XCD with no metal edges

[lowangle al]

I have been skiing my Trak Bushwacker skis, 85-70-80, the past few days and have been getting some nice runs. I don't miss having metal edges, these skis turn fine in soft conditions. Back in the early day I remember people skiing xc skis with leather tele boots and 3 pin bindings. I think for most bc skiing, especially on trails, metal edges aren't necessary.

Is anybody else making turns on xc skis, and if so what skis?

[Cannatonic]

I've got Asnes Breidablikk which are almost the same dimension as your skis, for turning in light powder and soft snow. I've made plenty of turns in edgeless 210cm XC skis but not of the telemark variety! Just parallel turns hanging on for dear life.

[Johnny]

I really wish there was a lot more edgeless tele skis on the market... The Breidablikks have been on my wishlist for a while... (I know, pretty much everything is on my wishlist...) Metal edges are just a marketing thing... They are almost useless for most BC and XCD use... I can only think of a very few times I really needed edges on the BC... But hey, you gotta give the people what they want...

I have several edgeless skis, but all triple camber ultra stiff XC skis, not exactly skis for turning...

Hey Canna, we'd love to read a review of the Breidablikks...
(If I remember, I think some other members here also own them too... )

[lowangle al]

Those breidablikks do look good and they have an integrated skin. I hope they would have a smooth base.

They reomend them for skiing with dogs so I'm surprised they aren't more common.

There were yellow epoke skis that were popular in the 80s and I am luky to hae a pair. Een at 210 they turn real good and preditable with cc boots and bindings. I think the lak of a etal edge lets them flex freely.

sorry about the missing letters my keyboard is srewing up

[lilcliffy]

Obviously edges are not necessary in very deep soft powder snow.

There is a lot of backcountry snow conditions where metal-edge hold does matter though.

And- my limited understanding is that a lot of Fennoscandian backcountry skiers ski above tree-line on dense, windswept hardpacked snow? Metal-edge-hold on this snow also matters- especially with expedition weight on your shoulders and/or in a pulk behind you.

In my neck of the woods- I wouldn't expect a backcountry ski without metal edges to last very long- my skis take a hell of a lot of abuse from bushes and saplings in the Northwoods!

[lowangle al]

They work well in soft paked powder and corn snow too. They seem pretty sturdy too I think they were the cc ski recommended for carrying a heavy pack for overnighters. They aren't a substitute for metal edge skis but there are a lot of days when you know you won't run into anything hard.

We probably have just as many bushes and saplings in Pa. as you do up there, plus a lot of rocks and a lot less snow. I've been staying on the grassy logging roads for my turns so durability hasn't been an issue.

[lilcliffy]

Sorry man- shouldn't have babbled on about myself there...

That is quite a BC-XC ski you have there- pretty sure that is the same profile of the old Karhu Orion.

85-70-80mm IME/IMO is about the ideal XC profile for deep fresh snow.

Too little is gained in terms of turning ability- on skis that are primarily intended for XC skiing- and too much is lost in grip, float and stability- with all of these midwidth Nordic touring skis with wasp waists.

[lowangle al]

They may be the same ski. I suspect they were built in the same factory. I was out on Sunday and ran into other old farts who were skiing on guides and I noticed that the pattern on the bases was the same. Fishscales on the top and bottom with straight lines underfoot. Trak skis also were made in Canada, they called their base pattern "omnitrac".

[lilcliffy]

Yeah- my memory is all of these skis were made in the Karhu factory in Quebec. Omintrack was (and now is Madshus' after K2 bought the moulds) Karhu's backcountry waxless scale pattern.

[DPO777]

Yeah- my memory is all of these skis were made in the Karhu factory in Quebec. Omintrack was (and now is Madshus' after K2 bought the moulds) Karhu's backcountry waxless scale pattern.

The company was established in Helsinki, Finland, in 1916, were the same factory also supplied Yoko and Järvinen branded skis. Production of Karhu skis was briefly leased and Sporten (Cz, Now Kästle Cz) made the Karhu skis between 2013 and 2015.

Karhu Headquarters Circa 1976 for startup across the road from the hockey stick plant. They were a choppin trees...

I remember buying a lot of those Karhu,Koho and Titan sticks in the teenybopper years.

They bought the OEM for Trac ski company as well. Line built their skis there and then Burton snowboards.

In 1996 they sold the factory to Trak Sports and then in 2006 to K2. Likely this is when K2 acquired the "Omnitrak" rights and production technology/molds, then K2 used them on the Madshus skis when they bought the company.

It is too bad they left the scene as I think they would have made some pretty good skis in today's high tech manufactured ski market built in NA !

Again like other Canadian and American companies gave up the ghost to pesky imports produced at a fraction of the cost.

One thing for sure these ski companies have changed hands many times during there inception with very few still remaining in the ownership of the original people and or their families.

Fun Factoids:

In 1952, Karhu sold the "three stripes" trademark it had been using to a then little-known German brand Adidas for the equivalent of 1,600 euros and two bottles of whiskey.

In 1972, Tiitola sold Titan OY to the sporting goods company Karhu, which then changed its name to Karhu-Titan. Karhu continued to manufacture Titan sticks, and then in 1979 transferred production to its partly-owned Canadian arm, Karhu-Titan Canada Ltd. That same year, Karhu signed a deal with Wayne Gretzky to use Titan sticks exclusively. The company made a specially-designed model for him that he used until 1990, at which point he switched to an Easton two-piece aluminium stick.

Karhu plant 1976 across the road from the stick plant 1978

Cross Country skiing heating up the snow