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Backpacker Magazine – Fall/Winter Gear Guide 2010
Gear Review: Rossignol BC 125 Nordic Skis
If you favor long backcountry tours over rolling–but not supersteep–terrain these skis are for you.
Rossignol BC 125 (Courtesy Photo)
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Tags:
- Ski gear |
- Mountaineering |
- Gear |
Full Setup
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Skis in this category—which excel on hut tours and backcountry exploring—are lightweight, with scales on the base that let you climb without using skins. What makes this the best of the bunch? The BC 125 is fat in the middle (95mm, for stability), has full metal edges (for supreme hold), is designed with progressive sidecut (for easy turning), and has a waxless base that glides easily on descents and sticks on inclines up to 20 degrees. Check out all our ski gear reviews
In other words: It’s the perfect heavy-duty Nordic touring ski, whether you’re skinning with a 40-pound backpack on a weeklong tour through the Rockies or zipping down frozen crust on an early-morning run on Vermont’s Mt. Mansfield. “It takes a lot for me to leave my tele skis at home, even when I know that a trip will be 90 percent touring and 10 percent turns,” says one Colorado-based tester. “But these are so fun and functional, I grabbed them even on cross-country days with good powder potential.”
The single-camber design (typical of Nordic skis) provides an optimal balance of glide (for schussing) and grip (for climbing). Going steeper than 20 degrees? A tail notch accepts skins. $400; 6 lbs. 6 oz.; one length fits all (123/95/120); rossignol.com
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READERS COMMENTS
Ummm last I checked nordic skis are double-cambered (it is really hard to squeeze the bases together under the foot); that's what allows the glide, but makes turning difficult. Alpine, AT, and tele skis are single-cambered to apply force to the turning edge under the foot. I suspect 125mm is definitely too big for NNN, and probably even NNN BC unless it is pretty gentle terrain allowing long radius turns.
I have used this ski for one season now and love it. Started out with an NNN setup; however, I soon realized that Alpine Touring setup is a much better match for a fat ski such as the BC125. XC setup would work fine in low angle or flat terrain. In my opinion, this ski is meant for downhill fun and xc is not. Im using G3 Onyx bindings and Scarpa F1 boot. Works well in powder and curd. Positrack works better than I expected, compared to my older rossis. I climb a local ridge (1000m over 2 hours) with no need for skins.
These are great, actually fun, almost fast for kick-n-glide skiing. The stable wide platform is fun. I think beginners would have more fun learning XC skiing on this type over skinnys. I don't see any drawback yet to having scales on a fat BC ski. It's the Loki Ski.
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