The Legendary Karhu XCD Guide/Madshus Annum

[bbense]

The first Karhu Guides had some really bad manufacturing flaws. The edges effectively had about a 5 degree base bevel. They were terrible on anything icy and I think got off to a bad start due to that. Fixing that bevel required using a dremel grinder with the router attachment. I had a whole web page about it that got lost somewhere in Apple Land.

With the edge bevel fixed these are great all purpose backcountry skis. I still have mine setup with Voile switchbacks and use T2 ecos on them. IMHO, they are kind of heavy and wide to use as a Kick'n'Glide ski and unless you ski them very short, you're missing a lot of the potential of this ski with NNN/BC. ( Mostly because there isn't a stiff enough NNN/BC boot available anymore.)

I've got 3 pair kicking around, I might try the shorter ones with Xplor bindings. I'll dig through my photos, maybe I can find the pictures of how to fix the edges.

Guides first showed up around 2006/7, I remember them being great for skiing with my kids when they were little. NNN/BC has been around since the early 90's or maybe even late 80's.

[iheartnorthidaho]

Would you consider selling one of your pairs of Guides?

[bbense]

Found the pictures.

First is of the unfixed bevel.

Karhu Guide Edge bevel problem

Tool used to fix it.

Dremel setup to grind edge flat

Fixed bevel

[JB TELE]

I picked up a used pair of Annums. I weigh 160 pounds and I got a 175, ski them in merrel ultra boots. I got some nice powder skiing in today, which I'm still struggling with but improving a lot. They performed well in powder. They felt similar to my s-bound 98s but with more flotation, which I often need around here.

The ski out to my car was on a steep, narrow, unplowed road with icy snowmobile ruts. These skis are terrible on anything firm. I would compress the camber into the firm snow and it would noodle around. I realize that these are wide skis and I was using leather boots, I that rough road would have been so much easier in my k2 shes piste skis that are 70mm underfoot. With those skis I can make quick turns and slide slip in a controlled manner. It's amazing how much of a difference there is between a backcountry cross country ski and a skinny downhill ski.

[Bostonian]

Found the pictures.

First is of the unfixed bevel.

IMG_1042.jpeg

Tool used to fix it. IMG_1044.jpeg

Fixed bevel

I’m late to the discussion but would like to say “well done”. It must have taken a very steady hand to bring that edge down with a rotary tool.

If I may ask, why didn’t you use a base edger and file? I or if the edges were both high and you wanted a 0/90 base edge, you could also have wrapped the file travelling over the ptex in printer paper and evenly drawn the file down the length of the ski. The paper would give a few thousands of an inch clearance.

I’m asking because I’ve done both of the manual procedures described but not the Dremel router method. Not challenging the outcome, just trying to gauge your thought process and final methodology @bbense?

[JB TELE]

I've been using the Annums a lot this winter.

They are great powder skis. In my merrell ultras with 3 pin cable bindings, I can make nice, long arcing, stable turns in powder. Lots of fun. They provide an ideal amount of float for most mid-winter snow conditions around here, but in their 175cm length (I'm 173cm tall), they are definitely not enough for really deep days.

They SUCK on hard snow. They are exceptionally bad. Here in the mountains, you can encounter deep powder on one aspect, denser snow on another, and wind blasted crust above the treeline. All due to wind and sun. And sometimes you end up on packed trails/unplowed roads. I'm thinking I might want to replace this with a voile objective so I can have something with decent flotation but also more torsional rigidity for variable mid-winter snow conditions.

The scales are not very grippy compared to the fischer scales or voile scales. I end up putting on skins in situations where I really don't want them. If you wanted a powder ski for flat terrain then I guess you would appreciate their better glide. I need to start adding a little kick wax to them.

Overall, I love the way they ski in powder, but have my gripes with them.

[lilcliffy]

@JB TELE
Your report here resonates precisely with my experience with this ski.

[lilcliffy]

And in the limited context of where this ski shines- I don't see any advantage to a short length.

[wabene]

@JB TELE agreed on the Madshus. When it's right, it's a ton of fun. On the firm stuff it makes my SB98 feel like a carver. No bueno. I got my M78 for $165, but I'm starting to understand why spending $750 for a Voile ski might be worth it. I have my eye on the Endeavor.

[bbense]

Found the pictures.

First is of the unfixed bevel.

IMG_1042.jpeg

Tool used to fix it. IMG_1044.jpeg

Fixed bevel

I’m late to the discussion but would like to say “well done”. It must have taken a very steady hand to bring that edge down with a rotary tool.

If I may ask, why didn’t you use a base edger and file? I or if the edges were both high and you wanted a 0/90 base edge, you could also have wrapped the file travelling over the ptex in printer paper and evenly drawn the file down the length of the ski. The paper would give a few thousands of an inch clearance.

I’m asking because I’ve done both of the manual procedures described but not the Dremel router method. Not challenging the outcome, just trying to gauge your thought process and final methodology @bbense?

I did it that way because the waxless base is above the edges, not below. Also the amount of metal that needed removing was more than I wanted to spend time on with a file. I'd guess the "bevel" from the factory was in the range of 8-10 degrees. The skis were terrifying on anything icy before I did this. No matter how hard you edged they would not bite. The dremel with the router base attached made the process pretty straightforward.