The Mid-Width BC-XC Ski Myth?

[Woodserson]

interesting. they say Fischer generally has more camber than Madshus skis. Still wonder if I should have taken those $130 E109 crown 205's last summer, they were sitting there online for weeks.

what. where? where was I?

[HBS]

Every once in a while I look at a ski like the Asnes Nansen (76-56-66) and wonder...

I have both an e89/Voss (Bonna Conquest) and e109/Eon (Asnes Ingstad) class ski, and very much like having the flexibility to chose either depending on where I plan to ski, the conditions, and my mood. They are quite different skis, with quite different characteristics.

Having said that, if I only had one ski I too would look hard at the Asnes Nansen.

Tom

Yeah- the specs on the Nansen seem to split the Ingstad and the Gamme 54 in half...
The Gamme 54 and the Nansen have the same waist- the Nansen has more sidecut than the Gamme 54...
The Gamme 54 has a slightly rockered tip- if you look at the photo of the Gamme 54- http://www.en.asnes.com/produkt/gamme-54/ - they remind me of the Eon...

Have never seen the tips on the Nansen- but I get the impression that they are more like the Ingstad- in fact the Ingstad appears to be a big brother to the Nansen...But again- the Nansen is only 8mm narrower at the waist then the Ingstad...almost hard to believe that one could effectively notice that, in terms of flotation...

The Nansen is my sole backcountry nordic ski and I love them in the front range of Colorado. No XCD ski will float in fresh fluffy colorado powder, it's just too soft here. However, after a day or two in the sun or with temperatures near freezing things start to consolidate and I can generally keep the tips above the snow when breaking trail.

Downhill the sidecut means I can edge on narrow troughed out trails so it's easier to maintain speed than step turning but you still get a full double cambered ski for K+G.

In the spring, when things really consolidate they do an excellent job staying on top of the snow.

The only real downside over a skinnier ski (Gamme 54 for example) would be schelpping the extra heft at 10,000+ feet.

[Cannatonic]

interesting. they say Fischer generally has more camber than Madshus skis. Still wonder if I should have taken those $130 E109 crown 205's last summer, they were sitting there online for weeks.

what. where? where was I?

read it and weep! I wish I'd taken them now...my $$ was exhausted after the Asnes binge:

http://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.p ... 998#p13998

[lilcliffy]

interesting. they say Fischer generally has more camber than Madshus skis.

Sorry if I screwed that up in my post.

The Fischer E-109 has a higher initial camber than the Madshus Eon and the Combat Nato. The initial camber on the Eon is higher than the Combat Nato. The stiffness of the initial camber on all three of these skis is very similar- it is soft.

It is the stiffness of the low profile second camber that differs on the E-109, Eon and Combat Nato. The E-109 and the Combat Nato are considerably stiffer than the Eon. The E-109- I think, it is close- is stiffer than the Combat Nato- underfoot.

The current E-99 overall has a higher camber and a stiffer flex than the other three skis. But again- the initial camber of the E-99, though higher, is actually quite soft. The second camber is higher profile and significantly stiffer than the other three. Despite this- I find the flex of the E-99 to be remarkably effective on soft fresh snow for such a cambered and stiff ski.

Still wonder if I should have taken those $130 E109 crown 205's last summer, they were sitting there online for weeks.

I AM THE ONE WHO BOUGHT THOSE BABIES- that is where my pair came from! There was only one pair left!

[lilcliffy]

The Nansen is my sole backcountry nordic ski and I love them in the front range of Colorado.

Very cool HBS. I am greatly interested in the Nansen. I am under the impression that the Nansen is a better downhill performer than my Combat Nato/Ingstad.

I think this is due to the flex pattern. Despite how smooth and stable the Combat Nato feels- it is significantly stiffer underfoot than it is in the tip/tail- it has a pronounced- if low-profile- second camber.

I am under the impression that the Nansen has a rounder, smoother, full-length flex- at least compared to the Ingstad.

Gamme the elder describes the flex of the Nansen as the "wet dream" of telemark skiing:
https://www.utemagasinet.no/Utstyr/TEST-Ski-for-fjellet

Would love to talk more about the Nansen! Please consider writing us a review in the review section!

[HBS]

Going to take them up to the local lift served bunny hill and work on teleturns the 28th - I'll write something up then!

I'm not quite up to speed on the lingo but I can definitely turn them in narrow tracks without much trouble. All my skiing this time of year is low angle due to my lack of skill, the avalanche potential out here and thick trees below treeline.