All Things Olin

[da-cat]

Nice to see Mark lVs still out in the wild!
Salomon 444’s were on my first skis around 1975:
190cm Fischer C4 Catapults
I upgraded just the toes to Blue 555’s
And left the 444 step-in heels the way they were except replaced the straps with brakes.
Still have them, still set up like that.

 

[crgildart]

I had 444s on my hart Freestyles.. Moved them to my K2 233 mids but would totally ski them on Mark IVs.. and today. Found some K2s just like the ones I had but practically brand new condition last week. Not sure I'll get them on the snow this season though. Maybe in March in some slush bumps!

 

[Uncle-A]

Spotted while skiing the Midwest today ...and now for the scary part: Salomon 444 bindings. I had those when I was a kid!

View attachment 38119

It looks like a pair of Kerma poles with the green grips and baskets. Sold a lot of them back in the day. A lot of the guys with the Hexcel Comps just had to have them with their skis to match the green Hexcel logo. I was not one of them when I had my Hexcel skis but I knew quite a few.

 

[da-cat]

So... when I saw a Surfing movie at age about 13- like Endless Summer- and showed California and Hawaii big wave Surfing and even sidewalk surfing (skateboarding Lol) - I bought a skateboard the next day! Figured I had to learn how to skateboard if I wanted to learn to surf.

And - when I saw “Last of the Ski Bums”- I knew if I wanted to be cool then I just had to ski on long black skis! Found some Head Standards 205cm with Look Nevada’s and was good to go!
Later on I upgraded that combo to ....
First edition, (small logo) 205cm Black Olin Mark 1’s with: Salomon 444’s!

 

[Mack]

Here is a few more out of the the Black Hole . Mark IV ,Mark 1, Ballet , with Spademan.
MACK

 

[johnnyvw]

mmm...I had the Mark I K series...my first pair of skis. Ah, memories... LOL

 

[Uncle-A]

mmm...I had the Mark I K series...my first pair of skis. Ah, memories... LOL

The K series was the one with the white lettering if I remember correctly. I think they were the first pair of skis I gave my wife.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

nice photos
I liked my mark i m series, and the mark iv's. Still in use as driveway markers and shed decorations
hated those 444's (and straps) but then the 502 and 555 was not much better

but @ uncle-a I take offense with your comment about green kermas and hexels .
everyone knows the preferred choice was to match kerma yellow to Nordica Banana boots.

Still using the poles

 

[Uncle-A]

nice photos
I liked my mark i m series, and the mark iv's. Still in use as driveway markers and shed decorations
hated those 444's (and straps) but then the 502 and 555 was not much better

but @ uncle-a I take offense with your comment about green kermas and hexels .
everyone knows the preferred choice was to match kerma yellow to Nordica Banana boots.

Still using the poles

You still have the poles WOW how about some photos? As far as the matching I guess it depends on the local preference. Some guys matched the skis some matched the boots.

 

[da-cat]

Lets give credit where credit is due;
The Salomon ski straps had an awesome quick release function -
Just a pull of the embroidered tag!

 

[da-cat]

On the flip side...
Lets give credit where credit is do:
3” diameter bruise / scrape on the back of my right leg from a wipe out - I was sliding down a mogul field with a loose ski strapped along for the ride!
The ski stopped in a trough ahead of me, and simultaneously I stopped sliding when I hit the tail end of the ski!!

 

[Bad Bob]

Runaway straps were the best we had in the day folks. Can also remember the days when ski brakes were not allowed on the hill without a strap in addition.

Skied the 505, 555 in Equipe series for a lot of years. They worked great for me. Did find that the forward pressure had to be properly adjusted or there was going to be a problem. Had them on both pairs of my Mark IV's and my Mark VI's, rarely an issue.

 

[da-cat]

I am not going to lie-
I have become fascinated with the OLIN MARK line up and curious to ask about the MARK Vl:
If you skied on the Green MARK Vl skis- were they super flexible?
I don’t remember ever seeing them on the slopes- if you owned a pair did you ever run into another MARK Vl skier?
Thanks for info regarding the rest of the story of the OLIN MARK Vl

 

[Bad Bob]

The VI was flexible, but that was during a movement when there were other soft skis as well, the WinterHeat comes to mind. It was fun in softer snow but when things started getting to be day old crud they did not match the Mark V (my personal favorite of that line up). There were a couple of us skiing the VI in the Copper SS at the time but you never saw too many. I was skiing those, some Omaglass SL's and some longer MV2's that winter, all with 555 Equipe bindings

 

[da-cat]

Awesome!
I am a big fan of 555’s as well.
Had them on two different Fischer C4 skis - 195 black gr/wh Cut 66 C4’s were my go to’s for many years.
I have been inspired to collect most OLIN MARK skis and I am up to 8 versions to date!
Ten years ago I ran into $15 MARK lllS skis with sturdy GEZE bindings, set them up and used them exclusively that season! They skied great! (180cm)
That’s when I got the MARK bug!
So the MARK V’s you liked -
Were they Yellow or the later Black ones?
Thanks

 

[Bad Bob]

The V's were the yellow ones. They were a very damp ski that would absolutely blow through crud. Skied Alyeska a lot the season they were new and that ski worked very well with the maritime snow. Regrettably they became my first tip rockered skis after driving them into a very large firm bump, tried to bend them back but they were never the same.

 

[da-cat]

Thanks for the info.
Hope to ski these little 180 cm Ferrari’s someday.
S40’s - straps and all!
Lol

 

[da-cat]

I was reading in ski magazines on Google Books about the Olin Mark Vl Comp GS design and engineering- early 1980s.
They had special material high carbon P-Tex to resist heat expansion and deformation during final finishing prep and were said to react with snow with less friction.
Also the tips were laid down for less wind resistance.
Bases feel like a permanent hot wax and are hard as granite.
Tips are lower for sure.

 

[da-cat]

180cm and 200cm
I think of these later versions of the OLIN MARK series as the “Tail Feathers” style.
These later MARK lll S skis have turned up tails like the lV always had.
It’s hard to tell but they are kind of super dark blue in color.

 

[Uncle-A]

View attachment 39267
180cm and 200cm
I think of these later versions of the OLIN MARK series as the “Tail Feathers” style.
These later MARK lll S skis have turned up tails like the lV always had.
It’s hard to tell but they are kind of super dark blue in color.

I thought only the IV Comp had the tails turned up. But it has been a long time.