Ski Builders Forum

I have a pair of skis that i want to use for randonee touring. Actually by "randonee touring" I mean cross country ski mini-golf rock jumping. So for 18 holes of mini golf I don't want to put skins on/off all day long. I want to cut fishscales (fish scale?) into the base. I don't have a router just yet, so that option is out for me.

Any ideas for cutting fish scales into the base so I can tool around without putting skins on and off? I don't expect to climb steep grades, say about 10 degrees.

You may attach short and narrow strips cut from an old skin: you will get some grip but they will still glide nicely. Some cross country skis (rental) are like that.

I had halfway decent luck by taking a razor blade and slicing trenches in the skis. Angle the blade so that you can cut out a 'flap' that will grip in one direction. As a test, I took a 40km tour on the sea ice (very stupid idea on wide skis) and the flaps worked great, I had traction and could slide. Now I am using XC skis for this kind or trip but, that was when I didn't have any money, and had a wealth of skis.