Ski Builders Forum

I've seen in the trip reports many of you do ski touring with their homebuilds. I'd like to use some fatter skis for this purpose (my regular touring ski is sometimes just a "sinker"). The question i have is about fitting the skins - to keep them adaptable to different skis. Normally one says that a skin has to fit exactly (just leaving the edges not covered) at least for about 80cm length under foot!? What is your experience - do you fit your skins exactly? Does it matter if some 5-10mm from skin to edge stay uncovered by the skin?

Alex

I use two skins for each ski: I have four strips, each 1m long, 2.5cm wide and I glue them close to the edges.
That was just a test, it would be better to make 4 strips 1.5m long at least and 3 or 4 cm wide.
You can use this kind of skins on any skis you have as lond as they are wide enough.

Interesting idea davide - do use some form of attachement at the tip of the skins to prevent them from peeling off?

Black diamond has some short skins that might make a good starting point (if cut them in two pices) for your idea: http://www.bdel.com/gear/glidelite_kicker.php

I am looking fo metal clips to keep the skin in position. But if the skin is attached to the very tip, it is almost impossible that the it will peel off.
It is also possible to use a standard attachemnt at the tip.

it has been my experience that if the skins are narrower than the skis, slippage occurs, especially on firmer snow. i've found that >10mm of exposure can be a pain, so it's best to get your skins as close to the edges as possible. you don't have to cover the edges -- it's best to leave them exposed for edging.

Davide's idea is a good one. exposing the base material down the middle of the ski shouldn't be much of a problem, but exposing material along the edges can cause slippage.