Choosing the right skin

Skins are extremely simple. You attach a strip of material to the soles of your skis. Now you can ski uphill.

All skins are faced with adhesive. All skins attach to the ski with some kind of fastening at the front. Longer skins may have a rear attachment, too. If you’re touring for turns, you peel the skin off when you get somewhere suitably high, fold it in half, stick it in your rucksack and point yourself downhill. Whee.

There are several factors to be aware of when choosing the right skin – material, width and length are the most important. And it’s also important to understand how to cut and trim the skin so it’s adapted perfectly to the width and length of your skis. It helps to know the best way to attach your skins, too.

Most of us expend a lot of thought on sexier considerations such as skis, bindings and boots. We’d like to make the case here that skins are equally as sexy!

Skins – the alpine tourer’s best friend

Skins are the crucial contact surface between you and the snow for most of the time you spend on the mountain. Roughly 70–90% of the time we spend on skis, from car to summit to car, is spent with skins on! If you’re a cyclist, your first ride of the spring is probably on a beautifully lubed, gleaming machine with tyres to race pressure and brakes tensioned to a mm clearance. It’s curious, and noticeable, that many of us don’t seem to be so invested in taking care of our skins, though. The true value of skins seems to be somewhat under-communicated. There are, we regret to say, misconceptions about the value of skins.

Skins: short or long?

Short skin:

It’s never a bad idea to take a short skin out if you’re touring cross-country in the backcountry. Some of use take a couple of pairs. If conditions make waxing difficult, a skin can save the day. If you’re pulling a load, the hill is steep, or you simply need grip, stick on a short skin. On longer tours and expeditions, skins are considered essential equipment.

Åsnes X-Skin Kortfell

Egner seg ypperlig til fjellski. Som standard bør det følge med minst et par kortfell til alle Åsnes fjellski. Kortfell er overlegent ved at de krever lite vedlikehold. Ved bruk av kortfell får man solid feste under skien, uansett forhold. Samtidig ivaretar man mye av gliden fordi kortfellen ligger i festesonen på skien. Kortfell utmerker seg spesielt i dyp snø, om man skal trekke pulk eller vil ha garantert feste uansett forhold. Noen velger også å feste dem permanent under skien, spesielt på ekspedisjoner. Den kan også gi trygghet til dem som vil bremse litt mer i nedkjøring. Kortfell fra Åsnes har etterhvert blitt standarden for alle å leve opp til. Våre feller lages av Colltex og Pomoca, de største og flinkeste på feller i verden. Vi har også ulike kvaliteter, som spenner seg fra solid Nylon til Mohair og Race-kvalitet. Våre inserts og vår fellelås er kvalitetssikret gjennom årevis med hardt bruk og testing. Den iser ikke og er den tryggeste og beste løsningen på markedet. Description for this block. Use this space for describing your block. Any text will do. Description for this block. You can use this space for describing your block. Description for this block. Use this space for describing your block. Any text will do. Description for this block. You can use this space for describing your block.

ACCESS SKIN (Kortfell til toppturski)

Fellefeste (Skinlock) til toppturski er noe du bare finner på Åsnes sine ski. Dette er unikt for disse skiene. Våre tilkomstfeller er rett og slett laget som kortfeller for toppturski. De egner seg til å gå lange innmarsjer hvor man vil ha god glid, til korte toppturer fra skiheisen eller som et lettere og kompakt alternativ til en vanlig langfell. Tilkomstfellen tar veldig liten plass, og passer i innerlomma. Derfor er det ingen unnskyldning for å ikke ta dem med når kjører i skianlegg. Husk også skredutstyr om du skal legge ut på topptur i skredterreng.

Langfell:

Long skins are skins for the steeps: when you have to make serious altitude before the descent, or when the maximum grip is required (pulling a load up a high gradient, for example).

2. Width

Most skins are sold in 5mm increments from 80 to 145mm in width. Wider skins will, of course, cover more of the ski’s sole, giving better grip; the contrary applies to narrower skins. The best solution for cross-country skiers in the backcountry using short skins is usually to take one or two different ones. The vast majority of alpine touring skiers choose to cover as much of the sole as possible, but this isn’t actually entirely necessary – you can get buy with narrower skins, and enjoy better glide.

For maximum grip

To achieve maximum base coverage, take the ski’s widest point (usually the front tip) and subtract approximately 5 – 7mm. A skin of that width will cover almost the entire base; you’ll probably have to trim the skin to match the shape of your ski with the knife that often comes supplied.

If your ski measurements are, for example, 132/105/116mm, buying a 125mm-wide skin will cover the base nicely. Wider skins are more expensive, so you pay more for that cover and the grip it affords when your skinning up to the summit.

Lower weight and better glide

Some prioritise weight and good glide. For them, the solution is narrower skins. For alpine touring skiers concerned about weight, the volume of their backpack and better glide, we’d advise choosing a skin that fits inside the waist without covering the steel edge.

If your ski measurements are, for example, 121/95/109mm, choose 90mm-wide skins. Sizing skins based on the waist sacrifices some grip; unable to march straight up a high angle slope, it might pay to practice techniques such as kick turns and to factor in time spent traversing. Many find this a a compromise worth making; it’s down to individual choice.

3. Length

After choosing the right width, it’s time to consider length.

Skis come in different lengths – and so do skins.

Common standards

You might find a pair of skins for alpine touring sold in four lengths: 162–172 cm, 171–181 cm, 180–190 cm and 189–199 cm. If your skis are 185 cm long, you’ll l want to buy the 180-190 cm length and fine tune the length with the adjustable mounts. You usually have about 10 to 15 cm to play with this way.

Some skins are also sold in a length of about 200 cm. If you buy one of these, you’ll have to trim it to the length you want yourself; you may have to clip in the tip hardware yourself. You can probably fine tune the length with adjusters. If the skin doesn’t have a rear attachment, we recommend cutting it about 15cm shorter than the ski.