There is a unique freedom that comes from being on skis in the backcountry. Moving smoothly and seamlessly, elegantly weaving not only a path, but an adventure, though the ups and downs of the rolling hills is when we feel most alive. And it is the sport of XCD skiing that will unfailingly bring us these moments this winter, as it has for many, many winters past.
XCD, or cross-country downhill, skiing can trace its origins to the Western U.S. in the 1970s, as part of the broader revival of telemark skiing. XCD skiing requires equipment that is simple, effective, lightweight, and well-made. It must be able to handle a wide array of gentle and moderate backcountry terrain, diverse snow conditions, and most-importantly, allow for travel both up and downhill without the need for equipment transitions. It was trying to solve this complex equipment riddle that originally took us into ski and binding design!
As avid XCD skiers, we spent many early days on the local hills, dreaming up a better and more functional ski setup that both ourselves and our friends could use for those after-work sessions and weekend tours exploring the home bounds. Having direct experience in ski design, we felt we had both the knowledge and background to pull it off. A bit of tinkering, a few prototypes, and many, many more days of “R&D” skiing later, and our first XCD ski was born!
Since that XCD ski, and the founding of Skinbased over a decade ago, we have continued to refine, improve, and expand our XCD collection. Our current XCD line features two skis for adults, the XCD GT 160 and XCD BC 160, and one model for the sport’s younger generation, the XCD GT 137. All these skis were redesigned for the ‘22-’23 season and are packed with smart features including: our patented Unicoat base with ABS-reinforcements, flat tails for better standing and tracking, metal edges, and our highly regarded, recessed climbing skin.
Functional, reliable, and ultimately versatile, our current XCD line pairs the best of modern ski technology with the original ethos of the cross-country downhill sport - to allow skiers and winter backcountry enthusiasts to move through wintry nature, uninhibited. This stands as our guiding principle of ski design, and our XCD skis as an homage to this ideology.
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