First Outing with the Rottefella Xplore

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, “Tried and true”, “The old ways are better than the modern ways”, “the

Luddites 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-BC sling at each other?

Welcome the Rottefella Xplore. And here’s my experience and opinions after a first use.

The snow that day was deep and heavy, the very definition of “Cascade cement”. Stepping off the skis

led to plunging down knee deep, even punching through some various deep crust layers. And of course

this is the snow that clogs and sticks to anything. Downhill turns were laborious and required a lot of

steering into long radius arcs, no slalom turns were possible. Fun stuff!

The set up used was an Alpina Alaska XP boot, which is the first boot available for the Rottefella Xplore

binding. Fortuitous, in that the Alpina Alaska BC is the boot I use for my NNN-BC set up. The ski was a

Madshus Panorama 78 (nee Annum); while wider than my Rossi BC80 skis, I did want to push the upper

level of ski width for this new system.

What’s good?

Stepping into the binding was the first glimpse of improved performance. An immediate impression of

ease of use was confirmed after stepping in and out multiple times, including deep snow situations.

Right to the point, this is the easiest binding to step in to that I’ve experienced. Period. XC touring, BC

touring, AT systems…the Xplore is better by a significant margin.

In no small part this was due to the lack of a groove, channel, or cavity where a binding pin is usually

located. The sole of the boot looks much more like a rugged hiking boot, just rubber lugs the entire

length. Which made the next observation of performance understandable – you can really walk in this

design! Slippery parking lots packed or deep snow, and kicking steps in steep hard snow, this feature

absolutely destroys the competition. Users of 75mm often point out that in situations where walking is

needed their boots are far better than NNN-BC. But without the “duck bill”, Xplore does even better.

A note here about the Alpina Alaska XP vs the Alaska BC boots. Appearance of the upper is similar, but

the fit is slightly different and so is the flex. The XP has a wee bit more toe room, a wee bit less sloppy in

the heel, a wee bit stiffer in the shaft above the heel, but most noticeable is that there is a bit smoother

and softer flex right at the ball of the foot. This made for a more comfortable boot overall.

Touring

The bindings comes with a medium flexbit; eventually a hard flexbit and a free pivot plate will become

available. At one point I removed the flexbit to be able to experience the free pivot mode; the optional

plate will cover the otherwise exposed screw heads and perhaps maintain the step-in ease. The feeling

during striding was noticeably different than an NNN-BC, with a smoothness that could be called more

“natural”. The pin on an NNN-BC is slightly in front and below the ends of a skier’s toes while the Xplore

pivot point is higher and farther back – this leads to a feeling of, well, nothing. As in, much more neutral.

NNN-BC still has a feeling of pushing something that must lift the foot off the ski deck to move forward

while the Xlpore just isn’t noticeable. Except for feeling very smooth.

This different pivot point also added to the noticeable improvement in performing kick turns when

doing steep traversing climbs. Binding mounting position certainly plays a part here, and in this case, like

all my BC setups, I prefer the bindings mounted ahead of the balance point to be able to optimize this

feature. That said, even with the flexbit installed kick turns were significantly easier to do than an NNN-

BC, let alone 75mm (sorry, pinners, but unless one is using a heavy duty free-pivot tele binding, doing

kick turns with a touring 75mm really sucks). With the flexbit removed and in fee pivot mode this

performance equaled my best AT setups.

As mentioned earlier the snow conditions were super thick and deep, making turns challenging. For a

test, this is great! This is what might get the attention of diehard 3-pinners, as the wider attachment of

75mm is often viewed as superior in a downhill situation. A caveat here as I don’t always agree with that

assertion – with a stiff enough boot NNN-BC can provide fine downhill control as there is so little play in

that system. But the wider 75mm duckbill can supply better steering in thick and sticky snow, plus, the

very resistance in while touring with 3-pin can be viewed as an advantage in rear ski control an pressure

when doing a telemark turn. For turns, the Xplore is perhaps a mixed bag. Despite how easy it is to step

into the binding, the lateral connection is equal to 75mm and in steep or deep snow better than NNN-

BC, and parallel turns were great. For tele turning, the smooth and free pivot that is so nice for touring

will demand a technique focus to maintain pressure on the back ski.

The binding has two more well thought out features. A heel riser is included, nice for steep ascents. And

the hole pattern is more spread out compared to 75mm or NNN-BC, and the pattern will not interfere

with the existing holes if one is re-mounting.

Not much to complain about, other than price. For winter 22/23 the major manufacturers will each have

one or more boot models to choose from. From a durability standpoint there’s only conjecture.

Rottefella does have a good record in designing and manufacturing tough bindings, but the one area of

concern is the pivot points built into the boots; to engage the binding the pins on the boots compress

under spring pressure. The long term durability is the only thing that may be of concern.

Next step, I’m putting my Alpina Alaska BC boots up for sale and installing an Xplore binding on my Rossi

BC80’s.