Asnes Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

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Musk Ox
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Asnes Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by Musk Ox » Tue Jan 22, 2019 11:47 am

EDIT: Please note that this entire thread is totally superfluous because there's a review thread already and should therefore be deleted. Oh dear. But if you do fancy wasting five minutes hearing a stranger rant about his shopping day, by all means read on. Otherwise, moderators, please put this thread out of its misery, with my blessing x

_______

This was going to be a thread about the comparative merits of the Asnes Mountain Race 48 (60-48-53) and the Mountain Touring 51 (60-51-55): super similar profiles, which should I choose, how much difference does the sidecut make, skin, waxed or waxless?

We can talk about this, but I've made my decision (MR51 with the waxable sole), and I really want to evangelise about the Åsnes skin system. It is genius.

I've been equivocating about two pairs of skis, and going insane. All ski buying's a matter of compromise unless you're rich enough for something absolutely specific to conditions and purpose. In my case, this leads to protracted and serious torment in which I just get on the internet and hassle my poor wife for answers. My issue, basically, is that for a couple of reasons it must be a single pair, they have to be Åsnes, they have to be the best all-season skis possible, the 'season' can be quite extreme (we live in arctic Norway), and I really don't want to be waxing in the spring.

My wife's in love with the MR48 Skin. It's a done deal. They're fast as f*ck and she's Scandinavian so she can basically climb trees in them. They're in the post.

I prefer the profile of the MR51: I'm not going to be using them for parallel turns, they'll get me up and down hills where the groomed tracks run out (four hours+ on the mountain and back to the car or the hut), I live right on the lysløper (the groomed tracks) so they have to be OK on the rails, they're fractionally wider than the MR48, I am a bad skier: best of all worlds.

The issue was that I wanted the all-snow convenience of skins but I wanted the profile of the MT51, and that configuration didn't exist. I'll be on the tracks every day, hitting the hills at weekends and on cheeky weekdays. I need to keep up with my wife as best I can – and given the disparity in our technique, her on a skinned ski me on scales – I'm not persuaded that's possible, especially in radically changing conditions.

I also need to keep up with Norwegians.

But the MT51 only comes in waxable or fishscale.

So I've been like, "Ah, what the hell, go for the MR48 Skin and a climbing skin, so what, they're brilliant" and five minutes later "Yes, but the MT51 is so incredibly delicious and fractionally more stable, and some of the hills here are insane." Back and forth and back and forth. Tiny distinctions, but magnified to a degree where I was going crazy.

But this whole issue doesn't exist. Everyone else knew. It turns out you can just lock in a mohair racing skin and whizz along the løper without wax or scales. I can hit the mountain and just put on a nylon/mohair climbing skin. Asnes's Skinlock isn't just for climbing skins. It's for making your waxed sole or your conventional waxless sole into a skinned sole without friction harshing your glide.

That is completely fantastic.
Last edited by Musk Ox on Mon Jan 27, 2020 10:31 am, edited 5 times in total.

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Cannatonic
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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by Cannatonic » Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:23 pm

I've been out a couple times recently with my 210 MT51's and love them. I was using the Rex Universal pine tar wax on cold ice and it worked great. I like the simple graphics on the MT series, they are nice-looking skis to leave sitting around the living room!

Yes, the waxing version is more flexible, you have all the advantages of wax in cold weather and you can use skins for warm weather. I shortened a 35mm nylon skin to just behind the heel on my Gamme's and it worked well in ice and slush. Another advantage is the skins are much quieter than the constant noise produced by scales. The skins work on both warm snow and granular ice too.

The only downside is the skin can come off at some point. Kicker skins are a little more high maintenance - more prone to coming off or getting twisted. I would love try some of the Asnes waxless skis - I see the waxless MT51 only goes up to 205cm where the waxing goes to 210cm. Still looking to replace my old 210 fishscale Kharu's, the MT51 are the closest one available, I'd like to see Asnes make an edge-less Amundsen or MT ski also.
"All wisdom is to be gained through suffering"
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)



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Musk Ox
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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by Musk Ox » Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:34 pm

Yes, Cannatonic... I've never skied with skins before, so I'm really looking forward to testing these.

