UKC

My old 215cm 60mm -50mm waist fischer kneissel skis (3/4 metal edge). been repaired too often. I need something to replace them.
They are lightweight, 3 pin binding and an old pair of light nylon trainer type boot. Waxable. Great for touring around the north york moors where 90% of my skiing is done over the snow covered heather,:-


Euroski has

Fischer E99 with a 'crowntech' 'no wax' base which it recons is 'brilliant'. But there 10 mm wider than the ones I'm used to. £99!!!.

Or do I just stick to something like a waxable Mountain BC Atomic ski at roughly the old dimensions I'm used to. £125.

Are long skis 'old hat' these days?
Are modern no wax skis as (almost) as good as waxing skis?
I've also read that full metal edges tend to 'catch on rock/heather etc., whereas 3/4 metal edges don't so much. True or not?

Obviously I've got to match these up with NNN and sturdier boots than I've been used to.
Will I notice any positive/negative differences with a sturdier/heavier ski,binding & boots?

In reply to Dave Perry:

"waxless" skis have been around for over 30yrs!................I still have my first pair in the loft!!

You still have to "feed" the base with a universal glide wax and that's it, no faffing! Fischer E(( series is good, I have a pair of "waxless" E99 Mtn Crown in 210 length which I got way back in 1998! Those have a set of the old black coloured (second version) NNN BC Rotte bindings and Alpina boots. Very good and the full metal edges are quite durable! I have done hop telemarks down the gunbarrel on Cairngorm and they are quite good! For low level flatter stuff, they are great!

I just ski mainly my big telemark/MTN set up which is Trab ski's (retro wood look) in 178cm with Scarpa T2eco boots and &TM power tour bindings, and BD skins! Very heavy by comparison, but no camber to fight and so solid on steep/ice!

In reply to Dave Perry:

After various false starts I got waxable madshus glittertind skis and fischer BCX boots from Telemark Pyrenees (which are in France but run by an expat). He has got a lot of other stuff of various sorts. There's a shortage of variety of XC skis in UK or on website shops.
I have thought of getting non-wax skis for use in UK as the snow tends to be warm and wet which skiwax is not v.good for, so non-wax may suit your uses better.
Ski length has as much to do with weight as height, due to having to tread down the camber. So as chubby 165cm I have 170cm skis.
You could go to the Oslo sportslager and drool over the abundance. I mostly go to norway but have never been prepared to spend long enough in Oslo to wait till the shops open.

In reply to Dave Perry:

Madshus Annum waxless have great flotation for heather and snow as in Aberdeenshire hills.

In reply to Dave Perry:

thanks guys. I've gone and bought the mountain BC atomically, unadventurously sticking to what I know. However, I,ve stuck a few extra £££s aside and may get something from the telemark Pyrenees site as we'll!,,

when I bought my first x-country skis there was plenty of choice here, nearly every outdoor shop stocked the stuff.