Fischer  Spider 62 Crown Xtralite Cross-Country Skis with TURNAMIC Bindings

The weight ranges are andvertised incorrectly. Check out the screenshot I have from the catalog.

This has been a great ski for Washington State conditions and snow. If you want to be able to classic with a group of friends and still have the ability to go off track in fresh snow or even just in the middle of the skate track, this is the ski. If you are an alpine skier wondering what the point of having a ski without edges, this is the ski. It holds an edge and makes choppy off camber a dream. You don't get that slide-to-the-side feeling you get with no edge skis. The scales are super deep compared to most skis and they are great climbers too. You need to utilize the herringbone technique much less.

Nice ski, but go with the longer size if you want any glide. I got the 189 since I fell in the mid-range of the recommended weight, but forgot to factor a daypack with water bag, so I'm actually on the upper end of the limit for the recommended weight. Last season the metal edges were nice when the groomed area was more ice than snow. But I really noticed I spent more time walking than actually sliding, which skis are supposed to do. This season I tested these skis against 203 Rossingnol R Skin Comps, both with all-around glide wax outside kick zones. The Fischer's are very soft skis and they flattened out quite easily compared to the Rossis. I even set the TURNAMIC bindings to +3 to see if glide improved and I could still face downhill on a slope and not move whereas the Rossis zoomed (wheee!) even though they were set to -2 to improve kick. Note that this review admits I bought skis that are clearly too short for me, so they are unforgiving if you mis-measure. I intend to replace these with the 199's to see if they make any difference, so my review might change. These skis have great potential for ungroomed skiing and for late season crunchy skiing in groomed areas. For now my review advises go up a size if you want any glide, especially if you wear a pack. Otherwise you simply have oversize snowshoes.

I had given these skis a '4' nd not a '5' because I felt that - while the grip was excellent - the glide was poor. Well, I then cleaned the bases and I was absolutely astonished at how much dirt came off these skis! They were purchased new from REI so I have no idea how they got so dirty. I doubt they came from the Fisher factory like that. Since I cleaned the skis they glide much better. Definitely a '5'.

Maybe Fisher should have named these “Spiderman” 62s. They have killer grip, but that grip comes with a loss of glide. I took the Spider 62s out and compared them to my old (20+ years old) Fisher “BC Wax” skis which have a similar sidecut (60/52/57 vs. 62-52-60) but no metal edge and are much longer (210 vs 189 - I weigh around 175 lbs. and the 189 length was recommended for me). I used Start Grip Tape in the kick zone on the BC Wax skis. The BC wax had way better glide, but the Spider 62s had way better grip (Start Grip Tape almost never fails me, but it didn’t seem to be working on this day). And of course the Spider’s metal edges add weight. The Spiders are more of a backcountry ski. If you are going to be skiing on groomed trails with set tracks, don’t get this ski. But if you’ll be skiing with no set track or in “backcountry” situations, I would recommend the Spider 62s. (My comments should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt - I got the Spider 62s because I am transitioning from “racing” to “touring”; so - I am more accustomed to a light, skinny ski with lots of camber, and the Spiders are of course heavier and wider and the camber to me seems minimal. But then I suppose that is the way they were purposely designed. The grip really is excellent. And I want the metal edge in case I encounter icy conditions.)

Great skis. They don't feel any heavier under foot than my touring skis... they have significantly more grip going straight up hill... and the metal edges give much more confidence on steeper pitches and crusty surfaces. Only fault - the bindings arrived installed incorrectly. The foot plate on one ski was half in / half out. I was able to watch a couple of videos and fix it in the parking lot with only about 0:15 of cursing.

Fantastic skis for versatile use. Work just fine for all kinds of track and off-track.

Replaced my 12 year old skis with these. I found the scales much more aggressive allowing me to go straight up trails I previously had to herringbone. The second big change is the stability on groomed meadows. My previous skis tended to side slip when crossing areas like this. For some reason these are very stable and track straight. What kind of sorcery is this? This was a very good upgrade for me.

Just bought these skis and I've use them three times in different conditions. They performed well, and I can't wait for more snow!

So light, I hardly notice these are on my feet. I have hiking boots that weigh more. The scales grip consistently on 95% of kicks and the glide is smooth. Metal edges dig in great. Bindings are simple but serve their purpose.