Tag: Speedmax

Old skis? No problem for Johannes Høsflot Klæbo at World Championship sprint

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Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won Thursday’s World Championships sprint on an older model of Fischer skis. (Photo: NordicFocus)

TRONDHEIM, NORWAY — After winning Thursday’s world championships-opening sprint here, Norwegian superstar Johannes Høsflot Klæbo posed for photos with the new model of Speedmax cross-country skis recently unveiled by his sponsor, Fischer, the giant Austrian winter sports company.

But if you looked carefully at Klæbo’s skis during the race, they were different, and, unusually, they were dated: The pair was several years old, a Fischer official confirmed in an interview Sunday.

Typically, new skis are more dynamic and give athletes a more stable platform on the snow, said Gerhard Urain, Fischer’s head of nordic racing. But the older pair Klæbo used Thursday are especially good in the wet, sloppy snow conditions that have prevailed in Trondheim for the past week, according to Urain.

“And then also, when they have good memories with the skis — when they use them in these conditions, they are confident,” he said.

“It was the right choice for him on this day,” Urain added, noting that Klæbo’s skis appeared to be running fast compared to other athletes’ on Thursday.

Klæbo celebrates his sprint win while holding a pair of the new Fischer Speedmaxes. (Nordic Focus)

On the surface, Klæbo’s victory on older skis could complicate Fischer’s marketing pitch for the new Speedmaxes, which, according to the company, are characterized by “extreme lightness.”

But coaches and ski technicians said it’s increasingly rare for older pairs of skis like Klæbo’s to still perform competitively in tests against newer models.

Urain noted that, just a few weeks after the introduction of the new Speedmaxes, many other top competitors have been choosing to race on them — suggesting that generally, they’re performing better than the dozens of pairs of skis already in athletes’ quivers.

In Sunday’s women’s skiathlon, the two top Norwegian finishers, Therese Johaug and Heidi Weng, both used new Speedmaxes.

Heidi Weng, second from left, and Therese Johaug, right, raced on the new Fischer Speedmax skis in Sunday’s skiathlon. (Nordic Focus)

“They got the skis three weeks ago, and they’re racing them, using them in the championships,” Urain said.

The durability of Klæbo’s race-winning skis also is an argument for Fischer’s equipment in and of itself, noted Matt Whitcomb, one of the U.S. Ski Team coaches in Trondheim.

“A ski that keeps winning stays in the fleet. I know the ski companies love to have the new graphics. But what a great testimony to Toyota when you see a ’91 Corolla in, just, great condition cruising down the road,” Whitcomb said. “There’s no better accolade to receive.”

March 3, 2025
Fischer Demo Reservations Still Available in West Yellowstone
With early snow accumulated on the West Yellowstone Rendezvous Trails in the opening days of November, Fischer Sports is preparing for the most well attended U.S. ski event of the Thanksgiving season. “We’ve waited out the interminable time in the fall before snow hits,” explained Fischer’s Western Sales Representative, Brian Schiller. “Now we’re thrilled about having snow and a great collection of gear for demo at this year’s West Yellowstone Ski Festival.”

Fischer will again employ an online reservation system throughout dates of the festival to reserve new Speedmax boot and ski demos for on trail testing in West Yellowstone. In addition to Fischer’s new Speedmax boots, the 2015-2016 Speedmax skis will be available to try on the Rendezvous Trails. Both Speedmax boot and ski models employ innovative new features and improvements for 2015-2016 that merit first-hand testing.

“With the new carbon sole of the Speedmax boots, these demos are a chance to try this exceptional system.” explained Fischer Nordic Race Director, Chris Hall. “Likewise, this year’s Speedmax skate skis boast a new tip profile that further minimizes swing weight, improving ski feel.”

The 2015 West Yellowstone Ski Festival will take place November 24th – 28th in West Yellowstone, Montana. Demos will be available for reservation from Tuesday the 24th through Friday the 27th.

