Ski Review: Åsnes Storetind

Ski Review: Åsnes Storetind

Details:

• Width/sidecut profile: 103-68-93mm
• Length: 172cm, 180cm, 188cm (I own the 188cm)
• Weight: 2.25kg per pair (180cm)
• Base: 
• sintered and waxable
• Skin-Lock/X-Skin insert
• Edges: full-length, wrap-around steel
• Camber/rocker profile: 
• Rockered tip
• Low single camber (“Alpine” camber)
• Very slightly rockered tail
• Considerable Nordic-rockered tip
• Slightly Nordic-rockered tail
• Flex:
• Stiff and uniform flex throughout length
• Torsionally rigid
• Measurements from tail (188cm model):
• Balance point (BP): 92.5cm
• Narrowest point of sidecut (NPS): 83.8cm
• Boot-Center (BC) mark: 83.8cm
• Chord-Center (CC): 93cm
• Manufacturer’s recommended mounting point: pins on BP
• Current binding: Voile 3-Pin Hardwire
• Current boots: 
• Scarpa T4
• Alico Ski March
• Performance summary:
• Stiff, rigid and powerful edge-holding downhill ski- this ski wants to charge and carve.
• Superb stability, flotation and early-tip rise- especially considering its narrow waist.
• Fantastic and effortless turn initiation- the tip rocker shortens effective edge and moves binding point forwards on effective edge.
• Fantastic full-length stability and support when cross-country (XC) skiing and climbing in deep snow- especially considering its narrow waist.
• Excellent XC kick and glide (K&G) performance on deep soft snow:
• On deep snow this ski feels completely balanced like a Classic XC ski.
• In deep snow this ski tracks reasonably well- considering the sidecut.
• On soft snow there is enough camber and stiffness to offer a decent XC kick.
• Poor XC performance on dense consolidated snow:
• Too little camber to offer an effective XC kick on dense consolidated snow- feels somewhat “dead”.
• The rockered tip makes this ski feel somewhat unbalanced when XC skiing on dense consolidated snow- the rockered tip moves binding point forwards on the gliding surface of this ski.
• This ski will not track straight when XC skiing on dense/consolidated snow- too much sidecut, too little camber, no track groove.
• BUT- still better XC performance on dense/consolidated than very soft-flexing XCD skis (e.g. Eon/Epoch/Annum).

Experiences to Date:

The Åsnes Storetind (Norwegian: Storetind = “big peak”) is a midwidth backcountry Nordic touring ski- with a design and performance focus towards Nordic downhill skiing.  With the Storetind, Åsnes has capitalized on all of the Alpine ski tech development of the last 20 years- and designed a truly modern Nordic touring ski for mountainous terrain.

The Storetind has been recently redesigned and replaced with the Falketind 68 (“falcon peak”).  The only significant change in the FT68- according to Åsnes- is the addition of the tip notch for attaching climbing skins.  (With the bushwhacking that I do here in the Northwoods, I greatly appreciate the durability of the full-wrap steel edge.) 

Åsnes describes the Storetind as a hybrid between a “fjellski” and a “toppturski”.  (“Fjellski” translating to a traditional backcountry cross-country (BC-XC/XCD) ski; “toppturski” translating to Alpine touring ski.)  In other words, the Storetind is intended to be a hybrid of sorts between a BC-XC ski and a BC-downhill ski.  Hybrid “XCD” skis have been around for decades- the most notable being Karhu/Madshus’ XCD series and Fischer’s S-Bound series.  

Most hybrid “XCD” skis have approached this design from the XC end of the spectrum- adding some downhill characteristics to essentially XC skis.  With the Storetind, Åsnes has approached the “XCD” thing from the downhill end of the spectrum- capitalizing on the last 20 years of Alpine ski innovation.

How many big-mountain skis are there out there that are designed from a purely Nordic perspective?  Don’t know how many- but, I am certain that the Storetind is designed for a Nordic binding and a Nordic skier.  The Storetind does have boot-center (BC) mark on it, and can certainly be mounted and skied with an Alpine binding and boot.  BUT- the design of this downhill-oriented ski is clearly intended for a Nordic binding and boot!

Åsnes’ Nordic mounting instructions are pins on balance point (BP).  BP is traditionally a Nordic XC mounting point- for Classic K&G XC skiing.  What comes next is pure engineering brilliance- following these mounting instructions puts my ball-of-foot (BOF) precisely on the narrowest point of the Storetind’s sidecut (NPS).  With pins on BP- the Storetind feels like a Classic XC ski when XC skiing.  BOF on the NPS makes this ski perfectly balanced when making telemark turns on dense/consolidated snow- this ski feels quick and turny on dense snow/consolidated snow.  When making turns in deep soft snow, the stiff rockered tip adds early-tip-rise and supportive flotation- also making it feel like the mounting point has been moved back!  Brilliant- and oh, so much fun!

