Hybrid cross country ski

[Nobody]

Many, many years ago I bought a pair of cross country skis which were sold to me as "hybrids", that is, one could ski them both "classic" and "skate" lenght was also such to accomodate both techniques. As all compromises, of course, those weren't performing great at either, still, for someone going to ski cross country for leisure level, that was good enough.
Shoes/boots, from Salomon, were also hybrid, e.g those shoes had the possibility to have the cuff removed so to be able to ski "classic" or to leave it on to skate.
Now, given my present predicament, might be worth to resume a bit of cross country skiing since I still have the skis...Alas, the shoes/boots are nowhere to be found...
Looked high and low at nearby shops without finiding a similar model, shoes appears to be now, "either" / "or". Is it so? What shoe/boot model could I be looking at to replace the lost ones?

 

[slow-line-fast]

Skate boots work fine enough for classic, not vice versa

 

[jt10000]

Shoes/boots, from Salomon, were also hybrid, e.g those shoes had the possibility to have the cuff removed so to be able to ski "classic" or to leave it on to skate.
Now, given my present predicament, might be worth to resume a bit of cross country skiing since I still have the skis...Alas, the shoes/boots are nowhere to be found...
Looked high and low at nearby shops without finiding a similar model, shoes appears to be now, "either" / "or". Is it so? What shoe/boot model could I be looking at to replace the lost ones?

Try the internet. Not sure where you are in terms of purchasing, but they exist. Here's an example

Combi Boots - Ski Boots - Shop BNS

Boulder Nordic Sport

www.bouldernordic.com

 

[martyg]

Skate boots work fine enough for classic, not vice versa

Well, they do. You balance has to be internal instead of external. Ideally, you should be able to ski alpine or Nordiic with a pair of running shoes velcroed to your skis.

With regards to brands / models.... Most make a combo boot. However finding them anywhere in the pipeline now is a challenge. Ebay might be your best option.

Enjoy.

 

[cantunamunch]

Looked high and low at nearby shops without finiding a similar model, shoes appears to be now, "either" / "or". Is it so? What shoe/boot model could I be looking at to replace the lost ones?

What has not been mentioned yet is that your existing Salomon binding from many many years ago is NOT compatible with any current boot.

Expect to change bindings.

 

[Nobody]

What has not been mentioned yet is that your existing Salomon binding from many many years ago is NOT compatible with any current boot.

Expect to change bindings.

Well, that I had not taken into account...good to know. thanks for the heads up!

 

[Slim]

@Nobody post a pic of the bindings

 

[Nobody]

Will gladly do, just, it might take some time. I am stuck at one place (home) and the skis/bindings are at another one. With no forecast, yet, of when I will be up in the mountains.

 

[Tom K.]

Given the age of your equipment, you probably have SNS bindings, but need to verify.

If so, there are still some options floating around, but getting fewer and fewer:

Salomon Pro Combi SNS PILOT Boot - Cross Country Ski Headquarters

Scroll down for product description. please note: Salomon is no longer producing sns equipment.

www.crosscountryski.com

 

[crosscountry]

Depends on how many years ago the skis are from, I vaguely recall SNS had also changed at some point too.

(I used to have a pair of skis with SNS binding on, with boots to match. But when I wanted a new pair of boots, the binding had changed so none of the new boots would fit it. Ended up going to NNN and one pair of (combi) boots to fit all my skis)

To the OP, if you can't find the boots, might as well modernize your binding so you have the widest choice of boots. XC bindings are cheap and cost nothing to mount.

 

[Nobody]

@Tom K. & @crosscountry
Thank you for your advices. Much appreciated!
Sure, to change both bindings and boots is an option to keep in mind (I do recall that at that time boots and bindings were sold "bundled")

 

[jt10000]

People keep using the term SNS and it's important to recognize that there were at least 4 and possibly more binding systems with SNS in the name in the last 25 years, some of which were manufactured in the last five years and still sold by major retailers. SNS Profil (classic and skate), SNS Pilot (skate and classic, though no one used the classic), SNS Propulse (classic mainly I think) plus some older stuff. Maybe a backcountry norm too.

The term SNS does not tell us a lot.

 

[cantunamunch]

SNS Pilot (skate and classic, though no one used the classic),

LOL I have a pair of Atomic-branded Pilot classic in the freebie listings At least the mount pattern is exactly the same as NNN-BC.

 

[Tom K.]

People keep using the term SNS and it's important to recognize that there were at least 4 and possibly more binding systems with SNS in the name in the last 25 years, some of which were manufactured in the last five years and still sold by major retailers. SNS Profil (classic and skate), SNS Pilot (skate and classic, though no one used the classic), SNS Propulse (classic mainly I think) plus some older stuff. Maybe a backcountry norm too.

The term SNS does not tell us a lot.

Really good points. I was typing too fast, and you're right, SNS alone doesn't tell the story.

All of my classic skis seem to have "SNS Profil" bindings and my skate skis have "SNS Pilot".

In hindsight, I sure wish I'd chosen NNN at the beginning of my nordic curve. Both of my Salomon boots fit so perfectly, I'll never change binding systems at this point.

 

[Slim]

Well, but Pilot and Profil both work with the last generations SNS (which were pilot) boots.
either way, that is why I asked for a picture, then we could just tell @Nobody what kind they were.

 

[Slim]

I have the opposite problem from @Tom K. , my classic boots do not fit great, but switching would mean needing new bindings.
As I have mentioned elsewhere, we too chose Betamax , I mean SNS, and now have a large quiver of skis and nordic ice skates, with various SNS. Some of the skis are so old, hardly worth buying new bindings.

At least we didn’t get stuck with and Walk to Ride Alpine boots..

 

[cantunamunch]

. Some of the skis are so old, hardly worth buying new bindings

Hah. That's where a stash of 'slightly used' NNN variants comes in. At this point, my biggest remount cost is the adhesive/epoxy.

Do you remember Atomic's 'microdot' structure from the early 80s? I have a pair that I last skied with Solly toe loops, kinda excited to take them back out again.

 

[Tom K.]

I have a pair that I last skied with Solly toe loops,

Are those what I believe were the original Solly bindings with the beige, flexible tongue kind of thing?

I cracked both of those on a trip to Butte MT on Christmas. Granted, it hit 40 below, but still.

Salomon took care of it, no drama. Kind of like they just did with my wife's heated boots. Five years old, a few glitchy morning startups, and free batteries showed up along with a note "if these don't do it, let us know".

So a CS shout out or two on that!

 

[cantunamunch]

Are those what I believe were the original Solly bindings with the beige, flexible tongue kind of thing?

I cracked both of those on a trip to Butte MT on Christmas. Granted, it hit 40 below, but still.

Yes, those

 

[slow-line-fast]

People keep using the term SNS and it's important to recognize that there were at least 4 and possibly more binding systems with SNS in the name in the last 25 years, some of which were manufactured in the last five years and still sold by major retailers. SNS Profil (classic and skate), SNS Pilot (skate and classic, though no one used the classic), SNS Propulse (classic mainly I think) plus some older stuff. Maybe a backcountry norm too.

The term SNS does not tell us a lot.

Wow, chaotic. What is the compatibility among these?

Seems nearly as bad as mac power cable connectors