Alaskas at MEC

[Dirtbag]

I'm a duckbill guy

[lilcliffy]

Will be interested in what you think of them!

[lilcliffy]

What binding and skis you going to use with them?

[Johnny]

I'm a duckbill guy

For now... Just you wait...!
(I was once a duckbill guy too... ; )

[lilcliffy]

I too, was once a duckbill guy!

[MikeK]

Me three.

[MikeK]

Oh - Dirtbag, I forgot to mention... if you have the loot and the return policy is good, order both sizes you think you might be, then you can test back and forth to see which fits you the best.

I've wound up doing this in a round-about way for the last few pairs of boots I've bought for my wife and myself online. Sometimes you get a size and you think... well... it's close, but would the next one feel better. Can't tell until you try them on side by side. So I've wound up ordering the next size, and returning which ever one didn't work out.

As far as the Alaska, this is my thought (if you haven't ordered already). If you have a high volume foot, size up or try normal size. If you have a low volume foot, size down. I have an array of boots and shoes and some are 44s and some are 43s. I'm never a 42 or a 45. So see above...

[rglide]

I'm thinking of getting the Alaska nnnbc boot and binding . Any thought on ski widths for this set up?
I'd like fat skis but also want to be able to turn them in the woods.

[MikeK]

Biggest I have tried is 62mm mids (Eon) and that is with a Magnum (wide plate) and the Alaska NNN BC.

I thought skis were very easy to control, and I am skiing a 195cm.

I might push 68mm (Epoch) and I know I've seen cases where people have. Thing is, even with the Epoch or my S98 with the Alaska 75mm, I feel like I don't have enough control. It's OK in really light snow, but beyond that I feel the duckbill twisting more than I like.

We've beat to death the fact that the Alaska NNN is stiffer torsionally than the 75mm version. Might be enough to make a ski like the Epoch or S98 feel good, but I have no personal experience.

Also, everyone is different... what I may think is stiff enough may feel floppy to you, and vice-versa.

[lilcliffy]

My first comment is that IME, "it depends"...(my students love that response)

First of all, I think it depends on the snow you are regularly skiing on.

On deep soft snow I can easily turn a ski as wide as the Madshus Annum/Karhu Guide (78mm waist), with the Alaska NNNBC and the Magnum bindings- and on slopes to about 60% (depending on the density of tree cover. The denser the trees, the gentler the slope I need to do this- my skis are 195cm). However, I personally use a striding-telemark technique to do this- I lift my leading ski, unweighted, and position it into a carving position before I weight it. I personally have very little success, with a boot as soft as the Alaska, in steering a ski as wide as the Annum- even in deep soft snow. What are the limits to the Alaska NNNBC in terms of ski width? That I do not know. I have had similar results with soft leather 3-pin boots and the Voile Vector BC (96mm waist). (I am not convinced that the 75mm-3-pin bindings had anything to do with my ability to turn the Vector BC). I do not know for sure if I could turn the Vector with the Alaska NNNBC- but I would expect the results would depend on snow, terrain, and cover, just as much as the Annum.

On dense and/or hardpack snow? I do not personally find the Alaska has enough ankle and lower leg support to hold a wide ski on edge on dense/hard snow. I have tested this in the woods/fields/glades and even on groomed ski hills. On dense/hard snow, the widest ski that I have been able to hold on edge and carve with the Alaska NNN-BC is a Madshus Eon (62mm width). I find I can even steer the Eon on hard snow (to a limited extent- the Eon does not have a parabolic profile- I do find I get better results with a telemark stride than trying to steer the Eon). This comparison of ski width for the Alaska NNN-BC is limited in value,because the "wide" ski was the Annum again. (The Annum is a soft, powder ski. IME, even with stiffer, more powerful boots, the Annum is not a great performer on dense/hard snow). Although a ski like the Vector BC is even wider than the Annum, it is much stiffer and IME, performs better and carves better on dense/hard snow. BUT- I still doubt very much that there is enough support in the Alaska, for the "average skier" (me included in this), to carve with a ski as wide as the Vector, on dense/hard snow.

Breakable crust? With the Alaska; I personally cannot steer any ski width on breakable crust- I have to use a telemark stride (and I need more space than I do in more favorable snow conditions). And my experience on being able to carve are similar to my comments above. I do not find the Alaska has enough support to carve wide skis, unless I am in deep soft snow.

Length. Obviously a short ski is going to be easier to maneuver and turn, than a long ski (especially in dense cover, and/or breakable crust). But- the ability to successfully hold a ski in a carved turn, IMO, has nothing to do with ski length (UNLESS you are using a stiff, double-cambered ski- then it certainly does. You've got to be able to flatten out the camber of BOTH skis to be able to turn. If a double-cambered ski is long enough for there to be an effective K&G wax/traction pocket- IME you will have a wild ride downhill). My point is that a short ski will be easier to maneuver- but it won't change the support in the boot and your ability to hold the ski on edge. (I personally prefer long skis for their K&G performance. Even in steep country- I am typically on a long-distance tour)

IME/IMO the limits to the Alaska NNNBC have nothing to do with the binding (the Alaska NNNBC is remarkably torsionally rigid, with a powerful, moderate sole flex). As an "average", but experienced Nordic skier- I find there's a limit to what you can do with a soft leather boot, like the Alaska, due to it's lack of ankle/lower leg support. However, on relatively narrow, single-cambered skis (or short double-cambered), I can downhill ski about anything, with a soft leather boot. The limits to downhill skiing in soft leather boots, with narrow skis, IME, have more to do with skier skill than the boot.

In conclusion, I typically use a relatively narrow ski with the Alaska NNN-BC (less than 62mm waist). I only use a wider ski in deep, soft, powder snow.