Newbie seeking advice

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upheeling
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:08 pm
Location: Newfoundland &Labrador
Ski style: Nordic touring with turns
Occupation: Canadian Rangers

Newbie seeking advice

Post by upheeling » Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:12 pm

Good day all,
Perhaps the title isnt accurate, I recently joined the forum... again. I was a member about ten years ago when I started leaving traditional XC and got into nordic BC touring. For that I bought a couple pairs of this and some other stuff. Since then I have been using my tua big easy's 185 and tua sumo 170. (I'm 6' 220lbs).

As I mentioned, majority of my skiing is nordic bc touring in search of a few turns. I am now getting into kick waxing my tele skis, for the rolling terrain I am in, the majority of the time skins dont make sense.

So all is fine and dandy, sure there are better skis out there, I would love to upgrade to a better set but, financially not a priority at the moment. However, there is one thing I was looking at getting, plastic boots! At the moment I use a soft shell alpina nordic touring boot and are fine in the woods but, I am thinking it's time for a proper telemark boot for some serious turns. Also, I still ski alpine at ski hills because I feel my boots are not the best for it and my experience is lacking. So I started looking for a pair a booys around size 45/46.

Searching a local buy and sell site, I found the following set up. This is rare as there are not many free heelers in Newfoundland and Labrador. I asked to sell the boots only and naturally he would rather sell as a pair. He is willing to let the set up go for $200 Canadian. The skis are not my ideal skis, being an all mountain ski I assume they would be stiffer than the bc powder boards I would want. But I am still considering it as I will get my tele boots so I can try them out touring but also have a decent setup (I think) for ski hills.

So basically I am looking for advice, suggestions and/or input sonplease feal free to share your thoughts. I may have been bumbing around the woods on skis for years, I am still new and inexperienced to the telle world! So if you find my train of thought is out to lunch or I am ass backwards, please let me know.... gently...lol.

Thanks all and happy turns!
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bgregoire
Posts: 1511
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by bgregoire » Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:59 pm

Hello! Nice to hear from a fellow Newfoundlander! Those boots like Garmont veloce. They are pretty crappy and you surely do not want to tour with them.

I’m not sure I’m getting your ultimate goal here, mostly flat touring with small hills and resort skiing all in one setup?

You can go so many ways here. I like boots so I’d recommend a better pair of leathers like the Alpina Alaska that you could buy at MEC four touring. If you go 75mm you could probably use your current bindings. You could also find a pair of better plastic shell for DH, something like an excursion, T4, T2.....


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I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



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rongon
Posts: 164
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:09 pm
Location: NY State 'Forever Wild'
Ski style: Wanderer - XCD, telemark
Favorite Skis: Fischer Rebound (3-Pins), Madshus Annum (Switchback), Elan Ripstick 96 (Switchback X2)
Favorite boots: Asolo Extreme, Crispi CXP
Occupation: I work to live
Website: http://skinortheast.com

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by rongon » Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:09 am

Back in the TelemarkTips days, I was told the general rule of thumb for matching boots with skis was that leather boots were good for skis with up to about 70mm waist. Once you go wider than that you'll want to start looking at plastic boots. Your Volkl skis are downhill 'carving' skis, so I think plastic boots will be more appropriate.

The Scott Excursion is the plastic boot that's most like a leather boot. It has a nice soft forward flex, although the way it bends feels more like a hinge than a leather boot does. But that's a small complaint. It's sturdy, warm, waterproof, and tours very well.

The Scarpa T4 is a little stiffer than the Excursion, but not by all that much. You can flex the bellows easily enough for decent touring.

Once you go to the Scarpa T2eco you're into a much stiffer boot. I think the T2eco is too stiff for rolling terrain unless you have a binding with a free pivot like the Voile Switchback. But now we're getting really far away from leather-and-pins style touring, and ever closer to steep-terrain telemark. We're also talking a lot more money.

I'd say with your Volkl skis and G3 cable bindings, try a pair of Scott Excursion or Scarpa T4. Choose whichever one is the most comfortable for you. They're both good.

Scott Excursion: https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/prod ... n-ski-boot
Scarpa T4: https://www.scarpa.com/t4



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Rodbelan
Posts: 892
Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:53 am
Location: à la journée
Ski style: Very stylish
Favorite Skis: Splitkein
Favorite boots: Alpina Blaze and my beloved Alpina Sports Jr
Occupation: Tea drinker

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by Rodbelan » Wed Mar 04, 2020 6:17 am

200$ for a kit like that is... too much money! The boots aren't worth much (maximum 50$ for a pristine condition boot). Same with the Volk RTM; not a high end ski at all.

If it is the boot that you are looking for, do not bother... Keep searching. You will find stuff even if you have to pay a little for shipping...
É y fa ty fret? On é ty ben dun ti cotton waté?
célèbre et ancien chant celtique



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greatgt
Posts: 904
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Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by greatgt » Wed Mar 04, 2020 7:44 am

Canadian Ranger!.....Got it!.....Throw all the stuff you have and make a bonfire....Then get into the challenge....that being get the most from the least....Wanna learn BC skiing...challenge yourself.....ski wild in the bush.....get some e 99's...long ones...minimum 210's....leather lace up boots.....Rottafella three pin boots and explore...Fly down and melt the snow in the flats...It's a challenge...but....it makes for a wild ride and is the only way to figure out NORDIC telemark....TM



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fgd135
Posts: 470
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2020 2:55 pm
Location: Colorado
Ski style: Yes, sometimes.
Favorite Skis: Most of them
Favorite boots: Boots that fit
Occupation: Yes

