Madshus Voss: Glittertinds little brother

[MikeK]

My skis:

200cm for a 5'-10" dude - sized for tight trails.
A mighty 60/50/55 profile
Double camber - yes, they are a real double camber. I dare you to get the centers to touch base to base...
Mounted with normal NNN-BC binding. No need for more - these are super light, 3/4 edge, hard snow K&G skis.

First impressions: They look, smell, taste, and yes flex just the like the Glittertind. I think they are the same to be honest, just different profile. I like the Glitts, so no worries there.

On the trail: First day out. Easy but not flat terrain. Lots of rolling ups and down, with corners on a real wilderness trail (4-6' wide, non-graded). Base is rock hard, almost ice but temps are hovering right around freezing. Perfect waxless base, skinny ski conditions (yes, it's almost like I planned it )

I had a ton of fun on these skis. My wife was on Glitts and I skied behind her so I got to see how they performed in comparison. First off I was outgliding her down every hill - by far - I think the Glitts aren't that bad they just need a good tune and hot wax. Uphills I was getting killed. Again width under foot is king. The Glitts really do grip great for a double camber ski. I had to herringbone in a few spots where she stomped right up. It wasn't a deal breaker though. Anyway I don't see where there would be a huge striding/gliding difference between them if they were both in the same state of tune (Voss are brand new - Glitts have been beat for 2 years with mostly only rub on wax).

The downhill shots on said trail were bombers - there were turns to negotiate but making turns wasn't happening. The good news is I made every turn carrying more speed than I thought I should have - did I mention how hard and fast the trail was? It was fun - a lot of fun. These skis are an absolute blast in these conditions. A more difficult trail I might have wanted a single camber for more turning confidence... but on the short ups and downs - awesome!

They lack that snap that a traditional xc ski has, just like the Glitt - but no matter... they glide along fine for a waxless ski. For someone skiing easier, packed backcountry trails, these are every bit as good as the Glittertind, just lighter and possibly a little slicker.

[MikeK]

Both the Voss and the Glittertind have 5cm of undeflected camber (total, base to base).

[tnevins530]

So if you had to chose....Glits or voss?

[MikeK]

Right now in these spring conditions - Voss. Midwinter - Glitt. The actual difference in my mind - pretty negligible.

[MikeK]

I have to say after skiing these for the last two days in hard, icy spring conditions, these skis are HARD to turn. I don't remember the Glitts being a heck of a lot better on hard stuff like this... damn double camber...

They are skatable. I did for a few minutes on a flat section just to see how it felt. I have a real hard time skating the Glittertind but that might be the 75mm binding fault (I remember I used to be able to skate with 3 pins when I was a kid though?)...

I must say, conditions coupled with these skis have been VERY humbling. I almost felt like I've been going backwards from where I had been mid-season. These skis are forgiving, more so than a stiff xc ski, but they don't work miracles.

[MikeK]

I wound up selling these skis.

I had been comparing them with the Fischer E89 last year and planned on only keeping one or the other.

A fine ski they are, but my rationale was this:

For a super skinny metal edge ski like this, the main focus should be gliding. The E89 simply did that better in most conditions. The Voss does in most cases handle hills better due to it's soft tips and tails, but having a quiver of skis I wouldn't ski these where I'd encounter any serious hills, so it's not much sense to have a skinny, long tour/exped type ski that doesn't glide exceptionally well.

For more intermediate stuff, where you need to handle some steeper hills but still need a good gliding ski, a ski like the Eon is vastly superior in my mind.