Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Winter Camping and Activities :: Ski Recommendations
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hubben |
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DanCooke |
I would steer away from the bindings that have the metal round bar style you step in. I have seen too many times the mechanism either will not accept the boot or not release because of the mechanism being in-cased in a ice tomb. I used Carbon fiber poles with small baskets. They are doing the job. I sometimes worry about a failure caused when knocking slush off. On Portages I would ski until the hill was to step to move forward without herringbone or side stepping; at which point I would remove them and walk. I had brought my old skis along but they never were used. |
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DanCooke |
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NotLight |
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cambot620 |
For backcountry, nowax has never failed me. I'll gladly take the tradeoff between kick/glide and not having to worry about snow conditions and wax. Also, if there's a chance you'll find yourself on a windblown lake with glare ice, I'd recommend something with a metal edge (you probably wont run into that this year though. This year I'll use my Karhu Odyssey 175cm nowax steel edge. |
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marsonite |
quote hubben: "Wow, marsonite, those skis are really impressive. You "make-it-yourself-ers" earn my admiration. Are the bindings hinged near where the sole of your boot rests? Otherwise, I can't see how you'd get your heels off the ski for any sort of propulsion. " The part of the binding under your foot flexes so your heel does come up with each kick. You do have to use a boot with a flexible sole. These bindings have been in use for many years. Google "Berwin binding". They are for flat land back country skiing. You wouldn't want to try telemark skiing in them, I don't think. The evolution of skiing really is an interesting topic. We've forgotten what they were invented for. One time I was skiing at a popular cross country ski area(with my factory skis), and I decided to bushwhack down to the parking lot. A woman saw me and was shocked I would try something like that...."good luck!" she said. Gee, skis were invented for travelling over snow in the winter. Anyway, making the skis was a fun project and not really that hard assuming you have a few critical tools like a surface planer and a table saw. Fine Woodworking magazine had an article years ago about the process, though I had to scale up the measurements for my skis. |
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PINETREE |
It is a more efficient binding but does have its imperfections also. In most things,nothing is perfect and adapt to what your needs will be? My skis are backcountry by Fisher and 205 X 55 cm. Love them. I think very wide skis would work extremely well breaking trail or soft snow. Get harder packed snow or late season skiing longer and somewhat narrower ski. Bottom line if you can afford it multi-skis? Use scaled skis and fiberglass poles. Would carbon poles be brittle like at -20 degrees F. One question,how does the very wide skis do on hills like herring boneing? I know some places just about any ski you will have to take them off to go up or down certain hills. |
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PINETREE |
quote DanCooke: "I was skiing carbon poles at minus 28° no problem this past week. minus 54 back in 1980 without issue as well. The cold is not an issue as much as nicking them to start a fracture. Herringbone is fine in the wider skis. Just too much energy to herringbone with a sled." Thanks for the info. Always learning something. |
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marsonite |
quote NotLight: "quote marsonite: "If you are rich, you can buy a pair of similar skis here: Finnish skis " Thanks. Don't know exactly what they weigh, but they're heavy. The cores are cedar, but the outer laminations are hickory/maple. However, the weight isn't bothersome. I was concerned at first, but I don't even think about it anymore. You don't have to pick up your feet. Mind you these are for deep snow; I wouldn't dream of taking them to a groomed ski trail. I have a pair of traditional showshoes and the weight of them is much more of a factor. |
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NotLight |
quote rightsideup: "I love my waxless Madshus Eon's, old school Asolo Snowfield leather 3-pin's, and wide basket poles. I pull my sled with a waist harness, rope and bungee combo." These look pretty big, are they heavy to ski in or is it worth the floatation? Thanks. |
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NotLight |
quote marsonite: "If you are rich, you can buy a pair of similar skis here: Finnish skis " Wow, marsonite your skis are awesome. Any idea what they weigh without the bindings? If I were rich, I'd quit my day job, move to a cabin in Finland, pick berries and make beautiful wooden skis all day. Maybe sell them on the internet. |
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rightsideup |
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marsonite |
With this setup, I can ski at 2 mph or more, while breaking trail. Try that with snowshoes! They are a bit unwieldy in brush, but not as bad as you might think. Another option would be to take the ski making class up at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. If you are rich, you can buy a pair of similar skis here: Finnish skis Here's my setup: |
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NotLight |
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DanCooke |
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marsonite |
back country skis |
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jwartman59 |
one warning. if you are looking for poles avoid bamboo. there are lots of bamboo poles out there from the seventies. by now these poles are no longer safe to use. when these things break, and they will, they become a thousand super sharp splinters. |
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PINETREE |
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NotLight |
quote marsonite: "I don't know how hard you want to work at this....I say find the biggest antique wooden ski you can. I made my own last winter. They're 3" wide and 8' long. I use a purchased Berwin binding which will accept any winter boot. I found some antique ski poles on craigslist which have large snow baskets. I finally watched Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, mentioned a couple times on another BWCA thread. A documentary on the life of winter hunter/trappers in Siberia. Really cool homemade skis. Pretty much convinced me on the fat skis, watching someone use them. (highly recommend this movie just to check out the homemade skis - it's on Netflix instant streaming right now.) |