Waxless/Fishscale BC skis ?

[STD]

Looking at fat fishscales for super mellow touring, mostly for putzing around mostly meadow skipping and such.

Rossi BC 125 for $199 (older model from GearX)
Surface Ruess for $350
Voile BC Charger for $500

I have read lots of good stuff on the Voile, anyone have any reviews on the other 2 ? The price of the Rossi BCs sure is tempting.

[Shredhead]

I have about a hundred days on some Rossi BC110's w/Roti NNN-BC.
Mostly tooling around in variable conditions with my dogs. The extra width makes a nice stable platform.

[stuckathuntermtn]

And how do the viszlas do in the cold?

[dschane]

Chargers would be overkill for meadow skipping, but great for bigger terrain. They are alpine skis with scales. The Rossi's on the other hand are fat xc skis -- noodles that are more than up to the task for meadow skipping. You could manage them fine in bigger terrain (while wishing you had your stiffer sticks on you). 7bskis out of Idaho also makes alpine skis with scales. And I got nada on the Surface skis.

[neonorchid]

G3 Stinger XCD

112, 78, 100mm camber / early rise tip

http://us-store.genuineguidegear.com...ts/stinger-xcd

[TrueNorth]

The waxless options keep expanding... Voile also has a V6 BC new for this year.

Vector or V6 would be most comparable to BC 125 in terms of dimensions. There's a big thread discussing Vectors vs BC 125 on another backcountry skiing forum.

I really like my Vectors for playing around in mellow terrain, but I haven't tried any of the other options.

[Quadzilla]

Ive used this kinda gear for years around Tahoe and have a pair of Vector BC's tele. I tour a fair amount with guys on Rossi BC 125's and I would say that they are in the same performance range as the Vectors. IMO, a lot depends on the boots/bindings you are going to use but these rigs are a bit overkill for just putzing around on the flats. They really need a mid level boot/binding too. So if you are use a light duty rig then just get a narrower lighter ski to push around. Anyway, the Fat fishscales in this catagory are very capable skiing it all. I have had my Vector BC's for three seasons and have not found any terrain around Tahoe that I couldn't ski about as confidently as I could on my regular AT gear in the 90-100 size. WTBS, they suck skiing on resort snow......

[GeezerSteve]

STD, what boots/bindings do you plan to use? Choosing a fishscale ski starts with the boot/binding system.

I own and have many days on Vector BC and Charger BC, and 40 years on a variety of fishscale XC skis. IME, the Vector BC is the most versatile touring ski ever, plenty o' ski for most tours and even most ski mountaineering routes and, of course, superior on rolling terrain and flat soft snow (e.g., skiing across a frozen lake). You won't notice the fishscales descending in pow or other soft snow. The only downside to fat fishscale is drag on harder snow, which can be a minor detriment on some trips. As sheldonm says, there are a couple fat fishscale ski threads. Check 'em out.

The Rossi's on the other hand are fat xc skis -- noodles

BC125 is constructed like an XC ski but has as soft alpine flex so I would not consider the BC125 a XC ski because a true XC ski is double cambered or, at least, has significant single camber. Also note that the BC125 changed a couple years ago, now has a wee bit of tip rocker. The original BC125 was similar to the ulbernoodly Mashus Annum fka Karhu Guide. Not my cup of tea.

[XXX-er]

STD, what boots/bindings do you plan to use? Choosing a fishscale ski starts with the boot/binding system. .

You didn't splain this^^ I remember you sayin something about needing to have the boot heel go absolutely flat on the ski?

[GeezerSteve]

Generally: softer/lighter boot/binding (e.g., NNN-BC) => narrower fishscale ski. Vector BC (94-96mm waist, depending on length) works best with plastic tele or lightweight AT. (On my Vector BCs I use TLT6Ms with a TTS binding, which allows me to shuffle while in DH mode, great for billygoating descents via hooking up lines via benches and ledges.)

