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Need buying advice for HUBBY's Christmas

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  • Need buying advice for HUBBY's Christmas

    Hello there! I'm shopping around for a skiboard for my husband for his Christmas present -- he LOVES x-country skiing in the winter and he mentioned to me last year that he would really love a pair of the new skis which are a cross between a snowshoe and a ski and after much research I finally found out about "skiboarding" and came across this site. I'm amazed there are so many choices and was wondering if you experts could give me some advice on what to buy him? He loves to mountain bike in the summer and we have some really nice mountain bike trails around here with lots of hills and rocks and trees, and in the winter he likes skiing on the same trails -- sometimes he'll be the only one out there so there really are no "trails" usually. He needs something very maneuverable, that he can climb hills with, and make tight turns and corners downhill with . . . I'd love to surprise him with something really nice that will knock his socks off!! I noticed in one of the previous posts there was a poll in which virtually everyone wants the Canon 99cm Neal Lyons Pro -- would that be a good choice for him?

    Thanks so much for any advice anyone can give me!!

  • #2
    M7s and Brinton Gundersen pros are the best all-mountain boards you can buy. Neal Lyons are new and are basically M7's with new grafix and somewhat stiffer flex (I'm told). If you decide on any of the above, he'll be set up, and better yet you've already found the best PLACE to get 'em. This site has all the best stuff, and Greco knows what he's talking about. So get them here and put good bindings on them; I haven't seen anywhere else selling RevolutionX bindings, and the prices on Bombers are good here too.

    *Whatever u do, don't buy new Line Skiboards!*

    Good luck
    ~How many snowboarders does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10. 1 to do it, and 9 to say 'I can do that.'~

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    • #3
      It doesn't sound like skiboards would fit your husband's needs very well. Skiboards are geared more towards downhill skiing, i.e. with chairlifts and the like. They are a pretty big pain in the ass to use to climb hills or tour with. I would recommend alpine skis with touring bindings (basically has a heel that can be free or mounted to mix cross-country with alpine), but I get the impression you want something smaller and more convenient. And as much as I would like to advertise greco and SBOL to buy from, skiboards.com has a "skiboard" that I think would be perfect for your husband: <http://skiboards.com/cgi-local/SoftC...ef3+1066562438>. They are basically touring skiboards, and sound like they're what you're looking for. Hope this helps.

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      • #4
        Cool...never seen those b4. Good idea, anybody tried those or know if they're any good? By the way I've never had any problem climbing with my skiboards, and they skate too, obviously. But I see Griswald's point here, skiboards aren't really for x-country... I assumed you meant he was switching to a more downhill-oriented setting. If you get those Rossignols, post on here what he thinks of them.
        ~How many snowboarders does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10. 1 to do it, and 9 to say 'I can do that.'~

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        • #5
          thanks for clarifying that! He's definitely not into downhill/mountain type skiing right now, although he likes that, too. I'm not familiar with ski terminology which is making it hard for me to describe what he is looking for and hard for me to find what he needs. Maybe skiboards are not what he is looking for -- I found this Web site: http://www.karhu.com/gear/tech_info/tech_info.htm which describes the different kinds of cross-country skis and from what I can tell he falls into maybe the "back-country" or "all terrain" type of cross-country skiing? Right now he has a regular pair of long cross-country skis and he skis on the mountain bike trails in our area, but he finds they are too long and hard to maneuver and hard to climb with -- the trails and terrain around here consist of short, but steep, uphills & downhills (maybe a minute or less to ski down) and the trails are narrow, tight and twisting with trees all around. He may be going uphill for a short while, downhill for even shorter a while, and on sort of flat surfaces occasionally but not for long . . . I like those Rossignol expeditions but I worry that they may be complicated to set and he would have to set them every few minutes? Also, you have to put on "skins" to climb (what are those?) which could be complicated to take on and off every couple of minutes? At the website above they had some "all terrain skis" http://www.karhu.com/gear/category.p...=All%20Terrain -- I like the Karhu "metas" because the base is "grippable" for climbing -- but I've seen some bad reviews of these, especially because of the bindings? He did mention something about being able to wear regular boots with them. From what I can tell, I think he's inventing a new sport!
          Last edited by Frena; 10-19-2003, 09:29 AM.

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          • #6
            i would think the Expedition's would be the best bet i am not sure what the skins are but it dosent seem that its that hard to switch the modes on the bindings and also if he ever wants to try downhill he can do so with the same boards

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            • #7
              Those all terrain skis may be a good bet; I can see how switching the bindings every 5 minutes would be a pain in the arse. But I would recommend either those or some better, maybe shorter and wider (with more sidecut for turning when going downhill) cross country skis. And just so you know, skins are a "skin" (hence the name) that you put on the bottom of your skis to facilitate climbing. They work like ratchets or cross country bases; they let the ski slide as you move it forward but they dig in and provide friction as you push backward on them, so they don't move backward as you climb uphill. They are intended for long uphill climbs, such as if you are climbing a long slope to make a big downhill descent in the backcountry.

              That is pretty much my extent of knowledge for you. To be honest, I really don't know all that much about trail/cross-country skiing, and I really don't know where to point you. I hope I've been helpful, and I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful. Good luck!

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