Always check the basement.... 199s
- 12gaugesage
- Posts: 161
- Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:33 pm
- Location: MWV
- Ski style: Ugly but fast
- Favorite Skis: The next ones
- Favorite boots: The ones on my feet
- Occupation: Simple proliteriat
Always check the basement.... 199s
Headed out to kick out some miles on my 78s this afternoon and decided to stop in at Ragged Mountain equipment on the way. Headed over to the skis, fondled a set of E88s, (as is my custom) chatted with the salesman for a minute, but still not on sale, so I put them back, grabbed a tub of quickwax and some Voile anti ice tape, and headed downstairs.
Scanning through the consignment skis, and there, nestled among some old XCD GTs and various XC and tele rigs,-----I almost glanced over them in disbelief, a set of Excursion 88s with BC autos. Trying to temper my enthusiasm, I assumed they were too short. Nope, 199s. Surely they would be priced high.... $225, practically free, I couldn't afford to not buy them. I swear a golden light shone down from heaven, and angels sang as I grasped them. It was like Arthur freeing the sword from the stone. A bit of gouging in the base of one ski and some scratches in the topsheet but for the price that's fine
A swipe of my card later I was back on the road to hit some trails. First impressions: holy crap these mfers glide!!!! Major difference from the length, I'm blown away. They felt way faster than my 78s in 189, maybe even faster than my spider 62 in 189 too. I'd say more 199s are in my future.
I ran them with the 35mm quick skin quite a bit and even with those the glide was noticably better. Overall they felt great, they floated on the top layer of unbroken crust through the woods nicely, didn't feel too cumbersome on the tight, icy singletrack side trails I hit, fast on the groomed sugar, I did find myself blowing through turns where it was crusty and I couldn't slow down. The length definitely means more leverage against your feet and legs, and they take up more space in a snowplow. Gonna install inserts for bc and 3 pin, swap the autos out for manual, and am dying to try 3pins on them with my T4s... Can't wait for this next storm to lay some good snow down again. Going to have to cook up some low angle, high mile adventures for these. ]
Scanning through the consignment skis, and there, nestled among some old XCD GTs and various XC and tele rigs,-----I almost glanced over them in disbelief, a set of Excursion 88s with BC autos. Trying to temper my enthusiasm, I assumed they were too short. Nope, 199s. Surely they would be priced high.... $225, practically free, I couldn't afford to not buy them. I swear a golden light shone down from heaven, and angels sang as I grasped them. It was like Arthur freeing the sword from the stone. A bit of gouging in the base of one ski and some scratches in the topsheet but for the price that's fine
A swipe of my card later I was back on the road to hit some trails. First impressions: holy crap these mfers glide!!!! Major difference from the length, I'm blown away. They felt way faster than my 78s in 189, maybe even faster than my spider 62 in 189 too. I'd say more 199s are in my future.
I ran them with the 35mm quick skin quite a bit and even with those the glide was noticably better. Overall they felt great, they floated on the top layer of unbroken crust through the woods nicely, didn't feel too cumbersome on the tight, icy singletrack side trails I hit, fast on the groomed sugar, I did find myself blowing through turns where it was crusty and I couldn't slow down. The length definitely means more leverage against your feet and legs, and they take up more space in a snowplow. Gonna install inserts for bc and 3 pin, swap the autos out for manual, and am dying to try 3pins on them with my T4s... Can't wait for this next storm to lay some good snow down again. Going to have to cook up some low angle, high mile adventures for these. ]
Nordic by nature
Shut up hippie
Shut up hippie
- Woodserson
- Posts: 2969
- 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: Always check the basement.... 199s
HOLY SH*T MAN NICE FIND!!!
Really, awesome. Keep an eye out of the wider skins too, they might make a miserable day on the avalanche brook trail a non-event.
Congrats again! This is perfect for you!
Really, awesome. Keep an eye out of the wider skins too, they might make a miserable day on the avalanche brook trail a non-event.
Congrats again! This is perfect for you!
- Cannatonic
- Posts: 983
- Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:07 pm
Re: Always check the basement.... 199s
nice pickup! They always have a good selection of boots down there too.
I'm pleased that we seem to have passed the inflection point of the short-ski fad. Not only have Fischer's Sbound series sprouted back up in length to 200cm (sorry, "199") but Madshus Eons and Epochs were also made to 205cm this year.
I'm pleased that we seem to have passed the inflection point of the short-ski fad. Not only have Fischer's Sbound series sprouted back up in length to 200cm (sorry, "199") but Madshus Eons and Epochs were also made to 205cm this year.
