Fischer Excursion 88 and Transnordic 66 Length

[YooperXC]

After reading a number posts regarding the E99/TN 66 I am leaning towards exchanging the TN 205's (under warranty) to the 210 cm. At 175 lbs in my birthday suit and being a true novice to the sport would the 210 be frustrating as good XC form will be needed. I feel like I have good form on occasions as the K&G feels fast and efficient on my 200 cm' until I lose my balance and stride. The big toe, little toe thing is still being developed as well.

This is kind of like the Three Bears story - bed too soft, bed too hard, and the bed that is just perfect. Is the 205 cm the "perfect" ski length for my weight or should I just go balls to walls and get the 210 cm ski that is going to give me a ride like a Bat out of Hell?

Boy the E99/TN66 sure does get some love on this forum!

[wabene]

Thanks fisheater..... caught my first King a few weeks ago on my boat in Lake Superior....fun.

Telemark Pyrenees provides great customer service and the ski prices are tough to beat, even with shipping across the big lake.

I am highly confident the Excursion 88 in 199cm will fit the bill. It seems strange the Fischer discontinued the waxless version of the E109 as I probably would have selected this ski over the E88.

I will be sticking with the TN 66 205 cm this year (after warranty replacement) as I believe I believe the 205 will work well for me as a novice in this sport.

I also have an older (1980's?) E99 tour 205 cm waxable set of skis that I have not used yet. They need some TLC due to minor delamination on the tips, but overall the skis seem to be in good shape. Getting the grip wax right seems somewhat daunting.

That pair of E99 wax you have is perfect to practice your wax skills. You can always have the T66 fishscales as a backup in your ride in case you just can't get kick that day. My rule of thumb is temps CONSISTENTLY at 28f (-2.2c) and below are easy to wax for. When temps are consistently cold (then the snow isn't melted and refrozen) Swix green and blue extra (or whatever brand) are about all you need. Then when it gets warmer you can either grab your fishscales or stick a kicker skin right on that blue extra. As per this forum I've dabbled in warm weather wax and this is where it gets trickier. I think it was @fisheater that got me to try Start Purple Osolo around freezing on my Gammes. The first time it was magic and I thought I had it all figured out. The next time I had zero kick and couldn't use my skins over the stickier wax. I haven't completely abandoned warm waxing, but skins and fishscales really work well when it's warm.

[YooperXC]

wabene and fisheater....

Thanks for the info on kick wax.

I should not shy away for the smooth ski as my intro to the sport was on a set of combi 44 mm wax skis that a friend loaned me. I will fix the delamination on the E99 tour and apply was, kick wax as needed. If this rocks I may (next year) look into the Falketind Explore 62 that fisheater so eloquently reviewed.

I need more skis like I need more fishing poles (20+) and boat to replace my 2021 Lund?

Here is a pic of my E99 tours

[Severianin]

If buying the Excursion 88, I recommend buying the longest ski they make - the 199. That ski is so soft and slow that you'll want the extra length. I skied on them for a season in Alaska before I sold them. They are great for off-track tundra skiing in the spring, but slow as a snowshoe for just about everything else.

Tyler

[YooperXC]

Brief follow up:

The Transnordic 66 in 205 cm is a more appropriate ski size vs the 200 cm TN 66 for my weight and I do not hear the waxless pattern buzzing nearly as much as the 200's. Time will tell if it is the snow conditions or just a better fit. The K&G so far is very good in 4 to 10 inches of warm snow and climbing on moderate slopes is great. Boy can these fly! It does appear that I am able to perform some novice tele turns with this ski as well.

The Excursion 88 in 199cm is the correct size for my 175 lbs. The K&G on this ski is really good, but slower than the TN 66. It does appear that the E88 does turn a little easier than the TN66. More time is needed on both skis.

I am having trouble getting the grip wax right on the E99 tours. I should probably wait until temps get a little colder.