Thanks everyone for the details on how these skis feel to you. I figure the Elan Ripstick 96 172 cm I have is in the same ballpark as the Volkl Blaze 94 , at least as far as what they're good at. It sounds like the Blaze 94 is on the quick turns, easy to smear side of things, which matches up with w...

Asolo Extreme Plus -- Is that the one with the two buckles? If so, that has a lot of forward lean built in, which I found doesn't tour very well. That spoiler in the back bothered me while kicking-and-gliding.

Well, that's good to hear, because I already have too many soft snow skis with lots of camber. I have a pair of Dynastar Legend 96 in 178 length (2019 model) and a pair of Elan Ripstick 96 in 172 length (2021 model). Neither are the best ski ever, but they're both good, in different ways. What I thi...

I've attached a graphic showing the side profile of two skis, the Volkl Blaze 94 and the Blizzard Brahma 88. If you look at the areas of the skis labeled 'rise', you can see that the Blaze 94 has a long area in which the bases of the skis are not touching each other, while the Brahma 88 has much les...

Sorry to go a bit off-topic here, or perhaps it's on-topic since the subject is recommendations for a telemark ski for downhill... I used to like stiffer skis with metal, but I'm getting more seasoned and enjoy a softer ski much more now. Just look for lighter skis with a metal reinforcing mounting ...

Good point! Any advice on what to use to seal the welt and stitching? Thanks.

You waterlogged your Asolo Extremes to fit them? I guess if you did that and they survived, maybe that's what I should do. The ones I got are almost new, and are quite stiff. I rubbed in a fair amount of Limmer Boot Grease, just across the forefoot and in the tongue and gussets. I was careful to kee...

It sounds like you know what you want in a ski, and my experience has been in the Northeast US, with very different snow conditions than in California, but... It sounds to me like you might want to look at the various Asnes skis. Most of their skis are waxable and are designed for breaking trail, et...

The boots are Asolo Extreme, which look like this: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/S14AAOSwk75mcOiM/s-l1600.webp For a boot stretcher, I was looking at something like this: https://www.amazon.com/FootFitter-Premium-Professional-Stretcher-Stretching/dp/B000PMNS3E/ or this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0...

Northeast US forest wanderer here. IMO... Fish scale bases are great for wandering in the woods, bushwhacking to hunt a few powder turns, but also for getting back to the car as darkness approaches. I've been skiing a pair of Madshus Annum for years now. The current version is called Panorama M78, a...