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Post by cunningstunts on Mar 29, 2022 23:07:42 GMT
I tried that Crispi Shiver boot on in the 75mm version. It was very different than a T2. I didn't ski it, so I can't say 100% but here's what I recall:
The liner was super weird, it felt really thin, but not in a good way. It didn't seem to have enough tongue thickness, didn't seem comfortable. The fit was really weird - very short and wide, for the size. But really a lot of volume all around, way too much for me, and I thought perhaps I had a higher volume foot. Way more than Scott or Scarpas I've tried.
The flex felt ridiculous. Like way, way stiffer than a T2 but with a cuff/tongue that was significantly lower, and less padded as I said above. I couldn't break the bellows at all walking. Felt like they'd ski horrible.
The boots were heavier than T2s. It felt pretty significant when I handled them.
The quality of the entire boot i.e. buckles, molding, liner was not nearly as good as a Scarpa.
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Post by LoveRonnyRavenSC! on Mar 30, 2022 12:17:04 GMT
Crispi boots always seemed too tight for me, but some people love them. Every boot that has 2pins off-the-shelf is significantly heavier ( and stiffer flexing ) than a T2. All things considered, it seems wise to just wait it out on 75mm if you want relative comfort and lighter weight re boots. On T2s and Switchbacks ( or Hw3pins), a decent skier can ski a hell of a lot of BC/SC and resort. The Voile TTS binding is appealing though..It's so simple and attaches at the heel so the skier adjustment to a new feel is probably not a big deal, and the leverage point underfoot and back is said to make the binding instantly active..plus you can use your stock of old compression springs from Hw3pins and Switchbacks. I would love to play on Voile TTS, but I want a boot comparable to the T2. Strangely, you can get into a VTTS setup for less than investing in that Xplore joke.
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Post by Telebabble on Apr 6, 2022 13:05:15 GMT
800 bucks for a floppy noodle? Now the owner says he's going to cobble it up so it has more of T3-like cuff. Well, OK then.He also says he beat his AT and NTN ski buddies up the hill BUT then he could not link turns coming down in wet spring snow. Well OK then. A fool and his $$ are soon parted.
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Post by mark on Apr 6, 2022 13:34:18 GMT
People seem really confused about heel lift resistance. I watched a TomM video in which he literally knelt forward to the ground all the while carrying on about the "stiff" bumper's heel lift resistance. That boot above folds like an accordion as you can see from that pic.
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Post by Peter Kernbach on Jan 19, 2023 19:10:50 GMT
Well I bought the rotty xplore system with the alpina boots to match and loved them. That is until yesterday when the sole on the left boot peeled off. Bad glue job. Bad design? Shitty boot compared to alfa product? Who knows but I am sitting here watching the snow coming down in the mountains outside my window and all I can do is whine, snivel and try and get some new gear.
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Post by LoveRonnyRavenSC! on Jan 19, 2023 20:54:45 GMT
It's non-stop yapping about the supposed glory of Xplore over at Ttalk but the only video evidence is from Tom M and he really is a very VERY weak skier. Johnny over there rattled on for a year about how great Xplore would be, and now he's back to NNN/BC for XCD. Judging by ability to ski, Johnny wins by a mile or so. The only skier I have actually seen skiing that system well is Telehiro. All the skiers in Rott videos ski that system on their toes, just like Tom M. Telehiro has not, in any sense, become an Xplore convert.
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Post by Thaniac on Jan 30, 2023 6:21:57 GMT
Im blown away that we have yet another platform with this xplore system but I still cant adjust tension with my pole, cant flip between climbing and descending release tension with my pole, and I cant flip my heel riser with my pole. All these things seem like easy obstacles for a decent engineer. This swapping tension plates thing is nonsense. WHAT THE HECK?
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Post by LoveRonnyRavenSC! on Jan 30, 2023 18:51:33 GMT
It's a very expensive system that is ok for bunnyhills but not even on par with NNN.
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Post by GeoTurn on Mar 13, 2023 3:49:56 GMT
I tried the xplore binding with madshus panora m68 and panorama boots today and I think it is amazing. I am a telemark skier since 2008 and began with T2s and cables. I hated the way the cables would just give out a certain point and upgraded to the 22 designs axls. I liked the combination of axl to T2s as the binding is much stronger than the boot. I skied that setup until switching to NTN in 2020. I can’t say I love NTN but am happy enough with it, the lateral transfer is better than 75 mm. Despite the xplore boots and binding being super light and excellent for Nordic classic kick and glide it is surprisingly strong edge to edge control. Even without the hard flexor I was able to make a few nice tele turns in powder (steep enough I had to switchback to get back up). Can have very good control by pressing the ball if the foot down firmly on the back foot, something I am more familiar with skiing NTN. I don’t understand why everyone is hating on Tom and on these bindings without even trying them. These bindings are incredibly fun, they are lightweight, they are clearly well designed as they work very well for xc and then somehow feel stiff all of sudden for downhill. Paired with a setup like the panorama ski can really ski the flats and downhill without sacrificing performance too much in either (no one seemed to really discuss what the ideal ski would be for this binding). To me it’s all about having fun and being free, with more options It for gear and more people promoting it only benefits everyone involved. These bindings don’t replace a downhill telemark setup, what they are probably are is just an improvement on NNN BC, at that they are a brilliant innovation in my opinion. As someone who only had a basic XC setup and a downhill focused telemark setup I am definitely planning to purchase the xplore to just go out and have a good time on the catamount trail, sections of woods where there aren’t long sustained downhill, or even groomed skiing that includes in groomed terrain.
