Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

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.
User avatar
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: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Woodserson » Wed Jan 30, 2019 4:54 pm

I have only skied these bad boys three times so far in relatively ideal conditions, so I'm only going to offer some thoughts on this wonderful ski to supplement LC's great review:

1. The Asnes Gamme 54 skis very smooth and quiet, like wood, but are also fast like a modern ski with a high quality base and consistent camber. The best of both worlds- speed and no vibration.

2. The E-99's turn slightly easier and with less grabbiness underfoot than the Gamme 54.

3. The 200cm length is so far adequate for me at 160lbs with no gear and I feel I'd be fine with a daypack at least, though further testing is required, and this is all very subjective due to skier preference anyway.

3.5 EDIT to ADD: They fit in the track, barely, but are not happy there. The shovel scrapes the side and slows the ski down.

4. I love this ski

GAMME LEADS THE WAY!
20190130_151052.jpg

User avatar
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: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by fisheater » Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:10 pm

Woods, looks like a cool place. I am still waiting to get my Gamme out, but it looks like it will not be this weekend. I will ski, but it will be on my USGI as there isn't enough base to take out Green Man. To make matters worse, there was no school Monday and Tuesday due to 8" of snow. No school today and tomorrow due to sub zero temps and brisk winds. Although my construction site is open, unlike school, and my trailer finally has a diesel generator for heat, I couldn't start it today at -9 F.
To really rub salt in my wounds, they got 48" in the last eight days in the area of an abandoned ski area I like to ski a couple hours north of me. However my son's rescheduled high school basketball game is Saturday. With a morning commitment on Sunday, I don't think I can make that day trip. I am very fortunate to have two new pair of skis that I am anxious to ski. It looks as though the Tindan and the Gamme will be sitting next to the Falketind wondering why only the USGI gets out. Of course the USGI wonders why it is the only ski that gets to run over rocks :idea: :o



User avatar
Leo Tasker
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 3:50 am
Location: Oslo, Norway
Ski style: Uncoordinated but enthustiastic
Favorite Skis: Åsnes Gamme
Favorite boots: Alfa Skarvet
Occupation: Top Gun Bootfitter

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Leo Tasker » Fri Feb 01, 2019 4:27 pm

Took my Gammes out for their first proper go last night, thought I would add my initial thoughts. Firstly, this ski seems to be exactly what everyone said: nice and fast, pretty forgiving and a bit too fat for the tracks :lol:

I did a 12km loop that I normally do on my XC track skis and NNN boots, this was my first time using a BC boot (Alfa Skarvet) and binding (Rottefella BC) setup. At first I thought there was something up with the bindings - it felt like I could hardly lift my heel during the kick phase, this seemed to improve a lot as I went along, so I imagine will get even better as I break in the stiff leather of the boots.

The tips of the ski only just fit in the track, not so bad in a straight line but any time the track curved I could feel the ski almost wedging itself in and slowing down. In the flat/skating section this wasn't an issue and allowed me to get into more of a rhythm. The balance and weight of the ski seems very good. They didn't feel that much slower than my track skis, although I am not a racer by any means.

I had a slightly hard wax for the temps so grip wasn't perfect going uphill, but good enough that I didn't stop to reapply a softer one or put the skins on. The camber of the 200cm ski seems perfect for me at 80kg(ish), glad I went slightly longer than the Åsnes size chart recommended.

Downhill the skis are very nice, enough sidecut to carve slightly and the full metal edges make scrubbing off speed/snowploughing very easy. I would recommend properly detuning the tips and tails though as they tended to grab, even though I had given them a quick pass with a file beforehand. The stiffer connection of the BC boot+binding seemed to make a huge difference, I could almost ski it like my alpine skis in places!

I have the 35mm mohair skins, but didn't try them out yesterday, will need to experiment with trimming them down a bit by bit. The X-skin attachment system seems very simple to use - does any have experience of it icing up though? Would be concerned about overflow water on lakes getting inside and freezing...

For the type of skiing I do (mainly cut tracks in the forest with some bushwhacking a few times week and a couple of longer trips to the mountains each year), maybe the Mountain Race 48 or 51 would have been a better choice, but I primarily bought these as a mountain ski, so I think they will do the job well!



User avatar
lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by lilcliffy » Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:04 pm

Fantastic stuff Leo! Thank you for the update!

I have not had problems with the skins "icing up" yet...

