NNN BC sole bail protector

[athabascae]

Probably (another) stupid question on my part, but does anyone use these bail sole protectors for NNN BC boots?



I'm going back-and-forth on whether to go NNN BC on a new set of skis, but am worried about walking around in the boots in rocky country (creek beds, talus slopes) and breaking the bar far from home... This is one of the reasons why I like 75 mm - not much worry about breaking critical parts.

Also, I can't seem to find these online other than this video. Does anyone know where they are available?

Thanks.

Tom

[MikeK]

That piece of the boot, especially on the Alaska, is pretty stout. It would be hard to break.

OTOH I can't see those protectors doing much harm, and they'd surely keep that part of the boot getting wadded up with snow.

The one thing that I always thought was great about the NNN BC boots is that I can fit them in my crampons and snowshoes much better than a pin boot. I never have, but the toe is more natural shaped.

[lilcliffy]

Those dew-jiggies are very cool- never heard of them before...what boot is that in the video?

I understand your anxiety around NNN-BC and durability. I myself thought the idea of NNN-BC was ridiculous- for many, many years. (my lure to NNN-BC was trying new boots- and then eventually testing an NNN-BC setup- several years ago)

Despite the anxiety- I can personally attest to thousands of kilometers of intensive XCD skiing in both moderate and mountainous terrain- I have never had a breakdown related to the boot sole- nor the binding. I regularly walk in my boots and cross watercourses.

I too, use my NNN-BC boot in snowshoes- as I often carry snowshoes on my back, in order to complete field work in very dense softwood forest.

One thing I won't do in my NNN-BC boots is mountaineering though. I have done a number of trips were I have climbed up very steep slopes- in order to ski at the summit and down the back side. In this context I have worn my mountaineering boots and carried my ski boots in my pack. (But this was no different than when I was exclusively on 75mm in the BC)

Despite the traditional anxiety- there is very little actual reporting on NNN-BC boot/binding failures (there are reports of failures of track NNN boots/bindings failing in the BC).

I don't hiking in my 75mm boots either- and I find that any serious amount of it causes pre-mature wear to the sole and pin-holes.

The aggressive, lugged, vibram sole is certainly better for hiking than the Rottefella NNN-BC outsole.

[athabascae]

This Swedish system looks interesting - it appears to accomplish two things: a) protect the bar of your nnn/sns boot, and b) provide traction on slippery surfaces. It doesn't look like they make a NNN BC version though.

Brilliant concept - leave it to the Swedes!

http://redcreek.se/en/produkter/ovrigt/

Has anyone tried these?

[bgregoire]

Its a neat idea, but in reality, i doubt they are really useful. Your going to have to think of bringing them with you all the time, and probably sit on snow to put them on, and then again you can loose them easily i presume. In the end though, I have never seen a NNN BC toe bar fail. Just dont kick hard things and go walk the dog on asphalt and concrete roads with them and all will be fine. You should be more concerned about the durability of the binding itself, keeping all snow and ice out of the mechanism. On an extended winter camping expedition, I would bring at least 1 spare binding. If you can bring your ski inside every evening, I would not bother ans you can melt any accumulation of snow and ice lodged inside.

[Freefix]

"The one thing that I always thought was great about the NNN BC boots is that I can fit them in my crampons and snowshoes much better than a pin boot. I never have, but the toe is more natural shaped."

I confess I've never been in a situation where I was wearing ski boots and decided to strap on snow shoes instead of, well, skis.

I have a pretty sweet set of step-in crampons specifically designed to fit (among other things) duckbills. They're aluminum so they're super light and great on hardpack, climbing couliors, etc. but I think they'd bend on mixed terrain and not bite into straight ice. Then again, I don't have much desire to ski rocks or ice.

I think they are (were?) made by CAMP. Picked them up in a bargain bin over a decade ago. Here's what I think is a more modern version: http://www.camp-usa.com/products/crampo ... automatic/