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Post by LoveRonnyRavenSC! on Mar 17, 2023 16:33:33 GMT
I think you have it right: Xplore is about what it was designed to be i.e. a slight improvement over NNN/BC for downhill. And that's exactly what Rottefella told me and they also told me that Xplore was no match downhill for even their weak Voile HW3pin copy and a good pair of 75mm boots. Whatever Xplore is in terms of downhill control, Telehiro is unaffected in terms of not skiing NNN, plain pins, 75mm cables and T4's or heavier gear. Innovation? Xplore is a very weak copy of TTS (TTS with no cables but a toe bumper instead..haha) and never will or can compare to the Voile TTS available this coming fall. No one is hating on Tom. Just pointing out he really cannot DOWNHILL ski, let alone Telemark, and has no business setting new skiers back years by setting himself up as a model/instructor. Sadly "XCD/Tele" at Ttalk is rife with advice from skiers who a very weak skiers who declare themselves experts when they really are just flopping around on level 1. Ttalk is full of misinformation. Always has been. Johnny pumped up Xplore for over 2 years, and now speaks very poorly of it and prefers NNN/BC to it for downhill. I have no idea what you mean by cables giving out. Maybe you stretched out some old Voile spring cables. I have never had a hardwire malfunction or break somehow.
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Post by mark on Mar 17, 2023 16:56:27 GMT
Why buy any such setup when it costs so damned much for the binding and boots for what they are --- it's good use is in a very limited range of conditions? Screams S C A M to me. Anything that can be skied with Xplore I can ski with more control on Volie's Traverse binding and the Hardwire/pin from Voile is 4 classes above Xplore for a LOT less $$$. But then I hunt turns, do a lot of climbing and I'm not a weight wiener, so bunny hills don't call my name. And Ron's right, Tom can't ski. Anyone who constantly uses XC poling on the down simply never learned to ski even at the alpine beginner level.
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Post by eddiedingle on Apr 2, 2024 4:31:11 GMT
Ha ha, haven't been here in a while, good to see chickens are still being fucked and so on!
As for the Xplore system, I'm liking mine a lot. Strides like a dream, and edge control is amazing; there's nothing with nearly this nice a stride that comes close to how torsionally solid this system is. The limiting factor, in terms of turnability, is the boots that are compatible, and the skis that are appropriate, to go with such a light binding.
I know, Ron is going to need to respond exactly the same as he has responded to every other post by someone other than him, saying that plastic boots with cable bindings turn better. Well duh! And drop-bar gravel bikes don't rip like dual-sus freeride MTBs do. And compact Subarus don't cart around lawnmowers as nicely as pickup trucks. How 'bout that.
Yeah, this binding's stupid overpriced, though.
Oh, and about that topic title: Huh? What hype? There has been zero hype; it's a sleeper product if there ever was one. How much of a sleeper product, you might ask? If you google Rottefella Xplore Reviews, the top result is an actual pretty good review, the second result is the Luvv Johnny site, third link is some community review, and link #4 is to this jerkoff site.
Anyway, nice to stop by here! I doubt I'll linger.
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Post by LoveRonnyRavenSC! on Apr 2, 2024 14:12:32 GMT
Oh look, dangle is here! To be clear, I've said the following: most vids of skiers on Xplore show shitty tippy-toed skiing virtually always on bunnyhills and baby snow; the cost of going Xplore is ridiculously high; Xplore might hold the front of the boots tighter than bare pins or NNN; Xplore is weaker for downhill than a simple springy cable and a T4 -this was verified by Rottefella in an email exchange I had with them; Telehiro skis Xplore no better or worse than bare pins or NNN; if you want to Telemark on Xplore, keep your damned heels way down same as Telehiro on any binding that's not active and has floppy boot options only; Xplore is a hype and people who claim it's wonderful for challenging conditions and steep(er) slopes are full of shit; there's nothing about the Xplore binding that qualifies calling it "active"; and, of course,B-tele is a REVOLUTION! I bet you've been doing Al's B-tele since before Al discovered it, Dangle! Forget Telehiro's version, Al's is the shit, but think it needs a new name....?
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Post by telebabble on Apr 2, 2024 17:32:09 GMT
Xplore, a brilliant and unneeded reinvention of the wheel, apparently for those who love skiing on their toes. Could have been a lighter TTS maybe, but patent issues. Funny thing too that what was heard over and over as soon as it was embraced was "If it only had a cable and stiffer boots!" Well, if you want hardwires and stiffer boots (a new lighter T2-like boot coming), it's call Voile Transit. And as far as hype goes Ttalk was Hype Central with Johnny puffing Xplore up long long before it arrived- and then it was, according to his own posts, a pretty big disappointment and just a marginal improvement for the down over NNN/BC. Yes indeed, plenty of hype including slick ads with Tele-on-the-toes. If paying big bux to ski the low country bunny hills a month or 2 of the season is your thing, who cares? Have at it.
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Post by eddiedingle on Apr 2, 2024 17:36:04 GMT
Vids? I don't ski to impress Jodie Foster, I ski because I enjoy skiing. Lighter duty, less constraining gear requires more finesse; if you're used to having your forefoot held down for you, you might need to work on the technique to keep your forefoot down without that crutch. Sort of like how people used to fixed heel downhill gear will have all sorts of problems using, say, and Excursion boot, when they try to lean into the cuff to maintain balance, and the boot just isn't the kind of crutch that they're used to.
I can't speak for Telehiro or whoever Al is, but lighter duty gear is inherently less stable, which is a tradeoff that some of us happily make when out on mellower terrain. Turns are going to be less elegant. Oh well. For those of us with enough cash lying around to get good stuff though, Xplore is super nice in what used to be the Asolo Snowfield-Snowpine-Summit niche, with striding that's right up there with NNN-BC (better than any 3-pin unless the boots are total washcloths) and much better turning capabilities than not just NNN-BC but also any non-stiff 3-pin boots ever made.
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