Originally Posted: January 2022
Updated: April 2024
Fischer Spider 62 OTX Hybrid Nordic Skis
Rottefella Magnum NNN-BC Hybrid Nordic Bindings
Rossignol BCX-4 NNN-BC Hybrid Nordic Boots
Black Diamond GlideLite Kicker Skins
Black Diamond Razor Carbon Ski Poles
General Comments
In the context of this gear review, XC/BC hybrid nordic ski touring takes place on both groomed and ungroomed ski trails or in mellow off-trail areas, thereby blending the easy movement of cross-country skiing with the untracked experience of backcountry skiing. Snow conditions can vary between packed powder, corn snow, hard crust, deep mush, and bottomless powder. Due to this broad variability in terrain and snow, it is advantageous to have a hybrid ski kit that combines the critical attributes of both cross-country and backcountry equipment.
I really like XC/BC hybrid nordic ski touring because it offers speed and efficiency on groomed trails while allowing for a fun dose of off-trail exploration and solitude. Furthermore, it makes me far less reliant on grooming conditions and schedules. With my hybrid ski gear, I can go out any day of the week, regardless of whether the trails are well-groomed, poorly groomed, or ungroomed. This gear is also well-suited to ungroomed front-country skiing venues, such as golf courses and city parks.
To further illustrate what this particular activity involves, here are three trip reports for good examples of XC/BC hybrid nordic ski tours:
- Amabilis Mountain Ski Loop (Keechelus Mountains, WA)
- Blackwall Knoll Ski Tour (Manning Provincial Park, BC)
- Hog Loppet Ski Traverse (Lower Wenatchee Mountains, WA)
In addition to XC/BC hybrid ski touring, I enjoy cross-country stride-skiing and skate-skiing on groomed trails; backcountry nordic ski touring on forest roads and rolling mountain terrain; backcountry telemark skiing and snowshoeing on steeper mountain terrain; and even some downhill telemark skiing at lift-assisted resorts.
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Affiliate Disclosure: My gear reviews may contain affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something that I’ve linked to, I might get a small commission at no additional cost to you. Be assured, though, that my reviews are unbiased and involve only gear that I (or a mountain partner) have used extensively. For all items, I discuss the cons as well as the pros.
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Gear Review Summaries
Fisher Spider 62 OTX Ski Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Greater width (62-52-60) provides a good balance between touring efficiency and flotation compared to traditional cross-country skis.
- Easily fits into the standard grooves of a groomed cross-country ski trail.
- Nordic (double) camber optimizes kick-and-glide technique on groomed trails.
- Offtrack Crown fishscale base gives good traction on flat or gently sloping terrain.
- Readily accommodates kicker skins for steeper ascents.
- Full-length metal edge offers good control on hard snow.
Cons:
- Extra weight and width make for a slower kick-and-glide technique compared to a traditional cross-country ski.
- Minimal sidecut and Nordic camber are not well-suited for telemark turn performance compared to a traditional backcountry ski.
- Offtrack Crown fishscale base is a bit slower for downhill gliding compared to a smooth base or negative-pattern base.
- Lacks a reinforcement plate to handle the extra stress applied by hybrid boots and bindings.
Bottom Line: Excellent ski for hybrid touring on a combination of groomed and ungroomed trails, such as at Nordic ski areas, golf courses, and urban parks.
Product Link: Fischer Spider 62 OTX hybrid skis (shown with a pre-mounted NNN binding, but hopefully can be obtained without the bindings)
Similar Products & Links:
Rossignol BC 65 Positrack hybrid skis (65-53-60 sidecut is slightly wider than Spider 62 but provides essentially same function; two of my ski partners give them a thumbs up; includes NNN-BC binding)
Alpina Discovery 68 NW Flat hybrid skis (68-60-65 sidecut is slightly wider than Spider 62 but provides essentially same function)
Salomon Escape Outpath 64 hybrid skis (64-52-60 sidecut is nearly identical to Spider 62 and provides essentially same function; includes a lightweight Prolink binding)
Fischer Outback 68 Crown/Skin hybrid skis (68-59-64 sidecut is slightly wider than Spider 62 but provides essentially same function; includes NNN-BC binding; accepts proprietary kicker skin)
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Rottefella Magnum Binding Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Combines fairly robust construction with elegant simplicity.
