Nordic skating

A relaxing activity

Set your own pace and take in the scenery! Tour skating is a great endurance sport, and the time just flies by while you’re at it.

Skate types

There are two main types of tour skates: simpler models attach directly to your hiking boots, while others are used with ski bindings and skating boots. What matters with both types is that your footwear supports your ankle laterally. Models used with bindings and skating boots suit fast, active skating. Models used with hiking boots have no hinge between the binding and the blade, and are made for a more leisurely pace.

Safety

Always take ice claws, a throw line and a change of clothes on a tour skating trip, and make sure the clothes are packed waterproof. Together this gear weighs relatively little, and in an accident it can make all the difference. A tour skater should also consider getting a waterproof survival suit. Modern suits made by Ursuit not only keep you dry, and therefore able to act, if you go through the ice, they also breathe on you like any modern shell garment.

Poles

A pole or poles are also part of the tour skater’s basic kit. When you skate with skating boots and sporty skates on ploughed and checked ice tracks, poles made for skate skiing are the right choice. On natural ice, the safest choice is always a pole designed for tour skating, with a heavy tip for checking the thickness of the ice.

The best manufacturers

When you’re out on the ice, quality really matters. We’ve picked out the most reliable brands:

• Lundhags makes skates, throw lines and the hugely popular tour skating backpacks
• Zandstra is a specialist skate manufacturer from the Netherlands
• Isvidda skates offer excellent value for money
• An Ursuit survival suit worn under your outer layers keeps you dry if the ice gives way

Order now!

The service-minded, Nordic Scandinavian Outdoor delivers your tour skating gear right to your door if needed!