Climbing Skins

[Benneke10]

Don't go Contour Hybrid, and those $10 skins just need a reglue done and they are perfectly fine. I don't know where you're located, but if you're in the Salt Lake/Wasatch area I can help on the reglue, whether you do it through me or I talk you through the process and you learn the skill yourself.

The Pomoca though are going to be better than the Contour Hybrid glue skins.

All glue's eventually fail, and every brand at some point produces a bad batch of glue that QC doesn't catch.

What makes your say avoid hybrid? I love it so much, just gotta keep ski bases clean. I have pomoca too, contours are much more reliable when its cold and powdery. I do trust your opinion though, I know you see a lot of skins

[XXX-er]

What makes your say avoid hybrid? I love it so much, just gotta keep ski bases clean. I have pomoca too, contours are much more reliable when its cold and powdery. I do trust your opinion though, I know you see a lot of skins

what do you do if it ^^ fucks up ?

I tried regluing and it was a waste of a bunch of time & a 15$ tube of glue

but if hot glue skins fuck up I got a tube of gold label and I could be skinning by tomorrow

[bennymac]

thankfully - since the G3 skins never left the shop and the tech's were the one seeing the glue failure so they refunded them

I'll try these pomoca ones out - maybe replace the tail clip with something more robust

I don't need something light or fancy - I want something that works and is dependable and requires minimal worry and maintenance and care - the tip and tail attachment points on these pomoca ones seem designed to for weight savings over ruggedness and dependability. Give me the Toyota Tacoma of skins - that last thing I want in the backcountry is the Alfa Romeo of skins.

[Benneke10]

what do you do if it ^^ fucks up ?

I tried regluing and it was a waste of a bunch of time & a 15$ tube of glue

but if hot glue skins fuck up I got a tube of gold label and I could be skinning by tomorrow

You clean them. Soap and water works ok, contour-supplied spray or wipes work better

[Benneke10]

thankfully - since the G3 skins never left the shop and the tech's were the one seeing the glue failure so they refunded them

I'll try these pomoca ones out - maybe replace the tail clip with something more robust

I don't need something light or fancy - I want something that works and is dependable and requires minimal worry and maintenance and care - the tip and tail attachment points on these pomoca ones seem designed to for weight savings over ruggedness and dependability. Give me the Toyota Tacoma of skins - that last thing I want in the backcountry is the Alfa Romeo of skins.

If you want the Tacoma then Pomoca attachments aint it. Contour has solid attachments, or buy Pomoca Climb Pro S Glide off the roll and use G3 tips and BD tails. https://skimo.co/pomoca-pro-s-glide-roll

[XXX-er]

You clean them. Soap and water works ok, contour-supplied spray or wipes work better

i realize that but what if that doesnt work ?

[bennymac]

If you want the Tacoma then Pomoca attachments aint it. Contour has solid attachments, or buy Pomoca Climb Pro S Glide off the roll and use G3 tips and BD tails. https://skimo.co/pomoca-pro-s-glide-roll

Yeah I know. Except the whole reason I was in this position was that my old G3 skins were unexpectedly shot - and I needed new skins asap. So went with g3 - after two new pairs were no good the only options in my size anywhere were the pocomas. Hence why I bought these but am considering ordering something else after this upcoming hut trip is over.

[grinch]

Ive no exp with contour. Just got some pomocas ive been using this year and theyre pretty good but theyre leaving some glue on my bases and i had to change the tip/tail attachments to bd. Ever simce g3 started making skins theyve had a problem w their glue. Ive seen a lot of problems from many friends g3's and even more vomplaints from countless amount of people. Ive only owned a couple pairs. My bd's had better glide, better traction and the glue has always worked without issue for years until theyre done or need a reglue. This year im asking my self why id by pomocas when they cost more than bd and i pay even more for the pomocas when i have to put bd attachments on them. I like the bd mohair/nylon mix. Good glide, weight attachments and the glue always works. Only a couple bucks more than the full nylons for improved glide. The full mohairs are fragile so id avoid them. Id never buy g3. Contour and pomoca seem to be the flavor these days but ill stick w tried and true bd mixes. None of that is brand loyalty either. I like some g3 products(ions, shovels, ruschblock cord etc), and bd has made some duds(thier ski boots etc) but the most important thing for me with skins is no hassle. Theres glide difference between brands and models but its not massive and doesnt outweigh hassle. I think bd are the least expensive as well. Free shipping from mec and done

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[galibier_numero_un]

Mild citrus cleaner on the Contours and they're good as new. I was sketched out about my pair after about 10 days' wax accumulation. I'm glad a got straightened out about this in a Contour thread.

