Paging Phoenix with an Objective question

[paulzo]

Beautiful Serra corn mostly.

[lilcliffy]

Hmmm...
The Rainier and Objective couldn't be more different backcountry skis on corn snow.
The Rainier being a double-cambered BC-XC ski- the Objective being a single-cambered BC-downhill ski.

Light, single-cambered skis actually offer decent XC performance in bottomless, powder snow. Double-cambered skis actually suck as XC skis in deep powder- the snow is not dense enough to support the tip and tail when trying to kick downwards- you just drive the tip/tail into the abyss without effectively engaging the wax/traction pocket.

However- on corn snow the Rainier should offer pretty decent Classic XC kick and glide performance- while the Objective will feel dead underfoot by comparison.

On the other hand- the Rainier aint no downhill ski- the downhill performance of the Objective- though I have not skied it- have skied the Vector and V6- should be fabulous.

[paulzo]

Cliffy, that is precisely the conundrum - whether the tradeoff is a good one. And complicated by the fact that i am pretty much always carrying between 25 and 40 lbs of pack. At the lighter end of that range i do still get some glide to my kick in the right conditions, but that is only going to be a small percentage of any trip, just the flat and the very gentle down. When I think about it seems that most of the time i am going up or down something like a 10 to 15 degree slope. The flats, of any length, are rare, mostly just crosing frozen lakes. Steeper stuff occurs but I am always choosing my route to avoid it mostly. Steeper than that going up and I am skinning, so the skis make little difference; steeper going down and the Objectives will definitely be superior. So in that pretty easy up and down range is where the quandary lies.
And I know it seems like a pretty big dichotomy here with these two skis, and maybe i should be considering something in between. But very few metal edge waxless skis are this light, and i definitely want light.

[lowangle al]

Paul, being that you are wearing excursions you won't get that classic xc performance anyway. When I'm wearing T4s I can k&g but it is not the same as the classic xc skiing. Even skiing on double camber metal edged skinny skis with leather boots is not the same as xc skiing. It's the same basic technique, but my body is less spread out, less arm swinging, and I use a faster cadence, among other things.

For the kind of skiing you are doing I think the benefits of the Objectives far outweigh the negatives. You can go with a ski like an S98 which is a capable ski but not the quality of Voile. If you can afford the objectives it will be a better experience for you and I think a shorter learning curve.

[paulzo]

Thanks Al, you make them sound pretty good.
"If you can afford the Objectives" - indeed, they don`t give those babies away. But I turn 60 in the spring and maybe I deserve a nice birthday present.

[lowangle al]

I just turned 60 Paul and I want a pair of Hyper Vectors (lighter weight ultra vector). I figure at my age they should be the last bc ski I will buy. The extra cost is no big deal when you figure how many seasons you can spread it over.

[paulzo]

Figure it by the mile and they are practically free!

[phoenix]

"I figure at my age they should be the last bc ski I will buy."

That's about how I rationalized buying my Objectives. More than I EVER spent on a pair of skis, and I have a pretty low income... but yes, in this case, I think they're worth it. I did wait till they were on sale a bit, but I haven't seen a used pair for sale anywhere.

[Woodserson]

They are tough to find on sale. Made in USA, high quality, great performance, the prices reflect what you are getting. It's just one of those things. I had to buy mine full price too, and I it's the only downhill-ish ski I've done this with.

Great ski- Love mine!