Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Thanks for the response. I am also going through a re-entry into skiing. My daughter loves skiing so far. I am very happy for that. There is just so much to do in skiing these days. From what I remember racing was the only option here other than just going up and down when I was younger. Now the all the hills, even the local place with 5 rope tows, has tons of park stuff in it. I want to make tele turns. I want to ski natural hills out on public land. I want to learn to ride a rail with twin tips. I want to do just about everything other than more racing.

The Asnes Gamme 54 ski looks really sweet. Now I want one of those too! And the price on the USGI ski from Coleman's is hard to beat. I am not so interested in messing with kick wax but that seems like a great deal for a metal edge touring ski with some shape on it. It seems like I need at least two more pairs of bindings and two or three more pairs of skis.

Made some turns today on my old Alpine gear today. At least it is cold enough for the local hill to make snow.

If the mondo size looks good is there any reason why a ladies boot would not work for me? I weigh 208lbs.

Which boot? With many, the shell is actually the same as the men's version, just different cosmetics and a slightly different liner... which would likely pack out soon enough, and not much of an issue if they're foam liners.

Garmont Libero. I hope it is more or less a garmont excursion. What do you think?

I got some new (to me) scarpa T2s in mondo 27.5. It is very clear this will give me good edge control. The boot is much heavier than what I was hoping to have but at least now I should be able to turn.

I measured the wire on my switchbox x2s. It is 8 inches. This is consistent with the standard size on on voile's website. But even with the wires turned all the way in I do not get the pretension suggested by the x2 owners manual. Does this mean my springs are no good? Or do I need the short wire/rod? Voile says the standard is good down to 27.0 mondo.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

T2 is a really nice boot, I have a T4, but if I was thinking about doing some more resort skiing a T2 would be sweet. To me it sounds like the springs could be shot on your X2's. If you call Voile during business hours they answer the phone in Salt Lake City. Their customer service and tech support is excellent. They also have any part you need.
Good luck

I was not able to find a T4 and I got impatient. My T2 has two buckles plus a power strap and looks a little different than the T2 that is made by Scarpa today. Maybe I got a womens' model after all? I attached a photo.

Last week I went out on the tow ropes with the T2 boot and no other changes to the setup. I was able to make alpine turns no problem and I think I even skidded couple of nice tele turns. I can feel weight and power on my back ski so I guess I am doing it right. I was not able to link any smooth turns but that is the idea -- I want to learn how!

I was a little surprised that I could not get the skis to carve a turn even just standing on my down hill ski. They are pretty short for me and the bindings were still too far back. Maybe it was that or maybe these boards are just old and warn out.

Thank you for letting me know about the Voile tech support. They were able to tell me that the springs are fine and that I needed shorter hard wire rods. The sole of this boot measures 315 mm so it is right in the cross-over area between the standard and short rods.

This week I drilled MORE holes in the skis (I am trying hard not to count how many now) and moved the binding up a few cm. I also got the short rods from Voile. I hope to try out the re-positioned binding and what I think is correct pre-load on the springs soon. I didn't get a chance this week.

Snow has finally come to the southern part of Michigan! I took my Whitewoods boots and $2 Trak waxless skis out and around a short trail near my house. I have to admit that it was a lot of fun to go kick around in the woods on fresh snow even without making any turns. I am out of shape.

Anyway -- Thank you fish, and everyone else for the help getting started.

I skied that vintage T2 for years, it was their standard model before changing it to 3 buckles. It'll do everything the T4 will do, and more. I like the fit and cuff height better on those T2's, and they're still light... will tour or turn over a pretty wide range; it's a very versatile boot.

phoenix wrote:I skied that vintage T2 for years, it was their standard model before changing it to 3 buckles. It'll do everything the T4 will do, and more. I like the fit and cuff height better on those T2's, and they're still light... will tour or turn over a pretty wide range; it's a very versatile boot.

Thanks for the response. You telling me my boot is versatile is just what I needed. I will try to do more than ski the lift served hills with them.

I think I am making progress learning to tele. I got out on something a little steeper, a resort black diamond, and was able to feel the sensation of walking down the hill with each lead change. I really enjoyed that.

Now I am wondering if these boots are too warn out. The right boot seem to flex more easily than the left and there is so much rocker in the toe that my heels constantly feel springy when standing in the skis. Standing flat also bends the ski up when I put pressure on my heel.

How do I know if these boots are warn out or still good enough?