 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wow at that price I almost want to buy some despite never having done a day cross-x!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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kat.ryb, Same here! In fact I might give in to temptation as there is a disused railway footpath about a mile away so lots of flat to try and teach myself on if we ever get any snow!
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Sat 1-02-14 13:16; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| kat.ryb wrote: |
| Wow at that price I almost want to buy some despite never having done a day cross-x! |
Spoken like a true SnowHead! You know there are people on this forum with garages full of ski shit they never use. They are the backbone of the economy. Without them we'd all be living in caves.
They might make good runners for a sled.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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kat.ryb, if you buy those you will also need a whole garage full of different waxes, of course (including Klister for your Kluster); go for it!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you do buy them they're skis only no bindings. They don't seem to sell bindings at all, maybe that's why their so cheap.
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I have some spare bindings…I have a box full of waxes…I am absolutely clueless about cross country skiing though…lets see what happens!
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Cheapo foam core skis but the price is pretty amazing.
| pam w wrote: |
| kat.ryb, if you buy those you will also need a whole garage full of different waxes, of course (including Klister for your Kluster); go for it! |
Klister is truely awful, if it is bad enough to need it just don't ski! For messing about you could easily get away with 1 possibly 2 waxes.
XC skis can get going on hardly any snow especially if what is underneath is grass.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Well have gone and bought a pair, can't complain at that that price no matter how basic they are so should be fine to have a play on the nice flat railway (with some big steep uphills they used to winch the trains up!) just need to find equally cheap bindings, boots, poles and wax and work how how on earth it all goes together.
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davkt, what size shoes do you take?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yeah…does anyone have any cheap x country bindings?\
Please!!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Can anyone explain the difference between NNN and SNS before I go boot and binding hunting, and which would be a better choice for a cross country beginner?
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I'm a 9 (well 8 1/2 - 91/2 depending on brand but usually 9
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You know it makes sense.
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Yes davkt, NNN boots fit NNN bindings and SNS boots fit SNS bindings but not vice versa  . I use Salomon boots and SNS bindings (I have both the old SNS bindings and Pilot bindings, the later are supposed to be better but I generaly prefer the former). I've only used NNN bindings on a couple of occassions and they were much the same. Choose the binding for the boots that fit you best. I have Pursuit boots which give a decent amount of ankle support compared to classic boots so I can skate aswell as classic,but thats up to you. Don't get a skate boot as a beginner on unpisted tracks you will mostly want to classic and classicing in skate boots is a pain as they are too stiff .
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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davkt, I have a pair of classic Meindl boots in 43 which you could have - SNS binding. They could be back in the UK with me roundabout 9 February.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks Dave Horsley, will see what I can find in classic boots as it will most certainly be unpisted trails I try on first if we ever get any snow on that old railway line just up the road!
Next question, can anyone point me to a beginners guide to waxing XC skis?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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x-c skis has two wax zones: glide zone (tip & tail) and kick zone (underfoot). So as the name implies, glide wax on the glide zone, kick wax on the kick zone.
Glide wax are usually iron on but in a pinch, you can just use spray on or rub ons. Or in a real pinch, just apray PAM (the thing for cooking) on. It doesn't last very long but probably long enough for a quick spin you have in mind.
Kick wax goes by temperature (of the snow). If you still have the box or the wrapper, each should have the temperature on it. Rub it on the kick zone, smooth it out and try it. If you're sliding backward, add more wax. If you're feeling it grabbing, remove some of it and smooth it out as thin as possible and try again.
By trial and error, you should get the hang of it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You could always make a garden furniture out of them  . It's cheaper than some garden furniture
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Fri 31-01-14 23:17; edited 1 time in total
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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davkt, Buy a waxless ski!
Tips and tails with glide wax (for the temperature). Under the feet stick wax or Klister for the temperature of the snow. You can do the paper test to find out where the wax and klister pockets are, or just guess. My waxing skis the wax pocket runs from the back of the binding to about 8" beyond the front of the binding and the Klister pocket from the middle of the binding forward. My grip wax consists of:
Swix Universal Klister and Red Klister
Swix tub Klister
V50 Violet
V55 Red Special
Blue extra
V60 Red silver
V20 green
Which covers most of the temperature ranges.
http://www.swixschool.com/
Hows your Norwegian?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Have bought the super cheapo decathlon ones Dave Horsley so will have some fun with the waxing (the iron and scrapers I've got for looking after the alpine kit should help!) Norwegian is non-existent but I'm about a week into trying to learn Swedish so about one word in 100 was sort of understandable but could see what was going on from the videos thanks!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| abc wrote: |
Kick wax goes by temperature (of the snow). . |
Of the air.
