Ski recommendation

[Larshaha]

"Very strange that Åsnes is being so short and not very helpful when you ask for assistance..."

Is that a Norwegian thing? I honestly don't know much about the culture, so I'm not taking the brevity personally. I know that a Japanese response would be fulsome, and unnecessarily apologetic, but I speak it passably, have lived there, and married into the culture. I can't judge a Norwegian response.

Wouldn't really say so, but in Norway we are typically in contact with the shops selling the gear, not the manufacturer directly. Åsnes focus on selling to the different vendors, while the vendors focus on selling to the consumer. That being said, I'm surprised by the lackluster answer...

[エイダン.シダル]

Thank you for that. I'm passing no judgement on Norwegian culture, just giving benefit of the doubt.

For what it's worth, my English father (I'm Canadian) did several youth exchanges there, and raved about the place: Bergen. He tried to emigrate, but Norway wasn't taking then: Canada was, so here I am. I'd love to get to Norway, some day.

[Musk Ox]

"Very strange that Åsnes is being so short and not very helpful when you ask for assistance..."

Is that a Norwegian thing? I honestly don't know much about the culture, so I'm not taking the brevity personally. I know that a Japanese response would be fulsome, and unnecessarily apologetic, but I speak it passably, have lived there, and married into the culture. I can't judge a Norwegian response.

All the contact I've had with Åsnes has been pretty helpful.

But it's definitely true that Scandinavian work emails are very to the point! It's fine and normal. They're definitely quite short to a British sensibility. British work emails are somewhere between Japanese and Scandinavian with a bit of obligatory apologising. Danish and Norwegian emails are bit "Where is that file? Arne"

It's fine. You get used to it pretty quickly. My wife always asks me for advice writing emails to British colleagues. From her perspective it's equally amusing!

[CwmRaider]

Reply:

"Ingstad and Combat are about the same ski.
Attach the link here so you can read about them."

Take that for what it's worth, as I haven't skied either. NATO are heavier.

Even if the only difference would be the rocker, it still makes a considerable difference in certain situations. Imagine XC skiing on consolidated snow on skis with the same stiffness but one pair is 50 cm shorter in the front. That is the effect of rocker. On loose snow rocker is less penalizing for XC skiing and has advantages for downhill, probably in almost all situations

I was served the same response in a mountaineering shop in downtown in Norway: "they are the same ski", amazing that the salesperson never squeezed the two types together, I actually got doubts and squeezed Ingstad and Nato. Big difference. I did buy the Natos there and have them mounted. Perhaps it just wasn't that particular seller's field. From Åsnes, perhaps it was not a skiing expert who answered the e-mail, or they still for some reason had the old Ingstad in mind (which was more like the same ski).

Thanks again, Roleant. I also believe this would be a great ski for me.

Very strange that Åsnes is being so short and not very helpful when you ask for assistance... Clearly everyone thinks there is a significant enough difference to comment on. There is also a quite large weight difference and they recommend different lengths for those two skis.

Ive been looking online today to buy skis (both Combat Nato and Ingstad) and its getting pretty sold out for this season in my lengths. I am 185, weighing about 80 and the recommended length is then about 200, but only 190 available. It seems most recommend a size up rather than down?

If I have to wait for next season to get my own skis, then I can also see what kind of reviews this Sverdrup ends up getting.

Did your buddy let you try the Combat?
I imagine skiing season is almost over, possibly you can get some great deal. Otherwise just wait?
The Combat and Ingstad are not found in the same lengths, this is possibly another reason why the length recommendation is different. They switched from 170 180 190 200 210 cm to 165 175 185 195 205 cm a few years ago.
The Combat is a military issue ski and it was not updated, presumably to maintain the same standards with the existing skis already issued.

[Larshaha]

Havent tried any of the other skis, sadly. With the understanding that Combat Nato is much better on consolidated snow I believe this will be the best option for me as that is very common in Rondane area. Sadly Im not able to find it in 200cm currently, so might opt for the Ingstad 195 or wait for next year (then I can know more about the Sverdrup ski as well)... Thanks again for all assistance!

[lilcliffy]

The current Ingstad and the Combat Nato are VERY different skis.

Yes- they share a similar sidecut profile- that is the only thing that they share in terms of overall geometry, flex pattern and stiffness.

Even the shape and profile of the tip is different between these two skis.

Where the confusion lies is that the previous generation "Ingstad" and Combat Nato were essentially the same ski.

[Larshaha]

The current Ingstad and the Combat Nato are VERY different skis.

Yes- they share a similar sidecut profile- that is the only thing that they share in terms of overall geometry, flex pattern and stiffness.

Even the shape and profile of the tip is different between these two skis.

Where the confusion lies is that the previous generation "Ingstad" and Combat Nato were essentially the same ski.

Haha, well it never gets easy deciding... I know that I am happy with the Ingstads as I have tried them a few times now,though I do have a feeling combat nato would be even better due to their versatility and that the snow is usually very hard packed where I ski. Looks like it will be difficult to buy this season (sold out in my sizes), so unless something shows up I'll buy at the beginning of next season(then I can potentially have a look at the Sverdrups as well). Thanks again!

[greatgt]

99's or 109's have the goods.....They really cruise well...Rocker hurts a bit on the up so you have to adjust your hill climbing....Both wax up well and that helps....Been using the 109's for a couple of years and they turn really well but in a Nordic sense....Both are fast which is good as speed helps in turning....Both sets would rather do arcs than traditional Lift served type turns.....Whatever length you decide on get them longer.....TM