All Things Olin

[Dan]

First post, I'm not sure where else to post this.

I just rediscovered my obsession with skiing after about 25 years being away from it. found my old Lange boots and borrowed a pair of skis from a friend and went to a small local hill over at West Point. Why I stopped this fun is a mystery to me, I had a great time and turns out I'm not a horrible at it.

In the 80's I was obsessed with skiing and ski gear, could never afford the great stuff but nevertheless managed to score a pair of Olin Mark VI from my generous dad, along with some Lange boots (those Lange posters) I skied the hell out of those skis and after my dad passed I brought them to my house. He still had the gear in his, all taken care of. He continued to ski into his 70's

Thing is, I've also rediscovered my obsession for these skis in particular, and 80's gear. So, here I am with the question......

Can i ski them? They seem to be in amazing condition.. In my research I've read many things regarding attempting to use old skis. Of course the old Marker M36 bindings are probably dangerous but the skis seem like they could stand a ride and I'm likely to take them to the West Point hill to try them out. If they work ok I might invest in some new bindings for them. The skis I'm borrowing this season are fairly new and carve pretty well, much easier than I remember any skis I had and I know the Olins probably won't be magic BUT, what could it hurt?

I've read that Olins stand less of a chance of de-lamination than others, I've read that storage conditions determine the chances of it, I've read that skiing old skis is a ridiculous pursuit.

Is it? I really want to take these things for a ride and see.

Ski the heck out of the mark IVs. I ski them tons and love them. They are great in most conditions, I argue better than modern fat skis in most conditions. Ice, light powder, bumps. M36 are safe enough if you know how to adjust them. But the plastic heel will fail catastrophically if it has not already. So swap em for something else. Of that era the all metal look N77 are great if you can do it yourself. If you need a shop to do it, get them to mount anything in your price range, it will work fine. But if edges are rusty, they will grab and not ski well, so before you spend bucks, make certain it is just surface rust. I tell by looking for no deep pits, and some areas with little rust.

 

[da-cat]

Olin must have used excellent materials and the best production methods because all of my MARK series skis are skiable for sure. Many of the older bindings should work especially the styles far enough back in time when they were mostly of metal and alloy construction. Plastic breaks. Click into the binding on carpet and test their operation. I would hang up the old Langes because they can break. Especially in cold weather. I have a pair of yellow ones I was hoping to ski with but a piece near the top just cracked off and it brought back memories of watching a friend walk down the slopes when an entire front toe of his classic old ski boots had just broken away!
Curious if your old MARK Vl skis are the green and yellow (super soft in the flex) sounds like they are. You would have more responsive skis with MARK lll or MARK lV and 180cm is a great length for those.
Just for the record I jumped back into serious Ski collecting after picking up a $15 pair of OLIN MARK lllS (Dark blue, almost black) 180cm with silver metal GEZE (I call them Bear Traps) original bindings. I sharpened the edges and adjusted the bindings for my modern boots and I skied on those $15 Yard Sale miracle skis exclusively that winter! They responded to my way of skiing just like a modern shaped ski to me as OLIN was ahead of their time with a good side cut, or as they referred to it: a flared tip. Turned up tails? Called “twin tips” today!

Wrong thread for the pictures below- but an example of 35+ year equipment that worked flawlessly on a weekend of nostalgia for me, I am taking everything perfectly functional: Salomon boots, Marker bindings and these rare factory beveled Fischer RC4 Vacuum marvels! Just don’t over do it on the slopes and old stuff can work!

 

[sortaold]

They're the classic Comp SL James Bond skis. I remember them to be outstanding technically and me becoming a pretty good skier on them.
It's interesting to read the Olin history. They were and are a chemical company specializing in phenolics at the time, and seemingly at the top of the game then. I guess it's not a stretch to imagine them making superb materials.

I've skied the Langes twice so far this year and while I'll replace them this summer, I hope they'll hold up for a few more days out. I'll be going to a proper mountain next week now that I know I can make it down in one piece. Funny that my style of skiing came back to me so quickly. That style we all seemed to use of feet close together, tight quick turns, weight forward, shifting from one foot to the other.....I guess that's the way of the 70's/80s? I didn't really see any other folks skiing like that this time

I scored a pair of Atomic Z12 for $70 to put on them. Should get me on the slopes for a couple of years. Need to find some good boots. Any suggestions?

 

[da-cat]

@sortaold,
When I realized the 1980’s were mentioned in your first post I thought it would be these Comp SL Bonds Vl skis and not the Green ones.
I wouldn’t think twice about taking those out as is! After a quick flat file down the bases for edge sharpening you should be good to go.
For binding tests, a not technically advanced check is test with both boots on but one ski at a time:
Maybe turn down the settings-
Step in one ski and lean forward with that leg to release the heel.
Step in again and smack the front of your boot with the heel of other foot (in its boot of course) to release the toe!
Now the other ski.
Crank up the tension. Rinse and repeat!
In Google books SKI magazine articles a lot of details about these COMP SL’s are available. You have some well engineered OLINs based on what I have uncovered in past literature. Roger Moore knew what he needed for that ski chase!
As far as the skiing style you describe, I can totally relate. One fun element to try is since your uphill ski naturally will be ahead of your downhill ski when you are turning (especially with your boots together style) - I like to sometimes initiate a turn by sliding that ski forward for a Millisecond.
If you find some Pierre Cardin Ski Goggles you will be all set!

