It warms my heart that my videos have been helpful. The one common thread in my videos is to encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the outdoor resources of their area. I hope to do a followup video with softer snow. Stay tuned.

Thanks. Hope you have a great ski season.

I will be posting two videos on this subject. Part 1, My Favorite XC Ski Clothing kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aM5-qbxl2qyumZs.html

Appreciate the feedback. Have a great ski season.

Glad it helped!

You probably dont give a shit but if you're bored like me during the covid times then you can watch pretty much all of the latest movies and series on instaflixxer. I've been binge watching with my gf for the last months :)

@Jaxon Heath Yea, I have been using InstaFlixxer for years myself =)

@Jaxon Heath Yup, have been using instaflixxer for years myself :D

Haven't skied those skis. My S-Bound 98's are 69 underfoot and are my XCD go-to skis for turns in soft snow in moderate terrain, when the tour includes long sections of flat terrain. It's a good ski for the types of snow we have here in the Rockies.

@@Robert-pe5hf ....Yea Im looking for the waxless only with the fish scale bases - Karhu Orions, Catamounts etc. and @ 70 mm. at foot . or maybe even the Karhu Switchbacks @ 60mm at foot 195 cm. or longer .....these will glide pretty good Im thinking .....for touring . Ok thanks for your input .

Yes, the mid section of the Traverse 78 is wide enough for the hole mounting pattern of the Voile 3 pin. The choice between the 75 mm nn binding and the NNN BC binding comes down to which boots you prefer. Both are good binding choices for off trail XC skiing. Check out my video where I compare the two bindings. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/freFYJx1tJm8e58.html I'm currently using the NNNBC binding on my Traverse 78's, but I've skied many skis of similar widths with the 75 mm binding in the past.

@@tomm9850 Thank you! I guess i would go for these skis and the Voile Super Telemark with my moms old telemark boots or the Crispi Bre :-)

I've not skied Epoke's but they are probably from the late 70's or early 80's. They are old school in design (long, narrow, minimal sidecut). If I recall, they even made a model with mica incorporated in the base. They should be a lot of fun in the MN BWCA. Here is a link to an old advertisement books.google.com/books?id=TOADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=epoke+skis&source=bl&ots=A5Hc0OPJEb&sig=SS1V32W8Z9QqWNkIH4Rc2N_l-YY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwituvrKh_PWAhUK8WMKHR0cAsoQ6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&

All three skis that you mention would work for off trail XC ski touring. There is a huge difference between skiing the Rossi BC 80 (80 -60 -70) and the Madshus M78 (109-78-95). In a general sense, narrow XC skis tend to have higher camber and less sidecut. Narrow high camber skis are faster on the flats, livelier on the kick and glide, but less stable on the downhill. They are usually preferred by skiers who come from an XC background. Wide off trail XC skis on the other hand are heavier, have a softer camber and more sidecut. This makes them more stable and easier to turn on the downhill, especially in soft deep snow. A wide ski like the M78 will take more effort to kick and glide at an athletic pace but will tour better on rolling terrain than the typical Alpine downhill ski that you are used to. A narrow ski is usually skied with a softer boot and most people with pick a heavier and stiffer boot to ski a wider ski. Many people will pick a ski somewhere in the middle, something like the S-Bound 98 (98-69-88), especially for casual touring in soft snow conditions. The S-Bound 98 also has the option for the easy skin which can be useful. I ski both the Fischer Traverse 78 and the Sbound 98 on a regular basis and the one I pick will depend on the nature of the tour. Here is a link to my current ski quiver. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bLqYmruftbWynac.html

@@tomm9850 Assumning both with the same boot and binding setup (maybe Alaska boot) would you say a S bound 98 gives up more control and dh performance then a madshus 78 gives up in kick and glide? Or the mashdus gives up more kick and glide then then s bound gives up in control and dh performance.

I haven't skied the Madshus 78 so I'm reluctant to make a definitive comparison. The SBound 98 has a center groove on the base, and from the images I can find on the web, the Madshus 78 may not have a groove. Downhill focused skis lost the groove many years ago to make them easier to turn, but XC skis have kept them, mainly as it helps keep the skis straight for kick and glide. The two skis have slightly different sidecut ratios, but both are curvy by XC standards, so I expect that they both will turn pretty well in soft snow. A ski as wide as the Madshus 78 would probably warrant a boot with a bit more ankle support than what is offered by the Alpina Alaska, especially since you are coming from the Alpine side. Just like with skis, it is always a compromise to find a boot that is good for kick and glide and for downhill control. The 98 leans a bit more toward the XC end and the M78 leans a bit more toward the downhill end and I think that should help you decide which would work out best for you. I think a lot will depend on how you envision your use. Most people ski at a leisurely pace and if you don't envision yourself skiing at an athletic pace on the flats, kick and glide performance may not be the highest priority.

