I bought some used older cross country skis, I just wanted to know people thoughts on used oder skis?

Question

I only payed 50 bucks for both pair of skis was that a good deal? I tried to find info on the subject and i couldn't find anything on the web about people skiing on older 3 pin 75mm wax skis.

Here is a picture of the cross country skis i bought:

I tried to look them up to see how old they are couldn't find anything?

http://picasaweb.google.com/blueskyscross/UntitledAlbum/photo#5141729532252082546

Answer 1

I've cross country skiied for more than 30 years and still prefer the older, waxable skiis myself.  In fact, my favorite pairs are wood and one pair is over 40 years old.  Your skiis appear to be early 80's and appear to be regular touring skiis, good for set tracks or breaking trail in fresh snow.  The Karhu's are a good brand -- not familiar with the other pair but they look to be similar -- usually when you buy two pairs, one short and one long, like that from someone they were purchased at the same time by a couple who didn't use them much.  Over the past few years, the XC ski models have gotten shorter and more plastic -- I really don't like the performance or flotation in deep snow.  So I would say you got a pretty good deal.  

The only problem you may have is finding boots with the big square rubber toes to match those old 75mm old Nordic Norm bindings.  You can get them on Ebay sometimes but, to be honest, skiing with the old 75mm boot/bindings isn't that great.  I've upgraded all of my old skiis to the newer, narrower bindings that give you more free-heel in the boot -- less tiring, better control and more glide.  The s***w hole positions are almost always the same so you can pull off the old bindings easily and install the new. If you want to stick with the existing bindings for now (you can always change later) you might try the site www.woodenskis.com to find compatible boots.  The site is really for wooden XC ski fanatics (like me) but sometimes people have boots for sale on there.



You can prep the bases with downhill red glider wax (melted on with an old travel clothes iron from Goodwill -- look for one with no steam holes in the baseplate.)  Scrape off the excess and then use regular cross country wax (Swix is the most common) for your kicker area.  Most downhill ski shops can base prep them for you, too, if you don't want the hassle.  Waxable skiis are almost always faster than the waxless pattern-based skiis.

Another advantage of the older skiis is they often have wooden cores instead of plastic foam or fiberglass -- I find that I prefer the camber and response of wood-core skiis.

So, enjoy your "new" skiis!

Answer 2

They look good. If the base is clean and still slides forward well, and grips when you push their ok. As long as you have comfortable warm boots, you'll be fine.

Answer 3

dunno