I always make sure that they are dried out completely before I store them- and I store them stuck together and flat on a shelf.
I also apply skin wax to them every time I intend to use them for an extended distance- I carry the skin wax in my touring kit along with grip wax, cork and scraper.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



User avatar
lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by lilcliffy » Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:08 pm

I have this ski in 210cm (I weigh 185lbs) and it is the lowest profile double-cambered ski that I have ever owned. The open wax pocket is extremely shallow when the skis are evenly weighted- but the wax pocket still completely releases when I stride forwards. Perfect for crushing miles in the wilderness! And that low-profile camber underfoot makes them better climbers and easier evenly pressure than my higher-cambered 210cm E99 Tour Xtralite...
Brilliant design.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



User avatar
Cannatonic
Posts: 983
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:07 pm

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Cannatonic » Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:51 pm

I just made an interesting discovery - I went to shorten my new 30mm Xskins for my 210cm MT51's....they didn't need it. The end of the skin comes to just under the heel pad. Turns out the "snakebite" is 4 inches further ahead on the MT51's - the holes are ~14 inches ahead of the toe of my binding on the MT51's, just under 10 inches on the 210cm Gamme and 200cm NATO.

So you basically need to cut about 4 inches off if you're using Gamme or bigger ski, but the skins are just the right length for 210cm MR's and MT's. The camber/wax pocket of the Gamme must be 4 inches shorter vs. a longer pocket in the MT & MR.
"All wisdom is to be gained through suffering"
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)



User avatar
lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by lilcliffy » Sun Feb 03, 2019 9:56 am

I have been "concerned" by this possibility Canna...
It was one of the reasons I was reluctant to trim my Skin-Locks/X-Skins...I certainly don't want a different set of skins for EVERY ski!!!
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



User avatar
Cannatonic
Posts: 983
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:07 pm

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Cannatonic » Mon Feb 04, 2019 1:21 pm

yes, if you have a pair of MR or MT's you'll need more skins! :lol: fortunately I've got some 35mm's I cut shorter for the bigger skis and I'll dedicate the new 30mm to the MT51's. It did make for a really nice ski - I was on 4 inches of soft snow with a breakthrough crust of sleet/graupel (it's been a great winter here!), temps in the 20's, either wax or scales would have been a bad choice, the 30mm skin was perfect, I was blowing by the people trying to ski on fischscales, and I didn't have to use my poles as much.

usually frozen granular scrapes kick wax off quickly in those conditions.
"All wisdom is to be gained through suffering"
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)



User avatar
lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by lilcliffy » Thu Feb 07, 2019 4:12 pm

I have been seriously racking up hours and miles on this ski in the hills over the last couple of weeks.

It is a remarkably versatile and high-performance XC ski for the wilderness!

It has a perfect combination of rock-solid stability, lightweight, and finely tuned XC flex-camber for variable backcountry snow!

Man, they are fast and stable.

It has become clear that this is the most versatile BC-XC ski in my quiver. And owning it allows me to justify other skis with a much narrower performance range.
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



User avatar
Leo Tasker
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 3:50 am
Location: Oslo, Norway
Ski style: Uncoordinated but enthustiastic
Favorite Skis: Åsnes Gamme
Favorite boots: Alfa Skarvet
Occupation: Top Gun Bootfitter

Re: Ski Review: 2018-2019 Åsnes Gamme 54 BC

Post by Leo Tasker » Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:03 pm

For the guys that have these skis for a while and put some decent mileage on them: Have you found that the flex softened up over time?

I've been struggling with grip the few times I've been out on them and wondered if they have a "breaking in" period that I need to work through? The ski conditions haven't been ideal here, hovering around freezing but I've found even putting on a softer wax than the temps needed hasn't helped much. The only way I've been able to get grip on anything other than flat terrain was kick waxing almost the entire length of the skis, this then killed the glide (which is superb btw, such a fast ski on the downhills!).

It feels like the ski is too stiff for me and I'm not compressing the wax pocket to the snow properly. I went slightly longer than Åsnes recommend, the 200cm length and I weigh about 80kg in my ski gear. I haven't skied them with an overnight pack on yet so maybe the extra weight on my back would help?

For comparison, the other day I took both the Gammes and my Rossignol track skis to the local loop, the Rossis gripped absolutely fine as I would expect, whereas 30 mins later in the same temps/snow conditions I switched over and was struggling with the Gammes. In the end I got frustrated and stuck the X-skins on, then the grip was fine but a little draggy (I still need to trim the skins a bit). I obviously don't want to permanently have the skins on just to get the grip I need! :lol:

Downhill the skis are great and I want to persevere with them, it's just bumming me out that I'm not getting on with them as well as I thought I would, given how much everyone else loves theirs!

Wondering if maybe the 190cm Gammes or maybe the MT51 or MR 48 would have been a better choice? :cry:



Post Reply