Thoughts on Xplore from a XC racing enthusiast

[Transplantskier]

Also, I saw someone make a really nice tele turn about 1km above Ferista last winter on skate skis, and I was jealous of their technique. Now I'm wondering if that was you.

[Peschamel]

Hei Peter, spot on

I've seen this vid before, it's a great one! I'd say we're evenly matched skill wise (Yet I have no video of my own to back it up ). You can see at 0:22 how he's tippy toed in his skate boot, and this is how I solve the turn as well.

This is another interesting use case. Having a super light skate ski with a steel edge to do this kinds of trips on the hard base (melting during day/freezing overnight). It would allow for even more control/fun in varying snow conditions. It's not every day the top layer melts to give super turning conditions (usually reserved for easter). But, I have no idea if such a ski exists..

Det er fantastisk, norsk vennen min! Wonderfull to see something like this is possible. Coming from Alpine Skiing to occasionaly BC Classic Skiing I never would have thought, that this is even remotely possible! Now I wanna learn very humble easy baby turns with my Fischer S-Bound 98 and Alfa Guards. Thank you for the inspiration !

Cheers!

[telemarius]

@Transplantskier Quite possible, I've lived at Storhaugen/Kyvannet for the last year and a half. Would ski there regularly, usually in NTNUI club colors Anyhow, nice to see fellow teleskiers in the Trondheim area!
Thanks for letting me know about the Mountain Race 46's, would be cool to try if I could get them 2nd hand.

@Peschamel Cheers! It's been a lot of wipeouts/crashes to get there, but then again when all goes well it's part of the fun. I've perfected going down body first, so as not to break any of the brittle carbon equipment. Not "skiing telemark", but "Tryne Telemark" (Nor: faceplanting telemark). Happy Skiing!

[Tom M]

@Tom M I guess that’s why it felt natural to me from the beginning, being a stiff sole like my NNN skate boots. I noted in your video you commented on this might improving with time, as the Free’s were worn in. Have you yet experienced this being the case? The store clerk who rented me the skis told me that his colleague had been using the Free’s for a year now, to a point where the shoe was worn in so that the clerk, who’s a 44EUR (which is a 43EUR in an Alfa) managed to fit in his colleagues 42EUR’s. This leads me to believe that the shoes will indeed widen/soften out a bit with use, and therefore I’d buy these in a rather tight fit. Which is what I’d normally do with racing equipment, as warmth is less of a concern and a tight fit gives better control/response. We even race in boots so tight, we do not have space to fit sock on!

I'm skiing the Free in a size 43, as that is what Alfa's sizing chart recommended based on my foot length. If and when they become available here in the US, I want to try on a size 42 for comparison, but I will probably have to wait until next year. I skied both the Alfa Skarvets and the Greenlands in size 42. My Frees are a pretty loose fit, so if they have stretched out a bit, I don't think I would be able to tell. They do seem pretty comfortable now that I've gotten used to the stiffer upper, so I have no complaints on the shuffle portion of my backcountry tours. I haven't had any blister issues or foot problems with the Frees and I suffered through heel blister problems on both the Skarvets and Greenlands. The critical fit issue for me is the position of the toe bend in relation to my hammer toes, so that is what I'll be checking for the most when I try on the Frees in a smaller size. For those of us who have toe pinch issues, the Xplore system is a godsend. Shoe fit is a very personal thing. For me, comfort is paramount and I'd pick comfort over control for a backcountry boot. On my tours, 90% of the total ski time is spent in the shuffle or uphill mode. As they say, one hour of up for 10 minutes of down.

[telerat]

@telerat Very interesting! I didn’t have the chance to test the hard flexor unfortunately. A shame this cannot be adjusted more easily on the fly, as it seems a bit tedious to swap out the flexor in the backcountry. One question, would the harder flexor possibly be an issue if the skis stopped dead in their tracks on the downhill? I’ve had some painful experiences with the NNN and BC hurting my toes when I go over my skis. I was super happy that I didn’t experience this problem with the Xplore with the normal flexor. Do you risk injury by putting on the harder flexor?

I totally agree. I commented earlier that I wish for a medium flex that is harder than the normal flex for all-round use, as I find the normal too soft for turns and the hard too restrictive for flat/ascents. The testers in Utemagasinet also preferred the old hard flex for all-round skiing, which I believe was softer the the current one. Having to bring extra flexes that can be forgotten or lost and the too difficult exchange, makes it less tempting to change on a tour. I do think that having the option is good, especially before, but also on a ski tour.

I was earlier about to add that an other version of the binding where one could engage or disengage the flex would be an excellent option for tours with skins to a top and skiing down afterwards, but a more seamless adjustment would also be an excellent option. We will see what emerges in the future.

I don't think the hard flex increases injury risk, except if you are tempted to ski faster with the increased control, but I haven't had any painful experiences with NNN or 75mm. The stiff sole avoided any toe pinch on my Alfa Skaget.

PS. I live at Ugla in Trondheim.