Uses for climbing skin scraps?

**mb2778** · 01-02-2009, 07:17 PM

So I've got tons of pieces of 1 or 2 foot sections of skins left over from many pairs cut... anyone have some creative ideas of how to put this shit to use or are they bound for the garbage can. Only thing I've thought to do with them so far is stick them onto my furniture where my cats like to scratch... seems to work great as a scratching post (orient the fibers so they pull against the hairs) and got me thinking that there's gotta be a million other good uses for this magical material.

**stuckathuntermtn** · 01-02-2009, 08:44 PM

That's a good one.
You can also put them on blocks of wood to use as friction pads when tuning skis.

**Fenris** · 01-02-2009, 09:04 PM

Stick them to the bottoms of your liners for extra grip on wet hut floors.

Turn longer sections into kicker skins.

Use strips to attach pictures to walls of dorm rooms.

Place on dash to keep stuff from sliding off.

**iscariot** · 01-02-2009, 09:12 PM

mustaches

**lobstahmeatwad** · 01-02-2009, 09:15 PM

I was going to experiment with making better dog booties with strips run back and forth and sewn together.

**Name Redacted** · 01-02-2009, 09:19 PM

put 'em on your snowblades, DUH!

**keksie** · 01-02-2009, 09:22 PM

about ~10cm long strips work well for skinning on flats especially if you have a ski with a lot of camber.. stick them under the binding.. only tested couple times, you'd need to rig some kind of simple strap system to it (strap with a buckle that goes over the top of the ski), the glue alone doesnt seem to hold. might be worth it for some tours.. not many grams of xtra weight to carry

**mb2778** · 01-04-2009, 12:17 AM

damn, these are some pretty good ideas. Just implemented the dashboard idea... attached two narrow strips in opposite grain directions (so that it can't slip in either direction) to the bottom of my GPS mount and then did the same thing on the dash itself. it works great!

**covert** · 01-04-2009, 12:37 AM

dude! please. those go dead center on the base of snowboards belonging to friends you want to fuck with...

**Fritz** · 01-04-2009, 03:50 AM

Toilet paper after one of these:

**Meadow Skipper** · 01-04-2009, 02:02 PM

Make art on the wall. Got that idea from an artist who grabbed the scraps after I trimmed her skins at the shop. I'm currently working on a semi-geodesic pattern design on the shop wall.

AK · 01-05-2009, 01:20 PM

I've had these on for a few years with lots of use and they haven't even thought of peeling off. They work great walking around slick, snowy campsites, especially when you're on a bit of an incline. I slapped these on quick to see if it'd work, and never got around to making any improvements. If you are going to do it, I'd recommend the following to make it better... 1) add another piece to the heal 2) when you add the heal piece, flip the fabric 180 degrees so you've got "slip-control" working for you in both directions and when you take a step fwd you aren't going to slide fwd 3) round the corners, so you don't have "sharp" ends to potentially start peeling-up.

**irul&ublo** · 01-05-2009, 01:26 PM

traction for over lubricated vaginas

**SkiEvil** · 01-05-2009, 01:52 PM

Can you send me a couple? Thinking that they might be good to attach to the back of our plastic backboards so they to not go flying down the slopes.

**yodaottis** · 01-05-2009, 02:13 PM

Snowboard stomp pads.
Need a better adhesive but it's a valid use of scraps.

**snoweater** · 01-05-2009, 02:29 PM

If you have a car/truck with a rattley trunk, put them on the trunk side that hits the rubber stopper, stops rattles.

But don't let your dog step on the sticky side of one by accident...unless you wanna laugh.

**AsheanMT** · 01-05-2009, 02:33 PM

I've been thinking of cutting out some strips of p-tex from the base of my 1.5 yo's skis and replacing those spots with some leftover ascensions epoxied into place to help give him the ability to walk around on the flats and maybe slow him down a little on the slopes.

Will post pics when I do.

**Alpinord** · 01-09-2009, 04:26 PM

Anyone try using skins for friction pads on tuning blocks?

**AsheanMT** · 03-02-2012, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by AsheanMT

I've been thinking of cutting out some strips of p-tex from the base of my 1.5 yo's skis and replacing those spots with some leftover ascensions epoxied into place to help give him the ability to walk around on the flats and maybe slow him down a little on the slopes.

Will post pics when I do.

I forgot I posted this. I did do it and it worked great.

**AsheanMT** · 03-02-2012, 10:59 AM

So I've got a pile of scraps after three years in a ski shop. Thinking of stitching them together for a full set for my 193 Patrons. I know fuck all about sewing. Do I just find someone with a sewing machine? Is a typical sewing machine capable of making it thru the skin material. Would I be better off using a leather awl and sinew?

What say ye maggots?

**AweShuksan** · 03-02-2012, 11:38 AM

Sew them together in alternating directions to make a patchwork self-arrest suit for extreme terrain.

**timmaio** · 03-02-2012, 01:38 PM

I'm also planning on sewing some scraps together. I haven't done it yet.

I've read that you can use a home sewing machine, so long as you keep the needle clean with rubbing alcohol or something. I'll probably use a speedy stitcher sewing awl though.

The biggest hurdle to having them work well seems like it would be the doubled section where they are joined, but I figure that so long as the front piece is above the back piece it won't collect too much snow or have too much drag

**AsheanMT** · 03-02-2012, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by timmaio

The biggest hurdle to having them work well seems like it would be the doubled section where they are joined, but I figure that so long as the front piece is above the back piece it won't collect too much snow or have too much drag

Was thinking the same thing but then got concerned with the skin being forced further off the ski creating a potential for snow to work its way in between the skin and ski.

I've seen a pair (years ago) that a guy was using on a backcountry trip and he had just butted them up together and hand stitched them with some kind of burly thread.

I was thinking of a thinner fabric backing on the glue side for support.

I was also contemplating taking a hot knife and removing about an inch of plush on the first skin and then removing an inch of glue on the next skin and then overlapping and stitching or even riveting at the overlap. (did that make any sense at all?)

Its all in theoretical mode as of now. I'd imagine somebody here has done this or know somebody who has and can share the experience. Otherwise I'm just gonna crack some beers and go at it. I do have a few pieces to test with first. Just don't have a sewing machine. Perhaps a trip to goodwill is in order to find a second hand one for cheap.

**timmaio** · 03-02-2012, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by AsheanMT

I've seen a pair (years ago) that a guy was using on a backcountry trip and he had just butted them up together and hand stitched them with some kind of burly thread.

Kind of like a baseball stitch then? I like that idea!

Originally Posted by AsheanMT

I was thinking of a thinner fabric backing on the glue side for support.

I was also contemplating taking a hot knife and removing about an inch of plush on the first skin and then removing an inch of glue on the next skin and then overlapping and stitching or even riveting at the overlap. (did that make any sense at all?)

I don't know if a rivet would be as good as stitches, sounds like it would be more likely to ice up? But then again, my BD kicker skins have metal parts and I think are put together with rivets.

I'd love to know how it goes, and pics of the process/final product

**coldfeet** · 03-02-2012, 03:35 PM

I've used a foot long piece on a skinny-ish ski to make a sort of burly cross country ski. I didn't have to make a buckle like a kicker skin - the glue was fresh and it just stayed on by itself.

For the person who was thinking about cutting out a section of kid's ski base and epoxying in the skin scrap - try just sticking the skin on w/o cutting the base. It's simpler and may work well.
Edit: sorry, didn't realize the same person had updated that he did the cut/epoxy thing with success.

I like the bootie traction pad posted upthread.