As much as I’d like to think this is all serious business here at THR, one look at the news cycle and it confirmed: aspirationally, touring and thinking and writing about takes me very far away from that cycle. To a much better place. And in such a place, we’re going to ruminate today on skins. Ski/board skins are 100% critical for finding your way to and within that better place.
Skins are on my mind for several reasons. First, with skis coming in for review, securing skins that fit those skis is key. Second, skins aren’t cheap. And some consider skins to be disposable in the long term. It’s true: they do have a limited lifespan if used heavily, and if they are the 100% Mohair variety, they won’t last long when skinning on spring’s frozen corn. I’ve become more price-point conscious about the skins I purchase. Third, I spent some time recently with the crew at Bozeman-based Big Sky Mountain Products and came away inspired by their pluck and the fact that two enterprising young people, Jackson Keogh and Eric Haferman, have made a go of it manufacturing skins here in the U.S. (More on their story at a later date.) So, as essential items to our touring bliss, skins are on my mind.
For context, I am only mildly embarrassed, decades after the fact, to admit I’ve used Voile Snake Skins in the Alaska Range. Snake Skins were easy on my wallet, but plastic/rubber skins secured with built-in Voile straps were nearly 100% ineffective 50% of the time. And while sidehilling, 100% ineffective about 90% of the time. Ever since, I’ve been on Ascension skins (which sold to Black Diamond), BD skins, Contour skins, G3 skins, Pomoca skins, and several iterations of rebranded skins from some of the above. I might be missing a brand, but hopefully, you get the point. I’ve also been on, pretty much, all the skin fabric mixes, from full nylon to nylon-mohair mixes, to full mohair, and those snake skins (0% real snake skin). My skin quiver is currently all over the map. I have some older pink Pomoca race skins for skimo skis, pinks for bigger skis in the Free Pro 2.0, which I believe has been renamed/reformulated into several new SKUs, Pomoca yellows on some bigger skis, and three different types of G3 skins running from full nylon to two different builds of mohair-nylon mix. I pretty much like them all, but prefer the foldability, lightness, and glide of the Free Pro 2.0, which I think is currently called the Free Pro.
