The new Rottefella XPLORE OFFTRACK Binding System Review

[FrenchFred]

Hy all

NNNBC is not dead !

I use this set up

M62 175cm+NNNBC Magnum+Alaska shoes

And it perform pretty well .
I would like to post the video but the mp4 extension lock the post ?!...

Fred

[FrenchFred]

Sorry...
There is a solution to insert the MP4 video in this forum ?
Fred

If not: I will delete my messages.
Sorry for the spam. I just try to joke...

[Johnny]

Just upload your video to youtube and share the link here!

NNN and NN is just totally dead here... I just ordered 4 pairs of XPs and will buy a lot more this summer...

[randoskier]

Here's a video from some of the testing and filming we've been doing with the new Falketind 62 and the Rabb 68 in combination with the Rottefella Xplore binding and the Alfra Free APS boots. It's basically our "walk the talk" approach to just showcast and tell what is actually possible with this system. We hope you enjoy it!

Game, set, match

[randoskier]

I'm sure the boots and bindings will also be sold separately, at least here in Norway, but there might be package deals some places. If supply is limited, then things might change. The Alfa prices are list prices for just the boots, which we are often able to get some discount on, like in a package with bindings and skis or if you're a member in various organizations that get discounts in specific shops, and also at the end of year sales.

The Alfa Free APS boot is quite expensive. The reinforced cuff looks interesting, but the rest of it looks made for fast/short tours, spring skiing and tour ice skating. The other boots have almost the same price as the corresponding NNN-BC versions. I'm (luckily for once) most interested in the cheapest model so I plan on buying the Alfa Skaget and test that.

The binding is quite a bit more expensive than NNN-BC, which is bummer as I want to get 3 of them for my Åsnes Ousland, old Fischer E109 and tour ice skates. The construction doesn't seem much more advanced than NNN-BC, but I assume Rottefella also wants to recover some of the development cost and charges a premium for the Xplore. I hope it replaces NNN-BC eventually if it performs as I expect, but it will anyway take quite a while if it works like NTN and 75mm. Hopefully the market will stay strong (unlike telemark) and we'll get many options for boots. I do wish we could get competing bindings, and that the sole/shoes had the possibility of a heel wire.

I'm waiting for an Xplore review in Fri Flyt on 11th of November (a Norwegian skiing magazine - part of the conglomerate that also has utemagasinet.no). Hopefully more/new info will come out then and not just a rehash of the earlier review. I'll report back as soon as I know more.

Regarding your excellent point on pricing above: We just cancelled my wife's order for the bindings from REI and bought the Skaget boots and the Xplore binding direct from Alfa in Norway- We paid 525 EUR ($598) with free DHL express (and free return of the boot for sizing if need be). That is reasonable for two new and innovative products that are in high demand. A voile cable binding costs 179 EUR + shipping- it is a clamp and a piece of cable with a buckle and a heel riser for climbing. The Alfa Quest women's 75mm boot is 289 EUR so she would have paid 468 EUR ($528) + shipping(!) for that system; an increasingly obsolete and over-priced system. For 60 or 70 bucks more she got the state of the art and no damn cables to fuss with : )

[randoskier]

K, so I've been following along with this new binding system development. Looks like a marginally improved NNN-BC replacement, with some super cheap and flimsy components and hiking boots resoled to match. So, good enough for XC-d on Forest Service roads, not too technical or expensive.

Then the price tag. A grand for boots that flex like this



and bindings that flex like this



and no reason to think they are even durable?

I'm not above paying big bucks for stuff that works. But this is entry level, bargain basement equipment. MAYBE I could see $75 for these disposable bindings, and $200 for the boots.

Is there really a board room full of 'very smart people' who think this is going to satisfy the market???

I'm with Low Angle Al. Unless this will perform with a T4 and 3-pin, and be just as durable, no thank you, Rottefella. And the pictures sure don't seem promising AT ALL. I'd so love to be wrong, but all I see here is a guarantee that Voile's 75mm bindings remain the best there is for another 20 years.