As far as the XC part of this hybrid- the Storetind offers very good XC K&G performance on deep soft snow.  The Storetind is stiff and supportive throughout its entire length- offering surprising XC performance for such a narrow-waisted ski- even in very deep snow.

To be quite honest I have always been a bit underwhelmed by the downhill performance of all of the hybrid XCD skis I have owned and/or tested (e.g. Karhu/Madshus Eon, Epoch. Annum; Fischer 78, 88, 98, 112).  To date any of these that I have tried have offered only moderate downhill performance- and- here’s the real kick in the ass- often these skis have lost considerable XC performance in order to make them easier to turn!!!  (And the ones that do offer some Classic XC K&G performance are often a real challenge to turn!)

The Storetind- for me- hits the “hybrid” XCD mark with a bullseye.  The Storetind offers superb downhill performance- with more than acceptable XC performance on backcountry snow. 

I have mounted the Voile 3-pin Hardwire binding on this ski.  I am very impressed and pleased with this binding- it offers a perfect balance of XC and downhill performance for this ski and the terrain that I locally ski here in the NB hills: rolling, hilly terrain, with 350m hardwood ridges and steeply cut river and stream valleys/ravines.  In 3-pin mode I can utilize the full XC capabilities of this ski and cover significant distances to access truly sweet remote lines.  When I truly want to charge on challenging forested terrain, the hardwires are much appreciated!

The Storetind is 68mm underfoot.  In today’s age of “go phat or go home”- 68mm is a meagre dimension indeed.  I must admit to being very pleased with the stability and flotation of this ski in deep fresh snow.  The Storetind has an extremely supportive flex- I can feel the entire length of this ski supporting my weight.  All of that tip rocker produces highly effective early-tip rise- these ski rise up and plane very effectively at downhill speeds.  Obviously these are not “powder” skis by modern standards- and if I had endless deep dry “champagne” powder to ski in, they would not be wide enough.  But on the deep moisture-rich fresh snow of the Northeast- this ski offers very effective flotation.  AND- WHOA- that narrow 68mm waist, coupled with ample sidecut and torsional rigidity allows this ski to hold a wicked edge on dense icy snow!  

I have been using my T4 boot almost exclusively with this ski.  (I have tested them with my leather Ski March boot, but I am having fit issues with this boot and therefore am not using them much.  (I need to spend some time and focus breaking them in and customizing the fit.))  I can completely overpower and drive this ski with the T4- it is a perfect match.  And the T4 with a 3-pin binding gives truly pretty decent XC K&G performance.  This is a perfect balance for when I have to ski significant distance on my touring for turns.  (This ski is incredibly light- and therefore, could be used with a XC boot and binding.  But, it is a rigid and powerful ski- I personally need a Telemark boot-binding to take full advantage of this ski.)

The combination of hard grip wax and the integrated Skin-Lock/X-Skin kicker skins is ideal for my local terrain, snow and winter temperatures.  I am ironing in Swix Polar to the entire base, applying kick wax to the “kick zone”.  (I say “kick zone” but this ski really does not have a wax pocket like a double cambered ski.)  I am using Swix Green and Blue as my kick waxes.  I have not found any negative effects of applying the kicker skins over the harder kick waxes.  I drop kick wax and switch to the kicker skin when the snow requires a softer wax/klister.  

When the snow is very cold I am getting excellent climbing performance out of just grip-kick wax alone- certainly more grip than waxless scales.  If I need more climbing traction the kicker skins are just the ticket!

I am thrilled with Åsnes’ Skin-Lock kicker skins (now redesigned as the X-Skin).  I am using the kicker skin for both extra climbing traction and for when the snow requires a soft wax/klister.  The kicker skins allow me get away without needing soft kick wax/klister and/or waxless scales.

My favourite Skin-Lock for this ski- by far- is the 60mm Mohair.

I have been testing this ski back-to-back with my 162cm Kom.  Here are some comparisons:

• The Kom- despite being wider- allows for much tighter, smeary turns.
• The Storetind is faster and more powerful- it wants to charge and carve.
• The Storetind holds a better edge.
• Flotation seems to be about the same between the two skis.
• The Storetind is a MUCH more efficient XC K&G ski.

I am truly impressed.

Gareth Davies

Stanley, NB

Canada

April 25th (and still skiing!), 2018