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Skin fitting - how accurate does it need to be?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I've got a pair of skins cut to fit a pair of old Volkl Mantras, which were 95mm underfoot (presumably they still are but someone nicked 'em). anyway, the new Mantras are 100mm and all the other skis i'm looking at for a possible replacement are 98mm underfoot.

so the question is, will my old skins work ok on slightly wider skis? and if so, how much wider could they be before it starts becoming a problem? i'd guess that 1.5mm either side would probably be ok, but any more than 2.5 might start getting slippy if cutting across something hardpacked?

cheers,
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
You've answer your own question correctly.
Too big is worse than too small. A couple of mm will make little difference.
Welcome to snow heads.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
MattCee, depends how well they were cut to fit the old Mantras in the first place... I am a stickler for a well-fitted skin as it makes a huge difference, particularly on steeper/variable/firm uphills (and especially if you want to avoid having to use couteaux and the resultant extra drag/loss of stride length etc).

If there is just a mm or 2 between skin edge and ski edge you should be OK, much more than that and they will start to get 'slippy' on steeper firmer stuff (particularly refrozen spring corn with no skintrack...).

Though this probably doesn't answer your question (you would need to try them on a pair of skis 'in the flesh' to check coverage)...
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offpisteskiing,

you know way more about this than me but I'd have thought a 95mm wide skin on a 100mm ski would give you plenty of grip compared to 68mm skin on a 70mm ski?
One guide I toured with was using an old pair of skins from say a 70mm wide old school tourer on his 85mm skis - he had just split the skin length ways from around the binding back to get some coverage closer to the edges.

J
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
slice them down the middle so you get skin edge as close to ski edge.....with the gap then in the middle...
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jedster, if you are traversing on firm snow, having skins near the edges makes a big difference and the width of ski/skin doesn't make much difference. if you are going straight uphill with flat skis, 95mm of skin vs 68mm will make a difference
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Arno, + 1. Also, to reiterate from a previous post, don't take you skins cut to fit your 112s when what's strapped to your pack are your 99s .....
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
offpisteskiing wrote:


If there is just a mm or 2 between skin edge and ski edge you should be OK, much more than that and they will start to get 'slippy' on steeper firmer stuff (particularly refrozen spring corn with no skintrack...).



I agree with you, but i also think it is worth making the point that a 1mm gap on either side can make the skins tricky to fit in bad weather. This could be counter productive if you end up with a 2mm gap on one side and no gap at all on the other.
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Having your skins right up to the edges of your skis can be a real pain, if you do start to side slip you can't use your edges to stop yourself. I cut mine about 5 - 7mm back from the edge either side, a couple of extra milimeters wont make any difference.
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Arno - point taken. In my limited touring experience, traversing seems best avoided. Guides seem to route find to always be going up (at least ramping up diagonally) or down as much as possible. Also careful to take advantage of any little gullies and ripples to get the skis as flat as possible in the desired direction of travel. But I appreciate you cant always avoid a traverse.

zammo Very Happy
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you don't want them all the way to the edge - the edges and maybe a mm or 2 of base either side should be visible
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Cheers guys, really helpful (despite the lack of clear consensus..!). i guess i'll have to try them out on the new skis and see what it looks like.. i like the idea of splitting them down the middle to spread to the edges if necessary, although imagine that could be quite fiddly and annoying with cold hands in bad weather..
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MattCee wrote:
Cheers guys, really helpful (despite the lack of clear consensus..!).



there is a clear consensus, just not on snowheads, it seems. Read what OffPisteSkiing had to say. End of.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
MattCee, splitting down the middle does work but I wouldn't do it for the sake of a couple of mm. also it is very much second best to having properly fitted skins

jedster, as you say, you don't always get that choice and few things suck more than traversing a firm 35+degree slope when you aren't totally confident in whether your skins will hold Skullie
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I will just relate my experience of buying some secondhand touring skis, with skins cut to fit, then deciding that I did not like the skis, replaced them with some others that were " just a bit narrower" and using my own "judgement" rolling eyes decided that the over the edge skins would be OK because it would not make any difference when walking up. It did not make any difference at all, that is until the slope got a bit steeper, the snow a bit harder and it was then that I made the amazing discovery that the edge grip on skis with skins overlapping the edges is pretty well zero Blush
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Oh and I have still have the scars to show for it.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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All I have heard on the subject is that with fatter skis you have enough surface area of skin to make several mm of ski edge showing at each side no problem. My skins are cut to suit a 98mm ski, but I'd happily use them on a 110 model.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
The main thing as pointed out is to have enough skin that you can get an edge in and skin on the snow. It gets pretty interesting traversing above rocks on steep hard ground. I nearly always never put ski crampons in at a sensible point and they aren't the be all. I was touring with guys on approach skis with snowboards last spring and they had a few exciting moments even with ski crampons. There is a lot of benefit to many tiny hairs gripping on a decent ski length.
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in a similar vein, are there any issues with skinning on fully rockered skis? my other skis are White Dot Directors, which are fully rockered with no camber underfoot. presumably if going up through soft snow it would be fine, but would have a smaller contact area on a firm track and might start slipping?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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It's not much fun traversing especially firm exposed sections with poorly fitting skins. You can fit your ski crampons for sure and that helps but for me it's all about efficiency and moving quickly so I'm a stickler for well cut/fitting skins too!

K2 make a cool skin cutting tool, if you can get your hands on one.
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I just got the new Atomic multifit rocker skins. These things:
http://youtube.com/v/2ph4lLH3xjs


They are fairly light mohair, the clips fit on big twin tipped rockered skis and as for the big glide patch at the front, well, we will just have to see.
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