UKC

Hi Brain Trust.

Bit of basic advice for the new kid, please!

Just had my first proper weekend touring... What do I do with my skins:

A) in the short term
B) over the long warm English summer?!

Do I store them flat/hung vertically/rolled?
Are they ok kept on the mesh backing?
Do I keep them at normal house temperature or will the glue dry out over the summer months?
Will I need them reglued for next season (they're super sticky at the moment)?

Any other tips appreciated!

Thanks
Tom

In reply to Tom Green:

Short term - make sure they're dry then store them rolled / flat / however you like. I tend to use the mesh backing for storage only - it's one more nuisance thing flapping around when you're on the hill.

Summer storage - the glue won't dry out but storing them somewhere cooler rather than warmer is probably good - I've had the glue attach itself well enough to the mesh to pull it apart on first use the next winter which I put down to it being runnier in the warm. They shouldn't need to be re-glued for several seasons, depending on use.

One last tip - especially in spring skins can get wet when you skin up the melting snow at lower altitudes then, when you reach higher, colder snow it will freeze to them which ruins the glide and your fun. You can rub them with glopstopper wax occasionally to help prevent this (I use regular candles as they're cheaper.)

In reply to AdrianC:

Awesome. Thank you.

In reply to AdrianC:

pretty much what he said...

Glopstopper is spendy, and the normal basewax you use for skins works just as well... I'm sure candles also work, but anyone skiing should still own ski-wax, so it should be handy.

In reply to Tom Green:

This is what I do:-

After use I drape them over a clothes rack to air dry in spare room. Now did you keep the greaseproof white paper backing that the skins were on in the box from the factory? I did & I store them rolled individually on those backing sheets, & back in the box in the wardrobe in the spare room which is cool.

If you do not have the backing paper maybe greaseproof paper "might" work. The mesh cheat sheets have been known to embed themselves into the glue over the summer months & basically they become one & you can't get it all out!

If really worried just loosely roll them with the mesh!

I also suggest brushing the plush from the tip to the tail direction fairly well (with a stiff brush for cleaning your nails) as this gets any bits out & gets the plush to lie the correct way.

I do not use skin wax/globstopper as in the long term it can affect the plush IMO. I hang my skins horizontal & taught in the garage & liberally apply Nikwax ski skin proof to clean skins. Have newspapers under to catch drips. This proofs the skins so they do not attract water which can freeze, therefore they glide better also.

In reply to HeMa:

I use candles for ski wax!

In reply to Snowdave:

So you're not skiing much firn/corn then?

Due to course nature and wet nature of the snow, the wax or glopstopper is all but gone in a tour or two.

In reply to HeMa:


Everything that Scotland has to throw at you, is what I have skied for the past 5years on my current skins which are BD nylons.

In reply to Snowdave:

Nylon doesn't really glop up nor wet that much and has almost too good traction (meaning it's sh*t for glide).

Mohair is a different beast.

In reply to HeMa:



Agreed, however I have noticed them glop & wet up, & the Nikwax has virtually stopped this happening, with the added benefit of improving the glide!!

I prefer the Moarrr traction which is good for our ice, boiler plate, "Cairngorm concrete" etc, means I don't have to use the harscheisen quite so much!

Personally I prefer durability & traction, which means a USA nylon as the Europeans use a thinner backing fabric & having skinned over some nasty stone "fins" which would have shredded a euro mohair I'll put up with the less glide!

Ever heard of resistance training?...

In reply to Snowdave:


Constantly...

Judging by how shocked people are when I mention what kind of gear I use for touring...

In reply to HeMa:

I do know the feeling

By the way I'm from a X-country waxless base background so all this other stuff is way heavy compared to what I am used to!

Anyway I might be going back to a slightly narrower ski with fishscales which is way better & faster than skins for the likes of Glenshee plateau (still take skins for the ascent). Also a lower cut plastic boot, however I prefer a release binding & have a spare set of 7tm power tours, which I currently ski. Very good for down & up, but bloody heavy, which is good for driving the ski on icy downhill when you are tried at the end of the day.

Also just realised that by removing the power pin I get an extra inch of heel lift (with no force), so that's a win for locked down K&G!

In reply to HeMa:


Can you tell my skins that please? They were balling up like nobody's business on soft sun-affected snow yesterday. Made skinning very good leg training...