Skins

What are your favorite skins and why (possibly tied to the style of touring you do)? Lots of reviews from paid online mags but harder to find (esp newer comparisons) reviews from less biased reviewers (or at least unpaid)

I really liked my Dynafit skins so when I switched skis I got Colltex Whiz Skins mixed. Easy on/off, getting them wet/dirty has little change in stickiness, need the ends to remain attached as they peel off otherwise but won't come off as long as the ends stay attached, doesn't get any more snow between skin/ski than other skins. Can't really compare grip as skis are very different from my Dynafit skis.

Tried G3 skins on a splitboard 4-5 years ago, didn't find good grip with them and on an all day tour they stopped staying on near the end.

BD mohair skins on new-old skis, too early to tell but grip seems OK from the one time out on them so far. Looking for more feedback from people to possibly update these skins as they are well used. Leaning toward Colltex although don't like the tail attachment as much.

I like long tours, tend to create steep lines up unless I'm slipping.

I have g3 alpinist on my skis and they work well for me, not much gets in my way. Friend on his split board has the high traction and he doesn't like them. I can go up even when it's icy and he's slipping all over the place. Maybe it's a split board thing??? Never tried other skins, so can't really compare with others.

I got G3/BD and the Dynafit which are sposed to be made by Pomoca

I've weighd them all and Dyanafit are lighter by [HTML_REMOVED] 100 grams per set

I like the Dynafit the best cuz they have good grip, better glide, light weight, pack small and good traction, the Dynafit attachment method is light and works well

you can reglue a skin with whatver you want, BD gold label works good, the stuff in the tube is way cheaper than the sheets

sometimes if glue is balled up and sticking to the base to you can smooth it out get a little more use, Fix it by re heating the glue which costs nothing

I think how flexible a ski is has something to do with how well the skin/ski will follow the ground and there fore how well it grips the snow

more about your body position and efficiency than the actual skin. They all work if you know how to use them. Some people just don't and end up blaming the particular brand. Learn how and they all work well. many people don't know how to store them, after use, or during the summer and this causes more problems.

https://www.wildsnow.com/12599/pomoca-climbing-skins-backcountry/

geek out on Pomoca^^ op

I've used the g3's for a few years on my splitboard, warrantied them after the first season because of glue defects; all the glue pulled off the bottom of the skins one day. Second pair hasn't had the same defect but after a few laps I'm usually praying they'll stay stuck and get me out.
Last year I boot packed/post holed up and out a 300m vertical skin track in waist deep snow because they weren't sticking after a couple laps, boy was that fun and I'm lucky there was enough daylight to get out, so definitely carry some voile straps. Most of the problems with glue not sticking seems to be in colder temps below -10 or so, warmer temps is a bit better.

In terms of traction, on a splitboard anyways, they leave a fair bit to be desired perhaps due to the smaller surface area on a split vs skis.

So all that to say I'm not too impressed and outside of short laps in the side country I wouldn't trust them on a longer tour.

Yes, I keep them in my jacket pocket between laps, often stop every 30 minutes to make sure there's no snow creeping underneath and am super careful to keep them clean and snow free between laps, there's no wax buildup underneath. I'm not the only person with these problems if you look around online you'll find similar complaints

many people don't know how to store them, after use, or during the summer and this causes more problems.

I followed G3's storage instructions to a T while I was away on vacation for a month and the stupid foam cheat sheets that look like anti slip carpet underlay they tell you to use for storage were imbedded in the glue the next time I pulled them apart. Yay, another glue stripping and re-gluing excercise!. Best way I found to store them long term is keeping the clear plastic strips they ship with before cutting and just use those for long term storage

I've only used G3 Alpinist and Black Diamond Ascensions.
The glue on the G3s sucks and they hold water like a sponge but when the snow is cold and the glue is new, they work. So that was a really good day. Once.
The BDs are workhorses. They climb just as well as the G3s, the glue seems to last longer and so far, no water issues after three years (maybe 25 trips).
So yeah, I will never, ever waste my money on G3 skins again.
Which is too bad, cuz I was trying to support the locals (I had their Onyx binders on my Manhattans)

I've only used G3 Alpinist and Black Diamond Ascensions.
The glue on the G3s sucks and they hold water like a sponge but when the snow is cold and the glue is new, they work. So that was a really good day. Once.
The BDs are workhorses. They climb just as well as the G3s, the glue seems to last longer and so far, no water issues after three years (maybe 25 trips).
So yeah, I will never, ever waste my money on G3 skins again.
Which is too bad, cuz I was trying to support the locals (I had their Onyx binders on my Manhattans)

Have my alpinist for three years now, not sure how many days (12 a year??) and they still work great. I change the glue every year and I'm pretty miticuless on my change overs. Always keep them in my jacket, clean the snow off, dry them and fold them with surgical precision. Gets my ski buddy go crazy! An other thing is not to go crazy on the waxing before tours.

