It was over a decade ago that Fischer broke the mold with waxless metal edged skis when they introduced their S-Bound series. In the interim, Karhu pushed the envelope with their 78mm wide Guide, then Voile picked up the ball where Karhu left it, and kept expanding the waistline to 115mm with their Charger BC. As with alpine and telemark skis, waxless metal edged has been infected with waist inflation and I’m here to confirm, unlike the national debt, it’s a good thing.

Not only are today’s full fat, waxless metal edged skis gaining girth, they’re also building a loyal following. In do so, they’re shining example of how, when properly done, even a milquetoast, middle of the road ski that isn’t excellent at anything but is good at a lot of things can be good for something, like becoming the most popular ski in your quiver because it works in so many situations.

Going Waxless

Waxless patterns have always had inferior grip and glide compared to nordic wax when you’re kickin’n’glidin’, but they’re good enough without having to get a PhD in waxology and they don’t require an extra ten minutes to apply what may inevitably be the wrong wax anyway. In the case where you’re earning turns and heading steadily up, skins are grippier in more conditions, yet a waxless pattern on a fat ski can hold a pretty steep line if the surface snow is soft or fresh.

One thing the XCD crowd has done to improve grip has been to use a positive pattern, which means the scales of the pattern rise above the plane defined by the ski base. Fischer made a big deal of creating a negative base, where the scales were recessed beneath the plane of the ski base when they first developed their Crown pattern. It yielded better glide for a waxless pattern, but in the waxless metal-edged world, grip is the preferred game, so you should look for a positive pattern. This has the inevitable consequence of causing you to slow down with each turn.

Going Metal-edged

On firm snow the metal edges are a welcome ingredient, but most of these skis are not that stiff, so you wouldn’t want to rely on these when you need to hold an edge going mach-schnell on icy groomers or frozen bumps. Add a touch of softness to the snow and maintain a reasonable speed and even though the pattern might cause you to bleed speed in every turn, if the slope is steep enough you’ll be smiling.

Application

Where waxless metal edged skis rule is when the situation is changing regularly, repeatedly, like on a cross-country trip that includes creek crossings, bushwack zones, rolling terrain, and short pitches up and down. One can hardly go wrong with any of the skis available in this category. As detailed above, none of ’em are great at anything, but they’re all good at a lot. Which one is best for you is probably determined most by how wide you dare to go.

Fischer

S-Bound Series
Fischer got the whole thing going in the late 90s with their S-Bound series; a pairing of their renowned Crown pattern which gave above average glide for a waxless pattern, with the turning power of a metal edged ski. The only real limit to these skis was their width, which rendered them better for firm snow or groomed cross-country tracks, except for their widest model, the S-Bound 110 with a 78mm waist. With competition from Voile and Rossignol pushing the bounds of acceptable waist widths for a WME ski, Fischer finally upped the ante this year with their S-Bound 125 that sports a full 95mm of girth at the waist.

This isn’t the only change. Fischer recognized the need for the superior grip of climbing skin when turns are an integral part of the tour, so they developed a slick attachment system for what Ascension coined “sneaky skins”, short climbing skins that only cover the classic kick zone of a XC ski. Fisher calls ’em Easy Skins. The difference is the clip at the front of the skin sticks through a dedicated slot in the ski to create a smooth transition from ski base to ski. Sneaky skins always had a slide killing bumper right at the transition.

In addition, Fischer S-Bound skis now come with a postive pattern called an Offtrack Crown pattern.
 

Model	Sidecut (mm)	Lengths Available	Weight/pr/length	MSRP
S-Bound 98	98-69-88 mm	169, 179,189	2390 g / 179cm	$

S-Bound 112

112-78-95 mm

169, 179, 189 cm

2590 g / 179 cm

$

S-Bound 125

125-95-120

165, 175, 185

3150 g /175 cm

$

G3: Genuine Guide Gear

XCD Stinger
G3 joins the waxless world with the classic dimensions of the Karhu Guide, plus a few millimeters at the tip with a bit of rocker for improved flotation in soft conditions or when breaking trail. They also used what has become fairly standard construction for G3 to deliver a ski with the chops to deliver some decent turns even in challenging conditions.

Model	Sidecut (mm)	Lengths Available	Weight/pr/length	MSRP
Stinger	112-78-100 mm	157,166,172,177,185 cm	2500 g / 172cm	$

Madshus

Annum

Nothing is broke with the Annum, so nothing to be fixed. A classic shape with good performance, uphill and downhill. Perfect for long spring ski tours where you want to minimize weight and not bother with climbing skins.

Model	Sidecut (mm)	Lengths Available	Weight/pr/length	MSRP
Annum	109-78-95 mm	166,175,185,195 cm	2622g/185	$ 370

Rossignol

BC Series
Rossi has made a big fuss over their full-fat backcountry skis, but those who are looking for a wider waxless ski have been satisfied with what Rossignol is making. The only significant change for this year are new graphics and a slow rise early tip for better trail breaking or turns in powdah.

Model	Sidecut (mm)	Lengths Available	Weight/pr/length	MSRP
BC 110	110-78-95 mm	169, 179, 189 cm	1359g/169	$ 395

BC 125

123-95-120 mm

157,166,172,177,185 cm

2500 g / 172cm

$ 440

Voile

As with everything Voile, their orientation is for harvesting powder. Wally was impressed with Karhu’s Guide, but lamented the lack of flotation. So they stepped it up with the Vector BC, a waxless version of their award winning Vector ski with a 95mm waist. That was such a hit that they figured if mid-fat is good, full fat would be better, and the Charger BC was born. And this year, they add the V6 BC to fill in the gap.

One thing that is different with Voile’s waxless offerings is the core design of these skis. They share the same internal muscle and construction as their non-BC version skis, meaning they were designed to make turns and hold an edge even in hardpack. About the only difference is the addition of a waxless patterned base underfoot.

Model	Sidecut (mm)	Lengths Available	Weight/pr	MSRP
Vector BC	115-92-104 mm	160 cm	2480 g/pr	$575
Vector BC	118-94-107 mm	170 cm	2720 g/pr	$575
Vector BC	121-96-110 mm	180 cm	3120 g/pr	$575

V6 BC	116-96-103 mm	163 cm	2690 g/pr	$650
V6 BC	121-98-107 mm	173 cm	2980 g/pr	$650
V6 BC	124-100-109 mm	183 cm	3350 g/pr	$650

Charger BC	134-110-123 mm	171 cm	3200 g/pr	$625
Charger BC	137-112-126 mm	181 cm	3540 g/pr	$625
Charger BC	140-114-128 mm	191 cm	3740 g/pr	$625

Summary

Now that there are so many choices in waxless metal-edged skis you might think you have a bit of a dilema. Perhaps but only if you’re planning to win a race or something with these, in which case, you need to recognize these are the ultimate compromise ski. They aren’t great at anything, but they’re good at a lot of things, and dang convenient when you just want to get out and get skiing with a minimum of fuss. For that, just figure out how fat you want to go, and find a retailer who carries that ski. Then haggle a little on price just to make yourself feel like you didn’t get ripped off, and buy ’em, mount some bindings to ’em, and go use ’em. Once you get used to their convenience you’ll forgive their compromise in performance and be glad you did because now you have an easy way to increase your time gliding on snow.

© 2015