Fischer Excursion 88 Easy Skin (S bound series)

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satsuma
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Location: Walla Walla, WA
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Fischer Excursion 88 Easy Skin (S bound series)

Post by satsuma » Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:33 am

I rented a pair of these yesterday to ski on fresh snow and hopefully make trailbreaking easier than with my Alpina Discovery 68's. I don't do much downhill that involves turns, so this review involves the use of these skis for more typical ungroomed xc skiing.

I used the Easy-skins for the first mile or snow which is all uphill, and includes a section of currently ungroomed but broken snowmobile trail, and going around a locked gate (to prevent vehicle entry) a second section which had tracks from a tracked vehicle of some kind. The Easy skins have great grip going uphill, but no glide at all. Very easy to get on.

The best thing about these skis otherwise was the glide, which I think was considerably better than the Alpina's and even better than my Madshus Northcapes. The ease of trailbreaking was marginally better than the Alpina's; it would be hard for me to justify replacing them on this basis, even if this tyoe if skiing was most of the skiing I did. There was 9 inches of snow, once the tracks ended. The skis sank about 4 inches in this. My poles were almost bottomed out.

I did not try any long or steep unhills without the easy skins. The uphill performance, on the limited remaining uphills, was at least passable. I would doubt these climb as well as the Alpina's without the skins.

I noticed one thing at the end of the tour--the holes in the skis which the Easy-skins must pass were plugged with ice. I guess one could unplug these with pole tips.

Other ski length=189, my weight 195 lbs., height 5'7"

Summary--these are a good ski for ungroomed trails. For trailbreaking, I'd like to try something wider next.

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lilcliffy
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Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
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Re: Fischer Excursion 88 Easy Skin (S bound series)

Post by lilcliffy » Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:04 pm

Thank you for your perspective on these skis.

Seems that you were a little underwhelmed by them- compared to your Alpinas?

I have the Easy-Skin on both the E99/E109- the glide is pretty good- but both of these skis are more cambered than the E-88.

Which wider skis are you considering?
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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satsuma
Posts: 188
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Location: Walla Walla, WA
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Re: Fischer Excursion 88 Easy Skin (S bound series)

Post by satsuma » Thu Dec 14, 2017 2:20 pm

lilcliffy wrote:Thank you for your perspective on these skis.

Seems that you were a little underwhelmed by them- compared to your Alpinas?

I have the Easy-Skin on both the E99/E109- the glide is pretty good- but both of these skis are more cambered than the E-88.

Which wider skis are you considering?
Most likely the Hok's, which for me would feel more like snowshoes.

I don't ski much on deep unbroken snow, so I don't "need" anything new. To see a big difference compared to the Alpinas, I think I would need something with a waist width of 75 mm or more. For a larger ski, I'd probably need new boots too. Currently, my BC boots are Alpina BC1550's.

I wouldn't say I didn't like the E-88's. Based on the performance, if I was buying new skis for my usual skiing, I'd probably buy E-78's or the slightly narrower Outback (if that is the current name). I like the improved glide, and could use the Easy-skins where more grip is needed. The E-88's are available to rent inexpensively here. The only time the Alpina's might be better is on rolling terrain--I have never needed skins with them. They also will fit in tracks, but don't ski well in them.



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lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Fischer Excursion 88 Easy Skin (S bound series)

Post by lilcliffy » Thu Dec 14, 2017 4:13 pm

The Hok is a wonderful XC and downhill ski in deep, soft snow- is virtually useless otherwise.

(People keep going on about this "ski-shoeing" business- to me it is just a marketing ploy to attract snowshoers to XC skiing- which is a GREAT THING!!! But- they are definitely skis- they kick, glide and turn!)

Your 1550s would be fine on the Hok as a XC ski- I am using the Alaska which is no downhill boot by any means.

AND- if you try out the truly old-school ancient single-pole ("Tiak") you can ski down some pretty intense slopes with almost slippers on!
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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