I'm planning a few swipes of blue Swix if it's cold and staying cold, and otherwise just putting on a skin.

Thanks for the heads up about the twists... it almost sounded too good to be true...



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bgregoire
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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by bgregoire » Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:46 pm

Musk Ox, that was a fun read! You obviously have a severe case of the Asnes fever. But you are not alone!

I believe the true advantage of the MR48 skin is that, being integrated, the half skin does not protude from the ski base as much, so you are getting an optimal glide when compared to the attached half skin (as good as it is). Note that the MR48 SKIN does also come with a half skin attachment. These are not one and the same! You will get better grip but surely much worse glide with the attached half skins when compared to both wax or that special MR48skin.

Keep in mind the MR48 Skin is based on a new trend we are seeing in traditional XC skis produced by most all major players these days (fisher, salomon, etc.). I'm excited about it.

If I were you, I would get the MR48 Skin just like your partner! Then, slow her down by placing rocks in her backpack, or better yet, get some professional XC ski lessons! There is hardly anything better in this world than the most efficient Kick & Gliiiiiide (ok, possibly an amazing slicer t-turn).

You will find some reviews of the Asnes half skins in our Community Skis Reviews section.

Take care and enjoy the snow lucky Norskman!
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



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Musk Ox
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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by Musk Ox » Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:56 pm

bgregoire wrote:Musk Ox, that was a fun read! You obviously have a severe case of the Asnes fever. But you are not alone!

I believe the true advantage of the MR48 skin is that, being integrated, the half skin does not protude from the ski base as much, so you are getting an optimal glide when compared to the attached half skin (as good as it is). Note that the MR48 SKIN does also come with a half skin attachment. These are not one and the same! You will get better grip but surely much worse glide with the attached half skins when compared to both wax or that special MR48skin.

Keep in mind the MR48 Skin is based on a new trend we are seeing in traditional XC skis produced by most all major players these days (fisher, salomon, etc.). I'm excited about it.

If I were you, I would get the MR48 Skin just like your partner! Then, slow her down by placing rocks in her backpack, or better yet, get some professional XC ski lessons! There is hardly anything better in this world than the most efficient Kick & Gliiiiiide (ok, possibly an amazing slicer t-turn).

You will find some reviews of the Asnes half skins in our Community Skis Reviews section.

Take care and enjoy the snow lucky Norskman!
Yeah, you see, this is EXACTLY why I should not be allowed on the internet. Should have looked. Thread exists. Of course it does. DUH. Sorry! Thanks for the tip – I'll check out that thread



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Cannatonic
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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by Cannatonic » Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:10 pm

I just read your other post - so you're only allowed 1 pair of skis, the waxing MT51's are perfect. First and foremost you live in a cold climate and you don't want to miss out on the pleasure of gliding along on blue wax days, the days that remind us all why we do ski touring! :lol:

You'll do fine on warm days with kicker skins - I have the older Asnes skins with the open metal clip, I bought a "race roll" of mohair skin so I can cut & customize my own skins on the Asnes clips whenever I want and cheaply.
"All wisdom is to be gained through suffering"
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)



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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by Woodserson » Tue Jan 22, 2019 6:52 pm

Cannatonic wrote:I just read your other post - so you're only allowed 1 pair of skis, the waxing MT51's are perfect. First and foremost you live in a cold climate and you don't want to miss out on the pleasure of gliding along on blue wax days, the days that remind us all why we do ski touring! :lol:

You'll do fine on warm days with kicker skins - I have the older Asnes skins with the open metal clip, I bought a "race roll" of mohair skin so I can cut & customize my own skins on the Asnes clips whenever I want and cheaply.
I agree with all this.

Also, Musk Ox, don't stop posting. What a great thread! And pics. Even random pics. Trip reports, definitely.

edit to add: We are all hitting our heads against the screen solving our most problematically esoteric ski problems. This is why this site exists. If you want to go down some crazy rabbit-holes about flex, camber, double camber, "how many mm of camber, exactly? Please compare between these two very hard to find skis" this is the place to do it.

We are all crazy with speculation on the obscure, and no one races, even. Welcome.



