Discussion: X-country skis for downhill skiier

Hi, I'd appreciate any advice regarding a Christmas gift for my husband. We recently moved to a house about a block away from a public golf course. During the winter people x-country ski there but there are not groomed trails.

My husband and I have X-country skiied before but he is primarily a downhill skiier. I just mention that because his comfort level on snow is very high since he competed internationally, but the long skis for traditional Alpine skiing are not something he's expert at.

I want to buy him X-country skis for Christmas. I know he'd prefer skate skis since that's what his dad uses in Germany, but I think the terrain isn't so good for that and I'd like him to be able to use the skis every day rather than driving to a trail.

Am I right that skate skis should be ruled out for now? As far as Nordic skis, what kind is best for going off trail? I emailed his dad to get his old boots sent but would it be better to buy new boots? I would just like to learn before I go to the mercy of a sales person!

Thanks in advance,
Megan

Based on your goals, it sounds as though classic touring skis and poles with wider baskets would work best. Higher performance skis are also fine without groomed trails as long as he would always be able to follow someone else's tracks, but if he ever has to make his own tracks in fresh snow on the golf course, performance skis will sink too much.

However, buying classic skis without the skier being present is a potential problem because the particular skis being purchased should be tested in the store to make sure the skier has enough weight when putting all his weight on one ski to push the ski all the way down to get grip, but not enough weight when the weight is spread between the two skis to interfere with glide.

Boots have to be compatible with the binding on the skis so you would need to know what binding goes with the boots before buying the skis. If the boots are very old, it's possible that compatible bindings are no longer being made.

I'm sure others with chime in too but I would not rule out skate skis. If the golf course is relatively flat, than he can just double pole with the skate skis after making a lap or two to create a trail. Also, at some point there will probably be some dense snow/crust and skating will be a blast. If there are snowmobile trails in your area, they make great skating. And obviously, not having to fool around with kick waxes is a real plus. I don't know your particular situation but if I were just going to have one pair of skis, they would be skate skis and I would probably buy them used at some used equipment fund raiser type sale. As rlidnzon says though, make sure the boots and bindings match because there are differences even though some look similar.

I wouldn't try to make this a surprise. There are arguments in favour of either type of ski, and the skier really should test his weight on the skis before the bindings are mounted. Boots and bindings have changed for the better, and the skier needs to try the boots on.

As with bikes, there isn't one type of ski that suits all situations. I have a collection of XC skis but the ones I grab most often for ungroomed terrain around home are my waxless classic touring skis. In an area with different typical temperatures and snow, my choice might be different. They can go anywhere in almost any conditions. The disadvantage is that they're slower than my other skis but the trade-off is often worth it.

The best move may be to give him some kind of certificate that indicates that you're getting him skis, or maybe just put his old boots in a box that he can open, which will be a mystery until you explain it. Because he may be able to answer this question better than any of us, who don't know him.

Unless you live right on groomed trails, if you want to go out for a casual poking around you'll want classic skis and probably touring ones at that. However, when you do venture to an area with groomed trails the touring skis will be ... boring. That's when lighter classic or skate skis will take off and be a lot more fun. If that's likely to be infrequent, you can always rent those initially.

I use waxless touring skis for my golf course and woods trail forays in the winter. I have never been successful skating on the golf course, and I love to skate ski, but unless the conditions are just perfect, say an inch of new snow over hard frozen settled snow, it is a frustrating experience.
Although it is true that a ski should be sized for the person, I ski on 195 to 210 waxless skis and they all perform about the same on golf course snow.
You are not going to be going fast along some tracks on a golf course, so almost any ski will work.
I do glide wax my waxless skis, though, and it makes a noticeable improvement if the conditions are decent.

Great expert advice from all.

Golf course sking = classical touring skis.
Groomed ski course= sk8skis of course.