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Mrs C and I are toying with buying some kit. Nothing fancy - it'll never be 'our sport' but rather a thing to do when snowed in. But Mrs C likes nordic walking and I like ski touring (badly) so this feels like a thing we might enjoy doing together. Far more chance of skiing out the door and up the lane, around the loch or local tracks than of skiing on groomed tracks regularly I'd have thought, though possible down the line.
So has anyone used/handled the Decathlon kit? Their cheapy £80 skis with fishscales and similar quality boots is the sort of money that feels justifiable but......is it just the equivalent of a BSO bike?
Any other shops worth looking at? Or sources of 2nd hand?
Ta
For what you want to do the Decathlon kit will be fine. Without groomed pistes there's no point have skating kit which leave you the choice of classic technique skis. That's either "waxing", "fish scale" or "skin - a one way textile patch". Waxing is a pain and I only used to do it for racing, fish scales do the job in most conditions and skin does the job in all conditions. I use branded kit but would quite happily use Decathlon - their current range is better than the 30-year-old kit I use.
Are they literally Decathlon ski, or a brand they have in cheap? As for the coatings, wot Edukator said.
Waxing is a pain if you are just skiing for fun and cannot be bothered to re-do if the the snow or conditions change. The skin stuff is the best option (we have this) as you only really need to maintain it a bit, not all the time. It will still work well enough in wet snow even if the skis have been waxed for frozen snow.
What boots are they offering? Classic or skate-style with some ankle support? Also, poles… the right length is super important.
I recently went out on my new Decathlon fish scale skis on a railway track locally.
Not Decathlon boots so can't comment on them.
Skis were fine, do what you expect from basic Nordic skis. For messing around I recommend them.
Last year Decathlon had skis with hair patch bases rather than scales, if these are available they are probably a little better.
Thanks all. I'll do a bit more searching tonight and then go for it I think. Yes, the part skins version of a Nordic ski looks the very best option but finding in budget maybe a challenge.
What would the downside to having slightly shorter skis that the calculators recommend - just speed/glide? Thinking of Mrs C - given a choice between giving away some performance and not spending her life crossing tips and tangled up around tricky corner I know she'd go for it every time.
Skis that are too short will perversely be harder to turn in many conditions... Because they've sunk deeper into the snow. Try to go with the recommended lengths for xc. Long is helpful.
Defo fishscales for first choice in casual, bit of fun xc.
If Decathlon's Riverside 29er bikepacking rig is anything with which to measure the quality of their in house designs, the skis and boots should be just grand.
The only issue I have with these is the width, which I don't see listed. I use Fischer E99's which are quite wide for flexibility off track... these I think are quite a bit thinner,and best used on a made track. Something like an E89 would be a good seller for the UK as it would give a bit more flexibility off the groomed track.
Boots and bindings looks good - does anyone have the measurements. FWIW my skis have scales, and I have a set of skins for when I'll be climbing a lot. IF you're realy smashed up/tired, you can simply keep the skins on downhill and pretty much walk down anything
The main consideration when choosing length is weight because longer skis are stiffer. You need a ski stiff enough that the "chambre" under the foot only grips the snow when you give a push. Stand on the skis on a hard flat surface and you should be able to slide a piece of A4 paper under the middle and even move it around the scale/skin area. Standing on one leg you'll only be able to move the paper in the very middle of the ski. If you give an impulsion with one foot the paper should be clamped down firmly everywhere.
If the ski is too soft it won't glide between impulsions, if it's too hard it won't grip when you kick. Madame at 55kgs uses short skis. I'm 65kg and have bought shorter softer skis as I've got older and less powerful.
When I say "kick" it's not so much a kick as loading to grip and a firm push - it takes a lot of practice especially to do it efficiently when going fast.
I'll do classic XC in any old boots that are comfortable. For skating I like a snugg fit and stiff. NNN bindings are the best skating bindings IMO but for classic I'm equally happy on SNS.
Thanks again.
Yes @wbo, I think the width is a possible issue with the Decathlon £79 jobbies - sidecut 50-50-50
In the usual price escalation, I'm quite taken with these - https://www.braemarmountainsports.com/ski-equipment/skis/hagan-off-trace-nordic-backcountry-ski__2637
Steel edges add control on descent but if you're spending that much and going that wide have a look at the Fishers on the same site:
Fischer E109 Easy Skin Xtralite 17/18 Nordic Backcountry Ski