Clipskins: new tech for skins

Skins & Skinning

The joy of a backcountry ski tour can often be mired in the battle of getting skins on and off your skis. Dog hair, dirt and pine needles all conspire to gum up the glue and make the skin less sticky and less effective, while fingers turn to frozen brittle sticks and fine motor skills go out the window. Huffing and puffing on your hands you stick and re-stick your skins onto the bottom of your skis, trying to get them straight, trying to get them attached.

Well fret no more! Nelson inventor, Kai Gyr has developed the Clipskins which promise hassle free attachment without glue.

Clipskins snap onto the edges of your skis in a fraction of the time it takes to unravel glued skins, while providing unparalleled reliability…instead of messing with your skins go poach the fresh powder, delete some skin-specific expletives from your vocabulary, and bid farewell to the hassles we’ve all gotten used to with glued skins.

At $150 USD, they’re a bit more expensive than regular skins but there is a one year warranty and you never have to worry about the glue becoming old, gummy and ineffectual. They should probably last for life and come with free shipping anywhere in North America.

Not a bad investment for skins which offer incredible ease of use, durability and unparalleled reliability in the most challenging conditions.

The following is a video of local expert Nils Larsen of Freeheels and one of the founders of Coldsmoke Powder Festival,  giving Clipskins a whirl for the first time. See what he has to say about them.