New Voile XCD skis

[Johnny]

Of course fat skis are there to destroy your knees... Especially with XC shoes... But hey, I did destroy my knees over the years... With skinnies...!

There is only one single use for fat skis: Heli-skiing / racing down steep peaks in Alaska at 80mph. (In other words, shooting TGR movies.) And that's it. You couldn't do that without fat skis. It's the only thing you cannot do without fat skis. And that is why the whole hype started. Skiing them on-piste is just hype, fake coolness or pure stupidity and ignorance. That being said, we could argue what is fat and what is not.

There is no real advantage of going fat unless you wanna go faster than 80mph. Yeah I hear you man... "Flotation man, flotation..." Flotation man?!? Why the frig do you need flotation kid? Seriously, why would you wanna stay on top and barely touch snow when you could have fun deep deep down and grow a nice snow beard? I will never understand people...

Well, the thing is, things have changed a lot now. Fat skis are not 15lbs anymore. They are way easier to ski than they were 10 years ago.

Speaking of new stuff for the 2017 season, the brand new Voile SuperCharger looks very cool at only 7lbs... Wow, not bad at all for a 140-106-124 ski! Remember when Black Diamond were making ULTRA LIGHT carbon fat skis at 15lbs a pair? (Well, they still do...) Those were knee-destroyers... But now, I'm pretty sure I could handle the SuperChargers anywhere in the BC with NNN shoes... I would probably get abducted to XCD Pure Land by the Knights for a lengthy interrogation by doing so... (And maybe change the rules and get crowned Supreme Knight? )

[MikeK]

I'll give you $1 if you ski those Superchargers with NNN

[connyro]

...Why the frig do you need flotation kid? Seriously, why would you wanna stay on top and barely touch snow when you could have fun deep deep down and grow a nice snow beard? I will never understand people...

I ski mainly in hardwood-covered hills which don't really get cleared of downed trees/branches/debris, etc. I would not want to sink 'deep deep down' up to my tits on skinnies in that type of terrain for obvious reasons.

...I'm pretty sure I could handle the SuperChargers anywhere in the BC with NNN shoes...

That would be like swapping out a Ferrari's motor with a hamster wheel: It COULD be done but...why?

[Johnny]

Actually, half of the crowd here use fat skis exactly for this reason: because the snow cover where they ski is too thin... Not a bad idea, but they should try to find snow instead... Some people like fatties for crud too, so they get the first run feeling all day... Sigh..

That would be like swapping out a Ferrari's motor with a hamster wheel

I see it the other way: Like removing the windshield on a convertible ferrari and drive it at 100mph totally naked. Take the huge Supercharger energy-collecting surface, and super-concentrate it on a a tiny metal bar for 100x the feeling...

[MikeK]

Actually you are both wrong...

It would be like taking the steering wheel and brake pedal out of the Ferrari and replacing them with a pipe wrench and a rubber ducky.

[connyro]

That would be like swapping out a Ferrari's motor with a hamster wheel

I see it the other way: Like removing the windshield on a convertible ferrari and drive it at 100mph totally naked. Take the huge Supercharger energy-collecting surface, and super-concentrate it on a a tiny metal bar for 100x the feeling...

Haha! That's great! I like your analogy MUCH better than mine. It sounds so much more fun.

[connyro]

Actually you are both wrong...

It would be like taking the steering wheel and brake pedal out of the Ferrari and replacing them with a pipe wrench and a rubber ducky.

Holy hell, that sounds fun too!

[Cannatonic]

cool skis, thanks for posting. So basically feather-light Voile fatties with scales. I agree, the idea of ultra-light products or cutting down weight for more freedom is a thrill. So it's Voile's entry into Madshus and Sbound type XCD skis. Voile quality is awesome, I like the colors too.

It's funny, when it comes to touring I find myself in the Norge/old school camp. The reward for being hopelessly committed to long skinnies is to buy new Asnes skis at $250-$300 per pair with the same quality level as Voile. I sort of wish I preferred wide fatties, I could go faster in powder, but I'm so old-school my legs don't know what to do with 115mm of width. I can see the advantage of having these for tight trees and deep powder. Once the weight gets low enough, it gets easier to maneuver the skis too, you just lift them up and flick them around.

[MikeK]

Actually you are both wrong...

It would be like taking the steering wheel and brake pedal out of the Ferrari and replacing them with a pipe wrench and a rubber ducky.

Holy hell, that sounds fun too!

Hahaha! Depends on where I guess... I certainly wouldn't want to do this on Le Circuit de la Sarthe.

[STG]

Cannatonic:

Speaking of Asnes skis, I recently bought the Kongsvold Jakt (96-66-85) from Neptune Mountaineering. The skis have a soft tip but are stiff enough underfoot to tour well. They don't have a metal edge so they are extremely light. I will be using a three-pin binding (no cable) and a pair of old, soft T-3's. Looking forward to trying them out.