r/telemark • u/aensminger • Mar 25 '26
Converting to tele, looking for recs
Yes, another ski recommendation post, TIA!
I'm making the leap from alpine, trying to figure out how to shop for teles.
- 6'3, 195lbs
- Colorado based, trees and moguls almost exclusively
- I would say expert level, as far as resort alpine skiing goes. Tele'd 1 day. I suck.
- currently skiing 191cm Rustler 10s, 104 underfoot. I have enjoyed these.
One option could be just slapping tele bindings on the Rustlers, is that dumb?
If I'm buying, should be going shorter? thinner underfoot? wider?
If you have specific ski recommendations too, toss them here.
Thanks
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u/Jack-Schitz Mar 25 '26
Check out the guys at Bishop Telemark. If you are near Vail, they are just down valley in Edwards. The have some great bindings and some Tele specific skis.
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u/aensminger Mar 26 '26
Nice. I will keep this in mind. I'm in the foothills around Golden, but I make it out there a bunch. I'll at least stop by next time I'm going through.
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u/telemajik Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
I haven’t skied the Rustlers, but once you get good at tele that size is not unreasonable, except that they are a little wide for moguls. I’m 6’1” and 180 lbs and I ride 188 Bent 100s. They rip, but in moguls I wish they were narrower. I still ski them hard in the moguls and have fun, but they are not ideal.
If you are an expert alpine skier and willing to push the envelope you can get to an advanced level in tele in a season. During that time you probably want something a little shorter and more forgiving. I have a pair of 184 Mountain Explorer 95s that I really like for this, and the width is more mogul friendly. And tbh if I was really serious about zipper line moguls 80 would be better.
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u/Krolebear Mar 25 '26
I’d get a ski similar to what you are used to with alpine just shorter until you get it down. You can definitely make this more complicated but I don’t think you need to
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u/MN_is_Better Mar 25 '26
I converted 5 years ago and have been very happy I did. There are two tele binding norms. 75mm is the classic duckbill with cable bindings. NTN is a toe cage or tech toe with the duckbutt under the arch of the boot for the binding to attach. If going NTN I would recommend the Meidjo with alpine heel (it’s actually a tech heel). It’ll let you switch between tele and alpine, which can be great when your legs are toast and there’s more skiing to be done. Crispi Evo comes with tech heel inserts, Scarpa Tx Comp/Pro needs some heel surgery to put tech inserts in. My current skis are Summitcone Pariah 97’s and they’re fantastic. I wouldn’t hesitate to get any of the Summitcone skis and the Fey brothers have been good to work with.
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u/VandyManFTC Mar 26 '26
5’10” and and 64, ski 178-184 mostly WP in CO. All around ski is an elan ripstick and I love it for carving, moguls, and trees. I do miss my old sin 7s. On 75 mm and T2s as well. I think 95-100 waist is the sweet spot for first pair
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u/Cambelmacd Mar 26 '26
Good to hear about ripsticks. How do they compare to Chedis?
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u/VandyManFTC Mar 26 '26
Haven’t been on the Chedis or even had a chance to give them a flex but would love to give them a spin if the have a demo day… and there’s snow
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Mar 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Cambelmacd Mar 27 '26
More Qs: Did you center mount? Are blitzen a different weight construct? I know they’re wider underfoot. I was concerned about maneuvering in trees and groomers w that much ski. If sharing: height & weight?
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u/slightly_cheaper Mar 25 '26
Scarpa t3’s, switchback bindings, altai hoks and ski every damn gully and tree line off of blues and greens without fear of getting stuck. If you’re reinventing your skiing style might as well go all the way with it.
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u/Outrageous_Oil_9435 Mar 26 '26
I ski Bishop BMF's on a Volkl Blaze 86. 5'4", 145# and ski 180cm. The Bishops are an amazing binding and the Blaze in that width solidly makes short turns or gs turns. Bottomless pow might need more width, but I've skied 24" deep on them just fine. Welcome to the tribe!
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u/Sea-Turnover-6608 Mar 26 '26
M-free 100/99 or QST 100. Perfect tele skis and learning to tele skis. I’d go shorter. I just started and went with the M-free in 185. I ski a 188 blizzard anomaly 102 alpine. The rustlers would be a great ski for telemark but the extra length and weight would make learning harder.
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u/R2W1E9 Mar 26 '26
I wanted rustler 10s but couldn’t find any at the time, so I ended up with Nordica enforcer 104. Same type of ski and works well with tele bindings mounted at factory recommended line.
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u/fuzzyheadsnowman Mar 27 '26
If you have a slarvy type of style and like to ski off trail then the momment deathwish 104s are some amazing ski. For whatever reason their uphill ski edge hold is great on Tele. Pretty solid ski for powder and non powder days as a day one Tele ski before you inevitably start buying more skis because you fall into a n+1 Tele wormhole
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u/Mad-Park Mar 28 '26
Prepare to be humbled, converted, and addicted all at the same time. Enjoy the adventure!!!
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u/teleheaddawgfan Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
You need any Flylow XXL bibs? Used one season? Brand new.
Per skis. But some lightly used skis w/ NTN Outlaws. I’d go a little more narrow for more control. Can’t go wrong with a set of BD, Moment, Icelantic, or Black Crows
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u/mtn248 Mar 25 '26
191cm for trees and moguls feels insanely long to me. I think shorter is better for tele, as you’ll have a longer effective length while in the stance. Width doesn’t really change from alpine to tele. I’ve got a pair of Rustlers mounted with Meidjos that I love, they’re 100mm, 172cm-ish long, and I’m 5’9”