The Ins and Outs of XC Ski Equipment

Cross country skiing can be a confusing sport with the different binding types, ski types, waxing and terminology. At Boulder Nordic Sport East our goal is to make it easier to understand while making sure that people get the absolute best fit equipment. With this in mind this is a guide to explain some of the hard to understand concepts. 
There are two different disciplines in XC or Nordic skiing. Classic is the traditional in track type where you use sticky kickwax on the base of the skis to give you the grip to propel yourself down the trail. Skating is the newer technique (developed in the late 70’s and early 80’s) where the skier uses a more side to side body shifting motion and glide wax on the base of the skis to go down the trail. 
There are three different binding systems that attach to skis and interface with boots: SNS, NNN and Turnamic. Salomon Nordic System was developed by the French company and currently fits only Salomon, One Way and Atomic boots. Salomon classic bindings are called Propulse and their skate bindings are called Pilot. The New Nordic Norm system was developed by Norwegians and currently fits Alpina, Fischer, Madshus, and Rossignol boots. NNN calls all of their bindings Xcelerator. The Xcelerator bindings use a screw-less plate system to attach to the ski. These bindings come in a classic and a skate version. Turnamic or IFP plate bindings also fit the NNN binding system, so they work with Alpina, Fischer, Madshus, and Rossignol boots also. The IFP system is proprietary to Fischer and Rossignol skis at this time, Madshus skis still come with a NIS plate for NNN bindings.  To add some confusion to the process Salomon produces select models of boots that DO fit the NNN system called PROLINK. Prolink Salomon boots have the same outsole as NNN thus they only fit NNN bindings.  
Skate boots are higher up the calf and have a stiff cuff that allows free movement to the front (ankle flex forward). Skate boots have a very stiff sole which allows for a full foot push. Classic boots are lower with no cuff and a very flexible sole. The flexible sole works much like a running shoe when rocking onto the ball of the foot and pushing off. Combination boots use a skate upper(higher stiffer cuff) with a classic lower(flexible sole). Most middle and high school athletes as well as people new to the sport use combi boots. 
There are essentially three types of skis: skate, classic, and combination or combi skis. It is very important to get a ski that fits precisely to the skier, especially in classic. Skis are flexed for certain weight ranges and all skis have an individual flex rating or a flex rating range. For skate skis they need to be flexed between 110 and 130 percent of a skier’s weight. This means that skate skis when picked correctly are likely to last as a skier gains weight, i.e. if a freshman in high school
Boulder Nordic Sport East  30 Olympia Street Portland, ME 04103 bnseast@bouldernordic.com 207-541-7438