lilcliffy - Thanks again for your play by play response! I think all of the points you've made have finally gelled in my head. Double camber (or at least camber and a half) with no rocker is probably what I need for most of my tours in unconsolidated dry snow, and the Combat NATO offers that in the ...

but, the longer, straighter Combat Nato is definitely a more efficient XC ski than the Kom- in all snow conditions- including very deep soft snow. What do you mean when you say more efficient? It takes less energy to break trail in the NATO than the Kom? Or the NATO moves faster when breaking trail...

Wow, I hadn't come across those Finnish companies before. I didn't know there were skis longer than 210 cm! Those wooden ones are gorgeous. lilcliffy - Can you compare/contrast the NATO and Kom (176 length) in terms of trail breaking on flats and climbs in really soft snow? I've read some other post...

This is my first post here. I've been reading a lot of super helpful reviews on the site, but I've still got some questions that pertain to the relevance of ski width, length, and camber profile when breaking trail in extremely dry snow. I live in Interior Alaska where the snow is super soft and unc...