"All wisdom is to be gained through suffering"
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)
-Will Lange (quoting Inuit chieftan)
- 12gaugesage
- Posts: 161
- Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:33 pm
- Location: MWV
- Ski style: Ugly but fast
- Favorite Skis: The next ones
- Favorite boots: The ones on my feet
- Occupation: Simple proliteriat
Re: Always check the basement.... 199s
Alright, ghosting more than posting lately, Feb was a bit rough, sick kid, sick wife, long work drive.... But dont worry, I didn't let any of that get in between me and my 88's.
Got my inserts installed so I can switch between BC and 3 pin.
There is something simple and sleek about the Rotte ST:
Got out on them a bunch, in a few different types of terrain and conditions. They are quite great. First of all, length. These things glide like a ski half their width, they feel so nice and efficient. Aside from my twinskin's, all my skis are 189's, when I bought my first ski (Spider 62) I remember the salesman saying they should be longer, lamenting the lack of longer skis for larger skiers. In my mind as a new skier at that time, 189 seemed incredibly long! Ultimately he was right. Its nice to have the kick pocket not constantly drag. Even with skins on they glide nicely, and I really don't feel like I'm giving up any traction, though I must be.
I did a nice 13mi low angle tour one day on East Branch road over fresh snow with a little bit of snowmobile traffic. They were fine but maybe a little more ski than I needed, it was nice to have the width to float over the grooves and bumps from snowmobiles though.
Another significant thing I notice from the length is the fore/aft stability, I feel like I have all the time in the world to correct my body position when things get sketchy or I get sloppy. I have been working on lunging deep this season as a building block to a "the turn" and these feel so smooth and stable getting into and out of the low knee position, I actually have time to think and digest my weight distribution and foot pressure before things get squirrley. I'm defintely going to need the technique to drive a turn on these long sticks in dense snow.
Woods: Hit Avalanche brook trail for the first time last week on them(already had 65mm ezskins), the length made things tricky in some places, but the stability was excellent. Kept the skins on for the descent to try and check the speed a little, they still felt like rockets. It was pretty awesome, despite some emergency uphills to tree grab stops to avoid water bars and a couple wipeouts. Thats a narrow trail in places!
Went back this week with my new 98s in 189, conditions werent as good, and frankly it was pretty difficult. Thought the shorter length would be the ticket. Must master it all.
Cannatonic: Its nice to have more options, I hope its a sign that the nordic BC segment is alive and growing
Got my inserts installed so I can switch between BC and 3 pin.
There is something simple and sleek about the Rotte ST:
Got out on them a bunch, in a few different types of terrain and conditions. They are quite great. First of all, length. These things glide like a ski half their width, they feel so nice and efficient. Aside from my twinskin's, all my skis are 189's, when I bought my first ski (Spider 62) I remember the salesman saying they should be longer, lamenting the lack of longer skis for larger skiers. In my mind as a new skier at that time, 189 seemed incredibly long! Ultimately he was right. Its nice to have the kick pocket not constantly drag. Even with skins on they glide nicely, and I really don't feel like I'm giving up any traction, though I must be.
I did a nice 13mi low angle tour one day on East Branch road over fresh snow with a little bit of snowmobile traffic. They were fine but maybe a little more ski than I needed, it was nice to have the width to float over the grooves and bumps from snowmobiles though.
Another significant thing I notice from the length is the fore/aft stability, I feel like I have all the time in the world to correct my body position when things get sketchy or I get sloppy. I have been working on lunging deep this season as a building block to a "the turn" and these feel so smooth and stable getting into and out of the low knee position, I actually have time to think and digest my weight distribution and foot pressure before things get squirrley. I'm defintely going to need the technique to drive a turn on these long sticks in dense snow.
Woods: Hit Avalanche brook trail for the first time last week on them(already had 65mm ezskins), the length made things tricky in some places, but the stability was excellent. Kept the skins on for the descent to try and check the speed a little, they still felt like rockets. It was pretty awesome, despite some emergency uphills to tree grab stops to avoid water bars and a couple wipeouts. Thats a narrow trail in places!
Went back this week with my new 98s in 189, conditions werent as good, and frankly it was pretty difficult. Thought the shorter length would be the ticket. Must master it all.
Cannatonic: Its nice to have more options, I hope its a sign that the nordic BC segment is alive and growing
Nordic by nature
Shut up hippie
Shut up hippie