Starting at post #23 (below), where I was ready to try to remove the "glue". After all the babbling, Werner popped up in post #34 and set us straight:
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/....php?p=5797715
Anecdotally, my buddy seems to glide a bit better in his green Pomocas, although the emphasis is on "a bit" (identical skis/length, and we weigh within 5 Lbs. of each other). The fact that he sticks better on the "up" is no doubt due to his better technique ;-)

... Thom

[XXX-er]

yeah so from that other thread the skins I tried regluing with goldlabel were black crow all the glue fell off so I wouldnt try it again, it also didnt work for wilcox 510, janaldar had issues, the sarge somehow got gold label to stick but he ain't doing it again, btw he is the "reglue guy" doing 50 glue jobs a year and he is telling you not to buy the hybrid skins

and still nobody can tell us what to do if cleaning your hybrid skins doesnt work

altho it would be cool if werner gave you a free pair

[bennymac]

so the regular contour skins with the traditional glue or pomoca skins but with G3 tip and BD tail - is this what the consensus is for the "Toyota Tacoma" of skins is?

[Sargentdrufus]

yeah so from that other thread the skins I tried regluing with goldlabel were black crow all the glue fell off so I wouldnt try it again, it also didnt work for wilcox 510, janaldar had issues, the sarge somehow got gold label to stick but he ain't doing it again, btw he is the "reglue guy" doing 50 glue jobs a year and he is telling you not to buy the hybrid skins

and still nobody can tell us what to do if cleaning your hybrid skins doesnt work

altho it would be cool if werner gave you a free pair

When cleaning the Hybrids don't work you call me and I do for a 20% increase in my rates because you can get the damn stuff off but it is a slow process that involves getting the glue to basically its smoke point and even then there's way more left behind than I want to have. And it takes a bit more glue when you re-apply to compensate.

So taking hybrid glue off can be done. I'll do it but I charge extra and I'm sure I'm shortening my life expectancy by doing it.

[Sargentdrufus]

The flip side of that is whatever fruit roll up like stuff they stuck on the volkl vacuum skins that stuff comes off way easy barely even need the heat gun.

Though it does not incorporate to the blob as nicely. The Hybrid glue incorporates even worse.

As for the blob here is what I've taken off people's skins since August 2021

**Edit went back through my Venmo history and I've done 70+ reglues since August of 2021, that doesn't count the probably 50+ I did last year or any of the cash jobs

[galibier_numero_un]

... and still nobody can tell us what to do if cleaning your hybrid skins doesnt work

altho it would be cool if werner gave you a free pair

This is a pointless question. Cleaning the contact surface works. It restores the original "stick".

It's a fair argument to state that once the stuff has outlived its useful life, that you can't refresh it (remove and apply Gold Label), but you're framing this as if it occurs after 30 or 40 days' use.

[Sargentdrufus]

This is a pointless question. Cleaning the contact surface works. It restores the original "stick".

It's a fair argument to state that once the stuff has outlived its useful life, that you can't refresh it (remove and apply Gold Label), but you're framing this as if it occurs after 30 or 40 days' use.

It can if people aren't good at caring for it properly, or they fuck it up trying to "clean and refresh"

Most people do a sub optimal job of caring for their skins.

[galibier_numero_un]

It can if people aren't good at caring for it properly, or they fuck it up trying to "clean and refresh"

Most people do a sub optimal job of caring for their skins.

Indeed, and know that I'm not arguing about Contours being the best game in town. I don't have a horse in this race and have some Pomocas as well (never again, G3).