[STD]

BigSteve,

I ride Maestrale RS, Keepers and Dukes. Since this new fishscale set up will be used solely as a BC rig, I'll probably go with dynafit bindings but not sure which ones yet.

[LightRanger]

BigSteve,

I ride Maestrale RS, Keepers and Dukes. Since this new fishscale set up will be used solely as a BC rig, I'll probably go with dynafit bindings but not sure which ones yet.

My .02 after XC/teleing and now AT: get a tech binding that you can switch the mode without taking your boots out. Makes things smoother when you're in rolling terrain. Steve solved this with the TTS. YMMV.

[sb]

Van Halen doood!

[Quadzilla]

Seems like you are changing your concept of a meadow skipping rig. If you are going to use a boot that strong and the expense of a tech binding it would be a shame to put that on a BC 125 which is the cheesiest of the bunch. Might be time to consider the bigger Voiles or maybe some of the newer big fishscales out there. Oh yeah, you will need skins too as once you use this setup you will find out quickly that to climb anything actually worth skiing down you need skins to climb it. Still long approaches/runouts, fishscales kill it..

[GeezerSteve]

^ ^ ^ this. Maestrale RS matches up well with the Charger BC. I have lots of pow tour days on that combo, not the best for meadow skipping but great for soft snow tours with long low angle ingress/egress.

[STD]

I guess my idea of meadow skipping includes actually skiing. It's a new term I've learned recently so excuse my ignance.

I typically tour mellower terrain, rarely charge big lines but do want some downhill performance when it calls for it. I guess now I've realized the Voiles will be the way to go.

Still looking for anyone with Ruess experiences tho...

[TrueNorth]

My .02 after XC/teleing and now AT: get a tech binding that you can switch the mode without taking your boots out. Makes things smoother when you're in rolling terrain. Steve solved this with the TTS. YMMV.

So which tech bindings allow ski to tour mode transitions without taking boots out by design (not just the Van Halen hack)?

[LightRanger]

So which tech bindings allow ski to tour mode transitions without taking boots out by design (not just the Van Halen hack)?

http://www.backcountry.com/fritschi-...pec-12-binding

I think the old G3 Onyx. And maybe the Kingpin?

Heavier than needed for this application though...

[I've seen black diamonds!]

So which tech bindings allow ski to tour mode transitions without taking boots out by design (not just the Van Halen hack)?

Fritschi Vipec

[GeezerSteve]

I don't need a locked heel for mellow rolling terrain, maybe because I have done lots of XC skiing. Just keep a balanced stance and don't jerk forward, i.e., get into a Nordic state of mind, lest you'll faceplant. (I have Speed Classics on my Charger BC, might swap them out for DIY TTS.)

[Quadzilla]

IMO, having the ability to unlock heel on the fly is overrated if you add more weight, more cost and more complicated mechanics to the binding. What I do is if I am skiing rolling terrain with Dynafits and I come down off a slope to a flat is to leave the binding locked and just transition the boots a little by unlocking boot and throwing a buckle open and just slog that way. This works OK sometimes, If I am on a bunch of rolls I just unlock binding once and just ski the downs with heel unlocked. I, most certainly not a gifted skier but I can easially ski 20+ unlocked with no consequence, you can too.

[ak_powder_monkey]

its too bad you can't get a little binding bumper for your dynafit toe pieces like on the old SNS bindings

[GeezerSteve]

I've tried doing that DIY, abandoning that project when I went to AT boots (TLT6M) in TTS.

[Lindahl]

Whats TTS?

[TrueNorth]

I've tried doing that DIY, abandoning that project when I went to AT boots (TLT6M) in TTS.

How does that work? I thought you would need a boot with toe bellows for TTS.

(TTS = telemark tech system = tech pin toepiece + telemark style heel cable)

BTW I just use Voile 3 pin tele bindings on my Vector BCs so I never do any kind of binding transition. Works great for the mellow rolling terrain where I mostly use them.