I'm skiing the Fischer Traverse 78's, a crown pattern ski. I apply a paste glide wax over the entire surface of all my "waxless skis" to improve their glide. The only traditional wax ski I'm currently skiing is a skate ski. Hello back to you, and thanks for watching.
Tom, will you and Julie weigh in on the virtues and differences of the 78 vs the 88? I’m on a pair of Rossi BC65 in the north east kingdom of VT. I break a lot of “trail” skiing the local logging routes but I’m looking for a new set of skis this season. Do you two have any resounding thoughts about one or the other?
I really like the Traverse 78. I've been skiing this ski since 2015. Both Julie and I skied the Sbound 78 for about 10 years prior, and it is pretty much identical to the Traverse 78. Julie is trying the Excursion 88's this year. Her Sbound 78's were sized for carrying a heavy backpack, and with less weight, they tend to slip when breaking trail uphill on steep inclines in soft snow. I convinced her to try a shorter, wider ski this season. In addition, the easy skins adds versatility she didn't have with her old skis. For the type of skiing in this video, she prefers the narrower 78's. That doesn't surprise me as her favorite type of skiing is in groomed tracks, using her track skis, which are 47-43-45, and super light. She has a couple pairs of narrower skis to pick from, so it will be interesting to see if she sticks with the 88's or switches back. She also does a lot of skiing on forest service roads that get heavily torn up by snow machines. I think the wider skis would be more stable, so I will be curious to see which she prefers. I've only skied a short distance on her 88's. They are shorter than my 78's so its hard for me to do a direct comparison. The camber and flex are similar between the two. To me, the 88's feel like a wider and slightly heavier 78's. I don't know if they are easier to turn than the 78's. She has no interest in a ski as wide as my 98's, and I had to twist her arm to try the 88's. I'm sure the 88's will seem pretty wide and heavy in comparison to your 65's. Most of my skiing is in deep dry snow, so I tend to lean toward a wider ski for extra flotation. I'm not familiar with the snow conditions in your area. Maybe others can chime in with their thoughts if they have a different perspective. If you haven't already, check out the Telemark Talk Forum. Lots of good advice there. www.telemarktalk.com/
Tom M got the Traverse in 179 with NNNBC. They’re a great ski for the variable conditions up here. Much easier to turn than my BC65s. I am a bit heavier, last time I weighed myself I was about 195, at the top end of the range for the 179, but that’s what I got. They are nice and short for the tight conditions. I might not glide like the 189ish BC65s but I tried turning them for the first time and almost gave myself whiplash! Good utili-ski for cruising the unbroken hiking and logging trails. Thanks for all your videos
Hey Tom. My good friend Larry may have met you years back up on Triangle X road where you had asked about how to get to Huckleberry Hot springs. I believe he crafted a map for you. He was wondering if it was you that he had met and if the map was helpful and if you ever made it up there. Regardless, your videos are really helpful and enjoyable.
It has been a long time since I've skied to Huckleberry Hot Spring. I'm pretty sure that I heard about it from a neighbor, and that I used a topo map and the existing trails to find it, so it wasn't me that Larry helped. The last time I was there, Huckleberry was full so we headed over to the smaller spring up Polecat Creek. Thanks for watching, and have a great winter.
Love that you are on Fischer's! Do you wax? Hello from the Adirondack Mountains, NY
I'm skiing the Fischer Traverse 78's, a crown pattern ski. I apply a paste glide wax over the entire surface of all my "waxless skis" to improve their glide. The only traditional wax ski I'm currently skiing is a skate ski. Hello back to you, and thanks for watching.
Tom, will you and Julie weigh in on the virtues and differences of the 78 vs the 88? I’m on a pair of Rossi BC65 in the north east kingdom of VT. I break a lot of “trail” skiing the local logging routes but I’m looking for a new set of skis this season. Do you two have any resounding thoughts about one or the other?
Robert / hey I’m taking ALL input. Analysis paralysis here we come!
I really like the Traverse 78. I've been skiing this ski since 2015. Both Julie and I skied the Sbound 78 for about 10 years prior, and it is pretty much identical to the Traverse 78. Julie is trying the Excursion 88's this year. Her Sbound 78's were sized for carrying a heavy backpack, and with less weight, they tend to slip when breaking trail uphill on steep inclines in soft snow. I convinced her to try a shorter, wider ski this season. In addition, the easy skins adds versatility she didn't have with her old skis. For the type of skiing in this video, she prefers the narrower 78's. That doesn't surprise me as her favorite type of skiing is in groomed tracks, using her track skis, which are 47-43-45, and super light. She has a couple pairs of narrower skis to pick from, so it will be interesting to see if she sticks with the 88's or switches back. She also does a lot of skiing on forest service roads that get heavily torn up by snow machines. I think the wider skis would be more stable, so I will be curious to see which she prefers. I've only skied a short distance on her 88's. They are shorter than my 78's so its hard for me to do a direct comparison. The camber and flex are similar between the two. To me, the 88's feel like a wider and slightly heavier 78's. I don't know if they are easier to turn than the 78's. She has no interest in a ski as wide as my 98's, and I had to twist her arm to try the 88's. I'm sure the 88's will seem pretty wide and heavy in comparison to your 65's. Most of my skiing is in deep dry snow, so I tend to lean toward a wider ski for extra flotation. I'm not familiar with the snow conditions in your area. Maybe others can chime in with their thoughts if they have a different perspective. If you haven't already, check out the Telemark Talk Forum. Lots of good advice there. www.telemarktalk.com/
Tom M thank you!
Robert / thank you!
Tom M got the Traverse in 179 with NNNBC. They’re a great ski for the variable conditions up here. Much easier to turn than my BC65s.
I am a bit heavier, last time I weighed myself I was about 195, at the top end of the range for the 179, but that’s what I got. They are nice and short for the tight conditions. I might not glide like the 189ish BC65s but I tried turning them for the first time and almost gave myself whiplash! Good utili-ski for cruising the unbroken hiking and logging trails.
Thanks for all your videos
Hey Tom. My good friend Larry may have met you years back up on Triangle X road where you had asked about how to get to Huckleberry Hot springs. I believe he crafted a map for you. He was wondering if it was you that he had met and if the map was helpful and if you ever made it up there. Regardless, your videos are really helpful and enjoyable.
It has been a long time since I've skied to Huckleberry Hot Spring. I'm pretty sure that I heard about it from a neighbor, and that I used a topo map and the existing trails to find it, so it wasn't me that Larry helped. The last time I was there, Huckleberry was full so we headed over to the smaller spring up Polecat Creek. Thanks for watching, and have a great winter.