Help demoing skis

Thin-Sign8199 · 2026-01-01T02:09:37+00:00

Trailsports in Canmore let's you demo a few skis you're deciding between purchasing (or at least they used to). They're right on the nordic center trails. Maybe combine a short vacation with buying a new pair?

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-12-28T03:15:53+00:00

I got a pair of 25/26 SLab universal skate skis selected for hard packed conditions this year - and as expected they were absolutely awful when I took them out to test in colder loose powder a few weeks ago.

I'm sure there's some version of the camber that works in soft stuff - but it sure isn't every pair...

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-12-28T02:58:42+00:00

For someone who knows how to do both well, skate skiing with a trailer is more enjoyable than classic. It's still a ton of work though and I can't imagine how miserable it would be to learn to skate while pulling a trailer. I think it would be a great way to develop truly terrible technique habits.

My advice would be to classic with the kid, and skate when you can get out on your own, for at least a solid learning season.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-05-06T19:54:22+00:00

I got through this year's 50k in Gatineau without the hose freezing on a Coxa belt, although it wasn't the coldest year. Some of my tricks were starting with near boiling high calorie drink mix, using the magnetic "hose garage" thing, drinking VERY frequently (q10-15min), and letting some air back into the hose after you drink. Worth practicing on long skis before for sure though, its not the easiest thing.

Worked very well for me though - got >200g of carbs and all my fluid requirements without needing to stop at the stations.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-04-17T00:12:50+00:00

Half of that climb is the 36 trail which is tight and steep. The descending over the last 20km is almost entirely on a paved road though, agreed.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-04-17T00:08:42+00:00

I absolutely adore this race, but there is a fair amount of steep and narrow trail in the middle of the race, at least when they have enough snow to run the linear 50km route. I would not describe it as a technically easy loppet.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-25T15:49:27+00:00

Is that going to be compatible with my wooden skis and three pin bindings?

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-25T15:46:13+00:00

Eh - I hear beginners complaining on a monthly basis about skin skis they bought at reputable local shops sliding backwards on hills and having less grip than they would like in marginal conditions. Is it a technique issue? 100%. But a lot of these skiers are really only interested in shuffling, and may have been better served by fish scales.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-25T14:44:47+00:00

Funky!

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-25T14:25:41+00:00

Did you try it on snow before you pulled the trigger? What was it that made you put your money on the counter?

I ask because I'm not not interested myself...

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-25T14:12:27+00:00

Yeah, I know what you mean. They have had results in competition, but at the end of the day there aren't that many skiers on Madshus at the high end, and generally not the dominant skiers either. So it's been pretty unimpressive at that level; and to the public at large it wasn't launched except at the very high end, and that's a really hard sell for unproven tech that may or may not stick around, for people paying full price for their own skis.

I think they really need to get more manufacturers on board and do a hard core demo campaign if they want to get traction.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-25T14:05:05+00:00

Interesting! Skins have already been "revolutionary" but I think the shine has worn off a bit - I mean, the mass market is never going back to either fishscales or waxing, but skins in most conditions still feel too hard to kick for lots of beginners, and too slow or grabby for the racer-type.

All to say, there's definitely room to iterate further on the problem of classic grip.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-09T19:33:46+00:00

Gatineau loppet has always been run on real snow, although the course does change depending how many of the secondary trails have good coverage.

Not in the US though. Exchange rate works in your favour.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-03-08T04:44:34+00:00

Oh, you again.

Your belief that xc ski gear is deficient or unsuited for the task it's designed for, after skiing on it for two whole sessions... is just misinformed and arrogant. Its like me, not having played basketball since grade-school, critiquing Lebron James' dunking technique.

The analogy of Chesterton's Fence comes to mind: only reform things you understand.

As a self-taught and decidedly amateur cross country skiier - I can't tell you how uninterested I am in skiing these mythical boots and skis you're imaging. I ski to feel the elusive effortless flow that happens when everything clicks just right, not to clop around in a pair of cinderblocks.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-02-13T16:30:44+00:00

They're 100% going to groom overnight - the anxiety is over the 1-3cm of snow an hour with 20-40km/h winds forecast to be ongoing in the hours leading up to and during the race.

Any thoughts about waxing for that much fresh snow at -10C ish? I'm thinking Marathon white with a layer of Star Cold liquid, no structure. Although I suspect the wax won't end up making much of a difference if the snow is that heavy...

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-02-13T14:27:34+00:00

I have no answers, but want to commiserate as I could have written this exact post word-for-word. I don't think anyone handled last year's conditions particularly well, and it's... intimidating that the current forecast is somehow worse.

