Nordic Skates: Viable for Remote Wilderness Adventure?

[@mukiker]

Thanks for all the insight. Excellent video.

[@pantx0]

Nice to see Hugh Jackman making a wilderness equipment presentation!

[@lucmehl_ak]

ha! i haven't heard that comparison for a while ... I definitely did when the first X-Men movie came out!

[@pantx0]

@@lucmehl_ak I should've written, "Nice to see The Wolverine making a wilderness equipment presentation!".

[@sr.caradegato5275]

Thank you! Very insightful I am waiting for delivery on my first pair of Nordic skates and soon heading to buy some combi boots, can't wait!.

[@1paulandrew]

I would love to see more videos of nordic skating, theres so little out there!

[@ddermott2007]

I have found many skating videos . Are you looking for informational videos, scenery or action? Here are 2 safety vids: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mpm7d5Zun8uBgtk kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGXWmYiHlqeroM0 I like Maria Lindqvist's videos; her latest: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKbLm6iLapKbm9U Oskar Karlin's "hut to hut" 6 day tour in Lapland: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmSWn2OiobCanpo Our local (Nova Scotia) skater and filmer: kzbin.info/door/RU_6GZwEQORetk00Li_YsQ

[@matztapper5628]

There is a lot. Try a search with the Swedish Word "långfärdsskridskor" or my name "matz tapper"

[@janbjorkman3279]

Don't overthink the bindings and the boots. With bindings like these you can just use your favourite hiking boots. In Sweden (where I'm from) you see all kinds of bindings. static.outnorth.com/image/upload/c_lpad,d_no_image_chlzht.png,f_auto,fl_lossy,h_500,q_auto,w_500/v1528495158/uploads/live_product_image/file/0/0/90/90524/lundhags-fleet-black.jpg Btw, regarding your saftey equipment - never mind the screws, tampering with them take too long. Instead, get yourself a proper pair of ice-grippers! The ones your showing are completly useless. They will come off as soon as you break through the ice. The grippers should be placed under your chin with the cords neatly rolled up. The saftey line mustn't be very thick, but it should be at least 20 metres (app 21 yards) long; you don't want to get to close to your bathing friend when the ice is thin.

[@andrewdeandrade]

For the nordic skates with the dynafit binding, have you considered trying a compression spring from the tip of the nordic skate to the top of the tip of the boot toe? You'll have to experiment with different compression springs to figure out the ideal strength, but it should give you a lot more options in terms of dialing in on the amount of compression needed to get smooth movement. This would require putting a cup at the tip of the skate and gluing or screwing on some cup to the toe of the booth. Besides playing with the spring strength, you could also get some flexibility by having a small approximately 1" strip of metal with glued vertically and perpendicular to the boot casing. This strip would have multiple slots cut along the length in lieu of a single cup and would allow you to vary the angle at which the spring attaches to the boot and this would allow you to adjust the compression. Attach the spring closer to the binding lip and the hypotenuse is shorter and you get more compression. Attach it higher up on the toe and you get a longer hypotenuse and therefore less compression in the spring. Between this vertical strip with multiple attachment slots, a selection of springs and a cup that slides lengthwise at the tip of the blades and can be fixed in place with a screw, you should have plenty of optionality to dial in the exact compression you want. As a spring wears out and loses compression you can adjust it as well. McMaster-Carr is probably the best place to get a selection of extension springs to figure out which one will work best: www.mcmaster.com/springs/spring-type~compression/

[@lucmehl_ak]

You have put a lot of thought into this! My short answer is that the skates work great with a free pivot. The only time I wish I didn't have a free pivot is when I try to do 180 jumps over logs. But those jumps are hard on the skates and hard on my body when I mess up. I experimented with a bungee attaching heel of skate to heel of boot but I didn't like it.

[@oddvinlund7684]

You are missing the most important safety equipment: Ice poles, for investigating the ice. You have to know what you skate on. Ice poles punch holes in 5 cm black ice in one stroke. Without them we are blind. Se the yellow poles here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJnZlampetNqgas

[@lucmehl_ak]

Hi Oddvin- I use ice poles for day trips, but they aren't as good for propulsion, and I need propulsion on these long trips.

[@nordicskater268]

Great video Luc!

[@barbarab202]

At 9:25, I wonder if one could use the picks on a string and loop them through your jacket, similar to how kids have stings on mitts to not lose them. My main concern with any of these is taking a fall and poking myself.

[@lucmehl_ak]

I have done that ... but then the picks kept flopping about and it ended up being a pain to manage. My preference at this time is to wear the picks around my neck. Some skate brands make picks in more of a neck holster ... I haven't tried those. Ice rescue suits have pockets at the wrists for the picks ... I liked that too. I can imagine an elastic forearm sleeve that holds the picks ...

[@paulingvar]

You keep the picks high around your neck or fixed at shoulder on the backpack. They shall not fly around and must be easily accessible

[@thomaslummerstorfer3249]

Thank you so much for the video!!! This is just awesome!! what was your most stunning trip route? greetings from zurich :)

[@lucmehl_ak]

honestly, it is hard to say... each trip has been very different. in terms of scenery, probably the Katmai trip: thingstolucat.com/ice-skating-katmai-park-preserve/

[@mountainfanatic]

What about if you are skiing atop of a frozen river. If you'd have fallen inside there would be the risk that some current could get you. Do you use anything for floatation? What about hypothermia hazard, would skating in a drysuit be the answer?

