The TGR Skinny Ski Ski Tourers' Refuge Thread

[Marshal Olson]

May be worth also bearing in mind that a significant portion of the increased tour-ability in high ROM boots comes from the liner articulating better. So unless you plan to cut a beefier liner to bend well, you very well could end up with a light boot that doesn’t tour much better than your old boots

[fleaches]

Has anyone tried using ski trab skin tips with non tip notch skis? https://the-high-route.com/advanced-...-tip-hardware/

Wondering 1. If they stay on the tips OK and 2. What to use for a tail attachment? Thinking of building some with trab tips, BD tails, and pomoca off the roll.

I love the idea of being able to tip rip on non race skis.

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[skis_the_trees]

Is it possible to skip any tail attachment altogether? See this nice blog post from 2015:
http://www.skimolife.com/journal/201...bing-skin.html

[Tjaardbreeuwer]

Yeah a beefier liner is tempting but then I guess the value starts to degrade as they become $400 boots, unless I swap now and sell the stock liners.

Well, considering they are $850 boots, I’d say $400 is still pretty good value..

I have the Palau Power light, not much beefier (compared the stock liner of my 22/23 model. Older ones were flimsier).
mostly it’s that I prefer 100% closed cell foam for warmth, because I suffer from cold feet, and I had them from my previous boots, whose stock liners were not as nice as the Atomic Platinum ones.

And too @MarshallOlson ‘s point, walkabilty is about the same as the stock liner.

So, not saying anyone should switch, just that my lack of blisters (in a blister prone situation) was perhaps a bit different then it would have been with stock liners.

[fleaches]

Is it possible to skip any tail attachment altogether? See this nice blog post from 2015:
http://www.skimolife.com/journal/201...bing-skin.html

Yeah also curious to hear experiences with no tail clip, when I have been out on race skins I haven't had issues but that's never been in cold or deep snow. I worry that I'd start to lose the tails after a couple of laps and then everything would fail, but maybe if you just keep fresh glue on the ends this is unlikely.

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[BFD]

I cut mine off. No problems in SW CO. 40 years ago doing multi day trips in extreme cold we improvised tail clips. These days the glue is so good dont see a need for clips for day touring. No tail clip does make it harder to rip from the tail. Sometimes requires glove removal and does mess with the glue on the tails. I just touch it up when needed. None of this is an issue when rippping from the tip.

[Anachronist]

Has anyone tried using ski trab skin tips with non tip notch skis? https://the-high-route.com/advanced-...-tip-hardware/

Wondering 1. If they stay on the tips OK and 2. What to use for a tail attachment? Thinking of building some with trab tips, BD tails, and pomoca off the roll.

I love the idea of being able to tip rip on non race skis.

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Yes I have two pairs of skins with these tips, one on some Volkl rise aboves which do have a little depression but shaped differently and no notch of any sort, and one on Ripstick 106s with no tip notch but a pretty blunt tip. They work great on both. I went for a fixed tail clip like you would use with a bungee style tip attachment and got a little lucky with how I cut them / where I put the holes for the tail clip. You can just barely put the trab tip piece on and then clip the plastic tail piece second. The trab tips will not go on second unfortunately. They are nice also compared to the dynafit tip notch attachments because it is harder to knock them off with the other ski while skinning. BD tails would probably be great too.

Maybe consider the trab skin material too. It was cheaper from skimo.co when I ordered and I’ve liked it pretty well.

[alpinevibes]

Well, considering they are $850 boots, I’d say $400 is still pretty good value..

I have the Palau Power light, not much beefier (compared the stock liner of my 22/23 model. Older ones were flimsier).
mostly it’s that I prefer 100% closed cell foam for warmth, because I suffer from cold feet, and I had them from my previous boots, whose stock liners were not as nice as the Atomic Platinum ones.

And too @MarshallOlson ‘s point, walkabilty is about the same as the stock liner.

So, not saying anyone should switch, just that my lack of blisters (in a blister prone situation) was perhaps a bit different then it would have been with stock liners.