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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by Woodserson » Tue Jan 22, 2019 8:00 pm

Also, I just went down to my basement to fondle my Fischer Country Wax/Crowns that I have. They have very familiar profiles to the Mountain Touring 51. 60-52-57 dimensions and big camber (but no 3/4 metal edges, they are edgeless). They are really great skis, I love them. They are fast and stable and light and like lightning and they have been in Fischer's stable for years. But the Asnes X-Skin changes this equation. While I have two Fischer Countries for conditions- wax and waxless (I go beserk on wax skis in wet granular snow) ONE Mountain Touring 51 with the X-Skin factor would eliminate a pair entirely-- which means if someone is looking for this class ski they are saving money by buying the pricier Asnes... if anyone needs that motivation.

AND OH MY LORD, Fischer discontinued the Country WAX!!! What the hell?!



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bgregoire
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Ski style: Nordic backcountry touring with lots of turns
Favorite Skis: Fisher E99 & Boundless (98), Åsnes Ingstad, K2 Wayback 88
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Re: Anses Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by bgregoire » Tue Jan 22, 2019 9:54 pm

Cannatonic wrote:I just read your other post - so you're only allowed 1 pair of skis, the waxing MT51's are perfect. First and foremost you live in a cold climate and you don't want to miss out on the pleasure of gliding along on blue wax days, the days that remind us all why we do ski touring! :lol:

You'll do fine on warm days with kicker skins - I have the older Asnes skins with the open metal clip, I bought a "race roll" of mohair skin so I can cut & customize my own skins on the Asnes clips whenever I want and cheaply.
As MUCH as I agree with you about a waxable ski as your only pair of skis...In that other thread, Musk Ox suggested he preferred waxless...:
Musk Ox wrote:The MR46 probably isn't going to give me the lift I need if have to negotiate deeper snow and I'm specifically thinking about wax-free: basically I'm only allowed one pair of skis and they have to do everything from one end of the season to the other, on groomed tracks every weekday and in the hills at weekends, from sorry-we'll-have-to-amputate-your-nose temperatures to above freezing. Also I live in arctic Norway and I have to keep up with Norwegians, who are better than you are at moving on skis.
I'm assuming he's worried he'd loose his partner as she flied away on her MR48 Skins while he worked through his bag of waxes looking for the perfect match.

By the way, I am happy to hear you are enjoying the Rex Universal tar wax!
I live for the Telemark arc....The feeeeeeel.....I ski miles to get to a place where there is guaranteed snow to do the deal....TM



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lilcliffy
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Re: Asnes Mountain Race 48, Mountain Touring 51, the Åsnes skin system appears to be genius.

Post by lilcliffy » Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:27 am

I have greatly enjoyed reading this thread! Thank you for sharing your great deliberation!
Musk Ox wrote: My wife's in love with the MR48 Skin. It's a done deal. They're fast as f*ck and she's Scandinavian so she can basically climb trees in them. They're in the post.
This made me laugh out loud- very loud. Thank you- I love to laugh!

I am interested in what all of your locals are using for touring? Is your wife on the cutting edge with her skin-skis- are many others using skin skis- or, are most using grip wax?
I'll be on the tracks every day, hitting the hills at weekends and on cheeky weekdays.
This is where its at. Every Nordic skier needs to live somewhere that they can do this from their doorstep- all winter.
And we all need a job where we can sneak away and go for a tour on "cheeky weekdays"!!!!!!!!

I personally have not had trouble with my Asnes kicker skins coming off- though I always take them off if I want to do some true downhill skiing. I have always followed Asnes' advice and stuck them together to protect the adhesive from drying out (I am a bit obsessive about sticking them together- my friends make fun of me for taking the time to re-stick them back together after they have rather carelessly slapped them together, not lined up perfectly!)
Please note that I get a lot of fresh snow to ski on- use grip and kick wax for weeks on end- and only use the skins during momentary winter thaws; VERY steep climbs; and full-on spring skiing (and I also have waxless skis for spring skiing as well).

(I have had serious trouble with Fischer's Easy-Skins coming off- right from the beginning- and on all three skins that I bought. The adhesive on the Easy-Skins was never as strong as the Skin-Locks. I am somewhat convinces that storing them on the sheet that they come caused the bond of the skin to dry out even more. If I buy another Easy-Skin I will be storing them stuck together.)
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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