@@tomm9850 thank you for your in depth and thought out responses. It’s very helpful. Your videos are excellent and there are not many out there with your type of content. So thanks for all of the videos too. Happy skiing! I will let you know what I go with and how I like them when I do. Thanks again

I use the Rossignol BC X-12 75 mm 3 pin boots on both the Voile Objective BC and the Fischer S-Bound 98. Here is a video I shot a couple of weeks ago skiing the Objectives with the Rossignol soft boot. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aMxnoZNozsqdl30.html When the conditions warrant, I will use my Scarpa T2 plastic boots with the Objective. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pruYjdBl0tGoeoE.html

I'm so glad that you are enjoying the videos and that you are skiing. Most people would be envious to be able to ski out their back door. Many years ago I skied with a headlamp after work at a local cross country ski area. Night skiing can be wonderful, but often cold. The Fischer Fiber Crown are a fairly narrow ski at 51-46-49. I have not skied them, but they look like they are a great ski for skiing groomed trails. The e99's at 66-54-61 would offer a little more flotation and be easier to ski on an uneven trail than the Fiber Crown. I skied a set of waxable Europa 99's for many years and enjoyed them a lot. They are a great all-round ski. I no longer have those skis, but I do ski the Fischer Traverse 78's. The Traverse 78's are the starting point for an off trail ski. They are too wide for a groomed trail at 78-61-69. They won't be as fast as your current skis on the flats, but they do offer a lot more float on soft snow and are easier to turn. Between the two, the e99's would work best for the the trail you described. I'd pick the Traverse 78's if you think that you might want to also ski more rolling terrain or where tighter turns are required. If you do get a new set of skis, report back on how well you like them as compared to your current skis.

@@tomm9850 Thank you for quick respond. So the e99. What ski length should I take? My weight is 105 kg and I am 190 cm tall. According to fischer official site I should go with 210 cm skis, the longest ones, but I am not so sure... In fact I feel myself better on my wife's 199cm sporty crown on a tight forest paths, than on mine's 204 fiber crowns. But on open straight lines mine glides better. I heard that it is better to take shorter skis for offtrack (190-200 cm for my heigth).

@@user-nv7db4ip6s I think I would go with what Fischer recommends for your weight. If you undersize, the skis will be easier to turn and will climb better, but they will not glide as well. An undersized ski compresses more underfoot, and as a result, the crown pattern drags a bit on the gliding ski. I guess it all depends on which is more important, glide on the flats, or maneuverability and grip. If most of your skiing is in soft deep snow, the longer ski will give you better float. Back when I was skiing the Europa 99's (circa 2008, waxable version), I was skiing a 205 cm and weighing about 75 kg. I'm now skiing the Fischer Traverse 78's at 179 cm. The e99's and the Traverse 78's are very different in design and utility. The e99's are faster, but they do take more skill to ski downhill through the trees.

@@tomm9850 Hi! First of all thank you again for consulting me. Secondly, I bought my first offtrack set. I followed your advice and took fischer e99 in 210 cm. I also took fischer mountain bcx poles and fischer offtrack 3 bc boots. I have already skied for about 160 km on this set this february so I have earned some experience. The day I got it from the courier was pretty good and it was sunday and on good weekends snowmobiled path are always in good conditions - you can even skate on some parts of it as they are wide and good packed. Also on weekends there are more skiers on track and that day I skied on my fiber crowns on practically ideal trail that can be in my surroundings. The courier came right after my return from my ski walk and I felt a little sorrow at first because I got used to mine fitness skis and thought that it is more or less ok to make path on them in my place. So I wasn't much excited but drove to the nearest ski service to get them waxed and to mount NNN BC bindings on them. Next day morning I opened my eyes and saw that there are 20 cm of fresh powder outside:) I hardly waited when the working day was over to test my set. On my way to the forest I thought "ok, I will definately be slower on this set as it is heavier and boots are more beefy and stiff but I will get better floatation, more control with nnn bc, etc" But when I finally made first glide I was shocked. I have never been so fast and good before:) THey are several times more stiff than my soft fibre crowns! I really wanted to go for longer trip even it was dark and I went with headlamp. The only thing that stopped me from doing that was I couldn't even saw the edges of yesterdays ideal snowmobile path in fields as it was perfectly blown by snow and wind as it has never been before! Last week I did my first long run for 34 km to a log shelter in woods and I did it unusual way as there is a linking snowmobiled path to it from the backdoor (99% of skiers have to drive to the path and leave their cars) - overall 7 hours on skis without taking off the boots with temperature from minus 10 to -5 and my feet were absolutely dry and comfortable (thank to good socks with different zones too). The minor point of offtrack 3 bc boots is cloth material on it's sides that made feet "breathe" when you brake through melted but frosted again top snow surface this material can't stand it and begin to wear out. After 160 km of run I clearly see zones of wear here, ofcourse this material is rather thick and it will take time to wear it through but still. I am thinking about order a cover for boots at local tourist sewing company. I saw some comments where people say that this boots are not so stiff and does not provide good heel control and set it as a minor point but I find them really great for my situation with mostly flat terrains where I don't need heel control (I don't tighten the heel strap) and rather light offtrack conditions and I love them for similar to usual nordic ski boots behaviour. Poles are just great too. Getting back to skis. My e99 model has an offtrack crown and it provides very good grip. My weight is 105 kg, my son is 20 kg with warm suit on and I pull him in a sledge to some 20-30 degrees slopes on parallel skis! Amazing. Plus I never had snow sticked to crown zones (I skied from +5 to -20 celcius) - the only treat I make is clearing the crown zone with wax removal. Steel edges are good too. So to crown my story up - I find e99 skis just perfect for my conditions - skiing over snowmobiled paths with 15-20 cm snow over it. They still fit the track if there is some. If at first I changed skis for just to feel different and to compare - now I only ski with e99 as it is much more comfortable. Thank you again Tom. hope that my short review will be useful for anybody:) Sorry for my english.

@@user-nv7db4ip6s Thanks for taking the time to write about your ski experience. I'm sure other's will find it helpful. I can tell you really enjoy skiing, and based on the distances you ski, passionate as well. If other's post questions about your current setup, I hope you will respond. :)

Yes, they are all off trail skis with metal edges.