For sure. My only point with the $400+ cost is that it puts me, suddenly, much closer to justifying diving down the wormhole of shopping around for a ZG Peak, Transalp Pro or Skorpius II, MTN Summit (with maybe potentially higher flex/power) that I'm very intrigued by, but whose $550+ price on sale has kept me away complicating my Tech Talk hand wringing.

[abcdethan]

Skialper Buyers Guide 2024 is available online and in English this year. I thought this thread would be it’s target audience. It leans heavily toward light and skinny. https://thebuyersguide.it


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[Tailwind]

Try to track down some lightly used scarpa f1 liners maybe? They’re light, warm, and much more foam to work with.

If it makes you feel better, it’s a big jump to say stick liners will work for any of those new boots. ZG Peaks for example have a super thin liner that won’t work for most people.

I did the Skorpius and I tried 2 aftermarket liners before finding one that worked.

For sure. My only point with the $400+ cost is that it puts me, suddenly, much closer to justifying diving down the wormhole of shopping around for a ZG Peak, Transalp Pro or Skorpius II, MTN Summit (with maybe potentially higher flex/power) that I'm very intrigued by, but whose $550+ price on sale has kept me away complicating my Tech Talk hand wringing.

[ktoor]

Skialper Buyers Guide 2024 is available online and in English this year. I thought this thread would be it’s target audience. It leans heavily toward light and skinny. https://thebuyersguide.it


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Siiiick. I dont know what the shipping situation is to Canada but Im going to grab one. Anyone else in Canada on west coast/Alberta want one? Ill grab extra and happy to ship a few at cost.

Unless someone has a line on a seller in Canada?


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[abcdethan]

Siiiick. I dont know what the shipping situation is to Canada but Im going to grab one. Anyone else in Canada on west coast/Alberta want one? Ill grab extra and happy to ship a few at cost.

Unless someone has a line on a seller in Canada?


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For English I think it’s offered as a digital issue only. At least that’s what I purchased.


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[abcdethan]

Siiiick. I dont know what the shipping situation is to Canada but Im going to grab one. Anyone else in Canada on west coast/Alberta want one? Ill grab extra and happy to ship a few at cost.

Unless someone has a line on a seller in Canada?


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For English I think it’s offered as a digital issue only. At least that’s what I purchased.


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[NBABUCKS1]

EDIT: I thought this was the cross country thread, it appears it is not. Leaving it anyway.

Anyone have a recommendation for a ski or a lead on a cheaper ski for my wife?

Basically skiing a road that can be packed down as it does have minimal snowmobile traffic. No grooming but definitely a few sleds a day going in and out. In Wyoming kind of near Jackson (not nearly as much snow). My wife does NOT want to tour or go off into the woods, just classic ski the ungroomed road. Assuming metal edges (partial)is a plus and does NOt want to fiddle with skins. About 180 lbs.

60 width?

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Do it. You won’t regret it. I still ski mine all the time and they’re still very relevant compared to contemporary narrow skis. No one makes a continuous rocker ski that I know of under 100mm.


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My 184 BC90s from Heritage Lab are continuous rocker. The description say 2mm of camber by my pair have a very short flat section, no camber and base to base look to have long low continuous rocker. I’m excited to get them on snow.


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[MagnificentUnicorn]

Is it possible to skip any tail attachment altogether? See this nice blog post from 2015:
http://www.skimolife.com/journal/201...bing-skin.html

I haven’t used a tail attachment in 15 years. Never had a problem. Keep your skins clean and dry them thoroughly every time


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[Jonathan S.]

Has anyone tried using ski trab skin tips with non tip notch skis? https://the-high-route.com/advanced-...-tip-hardware/

Wondering 1. If they stay on the tips OK and 2. What to use for a tail attachment? Thinking of building some with trab tips, BD tails, and pomoca off the roll.

I love the idea of being able to tip rip on non race skis.

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Yes, I have. My reviews are somewhere on Skimo Co.
I bought some Trab race skins on a crazy closeout special, expecting to have to swap the tips.
But they worked fine on other skis.
One I burned through the skins, I attached the tips to other off-the-roll skins.
I've also used the Trab skins from my Magico skis on various other skis.
Tail hardware, this is definitely not the thread for such discussions!

