Ski touring – how climbing skins work

Ski touring

how climbing skins work

Climbing skins prevent slipping back during the ascent. They consist of a synthetic carrier material, which carries extremely short shorn hair fibers on one side.

On the reverse side there is an adhesive surface which, together with hooks or pins (front and back), fixes the climbing skin to the touring ski. The fur hairs have an orientation/running direction so that they “glide” uphill, but then stand up and interlock with the snow surface, which prevents from sliding back. Touring skins are produced individually for each ski model or cut to size in ski shops, as the entire base of the touring ski must be covered by the skin. Only the edges remain free, so that they get grip when crossing hard snow. 100% perfectly fitting climbing skins are available for all Völkl touring skis, already perfectly cut to size. They consist of a mohair mix applied directly to the adhesive so that the cotton material between glue and skin is no longer needed. This cotton normally leads to rapid soaking and the unpleasant sticking of snow. For example, if you start in wet snow and encounter cold snow at higher altitudes. Völkl’s proprietary Smart Skinclip skin attachment system also makes handling extremely easy as the skins can be attached and detached both from the tip and the tail of the ski.


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