Asnes MT65 (USGI) Combat Skis

[Desmo]

I just ordered two pairs of the 210's! This thread, and lcliffy's thread on waxing just pushed me to buy these!

I have been kicking around getting a pair of 78's, but I already have all sorts of kick wax, corks, scrapers, klister, glide wax, and an iron....so these were kind of a no brainer for me. Much cheaper too!

I have an old pair of E99's for days when I feel like waxless might be a better choice too.

I'll probably get a 3 pin 75mm binding for one pair now, and might get some NNN-BC for the second pair. That would require new boots too.

[lilcliffy]

Sounds like wicked fun!!

The 3-pin will obviously allow a burly Telemark boot on this ski if you want to ski some serious terrain with it.

I have NNNBC on this ski- which limits the boot power- but, I am using this ski primarily for XC skiing.

This ski is too heavy for any serious downhill skiing with an NNNBC boot.

Cool- let us know how you make out!

[lilcliffy]

I just got a pair of these in a 210 length, which weigh 3200g give or take. My question is what kind of binding will work best with these skis; am leaning towards NNN BC but worry they are not heavy duty enough given the weight of the ski. Alternately a 75mm binding, though would have to then get the boots. Any thoughts?

Hey Niles,

Not sure if I was clear in my response to you.

The USGI ski is quite heavy and stiff.

My experience is this-

Currently, NNNBC boots are limited to the XC end of the XCD/Telemark spectrum- therefore, one needs a very light, reasonably narrow ski to do any serious downhill skiing with an NNNBC setup.

So- if you want to do any serious downhill skiing with this ski, I recommend a 3-pin binding and a Telemark boot.
Gareth

[niles]

OK thx; I don't do downhill but rather back country explorations with an occasional foray into prepared tracks. I do have some questions re boot fit, posted separately under subject "NNNBC boot for wide feet". Input welcome!

[Desmo]

Sounds like wicked fun!!

The 3-pin will obviously allow a burly Telemark boot on this ski if you want to ski some serious terrain with it.

I have NNNBC on this ski- which limits the boot power- but, I am using this ski primarily for XC skiing.

This ski is too heavy for any serious downhill skiing with an NNNBC boot.

Cool- let us know how you make out!

I'll be primarily xc skiing on these as well. I think I'd throw on a touring 3 pin binding.....not a telemark binding.
I'd likely pick up a manual nnnbc binding for the second set, and find a pair of decent boots on sale for those.

I'll be sure to post once I get them, and get a few runs in!

[Desmo]

I just got an email shipping confirmation... my skis are being delivered tomorrow!!

I ended up getting a set of nnn bc bindings, and a pair of Fischer bcx6 boots on a very good sale. The boots are last year's model, so they're trying to move them.

Boots are pretty stiff, but I know these skis are on the heavy side. Are these boots a good match for the USGI skis?

Getting some snow in New England today.... looking forward to giving these a go!

Thanks for the help!!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[lilcliffy]

That boot, binding and ski combination is wicked- you will love it- fast, smooth, snappy and stable.

[Desmo]

That boot, binding and ski combination is wicked- you will love it- fast, smooth, snappy and stable.

Awesome! Thanks man....sooo looking forward to these!

[Desmo]

I got out just after first light on my USGI's today. It was already 30°F, so I wanted to get an early start before it got too warm. I corked in some Swix V55 and set out. I haven't hot waxed the the tips and tails yet....they got a quick swipe of Swix F4 liquid wax. Glide was decent considering how warm and wet the snow was. Snow cover was getting pretty thin in spots too. The kick was really good on these, I had no trouble climbing a 25° hill at all. The downhills were really fun on these. There's a pretty long descent that I usually fall once on...not today though!

The trails I was on today are wide enough to bring a vehicle on, so I really need to learn how to turn to make it a bit more interesting....not that screaming down straight ahead isn't fun! There's actually a crown in the center of the trails, and wheel ruts on the left and right that make things interesting with light snow cover. When we had 2 feet, I didn't even notice.

These skis are pretty much perfect for me back here....there's no steep downhill stuff, and I had no climbing issues at all. The glide got a bit sluggish as it warmed up though. I may pick up another set of NNN BC bindings and set up warm & cold waxed sets of skis.

Bindings were mounted with bar on balance point.
The wax pocket is pretty long on these! It extends quite far in front of my foot, and pretty much ends right at the heel, maybe a bit shorter.
Sidewalls are wood, no covering on them. There was metal under the front 3 screws as well.

[t-$]

oh sweet, you got the wood sidewall ones! i kinda wanted mine to have wood walls.

just watch those edges don't tear em up when/if duckwalking (as i'm sure you know). mine are looking pretty ragged already, but you know, i suck at skiing so...

have fun on those things!