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PSA for Nordica Blem Sale

jimk

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Both of you owe me a beer!
Or a free demo:razz:
Never having owned Nordica's before last year's purchase of blemished Nordica Burners I guess I am becoming a Nordica guy? Or maybe just a blemished guy:blink: Primary two-ski quiver going forward will be the Burners frontside and the Vagabonds backside. I'm an old schooler and typically buy one new pair of skis about every 8-10 years, so feeling flush right now.
 

jimk

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Those old Fischers were the first shaped ski that I owned and used as daily drivers. I haven't been on them since about 2007 and they're probably headed for the dumpster. Believe they are about 65-67mm underfoot. The Vagabonds are 107mm.
 

prsboogie

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Took delivery of my blem Vagabonds today. At first glance I couldn't tell anything was off. Then under close inspection I found just a little bit of indentation on the top sheet. It was almost like there was some air that didn't get pressed out completely during the pressing process and then they settled. From 3 feet distance you can't even tell that the blemish is there.

Here is one ski with what I'm talking about. The other ski only had one tiny dime sized spot that wasn't perfect.

v8dirt.jpg


As far as I'm concerned, for $349 and free shipping, I got a steal. Backcountry.com has unblemished Vagabonds on sale for about $415. I've seen them elsewhere for over $500 still. Considering I probably would've paid $600+ at the start of the season for this ski, I feel like I got really good value for my money. Can't wait to try them out.

I certainly won't hesitate buying a factory blem ski from Start Haus in the future. I'm surprised more shops / ski companies don't do this; at least that I'm aware of.

DHS just wondering if you have made turns yet on the vagabonds. They are a sweet looking set!!
 

deadheadskier

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Took a few runs with them this past week at Breton Woods. They are plenty nimble for their size and performed quite well on the hard pack. Not as well as my Motives and they won't be as quick in bumps, but should work just fine in tight places when I need them too. Definitely a soft snow ski for me though. Looking forward to seeing how well they float.
 

prsboogie

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Great thanks for the reply, I'm looking at them vs the Bacons for soft snow days. I think they will be more stable through the crud from what I've read.
 

deadheadskier

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Spent the full day yesterday on the Vagabonds. Stunning performance on the groomed snow for a 107 waist ski. Really good edge bite and the ski shined being up on edge on long super g turns. Off groomed conditions yesterday at BW consisted of 3-4 inches of compacted dense fresh on top of a crunchy base. Vagabonds busted through those conditions withe ease. Really looking forward to getting out in some deep snow to see how they float and smear turns. My only concern is if I went small getting the 177 instead of the 185
 

deadheadskier

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The 177s are more like 180 in true length. They just felt real quick and I bet I'd have no issues skiing the next size up, which would offer more float.
 

jimk

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I like the word quick, esp in the same sentence with a 107mm ski. Haven't gotten out on my Vagabonds yet. In fact I haven't skied at all yet. Our season's had a hiccup down here, but hopefully most places will reopen soon.
 

deadheadskier

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Don't feel like you need to wait for deep snow. They're a lot of fun on the groomers as well. They won't supplant my Motives as a hard snow daily driver, but they do perform well in those conditions.
 
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