^ not true

Duhhhhh

Different skins are different.

If you live on the coast I recommend 100% synthetic skin, wwkayaker since you seem to like long tours maybe 1/2 synthetic 1/2 mohair - these tend to be lighter in weight but not so good in the spring or when you have melt freeze conditions.
The 100% synthetic are usually heavier but more durable and do better in wetter conditions although they glide less.
Don't do the 100% mohair, I think you will find to finicky and they glide well but best used in super dry conditions like the Rockies.
I prefer coltex skins as the glue is the best - hands down. Not so keen on the G3 products, too many problems in the past with glue and their equipment has not been designed for super cold weather and they refuse to acknowledge this. They lost my business between probe problems (denying there was a problem with their design) and having to re-glue their skins sometimes twice a year. I have been ski touring for over 20 years now so I have a pretty good idea.

Funny how body position does not matter when it is the most important part of classic skiing and essentially that is what you are doing when you are walking up a track, kind of like saying when you smear on a rock while climbing that body position does not matter. If fact it is the most important part and why many people slip and those with good body position do not. But yeah I gues body position does not matter in any sport, just blame the equipment. I have used G3 skins and many others for over 15 years and never had to reglue or work on my skins, never store them inside my jacket, always in my pack, dry them out at the end of the day and store them through the summer with the red carpet between them, pretty simple, I usually run new pairs every year but have several pairs that are going on 4-5 years and work fine. The way I see many treat their equipment I am not surprised by problems

If you live on the coast I recommend 100% synthetic skin, wwkayaker since you seem to like long tours maybe 1/2 synthetic 1/2 mohair - these tend to be lighter in weight but not so good in the spring or when you have melt freeze conditions.
The 100% synthetic are usually heavier but more durable and do better in wetter conditions although they glide less.
Don't do the 100% mohair, I think you will find to finicky and they glide well but best used in super dry conditions like the Rockies.
I prefer coltex skins as the glue is the best - hands down. Not so keen on the G3 products, too many problems in the past with glue and their equipment has not been designed for super cold weather and they refuse to acknowledge this. They lost my business between probe problems (denying there was a problem with their design) and having to re-glue their skins sometimes twice a year. I have been ski touring for over 20 years now so I have a pretty good idea.

I am going to disagree with you on not using Mohair on the coast. There is no drawback to using Mohair in "wet" conditions. The glide is still superior to full synthetic and the long plush grips very well.

A decades old drawback to using Mohair vs synthetic was water absorption in the skin on wet tours. For Colltex this hasn't been an issue for years as they have a waterproof laminate in the skin between the plush and the fabric glue backing layer.

Several years ago Colltex re-formulated their glue to work a bit better in colder environments. All glue has an optimal temp range. Traditionally the NA skin brands were formulated for colder "mid winter" touring and Colltex was formulated for "warmer spring" touring as in Europe much of the touring would happen later in the season. Colltex developed the CT40 glue for -50 to +50 and this allowed them to adjust the range on their traditional style sticky adhesive.

I am biased as I work for ROI the distributor for Colltex.

I'm the worst with my g3 alpinist skins, don't use the glue saver piece cause it's annoying, put em away wet, use them fairly frequently, never re-glued, never had them let me down yet.

Been rocking a pair of voile tractor skins on my split for 4 full seasons. Never reglued. Had one fall off on the way back from fissile on xmas day last year, other than that with a tail clip they have treated me well. they are pretty heavy compared to my skier friends g3's though

I think this is a major YMMV topic based one everyone's personal experience. For every person who says "Brand X rocks!", there is someone who will say "Brand X is junk!".

I've used various iterations of G3's skins as well as BD Ascension and Glidelite, and, once upon a time, even Voile Snakeskins. Aside from the Snakeskins (which were truly junk!), they've all worked well enough that I've never worried about them not getting me through a long day or a multi-day traverse.

I've currently got two sets of Alpinists and an old pair of the grey G3s. The major purchasing decision being that I was able to get them all on good sales, I would have gone with BD if they had happened to be on sale when I needed them.

As mentioned in the ice thread, setting a good track will often cure a lot of problems attributed to poor skin grip.