Pierre Cardin 30/7 ski goggles

In the 1981 movie For Your Eyes Only, James Bond (Roger Moore) wears black Pierre Cardin 30/7 ski goggles.Bond wears the ski sunglasses together with his blue Bogner jacket in the ski scenes in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy.

www.jamesbondlifestyle.com

** da-cat binding test ... please be careful!

 

[sortaold]

I got this 88 degree edge guide and file the other day. i ran it lightly down the edges. Then I printed this base edge guide for 1 degree and started to run it but then I looked up Olin original specs and found them all to be 1 and 1. Can I change the side angle? I barely took any material off. maybe I should have the edges done first when I mount the new bindings....

I'm absolutely taking these to West Point next week as is. I'll try your tests first, thanks. I set them up for 6.5, I should start lower? They were set up at about 4.5 to 5 when I dug them out. I remember my boots popping out a lot the last day out way back when.

I find these skiis to be sexy as hell. In reality I'll be the weird old guy

EDIT.........and yes, the back ski slid forward is the ticket. I think newer skis don't require this type of coordination but I enjoy the mechanics of it.

 

[sortaold]

Those goggles. HA. nothing is that cool now

 

[sortaold]

update on skiing the Mark VI. no problems at all and they skied really well albeit a little slow. I'm thinking they need wax. Interestingly they carved almost as well as the Blizzards I also had with me, with a bit more effort but not much. I've since re-edged and honed them at 2 degree side, 1 degree base and we'll see next time. The Marker bindings held up no trouble at all, I imagine this won't last.

I really enjoyed it and it will will be a good project to have the second pair of skis.

Although, the price people pay for the Comp SL has me thinking..........

thanks for the input

 

[skibot1000]

My first turns on Olin Mark III. They felt pretty good, I think an alpine binding mount would go a long way to enjoying these to max potential.

 

[Uncle-A]

My first turns on Olin Mark III. They felt pretty good, I think an alpine binding mount would go a long way to enjoying these to max potential.

I am sure you are correct about an alpine binding. The Olin III S was a fine ski, softer than the original Olin III so it would ski better in the bumps. Keep us posted if you change out the binding.

 

[skibot1000]

As promised I finally got around to a binding remount on these classics and had a great time blasting through the past! These things shred!

 

[Uncle-A]

As promised I finally got around to a binding remount on these classics and had a great time blasting through the past! These things shred!

Thanks for sharing this video, it sounds like you had a blast on the skis. In the video you say the skis are stiff, that is surprising. It would be interesting to compare them to the Three standard not the "S" model.

 

[skibot1000]

Funny thing is I honestly think I gave them a half hearted flex a couple months ago when I bought them at a garage sale and thought 'stiff' then kept that in my head. I just walked down stairs and gave a good push on them and I could bend them pretty easy, especially the tail... though I'd still say stiffer than some of the other skis I been on recently.

Id love to get my hands on some comparables from the same era

 

[da-cat]

@skibot1000 that was Outstanding!
So much fun to watch, thank you!
Excellent review.
I think Olin skis were built to last and you seem to support this thought as well.

 

[da-cat]

@skibot1000,
Do those MARK lll’s from your movie have turned up tails?, After a second look at your intro it looks like they do- anyway I have a couple versions of these in 175 and 180

 

[crgildart]

@skibot1000,
Do those MARK lll’s from your movie have turned up tails?, After a second look at your intro it looks like they do- anyway I have a couple versions of these in 175 and 180

The ones that color I saw recently did. I think the Mark III S would have been a good ski fro me same time I was on the K2 233 Mids. I was light as a fly when a young grom. The 233s worked very well though I wanted some Mark IVs.. Looking back and having a pair both now, the 233s were the better fit at the time. Guessing the III S would ski similar to the 233s and the 244s more the flex of the Mark IVs.

 

[Uncle-A]

@skibot1000,
Do those MARK lll’s from your movie have turned up tails?, After a second look at your intro it looks like they do- anyway I have a couple versions of these in 175 and 180

Are your III's the standard model or the III S model?

 

[skibot1000]

Mine have the turned up tail. ( I guess the kids these days call them 'twin tip'...? lol). I really enjoyed skiing them and actually wanted to be on them today, as I was on a churlish pair of stiff fat skis that wore me out. (see Atomic thread here in a couple hours)

 

[da-cat]

@Uncle-A
I have two versions of the MARK lll S,
and a pair of the quirky Light Blue MARK lll square tip like a COMP lV.
Pics coming soon.

 

[crgildart]

@Uncle-A
I have two versions of the MARK lll S,
and a pair of the quirky Light Blue MARK lll square tip like a COMP lV.
Pics coming soon.

I've seen all of these Mark III and III S versions in the wild around here. Apparently it was a very popular ski around these parts in the high country.. With and without the turned up tails too...

 

[da-cat]