Types of Cross Country Skis

Cross country skis originally were developed as a method of transportation in snowy environments. There are drawings showing people on skis 5,000 years ago. Cross country skis first started to become modernized in Norway in the late 1800s.

Types

Generally, cross country skis can be either racing skis, backcountry skis or recreational skis. These skis can be either waxable or waxless. A sub-genre of racing skis, called skating skis, has also become popular.

Recreational Skis

Recreational skis are the ones you might see in pre-made tracks at a Nordic resort. They are designed for the traditional technique of moving one leg forward, then the other. They are available in a variety of lengths; generally the longer the ski, the faster it is. Like their alpine brethren, there has been a trend to make shorter, wider skis that provide the same degree of flotation as skinny, longer skis. These shorter skis are more maneuverable. Most Nordic skis do not have metal edges.

Backcountry Skis

Backcountry skis are designed for people who want to hike into the backcountry and ski up and down a variety of terrain. To a certain extent, the type of ski will depend on the binding the skier chooses. Companies like Rotafella developed an NNN (new nordic norm) backcountry boot and binding. The boot has a metal bar at the toe that clips into a binding, making kicking and gliding and uphill travel easier. However, downhill performance is somewhat limited. Many backcountry skiers prefer to choose telemark or alpine touring boots and bindings that offer the same level of performance as traditional alpine skis. In this case, the skier will often choose a traditional alpine ski for the bindings. Skiers using NNN BC often use a lighter ski with a metal edge for performance.

Racing Skis

Racers have more demanding needs in their ski choices, needing something that can go fast, necessitating length. However, the development of skate-style skiing, where the racer uses the skis in an ice-staking-type stride, has changed the preference to shorter lengths. Skating is a faster style than the traditional kick-and-glide cross country ski method.

Waxing

Cross country skiers need to wax the ski underneath their foot with a wax that will allow the ski to move forward while providing traction underfoot for climbing. Waxes are changed depending on the temperature of the snow.

Backcountry skiers often use climbing skins, a material that has small bristles in one direction to prevent the ski from sliding backward. Skins can either clip onto the ski or stick onto the ski, and are usually purchased in a length and width just shy of the ski they will be used on.

Waxless skis use a fish-scale pattern under the ski to provide the traction. Waxless skis are excellent for recreational purposes, since the skier doesn't need to worry about the temperature of the snow, but inferior for racing purposes.