Blog

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, “Tried and true”, “The old ways are better than the modern ways”, “theLuddites were right”.Quite acceptable viewpoints if one is an XC backcountry skier. After all, despite the arguments about which boot/binding system is better, 75mm “three pin” and NNN-BC have been around for decades now, and they work well for those who use either system. Do we need a new BC ski boot/binding system?What if a new system arrived that addressed the complaints the 75mm and NNN-B …

Part One. Boots, boots, and boots.Yearly posts about “what’s new” in Nordic skiing always seem to focus on the racing and track skiing side, yet touring and backcountry touring gear sales far outstrips that category.That may be because what day touring and backcountry users value in gear is reliability and long proven performance, there’s not a “race” to develop big changes. An example is the Rottefella NNN-BC binding system. Around since 1989, the NNN-BC system had to overcome resistance from u …

Race day speeds, without fluorocarbons? Yep!For the entire world of ski waxing, the King is dead but there's no one in line for the throne. Long established as a crucial ingredient for top performance, the use of per- and poly- fluorocarbons in ski waxes is being phased out and in some cases outright banned. While there's general agreement that continuing to use fluorocarbon containing ski waxes in a personal stock is acceptable - ultimately that use disperses the material which is preferable to …

To the OMCgear Community,We wanted to keep you updated on how we're handling the new way of life we find ourselves in, especially as we enter the winter and holiday seasons. Due to OMCgear being a small business that operates strictly online, we've been able to adjust our day to day life to be able to accommodate all your outdoor needs. We are still able to safely fulfill orders from our Portland warehouse while still following all CDC, state, and local guidelines. We want to extend ou …

For most of January, into February I was given the opportunity to prepare skis for the US Nordic Combined team. This blog will be a multi-part reflection on the experience, detailing the actual work of a ski-tech, the travel, the best (and worst) of European XC ski destinations, the life of an American athlete on the road, and more. The story begins in Austria, spends some time in snowless eastern Germany, makes a couple stops in Norway, and ends at the American Birkebeiner. Follow the journey w …