Climbing skins are required equipment for backcountry skiing cause you gotta get up to get down.
While all climbing skins work on the same principle, skins vary by material (plush) type, tip and tail connection systems and also the depth or thickness of the plush. Choosing the best climbing skins for your ski touring needs depends on snow conditions, type of tour, experience level and personal preference.
Let’s take a look at plush types and attachment options and how they align with different applications, plus other considerations when selecting the best climbing skins.
Climbing Skin Plush Material
For simplicity, let’s say there are three types of climbing skin plush: mohair, nylon and a hybrid mohair-nylon blend. Each material has its advantages.
Mohair Skins – The Best Glide
Mohair comes from Angora goat hair. 100% mohair skins are generally the lowest friction and fastest gliding of the three primary skin plush materials. They also typically make for the lightest, most supple feel of any skin material, making them the easiest to fold up and the lowest profile for stowing in pockets or your pack.
But mohair has its disadvantages. First, they do not have the best climbing grip. Mohair plush slips in steep, icy skin tracks before other materials. Second, while they glide great in colder climates, mohair does not perform its best in warm, wet snow conditions. They tend to hold more moisture than synthetic skins, which slows their glide. Finally, mohair skins are not quite as durable as synthetic skins. Durability won’t be an issue if you only ski tour a handful of times each season, but for dedicated users who ski tour in all conditions, all season long, mohair’s lifespan is noticeably shorter.
Mohair skins are best suited to long tours and terrain that benefit from better glide. Less friction with every step adds up over the course of a six- or eight-hour day, helping manage energy reserves. Mohair skins are the choice of randonee racers and experienced ski tourers. But given their reduced grip, they are not the best choice for novice skin track climbers.
Nylon Skins – The Best Grip
100% nylon skins are the workhorse of the climbing skin world. Once considerably bulkier and slower than mohair skins, modern nylon skins are lighter and better gliding than ever, albeit still thicker and slower than mohair alternatives.
Straight-up nylon skins are typically the most affordable and durable skins option, offering the most universal grip and glide of any climbing skin material. They offer consistent performance across snow conditions and rival the glide of mohair in warm, wet snow.
The main downside to nylon skins is the glide. While they glide consistently across snow conditions, they offer noticeably higher friction than mohair alternatives when skied side by side in cold, dry snow. The second downside is that they are bulkier and weigh more than the mohair alternative. Nonetheless, their increased grip and universal performance make them a solid choice for all-around use. Novice skin track climbers will find that nylon plush allows an increased focus on balance and reduces wasted energy struggling on steep or icy skin tracks.
Mohair Mix Skins – Hybrid Performance
Hybrid or mohair mix skins are exactly what the name implies: skins featuring a hybrid blend of mohair and nylon fibers. Most mixed skins use a 70:30 mohair to nylon blend, thus making up for pure mohair skin grip disadvantages while retaining most of their low-friction glide.
Do mixed skins work? Yes, they do. Mohair mixed skins hit the sweet spot between grip, glide and durability for most backcountry applications. A couple of brands even offer a variety of mohair mix options, featuring different ratios, plush fiber densities and treatments to fine-tune their performance to different snow conditions. If you like technical options, check out Pomoca Skins. They offer a range of plush types with friction and weight specs outlined for each variation on the Pomoca website.
A Word About Climbing Skin Glue
Skin glue is finicky stuff and is the notorious weak link in climbing skin functionality. Every brand on the market seems to have had a “bad batch” at one time or another. European brands like Pomoca and Colltex are known for their “light” or thin glues, while North American brands like G3 and Black Diamond are known for thicker glue coatings.
We demand a lot from climbing skin glue. It must adhere to ski bases throughout the day without leaving residue on the bases. It must allow for effortless skin removal when it’s time to transition into downhill mode. It must perform across temperature extremes and stay stable during months of no use.
And then there’s hybrid skin glue. Developed by Countour and licensed by multiple brands, including Backcountry Access, the hybrid adhesive is made up of two different layers of specialized glue. The combination creates a uniquely easy-to-peel system. Hybrid glue makes for easy transitions, but tends to be higher maintenance than traditional glue.
Getting consistent results from your skin glue requires keeping it snow-free in the field and stored properly when not in use. Read our climbing skin tips and tricks for more on looking after your skins. Or read our article on maintaining and renewing skin glue.
Climbing Skin Tip and Tail Connections
Tip and tail connections have come a long way since the early days of rubber pull tips and no tail clips. Most of today’s tip and tail systems work great. G3 skin tips feature a nice low-profile design that adapts to any ski shape, but simple wire tips are also very functional. Tail clips serve to adjust overall length and create tension that helps keep skins in place on your skis.
It’s worth double-checking that tip and tail connections work on your skis before trimming skins to fit.
How to Choose the Right Skin Width
Given today’s wide ski dimensions, it’s easier to get away with skins that are narrower than the widest dimension of your skis. Ideally, you should choose skins 10-20mm narrower than your skis’ widest dimension (the shovel). So, if your skis are 135/108/118mm, a skin between 115-125mm will set you up with wall-to-wall coverage for the bulk of their length.
Read about the climbing skins we use and like.
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