginning
-Use leather cream frequently on the toebox/metatarsal area of the boot to soften the leather a bit
-Just ski with them a lot, they get better!

I think with your amount of skiing, you will be breaking them in in no time!

[Verskis]

I will be VERY keen to hear of both of your experiences on that ski.

Don't worry, I will post a review once I have enough skiing done with them!

[lilcliffy]

Very cool site on shoe lacing! Wow.
I have been using a surgeon's knot- but, I will definitely try a lace lock!

[lilcliffy]

Ian's Shoelace site is amazing! Wow.

[lilcliffy]

I may also want to try the Rabbs at a resort, but I don't think I want to strip the grip wax for that, if I go for lilcliffys ironed in polar wax method. Is it frustratingly slow to ski with fully grip waxed skis on the groomed slopes? I have never tried that. Maybe I need to bring my glide waxed old resort skis along as a backup.

I fully-intend to try the Storetind and my local ski hill as well- meant to last year. I guess I am too happy to stick to the hills!

I am almost positive that "Fisheater" (Bob) used his Falketind 62- with a grip-waxed base- at the groomed ski hill last winter. I would imagine the snow at that hill gets pretty icy and abrasive? Bob may be able tell us how that worked out.