DIY integrated skins?

[Vailkilledtupac]

Wondering if anyone on here has attempted to do a diy integrated skin in any of their skis?
I live at 10700 and the driveway is about .75mi with a max slope of around 20-25° with no vehicle access during the winter; it's a treat as well as a trial. There are also a good amount of nice, smaller lines around the cabin that can done very quickly. My current go to ski is a bit of an odd ball but it's proven to be good enough that I keep trying to turn it into my "Swiss army ski". The decks are the Surface Ruess 182s with the scaled base, the binding is just a voice 75mm 3 pin and I'm currently in the scarpa t4 (really wanted to stick with leather boots but for $30 on Craigslist I'm happy for now)
My problem lies in the "scaled" base of the skis. It's a strange pattern that doesn't grip well at all but some how has an incredible amount of drag down hill. It's not as sluggish as having a full skin on it but it's close. So I'm wondering if taking some of the base out where the patter is etched (it's a negative pattern so half the work is done for me) and gluing a piece of climbing skin in there would prevent me from having to transition while still maintaining an enjoyable downhill experience. Could I use standard climbing glue and just leave them on (maybe iron them in?) So that when the skin deteriorates I can replace it? How wide should the skin pattern be if the ski is 105 under foot? Should the skin be recessed or flush or just proud of the base/edge?

If you've made it to here, thanks,
S

[fisheater]

How about an easy button? You can’t find many of these, I believe they are discontinued.

https://www.gearx.com/black-diamond-gli ... Ad%20Group

[Kneedle Drop]

@Vailkilledtupac, it sounds like you want to DIY a Hok base. They have their skins integrated into the base. Don't know the manufacturing process, but I imagine you could achieve something similar by grinding down the base to the thickness of the skin and then gluing it in. I've had my Hoks for about seven years and have beat the hell out of them. I am amazed that the skins haven't pulled out from the base, but except for a few rock scars, they remain in near-perfect condition. The skins make a sound going downhill, but it is not nearly as bad as scales.

[Vailkilledtupac]

@fisheater yeah I have a similar set for my wooden nordic skis that I enjoy a lot but with these other skis I'm not really interested in leaving the bases as is; plus they drag pretty hard

@KneedleDrop exactly. I thought about just getting some hoks but I got these skis for cheap and they're a little more what I'm looking for as far as shape and construction as apposed to the hoks. But I have heard the skin piece on the hoks are impressively durable and I'd assume they're 100% nylon which is fine on a ski that wide but I don't think I'll get quite as much float (and therefore glide) being a solid 15+ mm skinnier in the waist which is why I was thinking of not going the full width of the ski but keeping it roughly the same length for good grip while maintaining a little more glide(?) I'll probably also start with skin glue so I can play with different skin materials but yeah it shouldn't be too hard to get the recess carved out

[Krummholz]

If you decide to break out the router and remove 1/16 - 3/32 of base. You should be able to get some replacement skins from Altai skis. They are not in the store but I remember reading that the skins can be replaced and glued in when I bought mine 5 years ago. You would need to email them. These skins drag but the skis, 145 cm, are quite short too.

[wabene]

You can also always make the skin larger so maybe starting smaller is best. Rescessing the skin is a must. The instructions I've seen for replacing recessed integrated skins involve heating them up. There may be a different glue than what is used with kicker skins.

[Vailkilledtupac]

All good things to know! I'll try and get touch with someone at hok about glue and replacements. Thanks for the input I'll keep yall posted!

[Rodbelan]

My premises: if the ski drags with the scales, it might have something to do with the camber profile (very low and probably soft since it is a powder ski design). It will also drag—maybe more—if you glue a skin permanently... (Since that type of ski isn't in their catalog anymore, it might have something to do with the design of the scales that needed improvement).

Maybe here I have another solution; you can fill the cavities of the scales with p-tex, and build yourself (or buy) a removable kicker skin... I have done some DIY skins last year. I'll try fo find the pictures...

[Rodbelan]

Here it is..
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5625&p=57271&sid=cd ... 8b7#p57271

[Vailkilledtupac]

@rodbelan there's no doubt the scales could be way better but my thought process is that it'd be easier to take some base out and fill it with skin than filling with ptex and using skins but I do really like the idea of the full, skinny skin... got me thinking.. also I think it's worth noting that the ski's camber is actually quite impressive for a "modern" powder ski but it is definitely soft so I think with a typical fishscale it could be great but that's sounds like a lot of work with ptex and a wood burner