Karhu Karver

Last winter,'07, I bought a pair of Combi Combat (Norwegian Army)skis at Neptune Mountainering in Boulder, CO. These skis are very light – and very white – and have a toe grommet & a notch in the tail to attatch climbing skins. "Why", you ask, "would you buy Combi Combat skis when you have a perfectly good pair of Atomic TM 22 tele skis?" Well, gentle reader, I can't get the TM 22s to track straight worth a d@mn.

Now if I'm having trouble W/tracking on 4 year old Tele skis (which aren't all that wide and "sidecutty" compaired to '07 Tele skis) just think how "ski snowshoes" will wander aimlessly. That means ya gotta pick-'em-up-&-set-'em-down, like snowshoes. If you slide them you'll need to spend lots of energy trying to keep 'em in a sraight line.

I had the Combi Combats mounted with the same release bindings I use on my Atomic TM 22 Tele skis, namely Voile' release plate bindings W/Voile' 3 pin Tele bindings. Notice I said RELEASE bindings. As a former (10 yrs.) Nordic National Ski Patroller I've seen a few nasty knee injuries and don't want one in the back country.

If I think it's too cold for my Scarpa T3 plastic double boots & Thinsulate super gaiters I can remove the 3-pin binding and attatch my Canadian Army Balata-style plastic bindings & use my Sorrel felt pac boots W/ neoprene VB socks. But it's got to be really, REALLY cold, as in -20F, for that to occur.

So, for $350. per pair are the skis worth it? Yep! They track well and are VERY strong, being mil-spec construction.

Eric

Seems everyone is converting these skis into mini Telemarks. I have never learned the art of the Telemark turn. Can these be adopted into a fixed heel ski or can parallel turns be accomplished with a boot such as the La Sportiva Lhotse?

If you are going up, might as well have more fun and be safer on the descent: Splitboard

For those of you who are opposed to using snowshoes (slowshoes) a great ultra-light and versatile option are “fastshoes”. Take a pair of Karhu Karvers , Karhu Meta, or LL Bean Boreals (made by Karhu) Skis and ditch the stock bindings. Instead screw a pair of NEOS Villager Overboots directly to the skis. You would not want to descend the Grand Teton in this set up, but can negotiate moderate mountain terrain. At about 3 pounds per foot they are a much better option then slogging around in slowshoes. The Karhus skis have full metal edges and skin inlays so they glide, climb, and ski well. No fussing with detachable skins. Any trail shoe will work in the NEOS Overboots.

I also use these skis with a light weight three-pin telemark binding. They work great. For boots I recommend Garmont Excursions over Scrapa T3 (http://www.garmontusa.com/621021201.html).

Forrest,
I know you're probably not related to the Gump guy of the same name but that overshoe-screwed-to-the-ski setup will rip out at the first good tumble. Then what do you do to get back to your car?

Eric

Stump, cuss, stump, cuss, stump, … repeat until hypothermia occurs or vehicle is sighted.

I have never used snowshoes before…a few weeks ago I tried x-country skiing for the first time. I sucked! I had a hard time making it up the hills–I kept slipping backwards and all the fun stuff beginners do. I was told to side-step it up but that got difficult further into the trees and near steep side hills. And all the wasted motions about killed me in the high altitude. Anyway, I have the opportunity to get these Karhu Metas and am wondering if they are a good idea for a beginner. I just want to keep up with the others somewhat and not make a fool of myself. Though the other issue is that sometimes I will have the opportunity to x-country across relatively flat terrain. Should I get two sets of skis for these diff. conditions? Any thoughts?

“.,.,but that overshoe-screwed-to-the-ski setup will rip out at the first good tumble”. I used the same screws you use to attach a binding. It would take a lot of force for them to fail. More likely would be them puling through the sole of the over-boot. I considered a piece of plastic, in addition to the large washers I used, on the inside of the over-boots. However, I don’t believe it necessary. I have given the fast shoes some rugged testing including several yard sails and a few long tours. I logged at least 50 miles on them last fall. No signs of failure yet. I plan on using them later in the spring for some big trips.

The Karvers are very user friendly for beginners. They have skin inlays so you wont slide backwards as much. Additionally they are short so they are great for bushwhacking. They are great for may applications and maybe the only ski you will need.

I've been thinking about rigging up some short tele skis and kicker skins as a spring alternative to snowshoes. Ideally, with a binding I could use with trail runners. I'm sure turning would be desperate, but up and flat would be much better than slowshoes.

Thoughts? Are folks still digging the Meta/Karver?

I answered my own questions (http://vimeo.com/11645116), and started a thread in MYOG.