Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Real reviews by real skiers. What a concept! Add your own today. Reviews only please, questions can be posted as replies but new threads looking for opinions should be posted to the main Telemark Talk Forum.
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Verskis
Posts: 179
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2017 2:14 am
Location: Tampere, Finland
Ski style: XCD touring on small hills. Heavy tele at resort
Favorite Skis: Åsnes Rabb 68
Favorite boots: Alico Ski March
Occupation: Hydraulics engineer

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by Verskis » Thu Oct 31, 2019 9:17 am

Johnny wrote:
Wed Oct 30, 2019 2:09 pm
Verskis wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 6:43 am
Maybe the narrower ones really do glide nicely, but at least my 58mm mohair X-skins were a bit of a letdown regarding glide.
Yep, skins are skins... In order to achieve a cool glide with short skins, it's important to remember that you need a ski with a good, strong camber. Your Rabbs are flat, alpine cambered skis, so of course the skins will always drag a bit no matter where you take them... Try the pink Race X-Skins, they are my favorites, they glide better than the mohair... And try skin wax if you need even more glide...
Actually, my plan is to avoid skins as much as possible this winter. In cold snow, kick wax (on the whole base) usually gives me suitable grip, and I have just ordered fishscaled S-Bound 98's for the warmer snow days. I hope the fishscales will be nicer than the skins.
I only plan to use the Intelligrip skins on my rock skis, when the snow is thin and warm.

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BrianE
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:44 pm

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by BrianE » Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:04 pm

Anyone mount a pair of Meidjo 3.0's on a pair of RAAB's? Overkill or ?



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fisheater
Posts: 2509
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2016 8:06 pm
Location: Oakland County, MI
Ski style: All my own, and age doesn't help
Favorite Skis: Gamme 54, Falketind 62, I hope to add a third soon
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska, Alico Ski March
Occupation: Construction Manager

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by fisheater » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:00 pm

Absolute overkill. I think a T-4 would be the maximum you would want, but in most conditions leather boots would be adequate, and fun!



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Woodserson
Posts: 2967
Joined: Wed Feb 11, 2015 10:25 am
Location: New Hampshire
Ski style: Bumps, trees, steeps and long woodsy XC tours
Occupation: Confused Turn Farmer

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by Woodserson » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:46 pm

BrianE wrote:
Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:04 pm
Anyone mount a pair of Meidjo 3.0's on a pair of RAAB's? Overkill or ?
Agree with Fisheater. On the NOSI I could see it.

But there's no reason not to try it if you've got 'em! What the hell.



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Johnny
Site Admin
Posts: 2256
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:11 pm
Location: Quebec / Vermont
Ski style: Dancing with God with leathers / Racing against the machine with plastics
Favorite Skis: Redsters, Radicals, XCD Comps, Objectives and S98s
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska XP, Alfa Guards, Scarpa TX Comp
Occupation: Full-time ski bum

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by Johnny » Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:49 am

BrianE wrote:
Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:04 pm
Anyone mount a pair of Meidjo 3.0's on a pair of RAAB's? Overkill or ?
Overkill?!? Not at all, quite the opposite!
Not what I use them for, but the Meidjo + Rabb would be a perfect combo... This is what they were designed for:

RABB 68
"Weapon of choice of long touring adventures with a 75mm or Tech Binding"
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."



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BrianE
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:44 pm

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by BrianE » Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:32 am

Johnny - Perhaps I missed it from an earlier post but for someone who is coming back into the sport (80% resort Tele skiing and 20% meadow skipping / forest road touring) and noting today's supply chain issues (likely only getting one shot to purchase boots(?), bindings(?), skis (RABB 68)...,. what boot / binding combination would you pursue going forward for a use case as I've described above..., thanks!



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Johnny
Site Admin
Posts: 2256
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:11 pm
Location: Quebec / Vermont
Ski style: Dancing with God with leathers / Racing against the machine with plastics
Favorite Skis: Redsters, Radicals, XCD Comps, Objectives and S98s
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska XP, Alfa Guards, Scarpa TX Comp
Occupation: Full-time ski bum

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by Johnny » Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:54 am

Brian,

If most of your time will be spent at the resort, I would definitely invest in NTN boots and bindings. (And get a cheap thrift-store XC setup for occasional meadow skipping...?)

On the other hand, unless your resort days are 100% fresh powder, I would stay away from the Rabb. It's an AMAZING ski, no matter what people have been saying lately. But like most other Asnes skis, keep in mind it's a POWDER ski, not a resort ski. You will not enjoy it as an on-piste weapon with plastic boots... There are a lot of better options for resort skiing... 8-)
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."



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BrianE
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2021 7:44 pm

Re: Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

Post by BrianE » Wed Sep 15, 2021 1:14 pm

Appreciate the insight Johnny. The RABB's ultra quick turning radius perhaps biased my thinking. Few if any true Powder days for me historically or in the foreseeable future as being located on the east side of the Sierra, there's good reason why the term "Sierra Cement" is part of the lexicon in these parts. If one finds themselves out in the thick of the storm, that's one thing but if your a day late (or more) to the party the inbound Powder is mostly a memory. All that said, I am intrigued by today's TTS toes and real heel cable offerings and like many, was really hoping for a T4 w/tech toe offering for 21'-22' vs going with the beefier 4 buckle Scarpa offerings. Rotefella's Xplore binding w/_____ Xplore soled boots are tempting just not sure if they'll provide sufficient support for my intended use case...



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