Asnes Rabb 68 Ski Review

[lilcliffy]

I have the Eon Wax.

Cool- I much prefer the Eon Wax.

So- I just looked at the map of Finland.
What's the climate like where you ski?
And- is the deep soft snow you have very cold, dry and fluffy?

Doesn't Finland have a much colder, more continental climate than Scandanavia?

[Verskis]

So- I just looked at the map of Finland.
What's the climate like where you ski?
And- is the deep soft snow you have very cold, dry and fluffy?

Doesn't Finland have a much colder, more continental climate than Scandanavia?

Northern and eastern parts of Finland have continental climate, with colder temperatures and more consistent snowpack. However, western and southern Finland have kind of a mix of coastal and continental climate, with very variable temperatures and also variable snow conditons. I think Sweden has mostly similar climate to us (not counting the very south of Sweden or their bigger mountains near the Norwegian border) , but Norway is definitely different, being in the coast with all the mountains.

I am living in Tampere, which is located southwest from central Finland. We have quite variable winter conditions. There have been bad winters with almost no snow at all, and sometimes we get about 50 cm of snow.
This year's January was great, it was constantly snowing with below freezing temperatures, and we had this 50cm of cold, dry and fluffy snow, which was a dream to ski on.
However, now we've had almost two weeks of above freezing temperatures punctuated with some cold nights, and that has thinned the snowpack and made the trails icy, and the rest of the snow is either very hard or crusted. It is not too nice to ski anymore until we get more snow. I need to change my skis to the mountain bike with studded tires, for that the icy trails are superb.

Back to the topic, I was taking the Rabbs to a local groomed ski hill yesterday. The conditions were not really nice, it was mostly ice with piles of manmade snow here and there. In these conditions the Rabbs honestly sucked. The tips were grabby whenever there was a pile of snow, and the edge grip was seriously lacking on the ice. I quickly changed to my old Atomic Beta TM24s, which were very much better. They were not that grabby, and the edgehold was miles better, even though they were also slipping and sliding around on the ice, just not nearly as bad as the Rabbs.
I need to test the Rabbs again on groomed snow when there is less ice on the slopes.

[fisheater]

Verskis you are much wiser than me. Light touring skis just get deflected too much by heavy, chopped up, refrozen, tilled, and granular snow. On the other hand heavier, stiffer, skis more suited for resort snow wouldn't be nearly as pleasant in the backcountry. Being hard headed, I refused to acknowledge the obvious. I had to bounce very hard off the ice not once but twice to accept the obvious.
I wish you well for some refresher snow. I went out to my trails yesterday, they were ice not snow, I decided against even trying. This morning I have 10 cm of beautiful powder! I am at work, but I do like seeing it. I have freezing rain forecast for the weekend. I am comforting myself with the thought that the forecast has not been real accurate this winter. This has been a very strange winter. Temps have been up and down, and good snow doesn't seem to last until the weekend.

[Verskis]

Verskis you are much wiser than me. Light touring skis just get deflected too much by heavy, chopped up, refrozen, tilled, and granular snow. On the other hand heavier, stiffer, skis more suited for resort snow wouldn't be nearly as pleasant in the backcountry. Being hard headed, I refused to acknowledge the obvious. I had to bounce very hard off the ice not once but twice to accept the obvious.
I wish you well for some refresher snow. I went out to my trails yesterday, they were ice not snow, I decided against even trying. This morning I have 10 cm of beautiful powder! I am at work, but I do like seeing it. I have freezing rain forecast for the weekend. I am comforting myself with the thought that the forecast has not been real accurate this winter. This has been a very strange winter. Temps have been up and down, and good snow doesn't seem to last until the weekend.

I feel your pain regarding snow conditions! After such an amazing January in southern Finland, the current weather seems almost insulting. We have some more rain and warm temperatures in the forecast, along with some very cold temperatures turning everything into ice, but no new snow in the forecasts.

It seems that people don't have ski quivers for no reason. I wanted to be able to do everything on the Rabb, from resort downhill to backcountry XC, but after trying that I'm going to leave the Rabb as my rolling-terrain-backcountry touring-for-turns ski, for which purpose it is really good.

