Ascension Skins: A Report by a Midwesterner

[wanghoeby]

So, this is my first real contribution to Tech Talk. Yeah I know it’s a repeat but what the heck.

Okay down to business. About a month or so ago purchased some old skins from iskibc (thanks again for the sweet deal) that were in pretty rough condition looking like this.

Yeah, that’s plastic bag in there along with whatever iski went through.

Mmmmmmmm.....


New Tip Loop

Iskibc somehow lost/broke the front loop, so that was first priority. I just took some heavy duty housing wire from the garage and sized a loop correctly so that it would loop tightly. To keep it intact I used one wire wrapped twice and glued the twisted wire at the end to retard fraying. Not too hard.



Removing old glue

I couldn’t bear the though of sticking those things to my skis, something had to be done. So I set out to remove the glue if that’s what you want to call it, more like sticky fecal paste. I started out with the paper bag method on the first skin. It seemed to work well, but just took a lot of time. It also left most of the debris on the skin after all the glue was removed. These particles were not fun to remove after all the glue was removed. I then switched to my own method, a combo of paper bag and the hot shaver method.
Instead of using the paper bag to suck up the glue I used it and/or wax paper as a barrier between the iron and the glue. From there I heated the shit out of the glue, in small sections of 12 inches or so, without burning the paper or melting the other side of the skin. When the glue was hot enough, I took a simple putty knife, rounded ones worked best and scraped the section I heated. Afterwards it looks like this.

After scraping I did one last paper bag to get the skin super dry and clean.
At this time I took some lighter fluid and cleaned up the bottoms which had some glue on them and other stuff too.


Applying new glue

I ordered some Ascension Gold Glue crap and a skin saver from an online company. They sent me the Gold Glue and Skin Renew Transfer Sheets. I figured what the hell I’ll just use the renew sheets. I think they were super old or something. The glue between the sheets stuck to both sides of the wax paper and was a mess on the first skin. In fact it worked so poorly that the glue ripped the paper in half in several places even while working very slowly. I ended up taking all the sticky shit glue off and started over. From there I left to Colorado on a trip with my brother. When we got to a motel room in Des Moines I continued my work. Here I used my iron to heat up the glue strip before applying. This worked a little better but the glue was clumpy and not ideal, still shitty and ended up coming off even after ironing the shit out of it into the skin. For the other skin I used the glue… in the bathtub with the fan on and ghetto as fuck. This actually worked much better. It took roughly the same time and gave a more even coat. I went with 2 coats and would suggest the same to anyone else. I personally think that there was way too much glue in the transfer sheets.
FYI I lost my battery charger before the trip so no photos from the motel room, sorry.

I ended up using the skins a few days layer untrimmed in the Rockies, see below.


Trimming

After I got back home plus a few days, I finally got around to trimming the skins down to size. This wasn’t too complicated. Simply strapped them on to the skis and used a carpenter’s knife to cut the edge. Then moved it over two edge widths and sliced the other side.

The final result was damn good if I do so say.



Use

I ended up using these things on this (place link to future TR here). I was very impressed with them. It ended up starting to pour out when I was placing the skins on for the first time, I was worried. But they worked perfectly; I wish I had trimmed them but didn’t have the time, oh well.
Also, take notice of the rear attachment… a shoe lace. Due to the way the skins were set up and the fact that I have future plans for the skins I did not trim them lengthwise to the size of the ski.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this. Let me know if you have any suggestions?

[upallnight]

Nice!

I would'a skinned on them with the glue as it was when you got them until they absolutely wouldn't stick any more (I have a pair like that...and I actually like it because they're easy to remove and don't leave any residue on the ski when you remove 'em)...but it sounds like you got super-cozy with 'em!

I probably could have sent you an extra tip loop if I'd've (rare double contraction) known...but youre mod looks bomber and less likely to get knocked off when you kick a tip.

[XtrPickels]

and I actually like it because they're easy to remove

First thing i thought of when I saw that.

Good job on the skins, you breather some new life in them... no ducttape though?

[Conundrum]

Nice.

Two things though:

Those are Glidelites and the razor knife looked like it worked but if you ever trim skins again, there is a skin trimmer that is easier to use and they are a dollar or so.

[cj001f]

Those are Glidelites and the razor knife looked like it worked but if you ever trim skins again, there is a skin trimmer that is easier to use and they are a dollar or so.

The Ascension Skin Trimmer is sold at some dollar shops as a letter opener (or at least very similar ones are)

[iskibc]

Heh, I'm glad you put some new life into those things. They were in need of some serious lovin' and attention though. Hope you get many miles and vert with those. They treated me pretty well.

[mtnbikerskierchick]

That's what your skins look like iski??? Dang! And I thought mine looked bad!!!!!!!

Hope you like the skins wanghoby!

[wanghoeby]

Nice.

Two things though:

Those are Glidelites and the razor knife looked like it worked but if you ever trim skins again, there is a skin trimmer that is easier to use and they are a dollar or so.

Yeah, using the knife was sort of a pain in the ass. But for some reason my parents don't own a letter opener. I guess they don't get a lot of mail or use some other contraption such as a thumb to do the job.

[FreakofSnow]

Bumping for some tips and thoughts on regluing skins. Mine G3's are about due.

Do these work for a shit?
Glue Renew Transfer


Or does the regular glue in a bottle work better?


Reglue skin technique - http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com...tech_video.gif

[summit]

glidelite vs ascension for performance? is there really a difference and does it justify the 10% lighter weight?

[shirk]

Bumping for some tips and thoughts on regluing skins. Mine G3's are about due.

Do these work for a shit?
Glue Renew Transfer


Or does the regular glue in a bottle work better?


Reglue skin technique - http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com...tech_video.gif

Are you removing the old glue or just re-glueing on fairly clean but dead old glue?

I got a pair of used skins for Van_skier (thanks again Lee) that the old glue just wasn't sticky anymore, but wasn't full of crap.

I applied three coats of the BD gold label stuff over the old. Works good, but damn are they hard to pull apart. It's a full on Hulk Hogan effort to get them apart. Should have only needed two light coats. I might add a strip of cloth down the centre of these to make it easier to pull apart.

[laseranimal]

glidelite vs ascension for performance? is there really a difference and does it justify the 10% lighter weight?

yeah there is a performance difference

the Ascension climbs much better while the glidelite has much better glide, its subtle, but there is a difference.

That and the backing makes the ascensions more bulky and stiff, which makes them easier to deal with on windy days, the glidelites are easier to pack into a smaller bundle and being softer make it easier to rip apart IMHO

[FreakofSnow]

Are you removing the old glue or just re-glueing on fairly clean but dead old glue?

I got a pair of used skins for Van_skier (thanks again Lee) that the old glue just wasn't sticky anymore, but wasn't full of crap.

I applied three coats of the BD gold label stuff over the old. Works good, but damn are they hard to pull apart. It's a full on Hulk Hogan effort to get them apart. Should have only needed two light coats. I might add a strip of cloth down the centre of these to make it easier to pull apart.

Well, thats a good question. My glue right now is relatively free of debris and junk. The main issue is that they ain't sticking like they used to and have fallen off the last 2 times I have been out on them. I also noticed that when I take them off, there is a snow/ice layer on 75% of the skin, which tells me they aren't adhering that well to the base.

There is a good chance that I won't be needing these skins for much longer as I am anticipating getting a new bc ski. So if I can just apply a layer of glue to beef them up, that would work?