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by fgd135 » Wed Mar 04, 2020 9:36 am

OP, that's not a setup for rolling terrain, without skins, and such. Waxing for kick would be difficult, as that is an alpine ski without a wax pocket, and heavy, too.
That gear would be very appropriate, albeit pretty heavy, w/skins, for mountain tours to cabins, carrying big packs, touring for turns in steeper terrain, or just riding lifts for tele turns.
I skied multiple years with Garmont Veloces, which are heavy, but have only a soft-moderate stiffness, and are fine backcountry boots if nothing else is available, if you have good fit...They will turn those wide skis much more easily than a light soft boot like the Excursion or T4, or any leather boot.
Around where I live, in Colorado, that setup would only be worth about $50, fwiw. Those Veloces haven't been made in about 10 years or so, and are more liable to shell cracking at the flex point because of their age; hence maybe $20-25 tops. Same with the skis, $25, but just for the bindings.
"To me, gracefulness on skis should be the end-all of the sport" --Stein Eriksen



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lowangle al
Posts: 2732
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Pocono Mts / Chugach Mts
Ski style: BC with focus on downhill perfection
Favorite Skis: powder skis
Favorite boots: Scarpa T4
Occupation: Retired cement mason. Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by lowangle al » Wed Mar 04, 2020 11:24 am

Welcome to the forum upheeling. I think plastic boots will speed up the learning curve for you. I have some Tua Sumos and they would be a good choice for what you want to do. I never skied the Big easies but they sound good, big and easy, can't beat that. The sumos are probably short for you but will work and will be easy to turn. All you need are boots and a light binding. The T4 or excursion would be my choice for what you want to do.

I've never had a problem kick waxing my alpine cambered skis, and I've been doing it a long time.



User avatar
upheeling
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:08 pm
Location: Newfoundland &Labrador
Ski style: Nordic touring with turns
Occupation: Canadian Rangers

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by upheeling » Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:30 pm

First off, thank you all for the speedy replies and valuable input! Only problem now is, I have more questions. I will do my best to respond to your comments.

Mr.
Bgregoire
: You are damn near bang on in understanding what I am looking for in a ski… Rolling terrain Nordic touring, hunting for turns and the odd trip to the ski hill. I will agree with you that I need new boots, my soft Alpinas are not cutting it for me, this I can tell. I used to have a pair of 3 pin scarpa leathers which I loved but they were just too tight so I sold them.

So this brings me back to the old question I ask myself when looking at new touring gear….. leathers/soft or plastic boots and Cable or NNNBC? I think this is the classic case of no one thing can do everything perfect. So, how about we forget about the ski hill and just focus on Nordic touring/hunting for turns in rolling terrain. For that I think I would choose NNNBC over cable and go with those Alpina Alaskans or another pair of leather scarpas. As for the resort skiing, I will sort that out next fall.

Thanks for the input.
rongon
: I agree with matching skis and boots and feel that my current set up does not match up. I think I have ruled out the Vokl ski package, just not a desirable set up. As you mentioned, I think I should let the new skis I get decide between leathers or excursions/ cable or NNNBC.
Rodbelan
: well said, thank you, Sir.
greatgt
: LOL!!!
fgd135
: good advice, thanks. I do have skins for my current set up but have taken liking to waxing for the smaller stuff out my back door. My boots prevent me from going steep and deep in that setup. I am getting a lot of different opinions on the boots and think I have to narrow down the type of ski I am after before deciding on boot/binding type. What I should do is hunt for a pair of plastics for the Tua’s and get a whole new setup for Nordic touring.
lowangle al
: good info. I agree, I think I should add plastics to current set up (my original plan)…… for some applications but, I also wonder about what a lighter setup would be like for hunting turns and touring out the back door. My current setup “works” for this but, is not ideal and I am just trying to find the most cost effective way to balance my setup out.


Again, thanks to all for sharing the great information and knowledge. I knew my setup was out to lunch and less than ideal for my application but, it worked and I got my turns in. Unfortunately I can’t go out and buy two new sets of gear, I am just trying to make my gear a little more efficient.

You all should now know now what I am after now, so I am opening the door for suggestions, such as: ….. add a plastic boot to current set up…. sell current gear and get leathers, NNBC and this ski…. Or whatever else you think.



User avatar
bgregoire
Posts: 1511
Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
Favorite boots: Crispi Sydpolen, Alico Teletour & Alfa Polar

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by bgregoire » Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:04 pm

Get ready for chaos with a open question like that!

Please summarize your weight, height, skill, local environnrment and goals again to help us help you. Otherwize, soon, you are going to start believing you need 24 pairs skis to get going!
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



User avatar
upheeling
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:08 pm
Location: Newfoundland &Labrador
Ski style: Nordic touring with turns
Occupation: Canadian Rangers

Re: Newbie seeking advice

Post by upheeling » Wed Mar 04, 2020 7:55 pm

bgregoire wrote:
Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:04 pm
Get ready for chaos with a open question like that!

Please summarize your weight, height, skill, local environnrment and goals again to help us help you. Otherwize, soon, you are going to start believing you need 24 pairs skis to get going!
Bahahaha! Opened up a can of worms did I?

Like I said, been using tele set up for bush wacking for years, going through rolling country hunting for turns or just bumming around. I know my setup is not ideal for that and I am curious what is?

At the moment I am not worried about ski resort skiing as I could use the sumos if I snag a plastic boot.

What I want to know is what type of ski, binding and boot combo would best serv nordic backcountry touring with an emphasis on finding a spot to make some turns!!!

I am 43 ish year old, 6' 220lbs, athletic, in good shape for age and can still crush beers!



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