- Interfaces cleanly with NNN-BC boots.
- Allows 35 degrees of pivot with progressively increasing resistance.
- Easy to put on and take off compared to traditional three-pin bindings with duckbill boots.
Cons:
- Restrained pivot motion is not ideal for breaking trail in deep snow.
- Traditional three-screw mounting pattern is inherently weak.
- Would likely be difficult to repair in the field compared to a traditional three-pin metal binding.
Bottom Line: Excellent binding for hybrid nordic touring on a combination of groomed and ungroomed trails, such as at nordic ski areas, golf courses, and urban parks.
Product Link: Rottefella Magnum NNN-BC hybrid binding
Similar Products & Links:
Rottefella Automatic NNN-BC hybrid binding (step-in/push-out version of Magnum, which is more convenient but is not as trouble-free)
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Rossignol BCX-4 Boot Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Interfaces cleanly with NNN-BC bindings.
- Soft forefoot area provides a comfortable fit for most users.
- Molded sole provides adequate torsional stiffness for controlling a hybrid ski.
Cons:
- Stiff sole tends to create some heel lift.
- Lace hooks are made of thin metal that is prone to bending.
Bottom Line: Good boot for basic hybrid ski touring but could use some improvements.
Product Link: This item is not currently available but there are numerous comparable products.
Similar Products & Links:
Fischer BCX Tour hybrid boots (appears to be very comparable to BC X-4)
Rossignol BCX-5 hybrid boots (slightly more supportive than BC X-4 but similar in function)
Alpina Snowfield hybrid boots (appears to be very comparable to BC X-4)
Salomon Escape Outback hybrid boots (appears to be slightly more supportive than BC X-4 but similar in function)
Fischer BCX Grand Tour hybrid boots (appears to be slightly beefier than BC X-4 but similar in function)
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BD GlideLite Kicker Skin Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Available in 50mm and 65mm widths to accommodate various hybrid skis.
- Very compact and lightweight compared to full-length skins.
- Quick and easy to attach using simple strap and buckle.
- Mohair/nylon blend provides good combination of grip and glide.
Cons:
- Inherently limited to ascending moderate inclinations compared to full-length skins.
Bottom Line: Excellent accessory for increasing the range of snow and terrain conditions accessible to a hybrid ski.
Product Link: Black Diamond GlideLite kicker skins
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BD Razor Carbon Pole Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Two-section configuration provides good adjustability for differing terrain conditions.
- Aluminum/carbon composite design provides good combination of strength and lightness.
- Flick-Lock clamp (old model) and Flick-Lock Pro clamp (new model) provides reliable and secure locking mechanism between sections.
- Dual-density handle is comfortable and has breakaway strap (new model).
- Extended handle (old model) and ring (new model) allows for choking up on sidehill traverses.
- Indexed ferrule facilitates use of Three-Quarter Powder Baskets.
- Available in two sizes (100-125 cm and 115-140 cm) to accommodate most skiers.
Cons:
- Two-section poles are inherently a bit heavier and less reliable than one-section poles.
- Carbon fiber poles tend to fail by cracking rather than bending.
- Tall skiers might find the maximum length (140 cm) to be inadequate for efficient kicking and gliding.
Bottom Line: Excellent combination of strength, lightness, and adjustability for ski touring over a variety of terrain.
