wax vs scales vs XSkin vs klister

[bgregoire]

Geez Woods, sorry to hear. Hope it heels fast.

[lowangle al]

Well phooey I did something to my rotator cuff and need an MRI to see exactly how bad it is so this crazy plan is now on hold. Didn't this like, happen last year too?

Def no more downhill skiing for the time being-- TERRIBLE

Sorry to hear this Woods, hopefully it's not too bad.

[Woodserson]

Thanks guys

It started with a spectacular wreck two weeks ago when in powdery bumps I crossed my right ski clear underneath my left boot and it got wedged between toe piece and heel pad and I went down like a bag of bricks. Nothing bad at the moment, just a sore arm. Then a week later I picked up a heavy 30lb bag and lifted it about my head with one hand and felt a knife go into my arm. It's been pretty static annoying since then, but I thought I pulled a muscle until last night when my neighbor told me flat out I should get it checked. So I went today and it's definitely rotator cuff problem, the question is how bad. Hopefully- PT and I'm good. We will see after MRI.

Um, not in the plan for my winter. I've been really crushing it too! My skiing is almost back to where it was in my early 20's and I had big gnarly ski plans! And all these great new skis!

I think I can XC ski though, so I'm gonna keep sliding on snow.

[lowangle al]

That does sound like a bad way to go down Woods. Forgive me if this is adding insult to injury but I think this is less likely to happen with an open stance.

I'm glad it feels good enough to xc, I hope the Dr. gives you the OK.

[fisheater]

I'm pulling for you Woods. I know you think you're getting older, but to me you're the young guy in your prime. You still manage to get your ski vacations. I did every year. If winter holds, I still may get a trip in, not sure. I'm counting on you. I'm looking for great photos, great food, great stories!
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[greatgt]

Had a partial Roter Cuff tare for years....Not so good in snowball fights and I have a Great and Grand daughter that will cause me problems but with my wisdom...snicker....will figure something out....You will need to do the exercises and commit to it....Good luck....and if you need a powder fix in open Hardwoods....soft...relaxing....non shoulder thumping....we got the remedy....TM

[Cannatonic]

yikes, good luck w/ the MRI Woods - hopefully it's just a tweak. If you're still able to do XC skiing that's a good sign, hopefully it will gradually heal the problem. If you've never injured it or had surgery before I'm sure the prognosis is good.

[Woodserson]

So today as I wait for my MRI I took out the Green Man 54 and tested three skins:

30mm Mohair
30mm Nylon
45mm Mohair

The 30mm Mohair was the control on the right ski for every comparison.

Snow conditions was 5" of fresh snow heavily infected by hours of sleet Heavy, dense, very slippery snow with all the ice pellets. A dust of snow on top. It was 33degF at the parking lot, and snowflakes could still be discerned when I picked up snow to examine. Toko RED grip wax did absolutely nothing, though I was pretty high in the temperature range. Yellow would have *maybe* worked on the dust on top, but I did not want to gum up my skins. Basically: slippery, grip wax almost ineffectual without some real working it out.

The 30mm Mohair moved very nicely, with good grip. Glide was very poor at first. I then waxed the mohair and this improved glide considerably. Night and day difference. The dry snow on top slowed the skin down a bit from the much warmer, wetter temperatures of last week.

The Mohair vs Nylon was night and day. The nylon was very grippy, had little glide even when waxed. Good grip going up hills. The difference was so noticeable I could barely ski safely down the hills as one ski grabbed and the other slid. Would recommend for very wet hilly/climbing conditions.

The 30mm Mohair vs 45mm Mohair was very interesting. Glide was imperceptibly different. I could barely tell the difference, and it could easily have been my imagination since I knew which ski had the 45mm. However, on a icy hill the 45mm gripped better-- with no real risk of losing glide.

I then did my standard loop on the 30mm Mohair on both skis and had very nice ski. Figuring out the wax for these peculiar snow conditions would have made it slightly more enjoyable because the snow was fast with all the sleet in it, but it would have been a work of wax alchemy I am sure. The skins just made it easy easy easy.

Conclusion: For long multi-day trip, 45mm Mohair wins, with a Nylon backup (but which width nylon?)

[lilcliffy]

More excellent stuff man.

My experience suggests not to rule out the 30mm mohair yet on that ski...
I tend to always err on the side of glide- moving to more grip if absolutely needed...
There is a lot of conditions where the 35mm on that ski is going to blow away the 45mm.

As far as the nylon- blah.
Yeah it's more durable. But blah.

[Woodserson]

My experience suggests not to rule out the 30mm mohair yet on that ski...
I tend to always err on the side of glide- moving to more grip if absolutely needed...
There is a lot of conditions where the 35mm on that ski is going to blow away the 45mm.

As far as the nylon- blah.
Yeah it's more durable. But blah.

You can only bring 2... which 2?