Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

I am seriously disappointed with the trend of putting low-profile tips on BC Nordic touring skis.

Yeah- maybe they are "sexy" and make a ski "look" like a downhill ski- and downhill skiing is WAAAY more sexy than cross-country skiing (despite all the "drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex").

However- in the real world- if you are travelling and want to break trail through fresh deep snow- there is no replacement for displacement- a broad, raised, elongated tip.

As a comparison of tips- three similar skis (that I currently own):

1) Asnes Ingstad/Combat Nato: bad-ass, trail-breaking tip machine.

2) Fischer E-109: low-profile, wimpy and stupid.

3) Madshus Eon: pathetic and embarrassing.

I just checked this out on my skis vs. the Ingstad. At first I overlay them on top of one another and I didn't see much difference. The profile is actually pretty close on all three (Eon, S78 and Ingstad). Not sure how much different the E109 might be than the S78?

Then I looked at side profile. Yeah there is a big difference. The Ingstad is a good 2cm taller.

I was going to take a pic but my batteries are all dead. Maybe later on if I remember.

I store my skis in my basement up against a square wall. The skis tails are all on the same plane- so the profile's of my skis' tips are very obvious. The 205cm Eon tip lies almost flat on the wall; the 205cm E-109- though still low-profile is noticeably taller; the 210cm Combat Nato above the E-109, and its width is extended further as well.

The effectiveness of the Combat's tip is particularly evident when breaking trail through deep snow. The effectiveness of this is a complex of both the dimensions of the tip, as well as the flex pattern of the tip- and the whole ski for that matter. The tip of the Combat is much more stable- a result of flex, and lack of rocker- I also wonder about the effect of the full-wrap steel edge in terms if tip performance...

Asnes knows what the heck they're doing.

I got a pair of big, white US Army planks for $20/pr made by Asnes from a surplus barn. Mounted them with plain 3-pin bindings (made by Voile for Karhu). They're straight, wide, relatively heavy, with a very stiff double camber, but very soft tip and tail. Very much a slogging-through-the-snow-under-a-heavy-load type of ski. They're surprisingly good for what they are (I mean, $20 a pair, new!). I'm sure Asnes' current lineup, including the NATO ski, are really nice.

I noticed that the current NATO ski has dimensions (84-62-74) midway between the old Fischer Rebound (88-60-78) and the Madshus Eon (83-62-70). That sounds like it would be good for ski-trekking through the woods in soft snow. For those of us who like that kind of thing, at any rate.

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rongon wrote: I noticed that the current NATO ski has dimensions (84-62-74) midway between the old Fischer Rebound (88-60-78) and the Madshus Eon (83-62-70). That sounds like it would be good for ski-trekking through the woods in soft snow. For those of us who like that kind of thing, at any rate.

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There are a number of us who like that kind of thing.