Gearing up for the backcountry? Ensure you optimize grip and glide and the skins remain attached to your tips and tails: A primer on sizing skins and tip and tail attachment systems.

 

Sizing Skins

We’ll keep this simple: You want to maximize climbing efficiency without too little skin underfoot, as you’ll compromise grip. With too much skin underfoot, you’re hauling too many grams and maybe impacting edge hold. All this raises a point, most brands selling backcountry skis and splitboards sell precut skins. We’ll discuss DIY skin cutting/fitting in another story, but purchasing precut skins simplifies the fit process: the skins are cut specially for the length and width of the ski you’ve purchased. If you’re trimming skins, here are some general rules.

Edge Gap

You want to ensure the uphill edge of the ski is exposed for security/edge hold. Allow for roughly a 2mm gap between the ski’s metal edge and the skin. With the proper gap, the skin will not interfere with edge hold in firmer conditions and steeper skin tracks.

Near the ski tip, which has some rocker/rise, it’s not imperative to have wall-to-wall skin coverage — your tip does not come into contact with the snow when ascending. Too much skin carpet under the tip, and you’re carrying excessive weight. (Every gram counts.) The skins on the DPS skis shown below are factory cut. There’s more edge gap at the tip and tail. As the skin tapers towards the midsection (where most of your weight is distributed while skinning) most of the ski base is covered with a few mm of edge revealed on each respective side of the ski.

DPS/Pomoca skin tip.

With the heavily rockered tip section of this DPS ski, it’s OK to have some large skin edge gaps in the upper 1/3 of the ski.

Midsection edge gap.

A few millimeters of edge gap runs through the ski’s midsection.

DPS/Pomoca skin- tail section.

Tail section of the DPS/Pomoca skin with more than enough length.

Some manufacturers also make straight-cut skins, leaving a wider gap between the edge and skin throughout the ski’s length. More ski base is exposed, which helps maximize glide – just ensure you are a technical sound skinner if you move in this direction.

The Tails

The tails are a bit more complicated. When ascending on skins, much of your weight should be centered over the ski’s midsection. As long as the skin goes edge to edge with the 2mm gap on each side, and your form is good, the grip should work in your favor. Having the skin run the length of the ski to the tail is excessive, even in slick conditions. And tapering the skin as it meets the tail is good form. Even skins that terminate ~30-20cm short of the tail (as long as the tail attachment system is long enough) should suffice for grip. 

 

The underside of G3's tail attachment system.

The underside of G3’s tail attachment system.

Pomona race skin tail side.

A Pomoca race skin. Note no tail attachment system and the short length does not compromise climbing efficiency.

Most skins, except for skimo race skins, adjust for length at the tail. Again, if you are cutting your skins or repurposing a pair of skins from a shorter length ski (with similar waist dimensions), the skin does not need to extend to the tail; look for a 15 cm to 20 cm gap to the tail as a rule of thumb. However, running the skin closer to the tail end means only some extra material; some discerning folks might notice reduced glide. 

Tip Attachments

Most companies have opted for a rigid wire affixed to the plush via a plastic cover that is screwed or riveted on. This end of the skin is fixed over the tip and is not adjustable beyond choosing a tip wire that secures over the ski tip. Some skins, Pomoca comes to mind, arrive with two wires of different widths to accommodate varying width tips. G3 uses a single-tip attachment system employing two pivoting clips that allow for a wide degree of adjustability

Some brands sell skins with tip attachment systems specific to their line of skis. Fischer, Elan, Blizzard, and K2 are some of the precut skins opting for unique tip attachment systems that are not universal. (These systems are adjustable at the tail as well.)

Ripping Skins from the Tip

Some skis have notched tips for specific types of skins. The attachment system might be as simple as a bungee with a washer knotted on or a more engineered solution like Dynafit’s rubber tips. Either way, these systems allow for ripping skins from tip to tail. Skimo racers use this system to rip skins without removing skis — and many spring touring skis are notched, too, making it suitable to run a skin that is rippable tip to tail.

Ripping tip to tail is a fast and easy method for skin removal if your ski tips are notched. For those doing multi-day springtime traverses, opting for notched skis and skins to match might be worth considering. Black Crow’s Mentis and Blizzard’s Zero-G 80 LT are worthy spring skis with notched tips. Below is a modified Pomoca skin. The wire tip attachment has been replaced with a Dynafit rubber tip (this requires an easy mod—you’ll remove a piece of plastic in the standard Pomoca tip attachment system). The ski has a notched tip, making a tip-skin-ripping system a good fit for this ski.

Skimo-specific skins, which are cut straight and are relatively narrow at ~60mm-70mm, come standard with no tail attachment system (see photo up top) and the quick-rip tip attachment systems mentioned above. The skin tails are fixed using only the skin glue. Bringing spare skins if the tail glue fails is a good idea if you use a system like this on a deep ski mission.

This brings us to tail attachment systems.

Tail Attachments

And here, too, is where opinions become more polarized. Most skins are adjustable at the tail. The “tail” is often a sewn-on rubber strip with a plastic clip that slides and fixes fore and aft on the tail to dial the skin fit. You are looking to tension the skin so it stays on. Be careful not to over-tension the skin as some plastic tail clips are prone to failure, especially in colder temps. 

Another aspect of skins with plastic tail clips is that although they come in a “universal size,” not all ski tails are manufactured to the same width specs. For example, a Pomoca tail clip will flip and secure to Blizzard Zero-G 105’s plastic reinforced tail with no problem. 

There is no such luck on an Atomic Backland 107 with its thicker plastic reinforced tail. The plastic clip can be finessed onto the tail by sliding it along the tail’s edge (see photo) or by carefully flipping it over the tail like normal, just don’t have the skin tensioned much.

G3’s tail attachment system, for example, is a true universal fit once it is adjusted to the proper length/tension (which can be a task in itself). 

G3 tail attachment system.

G3’s tail attachment system is both robust, secure, and a wee bit finicky to adjust.

Pomoca tail attachment (underside).

The underside of Pomoca’s tail attachment system.

For the flexible among us, ripping skins from the tail without removing the ski is often no problem too. If you lack flexibility or run longer length skis, ripping from the tail might pose some issues. All we can say is try some Yoga or enjoy the view while stepping out the skis, ripping skins, and clicking back in.