[@lucmehl_ak]

yeah ... rivers are much scarier to me ... you can't assume equal thickness. breaking through river ice, or any environment with moving water, is probably not very survivable. So ... I don't do much of that. PFD and drysuit might help ... but ... yikes. I skate in a PFD when the ice is thin, and I'll wear a drysuit if it is really sketchy, in which case I'm probably looking to practice breaking through and climbing out. But I can imagine wearing a drysuit more regularly ... I'm going to do some of that this winter.

[@aaronalto3034]

Have you ever tried the Lundhags skates that can be used with hiking boots? Looks like they're fixed heel. Looking to buy, but hard finding info. Looks like some awesome adventures. Thanks.

[@lucmehl_ak]

Some guys love them, some guys hate them. I'm pretty sure I would not like them... I can't imagine the boot/platform attachment would be as rigid as I would like, and I also suspect the boots would have inadequate ankle support for my needs.

[@user-xq9hm5pd4t]

кто то оставляет на стеклах картины от пули ..такой классный стиль

[@JustinBaker2567]

I wonder if a scarpa t4 with voile cable bindings might work better than the AT boots for slapping that blade back against the boot and give you the plastic shell/intuition liner that you want.

[@lucmehl_ak]

If the binding provided enough lateral stability, I think that would be a good setup.

[@JustinBaker2567]

​@@lucmehl_ak I wouldn't know because I don't skate. But maybe an NTN boot? They clip in at the arch of the boot and don't move like cables. I also wonder if the t4's would be a better option than your AT boot/nordic ski set up that I've seen you describe on your blog. They have a lot of forefoot flex but you still get the plastic shell/foam liner. Heavier than a rando race boot with tiny tech bindings but maybe more efficient with the forefoot flex and less brutal on your feet?

[@lucmehl_ak]

​@@JustinBaker2567 I stopped following tele evolution when they started getting heavier instead of lighter, but I think my rigid boot with tech toe is pretty damn good. I'd love to try the bellowed F3 boots, but haven't been able to find a pair in my size. I don't personally want the slop of a 3pin or the weight of an NTN.

[@JustinBaker2567]

@@lucmehl_ak scarpa is planning on coming out with new lighter ntn boots (2.5 ish pounds??) In the 2023/24 season. Rumors of a soft plastic backcountry/crosscountry boots. But AT boots have gotten so crazy light you can't really beat that if they work for you.

[@lucmehl_ak]

@@JustinBaker2567 ooh, i'm excited to see what they come up with as a bc/xc boot. a removable liner in a soft plastic boot would be awesome. thanks for the hot tip!

[@NikZvi]

Great vid. Do you know if there is a type of such blades with the possibility of mounting inline skate boot on them?

[@lucmehl_ak]

I don't. There is a universal binding... similar to a snowboard binding, but I don't know if it would play well with inline skate boots.

[@grantcook400]

I am curious if I could use my older Black Diamond backcountry ski boot on these- I used to use them to telemark. They had a cable binding - have you seen those mounted on the skate top decks?

[@lucmehl_ak]

I haven't seen a duck-bill binding on a nordic skate, but I think it would work. They make a universal binding that accommodates any boot.

[@rickleavitt7207]

Nice video. Thanks! I have been nordic skating for about 10 years and LOVE it, but have not done longer multiday trips. So, you hike in your boots? That seems like a big trade-off. My skate ski boots are NOT good to hike in due to the plastic soles. I am wishing someone would make a skate ski boot with a more normal hiking sole (i.e. good traction). Are you aware of these?

[@lucmehl_ak]

I don't know of any ski boot that is very good for walking. Some of the BC NNN or BC SNS bindings have better soles for walking, but still nothing like a hiking boot. Skate boots are the worst. The backcountry downhill boots I'm using have great tread, but the rigid sole is still awkward.

[@JiiruKoga]

I would think off track cross country boots would be the best.

[@nowhereknowhow3348]

Cross country boot, with the NNN or NIS binding.

[@HenryF007]

Check Lundhags Guide Expedition BC. - for Nordic skating and walking - leather skin boots dries up by sublimation. Avoid coretex! - inner boot wool (not cold even if wet and dries up and can be replaced with spare dry one ) - with merino wool mixture socks Ps. Dont forget ice safety knowhow, ice safety equipment (Lundhags Striim ice pikes or similar, ice claws, rescue line, water proof spare clothes and minimum one skating friend. ) Also other brands/manufacturers available

[@edwardalbarton]

I wonder how these would work with an NNN-BC setup. I have nnn-bc boots with a removable liner that work well for multiday ski trips (lundhags guide bc). Would the resistance of the rubber bumper be better for skating than the dynafit free pivot - but worse than a skate binding, I imagine?

[@lucmehl_ak]

Edward Barton I think the boot is more important than the binding. You would want a stiff boot... skate ski boot.

[@tonyc370]

@@lucmehl_ak Luc his boots are perfect for skates. Same as I've used for years in Sweden. Edward the NNN-BC binding is a better setup on the skate, whereas the ski NNN binding works better on the Classic/skate cross counrty ski.

[@shmujew4791]

can I get these online ? ....the rockies are filled with frozen lakes

[@lucmehl_ak]

Yep, folks are using them in the rockies. I've ordered from nordicskater.com. You might also be able to find something closer to you.

[@mezmay12]

why you don't use plastic sled scraps for a backpack?? It is very strange

[@lucmehl_ak]

I don't like the drag of a sled, on snow or ice, so I just carry a pack. Even with 35 kg skating with a pack feels okay. I wouldn't want to carry more than that.