Backcountry touring set-up?

Sorry. I took my dividend to rei.com to purchase another pair of Rottefella BC Magnums and they are not there.

Charles-Very great info on the skis and applications.<br>I am also looking into this setup again. For years I tromped around in the backcountry on Alpine gear (early 70's). Then Karhu came out with the XCD ski (Late 70's) and I bought a pair of 215cm skis w/Montanyl skins and some Snowfields. I saved the skins-should have saved the skis, but I bought another pair of XCD-Gt's. Back then these were the state of the art Telemark ski and Touring ski. <br>The newer skis like the Outabounds and Dorados look great, but will my skins stick to the raised pattern of the scales? I am thinking about some boots like the t-3 to power these skis. I would think that the shape of the newers skis would help turn the ski better than the XCD GT's, but I can recognize that it would cause resistance in glide on flats. Some of that would depend on the flex are the newer skis double camber for better kick? This question I have to ask-Do you have a climbing bar on the heel of the binding in case of vertical? What would you recommend for ski length-I am 6'4" about 185lbs. <br>sb mentioned kick wax, but I would love to stay away from that mess if I have to since that really can be difficult to manage.<br>Thanks again for the insights!<br>Joe<br>

Joe, I don't have any problem with the skins not sticking to the pattern. This was true for my previous "wide" fishscales, Karhu Catamounts, and my current Outtabounds. I re-glued the Col-tex skins that I got with my XCD-GTs, so there is quite a bit of ski that is not skinned, but when conditions are good for waxless skiing I don't really have any problem with climbing despite the narrow skins.<br><br>I believe that the old XCD-GT era skis had true double camber, which made them travel fast but not always too much fun to turn. The newer "wide" waxless skis are said to have camber-and-a-half, so they do turn better in more snow conditions, with the trade off of less good glide.<br><br>Climbing bar: I've had mine on and off of my waxless skis. I've found that when conditions are good for waxless skiing, they are mostly a pain because ice often builds up within the lowered bail. So I mostly ski without them, but put them back on once in a while for specific trips where there will be sustained steeper climbing.<br><br>Ski length: I would guess that you would want the longest ski available in a given model, but I'm really not an expert on this. Maybe someone else could suggest?<br>

You definitely don't want the longest ski available in a given model unless you're big (like 200 + lbs). If you get too long a ski with Nordic camber or even camber and a half you won't be able to use the waxless base to advantage and you'll also get poor to terrible downhill performance. It's important to get the right flex for your weight.

Thanks for the input SB and Charles This helps me in the decision process. I am going to check into this phenomenon. Since I have long legs I tend to get over the ski easily- especially with a pack. This is good for tele turns, but can take the glide out of the slide. <br>Thanks Boys-Any more input is welcome!<br>Joe