Does anyone know of a light, durable touring ski out there? About 60mm wide in the tip, with side-cut. …And full length for best glide and flotation.
By light, I mean high-tech light. My great old Fischer Touring Lights weighed 1 lb 12 oz per ski with binding. Wood core. They held up for 15+ years of abuse. That’s my standard. Don’t wear it out.
Nothing like this is made today!
Well, there IS a ski that comes close, the Madshus CT 150 / Lillehammer. These models are considered light and good. So keep an eye out for them!
However, Fischer’s new “best” touring ski weighs 2 lbs per ski with binding. Doh! It is cheaper than my old one was—15 years later and $50 less for top of the line? The new model is a cap ski. I didn’t need that weight. I woulda paid more!
I do notice a near-total takeover of the light-touring scene by the mid-length skis. I can definitely see these skis being very nice in steep, twisty terrain. But for open terrain—where most skiing is done—they’ll be slow and lame. Ugh! Full-length skis are still what you want for the gold-mine of ski joy: gliiiiiiiiiidddde.
Unless someone can show me wrong? (Please do!)
A light moderate boot should be fairly easy to find. They’re out there in both major binding systems. (And you should be using at least a fairly new-era binding.)
I suggest avoiding a tall, stout combi-type boot for touring—they’re a lot heavier and overkill unless you do tricky ski handling in steep/icy terrain. The new breed of hinged plastic cuffs is a sweet development—it adds stability but allows free ankle motion—but make sure it’s low and light. If you’ll go skiing for more than an hour then weight makes a big difference.
There’s been a shake-up in the boot market. Fischer just ditched Salomon and is now NNN. So more appropriate boots should be readily available for NNN, with Fischer joining Rossi and Alpina (and Madshus, Alfa and other minor quality brands).
The Salomon/SNS binding system also has several good boot models/brands available, mainly Salomon itself and Hartjes…and earlier models of Fischer boots.
Now, maybe my race-grade tour ski maybe no longer exists, BUT! You notice I’ve been saying that today’s new gear is great for ungroomed technical singletrack — and that is a really cool new way to ski. If you’re into that, check out the following…
Here’s a link to the Amazon listing for the awesome and mighty Rossi Evo Tour: www.amazon.com/Rossignol-Positrack-Control-Bindings-176cm/dp/B074GG6PKQ/jeffpottersou-20 …and for anything you might buy after you click over, Amazon will send maybe up to 10% to me! At no cost to you.
Here’s a link to an awesome Alpina Combi boot that will give great control on technical singletrack — it has an awesome pivot. www.amazon.com/dp/B009SGI03Q/jeffpottersou-20
And check out these supercheap Chinese 100% carbon poles: you’ll love using them. They give your arms the power they need. www.amazon.com/WINGET-Carbon-Fiber-Country-XC-100/dp/B015XRADZG/jeffpottersou-20
