Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

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lilcliffy
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Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
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Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by lilcliffy » Thu Sep 29, 2016 5:29 pm

WELL!

Now that I am aware that a number of us have skis with Fischer's Easy-Skin and/or Asnes' Skin-lock; I am very keen to test them out, compare them and debate them.

I have recently bought both the Easy-Skin and the Skin-Lock in the following setups:

1) 210cm Asnes Combat Nato/Ingstad with skin-lock;
2) 205cm Fischer E-109 tour xtralite with easy-skin;
3) 210cm Fischer E-99 tour xtralite with easy-skin.

All three of these skis are traditional backcountry-xcountry skis or traditional XCD skis- if you will.

I am interested in the performance, reliability, and durability of these integrated systems in both of the following contexts:
1) As a traditional kicker skin for classic kick and glide xcountry;
2) As a light-duty climbing skin in steep terrain.

As I await this season's snow- my initial impressions:

The easy-skin design should offer better glide due to the seamless transition of the skin to the base- with the attachment mechanism up on top of the ski. There is no attachment piece exposed on the base with the easy-skin.

The skin-lock's attachment structure is made of metal and it is exposed on the ski base- this should produce significant glide friction...

So from a glide performance perspective- my money is on the easy-skin....

HOWEVER- I also predict that the easy-skin will not be as reliable or durable. The attachment mechanism on the easy-skin appears weak to me. I also see the easy-skin wearing out where it meets the ski base in the slot- I think that the easy skin will eventually break in the attachment slot...

We shall see...

What do you think?
skinlock1.png
easyskin1.jpg
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.

MikeK

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by MikeK » Thu Sep 29, 2016 5:43 pm

I'll be interested to hear your comparisons. That is quite the addition to the quiver. I'll also be interested to hear the differences in the E109 to the Ingstads.

Too bad you didn't have a pair of Gammes to compare to those E99s ;) Next year?



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Johnny
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Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by Johnny » Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:24 pm

That is funny... I thought about that a few months ago...

They are both quite cool... I used them as an alternative to skins... While they didn't really offered better performance compared to ordinary kickers, I only used them for climbing. On the usual BC stuff I ski, mid-steeps in the 35-40° range, they offered no real advantage compared to fish scales. I still had to zig-zag my way up or hike, which is what I like about XCD anyway...

I'm a xcD guy, I only grew interest in K&G lately... I was about to put my intergrated skins on ebay, but while cleaning the kick wax on my skis this summer, I had this idea... Why not use Fischer and Asnes skin systems from a K&G perspective? Instead of using them as an alternative to skins for climbing, why not use them as an alternative to kick wax? Why not see them as a permanent kicker skin? Isn't that the real purpose of these systems Johnny? No matter if you you used them for climbing?

I have to say I'm pretty excited about it... I think they will be awesome, especially for a ski like the E99 or my Skogs...
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."



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Johnny
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Posts: 2256
Joined: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:11 pm
Location: Quebec / Vermont
Ski style: Dancing with God with leathers / Racing against the machine with plastics
Favorite Skis: Redsters, Radicals, XCD Comps, Objectives and S98s
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska XP, Alfa Guards, Scarpa TX Comp
Occupation: Full-time ski bum

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by Johnny » Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:56 am

lilcliffy wrote:I also predict that the easy-skin will not be as reliable or durable. The attachment mechanism on the easy-skin appears weak to me. I also see the easy-skin wearing out where it meets the ski base in the slot- I think that the easy skin will eventually break in the attachment slot...
It's true, the attachement on the Easy Skin can become loose easily. I noticed that a few times when using them. But it's not an issue at all once the skin is properly installed. The attachement is there only to prevent pulling from the skin. It doesn't need to be heavy-duty. Once the skin is placed on the ski, the attachement won't budge from the slot.

As for wear, I think the trick is to install the skin with just a tiny bit of play between the skin/ski and the slot. Not too tight to prevent wear, and not too lose to prevent the attachement to release...

Due to the seamless transition of the Easy Skin, I think it's a lot better than Asnes Skin Lock system. Yep, we shall see...!

Geez, those new Asnes 35mm Mohairs are impossible to find anywhere...!
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."



MikeK

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by MikeK » Fri Sep 30, 2016 11:01 am

LoveJohnny wrote: Geez, those new Asnes 35mm Mohairs are impossible to find anywhere...!
Hmm... those are exactly the only thing I want to buy for this year.



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Johnny
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Location: Quebec / Vermont
Ski style: Dancing with God with leathers / Racing against the machine with plastics
Favorite Skis: Redsters, Radicals, XCD Comps, Objectives and S98s
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska XP, Alfa Guards, Scarpa TX Comp
Occupation: Full-time ski bum

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by Johnny » Fri Sep 30, 2016 11:18 am

Group order from Norway? 8-)
/...\ Peace, Love, Telemark and Tofu /...\
"And if you like to risk your neck, we'll boom down Sutton in old Quebec..."



MikeK

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by MikeK » Fri Sep 30, 2016 11:58 am

We'll figure something out. I'll look later today.

As far a the skin application. I want to do exactly what you say Johnny - ski with the skin in lieu of wax. This would of course be the skinny mohair version most likely. I hope they will stay on going up and down - they should.

The wide Nylon ones I have I think I will save just for climbing in difficult snow. I'd assume they'd climb better than scales (but the Ingstad doesn't have scales to compare, but relative to the S78 for instance). I don't think I can go straight up anything more than 15° with scales working at their best - they might make a short pitch of 20 with a half-herringbone. The Madshus Omni-track in bad conditions it's hard to make it up 10°. Anyway, I can easily test the Nylon skin against the best scales. It might, in fact, be marginal how much more grip you get. I'd be happy with being able to make it up 20° reliably.



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lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by lilcliffy » Mon Oct 03, 2016 8:14 am

There seems to be some renewed interest in the performance cross country world to do just what you are talking about- use a kicker skin instead of kick wax:
https://shop.atomic.com/en-ca/products/ ... B0487.html
http://en-ca.madshus.com/nordic-skis/te ... lassic-igs
https://www.fischersports.com/ca_en/nor ... /twin-skin
http://www.rossignol.com/CF/CA/nordic-rskin.html

I am not a performance cross country guy- at all- but the "talk" is that kick wax still beats everything else.

I have never used kicker skins as an "everyday" replacement for kick wax or waxless traction- I have used them for extreme traction when pulling weight- and accepted the loss of glide. At this point, I still envision using the kick wax primarily and use the integrated skin for climbing or extreme traction.

But the integrated skin has some real potential to be used instead of kick wax.

Anybody have any experience with dealing with kick wax and the integrated skin?

Do you need to remove kick wax before attaching the integrated skin?
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



User avatar
lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by lilcliffy » Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:08 pm

MikeK wrote:
LoveJohnny wrote: Geez, those new Asnes 35mm Mohairs are impossible to find anywhere...!
Hmm... those are exactly the only thing I want to buy for this year.
They don't have Asnes in stock at Neptune?
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



User avatar
lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Fischer Easy-Skin vs. Asnes Skin-Lock

Post by lilcliffy » Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:09 pm

lilcliffy wrote:
MikeK wrote:
LoveJohnny wrote: Geez, those new Asnes 35mm Mohairs are impossible to find anywhere...!
Hmm... those are exactly the only thing I want to buy for this year.
They don't have Asnes in stock at Neptune?
I want a set of 35mm mohair skin-lock as well BTW ;)
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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