Product Link: Black Diamond Razor Carbon Pro poles
Similar Products & Links:
Black Diamond Traverse Pro poles (an all-aluminum two-section ski pole that includes same features as Razor Carbon Pro pole but provides a greater length range)
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Full Gear Reviews
Fisher Spider 62 OTX Ski Review
The Spider 62 OTX has a tip width of 62mm, which provides decent flotation in soft snow, yet easily fits into the standard grooves of a groomed cross-country ski trail with enough extra room to accommodate trail curves. If you’ve ever tried kicking-and-gliding on a groomed trail when wearing skis that don’t fit into the grooves, you’ll realize how important this is from an efficiency standpoint. While skiing on a groomed ski trail, the Spider’s “nordic rocker” camber gives the lively feel of a traditional cross-country ski while allowing the tip to float up a bit when breaking trail. On crusty traverses and icy descents, the extra control given by the full metal edges is greatly appreciated. Overall, I regard these to be the defining characteristics of an XC/BC hybrid ski: it is the widest no-wax, metal-edge ski that fits into groomer grooves with a little room to spare.
The Spider 62 OTX features a no-wax Offtrack Crown fishscale base. For traditional cross-country skiing on groomed trails, I have come to prefer the relatively new no-wax R-Skin and Twin-Skin skis, which utilize a small strip of mohair or nylon plush under the kicker zone. However, I still think the classic fishscale-pattern base is the best overall option for XC/BC hybrid touring. This pattern was developed by the Trak Ski Company way back in the 1970s and has changed only slightly over the past decades. The “positive” relief texture grips better than the “negative” incut textures, especially on transitional (near-freezing) snow, but is a bit slower. Once the downhill gradient increases slightly, the ski base begins to plane, such that the pattern drag becomes less perceptible.
During ascents when the uphill gradient exceeds the gripping ability of a fishscale base, I recommend attaching an adhesive kicker skin to each ski rather than fighting with slippage. A kicker skin is a 3-foot length of adhesive-backed nylon or mohair plush that can be affixed to the middle (“kicker”) portion of a ski base. Fishscale-base skis are fully compatible with adhesive skins, whereas R-Skin or Twin-Skin ski bases are not. Some ski companies have recently introduced proprietary kicker skins that easily attach to their specific skis (Fischer’s “easy skin” is one example).
No ski is perfect, and the Spider 62 OTX does have a few shortcomings—mostly because it is a hybrid ski, which inherently represents a compromise. Compared to a traditional cross-country ski, the extra weight and width makes for a slower kick-and-glide technique. Compared to a traditional backcountry ski, the narrow width, minimal sidecut, and nordic camber are not as good for trail-breaking and downhill turning performance. I regard these as unavoidable downsides to any ski in this category.
My only true complaint about the Spider 62 OTX is that lacks a reinforcement plate in the binding area. Regardless of whether the ski is mounted with an NNN, NNN-BC, or three-pin binding, there is a lot of stress applied to the binding/ski interface, and this stress must be resisted by only three binding screws. I have TWICE ripped a binding out of my skis while touring, with the second incident resulting in a broken ski. For my replacement skis, I used the largest binding screws that the system could handle, and I hope this holds things together. To be fair, I believe that the true source of the problem is the obsolete three-hole mounting pattern of nearly all nordic bindings; a four-hole pattern would be much more robust. However, because the binding industry seems to have no interest in rectifying this anachronism, the ski industry is stuck with developing a solution.
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Rottefella Magnum Binding Review
Rottefella developed the New Nordic Norm (NNN) binding and boot system many decades ago as an improvement over the long-running 75mm, or Old Nordic Norm (ONN), binding and boot for cross-country skiing. Springboarding off the great success of their NNN binding, they later developed the beefier NNN-BC version intended for backcountry skiing. Although I don’t personally regard it to be beefy enough for full-on backcountry conditions, I do feel that it is perfectly suited for XC/BC hybrid skiing as previously defined.
The Magnum NNN-BC binding delivers a nice combination of fairly robust construction with elegant simplicity in a sleek package. Being part of a system, the binding interfaces cleanly with the boot and, in my experience, makes a ski much easier to put on and take off compared to a traditional three-pin ONN binding with duckbill ONN boots. The Magnum’s on-and-off procedure requires bending over to flip the toe latch open and closed, which I don’t find this to be at all inconvenient; for those who do, Rottefella makes the Automatic NNN-BC, which can be opened and closed with a ski pole, but I have witnessed more icing problems with this model.
