Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

We have had terrible ski conditions this year with about three weeks between snowfalls. This makes the snow super icy after melting and refreezing . I tried blue klister but it came off my skis after two minutes. Do I need a binder klister? If so, what works as a binder?
This waxing business is a pain. Are kicker skins the simple solution?

Meant to reply to this one earlier...what was the temperature like when the icy snow was shearing off the klister?

Klister (to my knowledge) is intended for use above freezing on warm, wet snow.

If the snow is icy- grip wax would work better than klister.

Double-cambered or single-cambered ski? I have also found that if the snow conditions are very harsh- the snow can shear even grip wax off of a single-cambered ski.

I am not a big fan of klister (not that I have a lot of experience with it). I use skis with waxless bases in above freezing temperatures.

You can use some grip wax ahead of the waxless pattern for some extra grip- if needed.

Little experience with kicker skins. I use climbing skins in mountainous terrain.

jooleyen wrote:We have had terrible ski conditions this year with about three weeks between snowfalls. This makes the snow super icy after melting and refreezing . I tried blue klister but it came off my skis after two minutes. Do I need a binder klister? If so, what works as a binder?
This waxing business is a pain. Are kicker skins the simple solution?

From what I have read, klisters do come in all temperatures, well below freezing, but I think you know that too. I don't use em though as those icy conditions rarely last and klister is such a pain. Ironing in base klister might be your ticket. I think you better meet Saul:



Have a look at his other videos as well.

bgregoire wrote: Have a look at his other videos as well.

This one too:


You might also consider lightly sanding the P-tex of your wax pocket if that was not already done. It significantly helps adhesion of all waxes.

By the way, what conditions are you skiing in? I assumed, talking about klister, that we were going in tracks. If you are in the backcountry, extend the grip zone to as far as the entire ski if necessary using the hardwax of the day. I bet you will eventually get very good results with that. As for kickers, on hardpack, I hate the black diamond kickers as the metal plate digs in to the snow. If you need to go skins on a thinner ski, consider splitting old skins into skinny skins, 2cm wide or even less each. Madshus intelligrip is also a nice idea but the quality of their product as far below acceptable. The glue they use is mediocre and not enough is applied but more importantly the tip attachment will break off rather quickly as it is synthetic leather. I have a pair and have replacement the tip attachment and added BD glue and they are great when i need skins on steeper terrain.