My skis are old and clapped out, so I don't know how this review might relate to Fisher's more modern offering(s). With that caveat, I bought my skis from my (now defunct) local shop in 2015, no EZ-skin attachment, manufactured in Ukraine. Their factory then burned down and their country of origin was (re)invaded, In the tumult that followed I think the Chinese Fischers that were made for a year or two were problematic, with poor build quality (hit up Telemarktalk for details). I shudder to think what this poor build quality might entail, since mine had the kick zone delaminating within a few years and the edges breaking in the last few years. I was going to consign them to the dumpster, but thanks to Tuco over at tgr who says "fix your own f'ing skis" and then shows/tells you how to do it and Alpinord from the same forum (AKA Slidewright in Durango--recommended--cool dude) I cobbed them back together and have continued to ski them, gently, while peeling off a new segment of edge yearly. The edge material that Slidewright provided is almost 2x the thickness of the original edge and far more durable.
As for the skis, they climb great and turn greater but they chatter violently on hardpack--in soft snow they are a dream. I ski the 179's and I'm a lot punier than you, Mr Brown. I would recommend a longer ski for you if you go with this (or similar) product. I've never skied anything but 3 pin but would suspect the bindings you have to be underfit or overkill for the job. I have read
@Brownski and
@Low Angle Life reports on Harriman with interest and would love to ski there someday. These skis won't fit in nordic tracks and don't track particularly well (track or no track} for kick and glide, but for running up and down 200-300 ft hills I think they work very well--that is what I use them for.
@Endoftheline is right, this first part of November was quite good for snow quality, here is a pic of my Sbounds, or at least their tips, about to get busy--NELSAPing at the local bump.
And here is a shot of the repaired edge (one of--both skis have been repaired like this) on my skis from the day I met Peter at Pisgah last year. My finger indicates my next repair job--note how thin the factory edge is (above).
From all accounts (Ripitz can comment here and perhaps some others) Voile are better all round and Madshus cheaper (but climb less well than the other two). I also believe you owned (and sold) a very similar setup about 5(10?) years ago (if memory serves?) You could have just kept the Panoramas/Annums(?) with the hardwires (I would have liked to buy that setup) that you had back then. Happy shopping.
And while I/we are busy c***ing up the xcd thread let me say that of the 3 hills and adjacent trails I monitor (search term: Menucool McMenu if you want to try) only Titus maintained a base through the Thanksgiving warmup. While both Dry Hill and Snow Ridge have snow now do not be deceived, they were both grass on Thanksgiving. For nordic/bc in the NW ADK I would recommend the area of Wanakena/Star Lake. I believe they too retained a bit of base. Happy skiing!
@Harvey move this/cut this if the OCD tells you too!
www.fischersports.com
