Peltonen Metsa Step Ski Review Metsäsukset

[JeffXCD]

Most xc turns are swing step of some kind. We're not horsing the skis around and only some turns are downhill. Swing-tail or swing-tip. Skate or step. We can do the same w the Metsa but the radius will be wider. Just can't make as tight of a turn. Suitable for open areas.

Like snowshoes but with honest glide?

I had a pair of 230 forest skis, as I recall. Just didn't use em and sold them along. Wish I'd kept em. Jeez. I was gonna use em for trail-breaking and hopefully for getting glide in deep stuff. I forget how well they worked or didn't. These Metsa are interesting! Especially if available in the USA.

[wabene]

https://varuste.net/en/c6126/backcountry-skis

$190 for the step and $224 for the skin. Good price I wonder about the shipping.

[Stephen]

You can check ship cost by putting it in your cart and go to checkout.
No cost to do that.
For the 270cm — ouch…

[wabene]

Here was my order from SNOWINN in Spain last spring. The skis are shorter, 189cm, but it's still much cheaper. Last spring SNOWINN was the only retailer with these items in stock.

[Stephen]

@wabene, below is the shipping cost from Varuste for the exact same ski.
The earlier picture with high shipping cost was for Peltonen Metsa Step Skis in 270cm.
Of course there would be a huge shipping cost difference between those, and 189cm skis.


Varuste:
Fischer S-Bound 98, 189cm shipping cost.

[freedom glider]

favorite of the reviews from the varuste link:

"Slips surprisingly well, the hair doesn't seem to stop. Helps hold uphill when properly stepped on. After the OAC Kar, you have to learn to ski again and not to walk on skis. These sink like a stone into a soft solid project, but if there is a little bottom, then good ones and hopefully really good ones in the spring. They do not show lateral ossification, which is why they were acquired. Does not rise to the tip lightly on the surface and turning is a process compared to OAC, but these allow you to ski!"

[wabene]

@Stephen I just price checked the same S-Bound 98's at SNOWINN and with shipping they are $10 more than I paid last year for that total order with the poles. The bottom line for me is I'm not buying from Europe unless the product is deeply discounted to make up for the huge shipping costs.

[Stephen]

The bottom line for me is I'm not buying from Europe unless the product is deeply discounted to make up for the huge shipping costs.

That sounds reasonable — like a pair of ALFA Free boots at Varuste for $377, including the $11 delivery to USA vs. REI for $719 with free shipping?

On a similar, but unrelated note, I end up being torn on the whole buy local thing.
I totally understand the concept. How do I know a pair of ALFA Free in size 47 are going to fit me without trying them on?
I don’t.
On the other hand, am I willing to pay double the price (extreme, but like in the case above) to buy local?
That’s a hard one to accept.

I have no idea how this is going to play out in the future.
Obviously there is a place for things like REI, Home Depot, Best Buy, and the local Ace Hardware store.
But it has to be hard for local brick and mortar to compete with Internet retail.

Random musings on a rainy day…