Once a ski boot is attached, the Magnum allows about 35 degrees of pivot with progressively increasing resistance against a rubber bumper. This provides the familiar “restrained” feeling of an NNN cross-country boot/binding system, which is desirable for fast kick-and-glide skiing on a groomed trail but is somewhat less efficient for breaking trail through deep snow. As an experiment, I tried skiing with the rubber bumpers removed, hoping that I good obtain the free-pivot advantage of a backcountry touring binding. This worked well until the bumper cavities clogged with snow and inhibited the pivoting motion. I’ve skied with the bumpers in place ever since.
Although the Magnum NNN-BC represents a great improvement over the three-pin ONN binding, it would likely be difficult to repair in the field if something got bent or broken. In contrast, the metal parts on a three-pin binding could often be re-bent or wired together. I don’t view this as a major downside, however, simply because the Magnum appears to be well-constructed, such that the risk of damaging it seems very low; there are other system components that would likely fail first.
The real Achilles heel of the Magnum—and nearly every three-pin ONN binding ever made—is the traditional three-hole mounting pattern used for screwing the binding to a ski. This pattern is inherently weak and has resulted in countless pull-out failures by decades of skiers (including me, as mentioned above). The problem would be greatly reduced if bindings were redesigned to use four or more mounting screws, as nearly all backcountry bindings have done. However, the cross-country binding industry seems to have no interest in rectifying this anachronism, so the ski industry is stuck with developing a solution. A reinforcement plate on the Spider 62 would probably fix the problem.
Rossignol BCX-4 Boot Review
I’ve spent three or four seasons doing XC/BC hybrid tours on a pair of BCX-4 ski boots. Although Rossignol no longer makes this particular model, my general review comments still apply to their current models, such as the BCX-5, as well as similar models made by other companies. All of these various models interface perfectly with NNN-BC bindings and, in that respect, are well-suited to hybrid ski touring.
Rossignol’s BCX boots have a fairly soft forefoot area, which offers a flexible fit that most users will likely find comfortable. Also, the molded NNN-BC sole provides good torsional stiffness that seems more than adequate to control an XC/BC hybrid ski. I wouldn’t expect these boots to control a full-on backcountry ski; there are other systems much better suited to that purpose. For short approach hikes on snow or bare trail, the lugged sole gives plenty of traction.
I have only a couple complaints about my BCX-4 boots. First, the ankle cuff is not snug enough to prevent heel lift, so I often get some hot spots on my heels. Obviously, this might be a non-issue for other skiers. Second, the lace hooks are made of fairly thin steel that is prone to bending. I’m happy to see that the newer models have a different lacing system, so this might not be a problem any longer. I previously had a different pair of Rossignol BCX boots that came delaminated at the sole/upper bond; hopefully, these don’t suffer the same fate.
BD GlideLite Kicker Skin Review
In the course of a typical XC/BC hybrid ski tour, I find the need to have more traction than offered by my fishscale-base skis. For many years, I would often apply a thick coat of kicker wax on each ski base, but a few years ago, I discovered a far better solution: GlideLite kicker skins. These marvelous accessories are made from the same mohair/nylon plush and adhesive backing as Black Diamond’s popular GlideLite climbing skins. As the name implies, however, kicker skins are sized to cover just the middle portion, or “kicker zone,” of a ski base. The front of each skin is firmly held to the ski by means of a simple nylon strap and plastic buckle.
I’ve found that GlideLite kicker skins are so easy to attach, I never hesitate to put them on as soon as my fishscale bases begin to lose traction. This frequently occurs on icy groomed trails, crusty snow, and deep powder when the uphill gradient steepens. They obviously don’t grip as well as full-length climbing skins, but they do provide enough grip for any of the terrain that I typically encounter during a XC/BC hybrid tour. Also, the simple strap attachment and adhesive backing keep the skin snug even on short downhill runs. I never leave home for a hybrid tour without these skins.