My wife just dumped her present Crispi Svartisen 75mm boots (anyone looking for a size 38?) and rat-trap bindings in favor of the Xplore. Her new system- Alfa Skaget boots + Xplore cost $598 delivered. The Alfa Quest 75mm (the only 75mm Nordic Touring Alfa still makes for women) + the Voile Traverse cost $528 + shipping. 70 bucks difference? This was a no brainer. The price of these is correct, they obviously invested massively in this project.

The boardrooms in Norway are actually quite sane places, they have a very flat management structure (adults are treated as adults in Scandinavian companies) and do not have the U.S. suck-up-to-the boss hierarchal culture, frequently a member of the shop floor is on the board as well. You seem to be imagining greedy cigar-chomping uber-capitalists flogging gimmicks . That is not how business works in Scandinavia.

Rottafella spent a lot of money on R & D, engineering, prototyping, and testing, I am sure the results are fine. I severely doubt they are flimsy, they have been tested for a long time and they are fully warrantied by a company that has always produced outstanding quality products and is noted for innovation. During development and testing they collaborated heavily with industry leaders Alfa, Alpina, and Asnes. They are built in Norway, highly skilled labor. It is funny people complain about outsourcing to Asia and then gripe about price from manufacturers who do not.

These bindings were built for the Norwegian/Swedish/Finnish fjjellski market (their big one). Fjell skiing typically involves multi-day tours with 20 to 30km between cabin/camp per day, over all types of terrain from flat lakes to huge ascents and descents and on every kind of snow imaginable. A little different than "Forest Service Roads". These will extend skiers terrain possibilities on these tours.

These look like the ideal combination of ease of use, durability, weight, and downhill control for this type of skiing. Also you don't have to carry spare cables in your repair kit on long tours! The Voile will most likely become a museum piece, it is near the end of its run. This will be a better nordic -touring binding and there are loads of better bindings for up-and-down plastic-booted ventures.

On my 3-week tour in Swedish Lapland last year I saw exactly zero Voile bindings and maybe 5% of skiers on 75mm bindings (mostly older people... I can say that.. I AM older). So it is more like these are going to replace NNNBC bindings in this market because the NNN BC is the dominant binding that has already displaced the 75mm, for all practical purposes, several years ago.

[randoskier]

I'm looking forward to testing it on skis/snow during Christmas. I have attached a picture of the boots and bindings on touring skates.
Alfa_Skaget_touring_skates.jpg

Hei, Did you manage to test the Skaget/Xplore combo at Christmas? Where are you based in Norway? Trondelag?

[RabbitEars]

REI now has the binding in stock
https://www.rei.com/product/203137/rott ... i-bindings

No boots yet, hopefully they have stock on order.

Hello Tom, Would you mind filming when you do the binding mount on your SB98? A "how to" would be really appreciated. I kind of have the feeling that with this new system I may not be trusting just any shop to mount.

Thanks in advance

[Woodserson]

Hy all

NNNBC is not dead !

I use this set up
20220102_145837.jpg

And it perform pretty well .
I would like to post the video but the mp4 extension lock the post ?!...

Fred

NICE Fred

This is a great set-up. I got a pair of 195cm for really cheap, and it's a good one I wouldn't mind a shorter one. They are really solid and heavy and smooth. I was impressed with the downhill capability. A good ski with some rocker too!

How are you setting up the leash into the binding?

[Tom M]

Hello Tom, Would you mind filming when you do the binding mount on your SB98? A "how to" would be really appreciated. I kind of have the feeling that with this new system I may not be trusting just any shop to mount.

Thanks in advance

I have the Xplore mounting video in the que, and it is scheduled to show up on my channel on Jan 14. This week's video (Jan 7) is a short Vlog of a couple of ski outings on the Discovery 80's as I break in my Alfa Free Boots. I went for my first tour for turns ski today on the 98/Xplore/Free and it was a lot of fun. I going to hold off my video review of Xplore/Alfa Free/Sbound 98 until I have several outings with the system.

Here is a screen grab from todays testing.