Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I found those skis last year when I was looking to get my hands on a pair of X-Trace bindings but I forgot about them. They are made in Finland. But now that they're available here in Canada, I might put them on my list... 360$ CAD, which is about 260$ USD (ski only)...

1780g a pair... Skins instead of fish scales... A Hok and a Kom blended together...
And the letters "XCD" written on the skis...
OAC XCD 160, CROSS COUNTRY - DOWNHILL

The very first ski of OAC skin based ski collection is derived from one of our own favorite backcountry touring ski. The way we see it, such a ski needs to be easy, light and agile when you face your backcountry challenges.

XCD works on all terrains. It is smooth while skiing on a flat terrain also with heavy loads in the sledge. Due to its construction, XCD is easy to ski downhill even in the forest. Even though it is a short and rather thin BC ski, the tip will float in powder, still giving you good support on hard packed snow. We have designed the skin area as small as possible, still giving the needed grip for diagonal skiing. This skin solution beats the original kick-wax skis on all conditions.

XCD works well, not only with touring enthusiasts and explorers, but with kite skiers, winter fishermen and Sunday skiers in the local parks. XCD suits well all family members, as one length covers all user weights (adults).



LENGTH 160CM
WIDTH 85-72-80MM
WEIGHT 890G W/O BINDING

-OAC BRAID BOX CONSTRUCTION
-COMPRESSION RESISTANT ELASTIC FOAM CORE
-SINTRED 2500 BASE
-INTEGRATED HIGH QUALITY MOHAIR MIX SKIN
-ALU/ GF REINFORCEMENT AT BINDING AREA
-STEEL EDGES
-MADE IN FINLAND BY OAC TECH

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I have become a fan of shorter skis but I think they are too short for an experienced skier looking dh fun. I do think they would be a lot more fun in the woods than a traditional xc ski, especially for a novice.

Johnny do you use kick wax to get to the goods or are you a fishscale guy?

I really don't know what to make of the OAC XCD - its relatively skinny, short and straight. Unlike the shorter OAC skis or the Hoks, which are really fat and more shapely.

It makes me wonder if an undersized (short - 165/169 or 175/179) Annum or S-bound 112 fashioned with a short kicker skin quasi permanently mounted would fill a similar niche as the OAC XCD (or Kom), and perhaps do it better (wider and more shapely).

I dunno. Weird ski.

The Kar 147 intrigues me most from their line...

Tom

I guess I'm more a fishscale guy... But the more I mess up with wax, the more I love it... And lately I've been half falling back in love with half skins...

Actually, I had the same idea too... Sticking strips of skins permanently under Guides and other skis is something I've been thinking of... I talked to Bri7 about the best way to do this, whether it's using other kinds of glue or just sanding the base... I showed him the Atomic SkinTec system:



His idea was to remove a portion of P-Tex and glue the skin to the ski core, to make sure it will stick in there and to make the skin just a bit higher than the ski base...

Actually, my real idea was to make removable strips of fishscale P-Tex... So you can turn any ski into a waxless one, and turn it back to normal by putting back a strip of flat p-tex...

Everything is evolving... Ideas, ideas and ideas...

LoveJohnny wrote:
Actually, my real idea was to make removable strips of fishscale P-Tex... So you can turn any ski into a waxless one, and turn it back to normal by putting back a strip of flat p-tex...

Everything is evolving... Ideas, ideas and ideas...

Now that's a terribly smart idea!

We're working on it... Might be ready for the next season...

LoveJohnny wrote: His idea was to remove a portion of P-Tex and glue the skin to the ski core, to make sure it will stick in there and to make the skin just a bit higher than the ski base...

By the way, this is not a new idea, I have seen several pairs of used XC skis made this way. They have two 1cm wide strips of synthetic or mohair skins integrated into the skis as you described. The problem is that most I stumbled upon had lot most of their hairs, so the skis kind of age prematurely (same problem withe the Hoks and OAC I presume). Of course, you can replace the skins but you need to be quite handy (buy some skins, remove the glue, cut the skins to shape, glue them permamently to the skis). The Atomic concept is a neat idea. But for XCD, we would need quite a long strip, which should bot interfere with the flex of the ski itself...

Oh I know it's not new.. In fact, I learned to ski with that when I was two...

I remember from my very early childhood years seeing that 1cm skin strip under my skis to prevent sliding back... Not sure if kids skis are still using this...?

My idea was to get my hands on those 590g skimo racing skis but find a way to use them without skins... And without ruining their 1000$+ value...

How can you resist the temptation to mount these up NNN BC and give 'em a whirl? They look fun.

I agree with your ideas to explore retrofitted skintec style inserts. I am not sure how critical it is for an XCD ski to recess the skin. The Atomic skintec is a racing ski so it must be recessed so it doesn't drag on the firm track. (I've skied that crazy thing! Not very fast for a racing ski.)

I think I prefer skins to waxless. Different skins have different speeds. Mohair is least grippy but the fastest. Momix is a little less speedy & slightly grippier. Orange or 100% synthetic (nylon) is quite draggy and also very grippy. It will never truly glide. Mohair seems to release and then glide nicely.

For XCD skinning we want a little grip and a lot of glide. I'm going to report my results playing with these ideas.

LoveJohnny wrote:Actually, my real idea was to make removable strips of fishscale P-Tex... So you can turn any ski into a waxless one, and turn it back to normal by putting back a strip of flat p-tex...

Add in a kicker skin, and you'd have 3 options in one - pick that which best suits the conditions or your mood.