[riff]

My 184 BC90s from Heritage Lab are continuous rocker. The description say 2mm of camber by my pair have a very short flat section, no camber and base to base look to have long low continuous rocker. I’m excited to get them on snow.


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I’m super curious and barely able to resist these right now. As a replacement for Down Lowdown90’s that are retired, to be used for late winter and spring long range traverses, volcanoes, etc. how do you feel about the rocker profile for steep firm conditions? I’m a big fan of the long radius and understand that a little edging goes a long way with full rocker designs, so there’s that. And i guess you haven’t been out on them yet so I’m asking you to speculate to some degree…..
I really want some C105’s too, so I’ve been pondering it all way too much.


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[MagnificentUnicorn]

Given my experience with Ravens, I think they will do well on steeper firm snow. Base to base I was a little skeptical about the full rocker but lain flat the reverse camber is really low. I think with the long sidecut you’ll get a lot of edge on the snow with moderate edge angles. I think Mashal got the flex just right for the intended purpose. Stiffness is tip biased. I think they’ll be really fun and predictable in wild snow.

You can take a look sometime if you’re in Wenatchee

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[Marshal Olson]

@riff-

Another thought here, is that the BC90 is designed as a matched-radius reverse for 2/3 the length, so that if you are sidehilling/ascending a truly windboard section, you should naturally engage this length of edge. I would expect the ski to track a little different than a cambered ski when skinning up windboard, where a cambered ski will want to follow a contour line more, this design will actually want to go up the mtn a bit more.

Along with that, since the edge length that is engaging is little shorter than a fully cambered ski, I would take relevatively smaller steps to keep weighting on the edge and maintain that control over it's bite, but I think if you keep these things in mind the first time on very hard snow, it will actually feel very natural and work well.

I also think that on glazed/super established skin tracks, folks who are not super dialed on kick turns might slip a bit, since you will be engaging a bit less plush, so for those folks, i'd say firstly be certain to weight your tails a bit and don't be afraid to just set your own turn every now and again when the skintrack is refrozen and super slippy. IMO more accomplished folks (ie using 100% mohair skins, etc) with good technique shouldn't have any other problems than the conditions present.

Edit to add, with skins on and when weighted (clamped at toe and heel), on dead flat basically perfectly hard surface (melamine), over 50% of the plush is engaged. Personally, I think that will skin great for my purposes, as the upside in soft/funky snow will be hugely worth any subtle down-tick in skinning on very established/glazed tracks ... but that isn't everyone, caveat emptor / YMMV and all of that

[riff]

Thanks for the input marshal and MU! I’m betting they would suit me pretty well- sounds like edge engagement and skin plush contact would be pretty good. Being right in between MU’s colder snow and the Cascade crest maritime climate, i do carry ski crampons and deploy them happily if needed as well if it’s truly gruesome below the refrozen 🌧️ line early in the tour. Current HL pricing is sorely tempting.
I was ready to chop 8 cm off my 186 BMT 94’s so they would fit inside the packraft and bump up the mount to account for my recent change to 27’s. They’ve been drilled so many times though, it makes me nervous. Might have to pull the trigger on some BC90’s.


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[dub_xion]

What are people’s experiences with the Sytron? Alien RS’s have been hard to come by, and there’s a couple of Sytrons available here. Use case would be with 80-mm kilo skis for spring tours and citizens skimo. Lowish budget on this setup. Very low instep and ankles, D-width.

Also uncertain about sizing. I’m 26.5 in the Skorpius with 1.5 finger room in the shell fit, 27.5 TLT6, and 26.5 Vulcan with a toe punch. Although, I’d probably be ok going to a larger than recommended shell fit and doing a slightly beefier liner.


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[Benneke10]

If the Skorpius fits, the Sytron will probably fit you as well. They will be softer than the Alien RS, especially with the stock liner which is quite wimpy. I have extremely skinny calves so I couldn't quite make them work so I can't really speak to how they ski.

[turnfarmer]

Double post

[turnfarmer]

I picked up a pair of 26.5 Backland Pros from L9 on the$255.00 deal Mentioned upthread. Not quite the boot for me. Before sending back I thought I would offer them up here . $255.00 plus actual ship cost. If interested PM me.