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BD Razor Carbon Pole Review
When I started skiing 50 years ago, there were specialized cross-country ski poles but no specialized backcountry ski poles. Instead, you simply grabbed a pair of fixed-length “downhill” poles and charged into the wild. Nowadays, specialized backcountry ski poles are available in a wide variety of configurations and materials. There are one-section (fixed-length) poles, two-section poles, and three-section poles; there are telescoping poles, folding poles, and telescoping/folding hybrid poles; there are aluminum poles, carbon fiber poles, and aluminum/carbon composite poles; and all of these various offerings include some set of features and/or accessories. The choices are almost overwhelming!
My preferred option for a XC/BC hybrid ski tour is a two-section adjustable pole with a carbon-fiber lower shaft. This design offers several important advantages: First, compared to a one-section pole, the adjustability of a two-section pole allows me to shorten both poles when skinning straight uphill, to lengthen both poles when kicking-and-gliding on flat terrain, and to create uneven pole lengths when making a long sidehill traverse. Second, a two-section pole is both lighter and more reliable than a three-section pole, simply because there is no joint or extra material in the lower region. Third, the use of carbon fiber for the lower section further reduces the “swing weight” of the pole, which might seem insignificant during the first hour of a ski tour but becomes much more noticeable after several hours of active poling.
Over the past two decades, I’ve been using Life-Link Variant Composite ski poles during all backcountry tours. These two-section aluminum/carbon poles have served me very well but, sadly, are no longer made. When I needed to add a new pair of ski poles to my quiver several years ago, I purchased a pair of Black Diamond Razor Carbon poles, as that they were the closest thing I could find to my beloved Life-Link poles. Since my purchase, Black Diamond has modified this pole and renamed it the Razor Carbon Pro. My review comments below address both the older design and new design.
The Razor Carbon and Razor Carbon Pro are two-section telescoping poles with an aluminum upper shaft and a carbon fiber lower shaft. Both shaft sections seem to provide a good compromise between lightweight and strength; I’ve had no bending or breaking problems despite fairly rigorous usage. The poles feature comfortable dual-density handles with adjustable wrist straps, and they are available in two lengths: (100-125 cm and 115-140 cm). Being 5’10” tall, I have found the longer size to adequately cover my desired range of adjustability for different terrain conditions. However, skiers who are more than 6’0” tall might find them too short for efficient kicking-and-gliding on low-angle terrain. Too bad Black Diamond doesn’t offer this pole in three different sizes.
A unusual and nice feature of Razor Carbon and Razor Carbon Pro poles is that the bottom ferrule is indexed to accommodate Black Diamond’s Three-Quarter Powder Baskets. These baskets are cut away in the forward quarter to prevent them from catching on snow when climbing steeply or moving quickly, much like a modern cross-country ski pole basket. This might seem like an unimportant feature until you are miles into a long ski tour that involves lots of kicking-and-gliding. Some skiers will also appreciate the fact that the cutaway tab can be used to manipulate certain binding or boot levers.
There are three main differences between the older Razor Carbon poles and newer Razor Carbon Pro poles. First, the older poles have a supplemental handle that provides a better grip when choking up on one or both poles, such as during a sidehill traverse. In contrast, the newer poles have a simple “choker ring” for this purpose. I like the older design better, but this really strikes me as a minor issue. Second, the older poles employ Black Diamond’s venerable Flick-Lock clamp, which has been in use for several decades and has proven to be very reliable. The newer poles, however, employ the latest-generation Flick-Lock Pro clamp, which consists of a low-profile cast aluminum lever and thin steel sleeve. I have extensively used many types of mechanisms on my various trekking poles in rugged environments, and I can confidently say that the Flick-Lock Pro clamp stands far above all other mechanisms in regards to reliability, compactness, durability, ease of use, and even esthetics. Lastly, the new poles include a lockable breakaway strap, and although I have not gotten an opportunity to use it, I can see the benefit.
All in all, I rate the older Razor Carbon ski poles very highly for all of my essential criteria. They are light, strong, adjustable, and well-detailed. The same goes for the newer Razor Carbon Pro ski poles except that they offer the added bonus of employing the best clamping mechanism available on today’s market. Taller skiers who are planning to use either model for kicking and gliding on low-angle terrain might be unsatisfied with the maximum length of 140 cm, but that will be a matter personal preference.
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