MR48- what is it really like on a groomed track?

[lilcliffy]

My NNN Classic touring boots are done.

(I don't actually ski very much on the track- but I do like to get out on it during a very busy work week in town.)

At this point I am considering two options:
1) Buy a replacement NNN Classic boot for my track touring skis.
2) Buy the Asnes Mountain Race 48 and mount NNNBC on it.

Considering how little I ski on track I am seriously considering the MR48 instead of buying a new Classic NNN boot...

I have ZERO interest in buying a cheap boot- they are uncomfortable, cold, have terrible lacing and lack durability.
So- if I buy a new boot I am thinking I may have to spend at least $250CAN to get a decent boot.

My current Classic touring ski is a 207cm Atomic Motion 46. These skis are perfect for me- they have a very effective wax pocket yet are chill, relaxed, and easy to compress- I can glide along at whatever speed I choose (very compatible with skiing with newbies, young children, grampies/grammies, and beer drinking Nordic skiers!)-
My point is that I don't need or want a performance-oriented Classic track ski- I would never use it!

So with all that- I am wondering if the MR48 has enough camber and stiffness to truly perform on a groomed track?
If it does then it is not only all I want on the track it would double as a light-duty off-track ski- plus the extra utility of kicker skin insert during a midwinter rain-refreeze event.

Thoughts?

[lilcliffy]

In the meantime I will use my 210cm E99 Xtalite- which would actually probably do just fine if it didn't have so much tip rocker (short and slow glide zone on the groomed track).

So as another consideration-
I am thinking that the camber and flex of the MT51 and the E99 Xtralite are probably pretty close...(the MT51 has no rocker so would be more efficient on the track?) Am I correct in this?

I am assuming the MR48 has more camber and stiffness than the MT51 and is a faster track ski?

[boby13]

So with all that- I am wondering if the MR48 has enough camber and stiffness to truly perform on a groomed track?
If it does then it is not only all I want on the track it would double as a light-duty off-track ski- plus the extra utility of kicker skin insert during a midwinter rain-refreeze event.

Thoughts?

I have the MR48 SKIN version in 210cm and the camber is lower and softer than my e99 Xtralite 200cm.

In fact, this ski in its skin version is not working for me at all. I weight 165 pounds and in groomed tracks I easily squash the camber. The skins witch are sticking out 1/2 mm of the base are always dragging, even when my weight is distributed equally on my 2 skis.
Off track, its a constant catch and release with the skin trowing me off balance.

Similar observations in the reviews here: https://www.fjellsport.no/asnes-mountai ... e-211.html

So I can't say more until I remove that integrated skin and fill the void with Ptex... should be a lot better with kick wax.

[lilcliffy]

This is very helpful useful information Boby thank you!

VERY interesting.

Although I would be getting the wax version of the MR48- it seems this is not the ski I want!

(I know- I could just mount NNNBC on the Atomic Motion 46...)

For comparison to your 210cm MR48 at 175lbs there is an effective wax pocket under my 207cm Atomic and I can kinda barely squeeze the bases together with both of my logger-farmer hands.

The MR48 does not seem to be what I am looking for...
Fischer 89 Tour Xtralite?
Anybody know anything about the tip rocker on this ski?
Haven't tried this ski in a few years. It definitely has lots of camber and stiffness underfoot- more than the E99.

[athabascae]

Yes. This is really helpful, and contrary to what I had thought.

I wonder if this is an issue constrained to the skin (yellow) version, or does it apply also to the waxable (green) counterpart?

[fisheater]

I believe I have read positive reviews of the MR 48, and I know I have read positive reviews of the MT 51. Perhaps Åsnes just has not perfected the skin MR 48?

[Woodserson]

I believe I have read positive reviews of the MR 48, and I know I have read positive reviews of the MT 51. Perhaps Åsnes just has not perfected the skin MR 48?

It seems this is a thing. I know two people locally on Fischer & Salomon skin skis for tracks and neither of them "could get the to go..." one was too grippy, the other not enough. There is a precision thing that is needed to use them efficiently. I have a pair of Powers I picked up cheap over the summer... I'm on the lower end of the weight range for the ski per the sticker that Fischer put on there. We shall see!

[bgregoire]

Hi G,

Seems like you found a new vantage point to exploit in the hopes of convincing yourself of getting a new pair of skis!

If I were you I’d just slap a cheap pair of nnnbc on the lovely atomics and call it a day.

All that extra cash could go to charity!

By the way, the Alfa track ski boots are awesome AND warm. At least for my wide toes.

Be well! Decent snow is on its way!

[Franz]

I wish I had logger-farmer hands. I have crappy desk-jockey hands.

[Musk Ox]

The MR 48 is pretty clearly tuned for loose-but-not-bottomless snow, following freshly broken trail, and the plateau with some nice powder on top. Mine are unequivocally fast on that.

At 79kg I squish my 190s a little too easily when I’m wearing a pack, that’s true (I’d assumed I’d simply bought the wrong length... at 10cm increments there will be compromises, but I’m in no doubt I’d have ignored the sizing charts if I’d had a shop fitting to be honest.)

Even so, while we’re not keeping up with skaters, which I've read of, my experience is that they’re hardly ‘slow' on groomed tracks. I keep out of the rails usually. My wife's much faster on hers. But this is a question of technique as much as it is camber in my case. She's lighter than me too. I have both waxable and MR 48 Skins. The skin skis are noticeably slower than the waxable bases on hard snow, but barely distinguishable on looser snow. It’s not a dealbreaker for me if I go light given the convenience. Just squeezed them and them seem identically stiff to me.

I suspected the longer glide surfaces and the stiffness of the 200s would fix my squishing issue and the drag with the Skins, so it’s interesting to see them categorised as simply ’soft’.

When I get the chance I’ll go down the shop and squeeze some of the long ones and report back.