It would seem to me, that for the person who doesn't take care of their skins, the Contours might be better. On one hand, someone might find them not sticking after a dozen or so days (bad), and be too lazy or ignorant to clean them. On the other, all sorts of crap doesn't stick to them (the good).

... Thom

[XXX-er]

This is a pointless question. Cleaning the contact surface works. It restores the original "stick".

It's a fair argument to state that once the stuff has outlived its useful life, that you can't refresh it (remove and apply Gold Label), but you're framing this as if it occurs after 30 or 40 days' use.

I don't know how often the hybrid glue gets FUBARED probably less than hot glue but it happens, I think my buddy hung his over a wood stove to dry while he drank beer, he sez after that they didnt stick

so the what now question is not really pointless if cleaning doesnt work & the skin is completely useless before its worn out

[Benneke10]

Don't hang them near heat then. Hybrid is amazing because it keeps working even when wet if they get cleaned semi-regularly

[XXX-er]

It can if people aren't good at caring for it properly, or they fuck it up trying to "clean and refresh"

Most people do a sub optimal job of caring for their skins.

As Sarge pointed out common sense is not so common, you don't wana accept that shit fucks up

[TG]

As Sarge pointed out common sense is not so common, you don't wana accept that shit fucks up

jeezus what's your point?
some people are too braindead to take care of their skins properly so nobody should ever buy contours?

many fuckwits get injury causing pre-releases on pin bindings because they don't clear ice from the system, but you still buy & use them, right?

[galibier_numero_un]

As Sarge pointed out common sense is not so common, you don't wana accept that shit fucks up

This is a straw man argument. People don't pay attention, therefore their gear fails them, and therefore, it's poorly designed.

Sure, gear needs to be well engineered so extraordinary measures don't have to be taken for proper functioning, but not taking reasonable care of your gear isn't evidence of a faulty design.

... Thom

[XXX-er]

jeezus what's your point?
some people are too braindead to take care of their skins properly so nobody should ever buy contours?

many fuckwits get injury causing pre-releases on pin bindings because they don't clear ice from the system, but you still buy & use them, right?

at the top of the page someone asked sarge the reglue guy why he dosent recommend hybrid,

Sarge sez hybrid skins fuckup and are hard to fix and then the hybrid lovers claim they never fuck up
and so I am pointing out somewhat pedantically that ime Hybrid skins do fuck up and might be really hard to fix

whereas the hybrid guys are claiming just clean them and all will be well, reminds me of Nigel Tufnel reapeating over and over " this one goes to 11 "



I think many people might be too brain dead to use un-adjustable tech bindings cuz you have to clear them every single time you step in or them might fall off BUT even if they fall off you can clear them and use them,

fucked hybrid skins ... maybe not so much

[bennymac]

the pomoca skins (climb 2.0) worked well on this trip but I could see that plastic tail clip piece that you cam over the tail breaking with repeated use - especially in cold temps. Would be worth replacing with a black diamond tail piece - or at least having a spare pomoca plastic attachment in your pack. The plastic tail clip also would occasionally get pulled into a different position and it's not easy with glove on in cold temps to get it back where you need it along the strap.

they are lighter and more packable than the G3s they are replacing - couldn't appreciate any major difference in glide/grip

[Sargentdrufus]

the pomoca skins (climb 2.0) worked well on this trip but I could see that plastic tail clip piece that you cam over the tail breaking with repeated use - especially in cold temps. Would be worth replacing with a black diamond tail piece - or at least having a spare pomoca plastic attachment in your pack. The plastic tail clip also would occasionally get pulled into a different position and it's not easy with glove on in cold temps to get it back where you need it along the strap.

they are lighter and more packable than the G3s they are replacing - couldn't appreciate any major difference in glide/grip

Personally would definitely replace with BD tailclip

[XXX-er]

if you got twin tip skis the G3 twin tip clip definalty works well but even the regular clip works well on a twin tip

The BD clip i like but if you put it on one way with the trailing tail it rips, the other way folded over the ski works better