[fisheater]

Verskis, I also like to ski the same ski as much as possible. That being said, I do prefer a fast trail ski. I have been skiing a USGI as my fast trail ski, but I bought a Gamme. The cover has just been too thin for the Gamme when I own two USGI. I bought a Tindan 86, because there are days when I can use something fatter than the FT 62. It is just more ski, and it has it's place. I am also replacing the springs in the Hammerheads and remounting my old Volkl alpine skis. I need something that can handle the "alpine" conditions at the ski hill.
All that being said, I can still see me on the FT 62 more than anything. Trail skiing is a different animal. I am hoping for a winter when the Tindan sees most of the action, but I will be very happy with a good FT year. That includes the FT at the ski hill as well.

[lilcliffy]

Thank you for the report on the Rabb 68 at the icy, cruddy ski hill.
I have yet to take my Storetind to my local hill.
In fact, I have yet to use my Storetind Carbon unless the snow conditions are just right to charge and carve steep terrain here in the hills.

I am getting the feeling that the Rabb 68 may have a bit of a rounder flex than my Storetind- just based on your reports.
Though you do describe the same very-low-profile resistant camber underfoot that the Storetind has.
I have a contact out West that described the Falketind 68 as having a much rounder flex than the Storetind Carbon- suggesting that it was not as good a distance-oriented ski...He was hoping that the flex of the Rabb 68 would be closer to the Storetind Carbon in terms of flex...

I think what we all "need" eventually is a modern powder board for those days when there is bottomless powder to play on...
I have my eye on the Voile V6 for example...I would get the waxable base as my bottomless powder is always very cold and perfect for Nordic wax. In my local backcountry I know that I would not use this ski very much- but man- it would be fun!
In the meantime- my 162cm Kom fits this bill quite nicely- though I am finding them a little short...They could also do with a little more tail rocker to offer a more surfy, smeary turn...

[Nitram Tocrut]

Verskis, it sounds as if you have a nice place to ski. My local trails get tracked out quickly, as does my favorite downhill, "The Place Where Sleds Go to Die". So when I catch the dry powder my FT 62 are great. I do not get the opportunity to ski downhills where the snow has "aged" naturally. Skiing wind pack, sun crust, or just settled and heavy snow is much more difficult. I know that is why I jumped at the opportunity to buy the Tindan 86. Sometimes I drive north a couple hours to get into better snow and bigger hills. If the snow isn't dry powder, or if there is too deep of dry powder (dry powder is never too deep ). I wanted something wider. Many skiers go wider up to a Voile Vector or even bigger. You may or may not find you want wider, the trouble is getting to the downhill on the wider ski. Then, I read many positive reports on Vector trail manners.
It seems to me that presently you are finding your way on backcountry skis. Personally I would spend as much time as I could on those Rabb's unless I was only trail skiing. Making hockey stops with you back foot is a great way to work on back foot feel. Switch up those boots, they offer different feels. By skiing both types of boots you will learn different things. For me, dry powder days would be for leathers. Leave the manky snow to the plastics.
If you get a chance, post a few more photos. They may be all I see of Finland so I will appreciate seeing them.
Cheers

[Nitram Tocrut]

Forget about my last post... I once again messed up with the quote and I lost my draft as I was away for too long... I will get back with my question later.

[Nitram Tocrut]

In a perfect world, I would like to have a ski that tracks straight during the kick and glide on hardpack. I would not even need a very snappy kick, as I am quite happy with the Eons on the hardpacked trails. It's just the wandering of the Rabbs that make them slightly annoying on

I suggest you try using the skins in those conditions. That is what I do with my Ingstad and i don’t even take them off to downhill as they slow me down a bit which is good for a beginner telemarker like me I have had the skins for the last 2-3 weeks with our snow conditions varying from crust to “slushy snow” on a hard base. They do wonder for me as I just have to open the door, put the ski on and just go!

By the way, when people refer to corn snow, do they refer to a slushy type of snow?

[Nick BC]

Corn snow develops after an overnight refreeze. Around 10AM to 11AM if it’s sunny and warm the top 1 to 2cms softens up and provides hero skiing conditions, firm support but carvable snow. It is absolute heaven and any ski will let you ski like a champion.