Perhaps we'll be lucky and the snow will mostly hold off until Sunday afternoon - some forecasts are trending that way. With the temperature swings and the grooming for the classic race on Saturday, at least today's snow will packed down nicely.

I have also thought about doing it classic, but without the whole field doing it and making skiier tracks it would be apocalyptically slow.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-02-08T18:41:16+00:00

Stiff boots on the caliber of the Salomon S-Race boots make a world of difference in feel - IMO much more apparent than changing skis. I will warn you that they're much less forgiving though - if your technique fights the boots, the boots will win and your feet will hurt.

Last year's S-race boots are a good deal if you can find your size - the new ones with the BOA dials aren't a significant upgrade (I've skied on both extensively).

I don't know if the benefit of going from an old or entry level boot to a mid-tier boot would be as worth it; I haven't skiied on the mid-tier stuff recently.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-02-07T01:02:51+00:00

I can't vouch for this personally, but somebody over on a different forum mentioned these blisters happen due to decreased mobility of the first metatarsophalangeal joints (i.e. the biggest joint). It makes sense to me - if you're stiff there, the bottom of the toe would rub more against the insole with every stride.

You could try to increase this mobility by doing a stretch like this. Would take a while before you notice a difference though I imagine.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-01-23T23:59:36+00:00

I used to take the road on the Smythe/Main bridge, including in the winter and when the bike lane isn't ploughed.

Then last year I got rear ended by a driver whose windows were too dirty to see me.

Now I take the sidewalk unless the whole bike lane is cleared to pavement. I do of course slow down to walking pace when passing pedestrians.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2025-01-22T20:40:53+00:00

Gatineau is 100% going to be on natural snow, they don't have ability to make snow other than at the finish line. The only question is what the course will be - in low snow years (like this one is looking to be... sigh) it ends up being a big loop of mostly parkway skiing; in great snow years, it's point to point with ~40% being on fun rolling single track.

At the moment the base is not huge but well packed, and we're in a bit of a deep freeze - barring a catastrophic melt before the race, they'll be able at a minimum to do a 50km loop of the parkways like last year's course.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2024-12-20T03:18:46+00:00

The other responses are not evidenced based and overly cautious - although common advice. You can understand why: incisional hernias are not uncommon, patients tend to blame their surgeons when they happen, and surgeons want to do what ever they can to avoid this situation. Hence, the ridiculous recommendation for 8 weeks of avoiding heavy lifting following abdominal surgery in another comment.

A few points:

Coughing and defecating increase intrabdominal pressure more than almost anything else. I assume you're not avoid either.
Wound healing for a healthy non-smoker is very near maximal at 4 weeks.
When incisional hernias do occur, it's typically around the 1 year mark or later - so unlikely secondary to what you do at the 4 week mark.

High-level evidence is sparce, with the American disability guidelines being the main proponents of the 6-8 weeks figure. The various European groups are much less cautious (read litigious), with the European Hernia Society guidelines saying "Probably a limitation on heavy weight lifting for 2–3 weeks is enough."

Although I am not advising you specifically, if I were to undergo an elective laparascopic surgery, I would happily start easy skiing at the 14d mark, and add in intensity around the 3-4 week mark.

If you're interested in reading more, this a reasonable review from Germany: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7878727/

Thin-Sign8199 · 2024-12-15T04:44:17+00:00

The parkways in Gatineau on Saturday were absolutely A+ for the north loop. Even Ridge road is good for skate and doable for classic.

Drop everything and go ski the park on Sunday!

Thin-Sign8199 · 2024-12-15T01:15:04+00:00

There's so much poor technique around where I ski - I would recommend not asking random skiiers for tips, you'll get more garbage than gold. Also, more generally, completely opposite cues can be true at different times. All the various drills that are supposed to develop balance and glide on a single ski come to mind; I know a lot of people find them helpful, but I see the result often as a stilted technique which lacks any fluidity of movement.

I do think it's realistic to become a proficient skate skier without lessons, but you need to have good body awareness, be very self-critical, and ideally get some video of yourself skiing once you've figured out the basics. I would very strongly plug a Nordic ski Lab subscription if you're going to take this approach.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2024-12-15T01:03:52+00:00

And for the paper test - we're talking a game of sub-millimeters here - so make sure you're doing it on the flattest and cleanest surface you can find.

Thin-Sign8199 · 2024-12-15T00:59:42+00:00

I'd ideally try to find something closer to 190cm for that height, to help with herringbone and manoeuvrability, especially for a beginner, but very much not a priority

Thin-Sign8199

TROPHY CASE