Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

As you know, there is one thing I really don't appreciate: ❖verpriced cheap skis.
But what about cheap skis for a very cheap price? This is what Erik Sports' Whitewoods has always been about.

Unfortunately, just like the past 2 seasons, their products don't seem to be available anywhere... (Nobody wants to carry them? )

Meet the Cross-Tour, Cross-Tour JR, WhiteTail, Explorer, Phantom and the new version of the old classic Outlander with it's own Whitewoods universal bindings.

Waxless fjellskis for the poor? I never tried any of their skis, so I can't comment about the quality. Perhaps they have changed and they are now awesome...? I'd be ready to give them a chance... I tried several times in the past 5 years to get my hands on the previously super-shaped Outlanders... Without any luck... (Click to zoom)

Cheap skis will work fine for most people especially since their boots are probably just as cheap.

Johnny wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:36 am

As you know, there is one thing I really don't appreciate: ❖verpriced cheap skis.
But what about cheap skis for a very cheap price? This is what Erik Sports' Whitewoods has always been about.

Sometimes the cost savings is in the build, sometimes it is in the R&D.

The year after Alpina got kicked out of the Fischer factory to make room for Rossignol, I noticed a distinct overlap in product specifications between Whitewoods, Sporten, and Alpina. The Whitewoods skis seemed to share the specifications with many of that year's Sporten and Alpina Control skis.

When the skis appear to be identical to some other ski being made in the Sporten factory, you have to wonder if they bother changing the product specification at all, or if they just buy up the excess that production line could make with no changes except for the top sheet?

riel wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 12:19 pm

I noticed a distinct overlap in product specifications between Whitewoods, Sporten, and Alpina. The Whitewoods skis seemed to share the specifications with many of that year's Sporten and Alpina Control skis.

Yep. We see that more and more. Here in North America, there are only 5 ski factories left. Two of them are in Canada, one in Whistler and we have a very nice one here in Quebec (St-Narcisse-de-Rimouski) called Utopie MFG. They make skis and boards for several brands in the USA...

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/64 ... t-narcisse

Johnny wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:36 am

I tried several times in the past 5 years to get my hands on the previously super-shaped Outlanders... Without any luck... (Click to zoom)

ES-2021_036-Oulander_w1.jpg

I'm not sure that old sidecut made a whole lot of sense, to be honest. In order to use that sidecut for turning, the skishoe would need to have a fairly soft flex. At that point, it won't give you the flotation you need to stay on top of fresh snow, which is where you would want to use skishoes in the first place.

When the snow is soft enough that skishoes make sense to use, flex is likely to be a more important instrument in turning than sidecut. The Altai Hok does not have all that much sidecut, but it is easy to turn in all the conditions I tried it.

At least it looks like the Outlander has the binding a little forward, like the Altai Hoks, to avoid the "make the uphill feel even steeper" syndrome you get when skis like this are mounted on the balance point. The got that detail right. The fishscales on the new Outlander worry me a little, though...

riel wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 1:34 pm

I'm not sure that old sidecut made a whole lot of sense, to be honest.

It didn't make any sense at all. Hence the reason I really wanted a pair!!!
The first generation had a turning radius of like... 3 meters?!? Exactly the crazy kind of stuff I like...!

The fishscales on the new Outlander worry me a little, though...

OUCH!!!! This is terribly BAD...!
We, can always spread kick wax on the scales... But beginners and snowshoers won't. Ouch.

The extend of the scales on this ski literally created a new class of ski by itself. We now have a GZL ski…Glide Zone Less…

Nitram Tocrut wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:58 pm

The extend of the scales on this ski literally created a new class of ski by itself. We now have a GZL ski…Glide Zone Less…

The glide zones cover the entire length of the ski, they are just alongside the fishscales. I am sure they glide great when you are trying to navigate a side hill and could really use the grip.

It looks almost like these things were designed for a skin insert, but at the last minute they decided to use fishscales instead.

riel wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 02, 2021 4:42 pm

It looks almost like these things were designed for a skin insert, but at the last minute they decided to use fishscales instead.

But… maybe fish scales are the equivalent of skin for mammals Maybe we shall now say fish skins or mammal scales so we include most animals and do not discriminate

Food for thought