I did my first xc ski race in about 15 years this weekend, and now I’m looking to upgrade my xc ski equipment. I know it’s late in the season, but I figure I can get a good season end deal now (or very soon). I know that there are some avid xc skiers here so I have a few questions.
I know that most people suggest having different equipment for both classical and skating techniques. I currently use an old set of skating boots for both. Now granted, they are really beaten down, and don’t give me much support for either…but I like the idea of being able to do both with one set of boots, but I also want to race competitively… Soooo…my question is, does anybody have experience with the high end salomon combi boot? I’m sure they would feel like a huge upgrade from my current boots…but I would appreciate any thoughts on it? Also, can modern skating boots be used well enough for classical?? I’ve read that some world class skiers just use their skating boots for the classical leg of skiathlon.
I’m sure most of my future races will be freestyle, but I will do some classical and I’d like to try skiathlon as well…but I also don’t want to break the bank on equipment. Luckily, my old race ski’s are in great condition…in fact one pair (about 13 years old) had not even been used until last winter. So for now, I think I can get by on the old ski’s.
Even the combi boots offer awesome support while skating. I’d go for combi. I am in the same boat, using a rikety old pair of skate boots for both.
However, I think it waaaaay more important to get skis before boots. I’ve been on prety much every brand imaginable and have found that Mahdsus are by far the best feeling skis for me. Fischers also do great in very cold conditions.
I have no experience with combi boots, but it is my understanding that a combi boot with a removeable cuff functions almost identically to similarly priced skating boot. My concern would be about the durability of the cuff interface over time, although I have no information that suggests this is a problem. Striding with the combi boot will be fine and you may choose to kepp the cuff on in twisting downill terrain.
IMO, a combi boot is the only combi equipment worth considering, as a combi ski is both a bad skating ski and a bad striding ski.
If you haven’t updated your skating equipment in a long time, I would review the length of your poles – you may want to consider shortening them. The evolution of the technique suggests shorter poles than recommendations of 15 years ago. Shortening your poles is cheap, you can easily do it yourself or have a shop do it for a small fee.
Watch out for binding compatability with the combi boots. The newer Saloman “pilot” skating binding is not compatible with a combi boot so if you have these on your skating skis (or intend to upgrade to these) you will have to get separate boots to go with them. I use a combi boot for classic and a skating-specific boot for skating. I like the added support of the skating boot and the pilot system works well for me.
Another poster made a very good point about poles. Skate and classic poles are different (skating ones are longer) and you shouldn’t ignore that. Many good skaters consider the poles as important as the skis since they are used so much in the motion. I would say that if you want to minimize your costs you would get best bang for your buck with a combi boot / binding system and new skating poles.
Don’t forget the other boot manufacturers either. Alpina and Rossignol and Fischer all make great boots and they may not have the compatibility problem that Salomon does (Alpina and Rossi are not compatible with Salomon bindings, though).
If you get the new Saloman high end combi boot, they are better than anything in the market from >6 years ago even for skate. You will have to stay with the regular SNS system (not pilot). Personally, I see no appreciable difference between the pilot and SNS system except for ultra technical high speed downhills where the two contact points add to the lateral rigidity of the boot/binding systems.
Another nice combi boot on the SNS system , is the Fischer SC, which is really good for people with wide feet.
XC gear isn’t terribly expensive when you compare to most sports (an entire set-up probably costs less than most wheelsets!!).
A couple years I bought some skating skis and bought Salomon Skate/Classic boots & bindings. Long story short, you can do both alright, but neither really well. I ended up replacing the elastomer on the bindings ($8) and got some high end NOS Salomon Equipe skate boots off eBay ($60). Best investment I made. I you want to do both, I’d have two sets of gear. It’s better than fighting with stuff that only does the job half-way. It makes all the difference in your learning curve and efficiency.
I’ll probably keep my SC boots around and just get some classic skis for when I want to parallel. Of course, since we’ve had 50-degree temps here in Minnesota for the better part of a week, there ain’t much to ski on… Got some snow last night, but that will be gone soon! Rotten winter for winter sports!
The duel equipment( for classic and skating) seems expensive at first, but xc gear if you take good care of it will last for YEARS. The advances in technology are minor, so you will not feel like you have missed the boat at all.
If you have the $$$, I would say get the two different kinds of boots.