Fischer’s West Yellowstone Online Demo Form
- Reservations are still open to reserve demos at West Yellowstone’s ski festival throughout the week.
- Ben Saxton and Patrick Caldwell, both Fischer athletes on the US Ski Team will be signing their Fischer Athlete Cards at the Expo on Friday night.
Fischer’s Patrick Caldwell

Fischer’s Ben Saxton
November 24, 2015
Gear West Has Fischer Speedmax

Fischer Speedmax

Gear West is excited to have received a shipment of Fischer Speedmax skate skis. Fischer’s new Cold Base Bonding technology equates to faster skis. By avoiding heat and pressure when the base is added the base material retains a high level of wax absorption. Better wax absorption equates to faster skis. Three Gear West ski experts: Matt Liebsch, Jan Guenther and Josh Doebbert share their thoughts regarding the Fischer Speedmax.

Matt Liebsch
The new Fischer Speed Max skis are quite phenomenal. They handle a very wide range of conditions and stability is rock solid. I first tried a pair two years ago at US Nationals and I didn’t even know what I was on… but I could tell right away that I was on something different, they were faster than all my other race proven pairs! My experience with the Speed Max is that they are always very good but in some conditions the ski just blows away everything else. I’ve been told this is due to the new Cold Base Bonding technology that leaves the base unaltered from pressure and heat associated with standard production… end result, fast skis!

Jan Guenther
I checked out the Fischer Speedmax at the XC Ski Demo on Sunday after the Birke at 00. It was a great opportunity to try a huge variety of skis and the Speedmax offered the best of everything- light weight, speed and wonderful stability all in one ski.

Josh Doebbert
As skiers, we are all taught the importance of not overheating the bases of our skis when ironing. It closes the pores of the base material and prevents it from accepting wax, we are told. But no one talks about the fact that to cure the epoxies inside modern skis during production, those skis must be heated to a temperature that, like an iron left on the base too long, does real and permanent damage to those same pores. Enter the SpeedMax, Fischer’s new design, which separates the processes of core construction and base application and prevents this damage. It’s a very simple premise, but the result is a ski that’s noticeably faster underfoot than Fischer’s already World Cup proven Carbonlite and RCS models.

Check out Fischer Speedmax

March 2, 2013
Gear Preview 2013-2014: Fischer

Fischer’s new Speedmax skate and classic skis waiting for testing at the SIA on-snow demo earlier this month.

The ski industry comes out with better, faster, lighter equipment every year, and each time I think companies must be close to reaching the upper limit in product development. Earlier this month I discovered just how wrong that assumption was at the SnowSports Industries of America (SIA) on-snow demo at Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, Colo. It seemed that every company there to show off their 2013-2014 equipment had revolutionized the top of their product line to make skis, boots and/or poles that are better than the nordic ski world has ever seen before.

Fischer’s Speedmax skate ski was the first new ski I tried — there’d been a lot of buzz about the new manufacturing process that makes it and I was curious to see what could possibly be better than a Carbonlite. To make the Speedmax, Fischer engineered a new step on the factory production line called Cold Base Binding, which separates ski core production from the step that attaches the base material to the rest of the ski. Where once it was all one big step, the base now goes on at the very end. The adhesive Fischer concocted specifically for this process allows the ski to better absorb thermal fluctuations in all snow conditions and iron temperatures — so its speed comes from both the base’s ability to absorb more wax as well as its consistency as snow temperatures change.

The Speedmax ranks somewhere between a Carbonlite and an RCS in weight, but even though it’s not Fischer’s lightest ski the new construction method definitely makes it the fastest. And because the ski comes with all the responsiveness and stability we’ve come to expect from Fischer products it is without a doubt one of the best skis that will be on the market in 2013-2014. World Cup athletes have been racing on it (hidden behind old graphics) all season and have landed on multiple podiums with it. Results like that speak for themselves.

After I tested the Speedmax skate ski I found myself comparing others products to it for the rest of the day. When I went uphill it felt like they climbed for me, and on the descents I was speeding by fellow testers without even trying. Though I’d like to think this was due to my own ability, I’m fairly certain the skis deserved most of the credit.

Watch Fischer’s promotional Speedmax video for endorsements more credible than my own:

Fischer has also made improvements to its Carbonlite skate and classic boots. They’re less bulky, more breathable, and have an antibacterial treatment on the insole to make them less stinky. Here’s Nordic Division Vice President Peter Ashley describing the new features at SIA:

February 13, 2013