Whilst climbing up to Col de La Cicle at the back of Les Contamines yesterday one my climbing skins lost all adhesion to the ski on a particuarly steep section and I ended up taking the skis off and hiking. I put the skin inside my jacket and after it had warmed up slightly I was able to attach it back onto the ski. My question is, is this a sign that the glue needs renewing or just one of those things? I’ve had the skins for 3 seasons but yesterday was the first time I’ve had any significant issues with them.
I’ve had my G3 alpinist skins reglued after one or two seasons use, that was after I’d had the same experience as you but on more than one occasion. The local store did it but I know people who do their own.
I’d think after three seasons you may be around due!
What make are they? I’ve found that BCA skins can be particuarly bad at losing grip, especially in the cold, and this can happen with quite new skins. They are easy enough to reglue with any brand of skin glue although if they are messy you may want to remove the old glue first. There are special heated scrapers for this or you can just use a paint scaper and blow or heat torch to mildly heat the scraper. You can also get sheets of glue that you can iron on to the skins.
It can help to stick skins the night before a trip in the warm rather than at the start of a tour where the ski base and skin are already cold.
They are Pomoca Coll Tex. I used them today and they were fine; I store them inside overnight so they are warm when I set out. I stick the skins together when not in use and it can be quite difficult to separate them before attaching them to the ski which seems to suggest that the glue is still ok. I’m going to take them to Simond Sports in Les Contamines where I bought them and ask their advice; they’re always helpful.
Pomoca are excellent skins. I would suggest you get some plastic or mesh backing sheet for sticking them which will help preserve the glue. Otherwise it was probably just cold or humidity. They are very easy to reglue, you may want to pop by Simond as you say and pick up a tube of glue.
Thanks for the advice. I’ve dropped them off at Simond’s and they are going to re-glue them for me and also supply some mesh as you suggested. I noticed whilst in the shop that they had some spray on glue for “in the field” repairs for the sort of situation I found myself in. Maybe a good idea to have some handy in the backpack.
Having just seen Davidof’s little video (thanks!), I’m reminded that I must shortly have a go at reglueing 2 pairs of skins (my first attempt).
Some Q’s:
1. Is there a good reason why BD glue sheet is 50% more expensive than Colltex? Anyone know of a quality difference? (p.s.that’s Facewest prices in UK).
2. Are these 2 glues made of the same stuff & therefore interchangeable? (At the mo, I have Colltex on Trab, but my wife’s skins are BD).
3. For 8 months of the year we keep our skins folded in half on a cheat sheet (mesh from garden centre, works fine), and then folded small in a bag; my wife’s BD skins have only had 3 separate weeks use, spread over 3 years, but seem to have little stickiness left, and I’m wondering if an airtight storage bag would prolong glue life?
I have just re glued a set of Black Diamond skins with Black Diamonds full renew glue sheets this weekend just gone and it all went very well (Nice video David Thanks for that).The only thing that does concern me a little is the thickness of the new glue on the skins and the extra weight .I dont remember the originsl glue being anywhere near is thick as this when bought new and the glue is no where near as thick as on my other high trail skins.I guess it would be ok to re iron again and try to press more of the glue away towards the edges and remove the excess ?.
Hi, Yes it worked perfectly.Finished off by running a very sharp surgical blade down the edge of the skin whilst the backing paper was still in place to get a nice edge.
Anything Technical seem to have a sale on for touring related stuff, inc. Glue.
I’m new to the touring business and am in the process of putting together some kit. I’ve have a couple of ‘skins’ questions:
The skins I have now are second hand and were cut for 1080’s shortened to fit my current ‘rock’ skis. I now want to use them on my new ‘snow’ set-up but the ski’s are 5mm wider underfoot so they are a little narrow. Due to the unfortunate ‘cobbler’ shortening attempt one of the skins is also a tad long and doesn’t clip on the tail.
Do you guys think I’ll get by or 5mm too narrow skins, and is attaching to the tip only a no no ?
I’m no expert, but I’d say if the skin has a 2.5mm gap on each side of the ski, then give it a go & see; but does the gap get bigger towards the tip & tail..? in which case life’ll get more difficult. (Sod’s Law dictates that you’ll end up on the slope where you wish you had the best fit). Just make sure to carry your couteaux with you. As for tail clips, I think they’re a very modern idea; I don’t have them; the tail clip does help keep the skin in place when it’s wanting to unstick, and also means you don’t have to take gloves off & get frozen fingers trying to unpeel the skin tail on a breezy ridge. (Cut the tail of the skin off so it stops short of the ski-tail, & round off the corners).
