SB98/112 or Madshus Panorama or something else?

[Capercaillie]

My main reason for getting my own set up is because I like to have my dog tow me

The dog skijorers I see at trailheads mostly seem to be on classic waxable or skate skis, never with steel edges. Makes sense, unless you are trying to sandbag your dog with fischscale drag.

[Capercaillie]

Last week a dog skijorer flew past me on some sweet vintage wood skis. Another option to consider.

[powdertothepeople]

FWIW, I just bought a pair of Fischer Excursion 88 (88-68-78) to replace my Rebounds that I destroyed at the end of last season. I'll be mounting 3-Pin Cable bindings and skiing them with either Asolo Extreme or lower-cut Alico leathers. I can't wait to try those out. I chose that combo for a combination of low angled turns and XC skiing on hiking trails, etc.

How did this setup work out? I never pulled the trigger on skis (other than a used pair of Karhu XCDs). The Excursion 88s have gone to the top of my list and I would be curious what you think of yours.

[rongon]

I mounted the Excursion 88s pins on balance point, which on this generation of Fischer 88s is pretty far forward. It's close to cord center, so I figured since those two points are pretty much the same, I'll just go with the balance point mount.

I'm recovering from a surgery, so I'm not able to do any real ski touring, but I did take the skis out into the field behind where I live when we had some nice snow a week or so ago. The skis felt great with leather boots and 3-pin bindings. Nice and stable, courtesy of that 88 waist, but nice and light, so the climbing was close to effortless. They have a channel down the center of the ski base, so they'll feel more 'cross country' on hard packed trails than the Madshus Panorama skis.

I have what's left of an old pair of Fischer Outtabounds from about 20 years ago, which is the same shape as the Excursion 88 (88-67-78). But the flex is very different. The Excursion 88 has noticeably less camber, so it feels softer. That should make the Excursion 88 nice to make turns in soft snow, but it might be slower for kick&glide on hard packed trails. That's not an issue for me because I didn't get these skis for long distance flat-terrain journeys. This pair is meant to be a versatile setup for traversing forested terrain with soft snow, with a mix of woods roads, maybe some turns, into and out of tight spots, lots of up and down. No skiing in set tracks. Think west-central Adirondacks or the Green Mts National Forest in southern Vermont.

One thing that's apparent right away is that the Fischer skis use higher quality base materials than the Madshus Panorama skis. The Excursion 88, like the S-Bound series skis, has sintered tips and tails, with the extruded fish scale pattern in the middle. That means you can hot wax the tips and tails and they'll hold the wax well. The Madshus Panorama skis have a full-length extruded base, which does not hold wax as well.

[wabene]

They have a channel down the center of the ski base, so they'll feel more 'cross country' on hard packed trails than the Madshus Panorama skis.

One thing that's apparent right away is that the Fischer skis use higher quality base materials than the Madshus Panorama skis. The Excursion 88, like the S-Bound series skis, has sintered tips and tails, with the extruded fish scale pattern in the middle. That means you can hot wax the tips and tails and they'll hold the wax well. The Madshus Panorama skis have a full-length extruded base, which does not hold wax as well.

I think this is true. I have the SB98 and it has the track groove. I think this helps for tracking during k&g on harder snow. I use these skis primarily for turns and I don't think the track groove has a negative impact on that. I see no downside and would prefer my M62 had the groove. It doesn't matter as much for my M78, but probably wouldn't hurt that ski either.

I just prepped my M62 and M78 for the first time this season after already using my SB98 and TN66 many times. I agree the base is better quality on the Fischer skis, no doubt. It is a premium sintered base on the tips and tails with the best fishscale pattern on the market. I also like the flex of the Fischer skis.

Price does matter and in my experience I can get Madshus skis cheap, M78 for $165 (clearance) M62 around $200-225 can't remember. Whereas in season Fischer's run $300-400 and Åsnes over $500. That is why I only have a used pair of Åsnes Gamme and Tur Langrenn woodies for my Åsnes quiver. I do dream of other Åsnes models, lol. I did get my TN66's towards the end of season last year for $200. Part of the reason is it is the crown version without the skin lock. The version with crown and easy skin would've been over $300.