Post by rangewalker on Jan 27, 2020 19:57:17 GMT -8
I bought my “sliding snowshoes” and now have three-day trips with them under different conditions.
Black Diamond “Guidelite” 127 cm
Short story version, I bought them from a hiking /ski partner that hated them. I freed her from her buyer’s remorse and paid her what she paid for BD’s pro price.
They are a hiker-snowshoer ski.
They are short, very thin, shallow, camber and very Euro. The skis are from Finland and bindings are German and made in Estonia, just like your Hildeberg tents and Lowa boots. Very high-quality appearance and in turn, slick functioning. The 127’s from BD do not have steel edges and after use, I understand why. Or why I suppose. They are shorter than is nominally recommended for my weight but BD and Altai recommend the shorter ski if your primary use on snow-covered trails and brushy slopes, where I would nominally snowshoe.
I adjusted the bindings to fit my winter hikers/snowshoe boot, size 12 Columbia’s better Bugaboo insulated boot with ortho insoles. They look capable of handling most 13’s. The padding on the binding straps did well. After six hours on the third trip out, no real fatigue or pinch points. Most snowshoe bindings and Nordic boots I have had some foot issues, not these.
On packed icy snow, there can be some side slide. In the crust on top, deeper powder under, the things bowed but recovered and gripped out of the hole. They resembled floppy clown shoes. Humor aside, because they do not have steel rib or edges, the whole ski conforms front to back into the dips and waves of the trail. The skin has a great grip. They also move almost glacially down slopes. Do not get far out forward of the boot, as it will pitch you forward if it catches on rough ice or a soft spot. The next step is to see how they perform with a sled or pulk. I feel they are going to excel.
I will update as I get more miles in.
Skin embedded
Depth is off but some of these tracks were a foot deep.
Black Diamond “Guidelite” 127 cm
Short story version, I bought them from a hiking /ski partner that hated them. I freed her from her buyer’s remorse and paid her what she paid for BD’s pro price.
They are a hiker-snowshoer ski.
They are short, very thin, shallow, camber and very Euro. The skis are from Finland and bindings are German and made in Estonia, just like your Hildeberg tents and Lowa boots. Very high-quality appearance and in turn, slick functioning. The 127’s from BD do not have steel edges and after use, I understand why. Or why I suppose. They are shorter than is nominally recommended for my weight but BD and Altai recommend the shorter ski if your primary use on snow-covered trails and brushy slopes, where I would nominally snowshoe.
I adjusted the bindings to fit my winter hikers/snowshoe boot, size 12 Columbia’s better Bugaboo insulated boot with ortho insoles. They look capable of handling most 13’s. The padding on the binding straps did well. After six hours on the third trip out, no real fatigue or pinch points. Most snowshoe bindings and Nordic boots I have had some foot issues, not these.
On packed icy snow, there can be some side slide. In the crust on top, deeper powder under, the things bowed but recovered and gripped out of the hole. They resembled floppy clown shoes. Humor aside, because they do not have steel rib or edges, the whole ski conforms front to back into the dips and waves of the trail. The skin has a great grip. They also move almost glacially down slopes. Do not get far out forward of the boot, as it will pitch you forward if it catches on rough ice or a soft spot. The next step is to see how they perform with a sled or pulk. I feel they are going to excel.
I will update as I get more miles in.
Skin embedded
Depth is off but some of these tracks were a foot deep.
