Nordic Equipment – the Necessities

By TMS Ambassador Cooper Honeywell

Cross-Country skiing equipment has a lot of variety. You need to have the right equipment to have fun whether you are racing competitively, playing around behind your house, or just getting out on some trails for some exercise.

Boots

All nordic equipment is important, but I’m going to start with the boots. If you don’t have good boots, your experience will be ruined. The first thing you look for in a boot is what sort of skiing you will be doing, skate or classic and then your skill level. Will you be touring in your backyard, going out on your local trails, or racing? Then from there just trying on the boots is the best way to find the perfect boot for you. Lastly you need to make sure your boots match your bindings. There are two main binding systems, NNN and SNS. You cannot interchange these between your boots and bindings. Most boots will say which one they are. Salomon has both boots and binding for both systems and Alpina does just NNN.

Bindings

Bindings are similar to boots in that they depend on what kind of skiing you will be doing and what boot/binding system you use. There are skate and classic specific bindings as well as recreational and performance specific.

Poles

There is no drastic difference in poles from skate to classic; the only thing that changes is the height of the poles. Skate poles should be measured to your mouth or nose and classic poles should be around your armpits. For touring and recreational skiing poles are generally shorter and made out of aluminum or a composite made with a percentage of carbon. Poles made for racing have to be very light but still be very stiff so you can get all the power out of them when pushing off them.

Skis

Lastly, arguably the most important part of equipment, skis. Skis can vary in many ways to accommodate the consumer. There are touring, recreational, and performance. Skate and Classic. Some skis have stiffer tails than others making them more stable. Some are very soft which mean it is easy to flex them so you are most likely to have full contact with the snow. There are warm skis and cold skis meant for different snow conditions.

In Store Perks

Have you heard about our package deals? If you’re going to purchase a new setup – skis, boots, and bindings – we have a great deal for you. We’ll give you 15% OFF all three and mount your skis for free!

We also rent classic cross country skis and boots. Check out our selection of backcountry gear for rent using the link below and let us help you get geared up for next adventures!

Nordic Gear Rentals