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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Nov 03, 2022 12:04 am 
AT skis are for skinning up hills and skiing down using parallel turns. For logging roads best is steel edged Nordic skis with NNN bindings or if old school 3 pins and leather boots. You can pick them up at qsome second hand ski places relatively cheaply.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostSat Nov 05, 2022 5:38 pm 
+1 on 3 pin leather boots and steel edge nordic backcountry skis. Relatively cheap, and many around second hand. And yes to Schroder's comment of renting gear first, find out what you like. If you are buying new gear it can be an expensive mistake if you don't know your way thru the gear puzzle maze before buying.

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hbb
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PostMon Nov 14, 2022 2:46 pm 
I'd avoid 75mm 3-pin boots/bindings unless you find some killer garage sale deal. You really limit your options going with such an outdated standard compared to NNN-BC or whatever. For new boots in 75mm 3-pin, you are basically limited to 2 or 3 models from Alpina, and those cheap looking Whitewoods boots Walmart sells online. I say this as someone with several pairs of 75mm 3-pin boots in my own gear closet. I rarely use those boots (and skis I mounted with 3-pin bindings) because I couldn't find a good fit with the limited choices available at the time I was putting together a 3-pin set up. Plus I find a 75mm 3-pin binding really annoying in a groomed track, and strongly dislike trudging around with that big goofy duckbill on my toes. In my view, the one and only benefit of a 75mm 3-pin binding on nordic skis is the ability to use a true telemark boot (like a Scarpa T4) if you want to have the illusion of control on steeper descents outside groomed terrain. But if that's your typical use case, you should be on AT gear anyway.

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Randito
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PostMon Nov 14, 2022 4:50 pm 
For skiing logging roads in the Cascades, old skool Telemark gear from the 80s and 90s works just fine. There is a ton of it gathering dust in Seattle basements and garages. A WTB ad on Craigslist could work. Also check eBay. Plastic 75mm / 3pin boots have superior support and water proofness than 3Pin leathers or more modern NNN or NNN-BC setups. However touring efficiency is markedly less and they are very efficient at generating heel blisters.

CS
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huron
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PostTue Nov 22, 2022 7:26 pm 
These Stubai Free Heels work great on a pair of metal edge fishscale skis for low angle stuff. Straps onto trail runners or light hikers just fine. Dug them out of a dusty box in the corner of Marmot Mountain maybe 12 years ago but you can probably find them on an auction site or even make your own from a worn set of crampons and some tire rubber.

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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostFri Dec 02, 2022 9:55 pm 
Old school leather 3 pin boots are competent all rounders for many backcountry trips. Reasonably comfortable to live in day after day, ditto comfortable to walk in for long approaches. Their warts are fixable, negotiable. Supergaiters keep them dry, or warmer if you want to add the insulation. Granite Gear Tele Cuffs (add on stiffeners) beef up low cut boots (like my fav Asolo Snowfields) for long descents. Those low cut Snowfields have taken me to some good times. Zion's high plateau, southern Utah's Navajo Mt., Nevada's Mount Moriah and a Memorial Day descent of Colorado's Mount Elbert (via mellow SE slope). And, many springtime tours on my "home turf", Lake Superior's south shore. Maybe I'm missing something by not going to AT. Maybe not. Several of the Navajo Mt. trips were with a Rainbow Bridge approach, 7 miles of hiking canyons to get to the snow. Not sure AT boots would handle that.

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domaz
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PostMon Dec 05, 2022 9:33 am 
CS wrote:
Anyone have thoughts on where to start? Maybe I should try Altai Hoks? Or would just getting downhill skis I can put skins on and Alpine Touring ski boots make more sense?
I have the Altai Hoks. The problem with them on roads is that they are wide and aren't as efficient either uphill or downhill as slim cross country skis. I've been passed a number of times by cross country skiers like I was sitting still (not that I am a good skier to begin with..). However, on fresh non-hard snow they do quite well and you can explore the landscape off-road easily. They are absolutely terrible on ice. I think if you used 3 pin bindings with them then they are more capable on ice and on a ski slope, but at that point it might be good to consider another ski.

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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostWed Dec 07, 2022 11:15 pm 
If you can telemark on skate skis like this guy you will not only be styling, you will have more good choices in lightweight gear smile.gif

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hbb
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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostFri Dec 09, 2022 10:07 pm 
New (somewhat) Rottefella Xplore ski binding. Interesting. Good to see some investment in innovation for Nordic Backcountry systems. Two vids from a "gear reviewer/skier" and one commercial for new system. 1. Bench test, inspecting binding function, construction
2. Field test, skiing new bindings, Alaska boot (with Xplore rig) Nice spring skiing scenes make me want to get out there
3. Short commercial for new system

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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostSat Dec 10, 2022 10:15 am 
Spent more time with these Xplore ski binding videos this morning. The one concern I'm seeing is the location of the pins on the front of the boot. If you were spending 100% of your time on snow (while wearing them) they seem to be just fine, well worth a look. My concern is if you were spending time walking bare ground, where sand or rocks are present - which is almost routine on many spring ski tours. I'm wondering how much those pins would get impacted/scratched up in those situations. Edit: CS, OP. Sorry if I'm nudging this thread off your original question. If you have follow thru questions that would refocus the thread on your upcoming choices, equipment questions, please post them.

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Randito
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PostSat Dec 10, 2022 1:47 pm 
Xplore setup seems like a good evolution for Nordic oriented skiing. However with bindings at the $250 price point and the boots at the $450 price point, it seems like the target market is primarily Norway where it is a matter of national identity to not lock the heel. Alpine Touring and Rando Race setups aren't that much more expensive than an Xplor setup and you don't need to learn a whole new set of skills.

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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostThu Dec 15, 2022 8:11 pm 
Good points. I hadn't checked the prices vs AT gear. The whole new set of skills part may be for some, not for others. I'm among those without an Alpine skiing background.

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Dec 15, 2022 9:59 pm 
Back in the day we did with XC track skies and little blue shoes for logging roads, “track turns” and wedge brakes if things got tough. Survived and prospered, the best years of our lives. Later we tried to preserve our craniums. But Oh what a day.🤪 now we have AT, Tele, legal passes, and XC gear but something is lost. Once we were cowboys, now just an old man.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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hbb
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PostFri Dec 16, 2022 2:27 pm 
I am a little surprised to see the Xplore binding. I wouldn't have thought someone would come up with yet another nordic binding system in light of all the other standards out there already. As Randito noted, you could put together a nice light AT set up for the same price, and avoid having to learn how to make a passable telemark turn. If I was doing a lot of Forest Service road travel and had the money for Xplore bindings and boots, I think I'd be tempted to try a light skimo binding/boot on an XCD ski. Something like a Dynafit Superlite mounted on a 10th Mountain.

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Randito
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Randito
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PostFri Dec 16, 2022 4:55 pm 
hbb wrote:
I think I'd be tempted to try a light skimo binding/boot on an XCD ski. Something like a Dynafit Superlite mounted on a 10th Mountain.
My "forest service road" skiing setup is something like that. Madshus Glittertind MGV (waxless) skis mounted with Ski Trab Titan race bindings and Scarpa Alien RS boots. It's nice and light and on the flats I can kick and glide reasonably well. I also use those boots with my "late spring / summer skiing" setup which has very light 80mm wide skis that carry well on my pack and ski corn and mushy snow fairly well. For mid winter skiing I have wider skis and taller stiffer boots. I don't like to think about how much I've spent of ski gear, especially when you add in the cost of owning and operating a 4WD vehicle to make it easier to get to the mountains when it is snowing.

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