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Just remember with waxing you can always add more but taking some off it pretty difficult. You also need to ski a bit on the wax for it to start to work well and it will look like there is almost no wax on your skis - don't be tempted to add more based on how it looks. Most people put way too much on to start with, the ski needs to be able to slide! Don't expect to go climbing up much of a gradient like you have skins. It is especially easy to overdo it with softer waxes.
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narc, Well on the disused railway I have and easily accessible flat mile to play with!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Looks like about €40 for bindings and €50 for boots on Sports Conrad cheap, but if anyone knows of cheaper kit (don't mind second hand at this stage!) let me know!
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| davkt wrote: |
| Looks like about €40 for bindings and €50 for boots on Sports Conrad cheap, but if anyone knows of cheaper kit (don't mind second hand at this stage!) let me know! |
I'd be tempted to try ebay in various more snowy countries
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Sports conrad still looking cheaper!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Boots comes in different shapes. So try them to find one that matches the shape of your feet. Blister can really ruin your day. 
Once you got the boot, you're pretty much stuck with only one or two binding to choose from. So get from whatever source that's cheapest. Do keep in mind though you need it mounted. Some shops might include mounting as part of the price which may work out cheaper overall.
If you have experience waxing alpine skis, glide wax will be a doodle for you. Do the paper test as mentioned by Dave Horsley. Don't glide wax into the kick zone, or your kick wax will never stick.
Yeah, I forgot to mention (but fortunately other did), better start with too little and add as needed, rather than putting too much on. It's easier to add than to remove. Plus you're wasting wax if you need to remove the excess.
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davkt, The swix school is in English as well and looks quite good for an intro.
I try and avoid Klister 'cos its real messy, but UK conditions often mean Klister. Keep it short, iron on if you can, extend if you don't get enough grip on trying the conditions. I've also roughed up the kick zone with sandpaper to aid kickwax sticking. Railways are good as they are not too hilly so make for good easy skiing and your waxing doesn't need to be brilliant.
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You know it makes sense.
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pam w, PM sent!
Dave Horsley, Thanks will check that out later, from what I know of waxing alpine skis and the odd word I could understand I got the gist of the couple of Swix videos I watched but no doubt missed some of the fine detail. Railways yep, I have a couple of sections within a mile or so of a mile or two long that are dead flat but then it gets interesting! This is a line build in very early 19th C across the White Peak area of Derbyshire by a bunch of canal engineers so they did what they knew, follow the contour as far as possible then introduce a sharp change in elevation, instead of locks they used shortish (from about 400yds to a mile) but for a railway very steep inclines and used huge static steam engines to winch the trains up! Now for Muzzy and co the inclines would probably be just a nice leg stretch but for me no way!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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abc, Well the Pisteoffice isn't far from me and Spyderjon says he can mount XC bindings so that bit is no problem!
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Poster: A snowHead
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For anyone else who has gone for these without the first clue about the XC skiing the Swix School stuff Dave Horsley has given the link to is great. A very clear explanation of what to put where.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Anyone know the best place to get the waxes I need? Edge and Wax seem to have the grip stuff but no glide wax but I'd like to order it all in one go from one place if possible.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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davkt, I admire your enthusiasm 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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altis, Thanks, ordered a kit that seems to have all the grip stuff I need as a starter plus a the couple of tools the Swix School used alot (grove cleaner and cork block). Strangely they didn't seem to have glide wax either but have found a block of Swix universal on ebay.
sarah, Well all forms of sliding about on snow are great fun aren't they?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| davkt wrote: |
| Anyone know the best place to get the waxes I need? Edge and Wax seem to have the grip stuff but no glide wax but I'd like to order it all in one go from one place if possible. |
http://www.totallynordic.co.uk/Shop/GlideWaxes#XC%20Glide%20Wax
Tbh I'm pretty sure I've just used alpine ski wax a number of times over the years
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narc, Thanks, well Swix say their universal glide wax is good for Nordic, alpine skis and even snowboards so think it must work both ways!
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As everything else is sorted hopefully this the last question, what pole length do I need, I'm 178cm tall.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| davkt wrote: |
| As everything else is sorted hopefully this the last question, what pole length do I need, I'm 178cm tall. |
Should reach your chin to nose if skating, mid way between your arm pit and the top of your shoulder for classic
Edit: looks like there is a chart http://xcskishop.com/how-to/about-pole-length.html
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Thanks, 145 for me, think my Black Diamonds go up to that so might give those a go.
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FAQ
