Asnes Mohair Short Skin 35mm SkinLock Review

[lilcliffy]

LJ- how wide are your Cecilia skis underfoot?

I am finding the 35mm Easy-Skins useless on icy refrozen snow- tested with the E-99 (54mm) and E-109 (60mm). On that super-slippery icy snow, I need the 50mm Easy-Skin.

The 35mm works fine on warm, wet snow- not sure if it is better than waxless scales though.

[Johnny]

Hey LC,

The Skogs are 56mm underfoot...

We went cross-country skiing yesterday... The snow up in the mountains is great, but here in town, its terrible... Melted-frozen-remelted-refrozen... So we went thru my 2-3 days old XC tracks in the fields.. They were icy, super hard... My friend couldn't do much even if he was on wax... The wife couldn't much on waxless Glitts... I was carrying the 2yo kid with me... And dude, I was flying with the 35mm mohairs! They were super fast and grip was perfect...! Its super fun because the tracks are icy and fast, so with the proper grip, you can really fly...! I don't think I could ever get something like that with the perfect wax... And I couldn't feel any drag at all...

Maybe there is too much camber on the Europas for skinny skins? Remember the Skogs are made for girls... The (double) camber is a bit softer than on E99s and the like... (And that is why I chose them...)

I think this is the dedicated future purpose of my Skogs: XC skiing on icy snow...

[lilcliffy]

I think you are right on LJ- camber/flex profile is a fundamental factor determining the physics of XC K&G.

A stiff second camber certainly maximizes XC glide- but, you need a lot of grip for that good 'ole Nordic kick! I need even more grip with the E-99 than the E-109. The 35mm is working great in snow conditions that are ideal for waxless scales- but, I need the 50mm on icy, refrozen snow.

The camber/flex profile of the Skog and the Nansen are quite unique for a ski with those dimensions- very cool...The UTE magazine test refers to it as "the wet dream of telemark skiing".

[lilcliffy]

That icy, breakable crust- with icy, granular snow underneath- may have required the extra traction...I haven't tried the 35mm on an icy, frozen track yet- it may be enough.

[lilcliffy]

So- I bought the 35mm NYLON skin-lock. I have been testing it quite a bit against the 60mm mohair on my 210cm Combat Nato- 62mm waist. (I have also been testing it against Fischer's Easy-Skin- more on that in another thread!).

I bought the nylon because I thought I might use it a lot in abrasive conditions- so I wanted the extra durability of the nylon. As it turns out- I am finding that- at least for the 210cm Combat Nato- the 35mm Skin-Lock works best in warm wet snow- which is NOT abrasive- therefore, I wish I had bought the mohair.

Regardless, the 35mm Skin-Lock performs very well on warm wet snow- just as good as waxless scales. BUT- remember to take them off if you are going to rip down a significant hill!

For any serious traction, I am finding that the I need the 60mm Skin-Lock- though I think that the 45mm would actually offer a better balance of grip/glide on the 62mm Combat Nato. (Asnes makes a customized 45mm skin-lock for the Combat Nato...)

[anrothar]

Found a video showing their recommendations for trimming and waxing the Skin Lock.

[anrothar]

I have mohairs on the way in 35 and 45. Tried the 35 nylon again today, waxed and trimmed to about 12 mm in front of my heel. Just about zero glide on cold, squeaky snow. It was very cold snow though. Even Toko Blue grip wax(-30c to -7c range, air temp was -18c) was gliding slowly. So, conditions the 35mm nylons don't glide in on the Mountain Race 48:

Abrasive crust
Cold, squeaky snow(-18C, 0F)

[Cannatonic]

interesting! I think synthetic works well on wet corn snow, mohair probably better for winter snow. But those conditions are so good for wax! Green wax is really nice on cold dry snow.

Where did you order your Asnes skins? I'd love to know.

[lilcliffy]

I ordered 35mm skin-locks from SportAlbert in Germany. The shipping is almost as much as the skins. But- they are about the same price- including shipping- of a similar product from a Canadian dealer...

I was originally suggesting a group order- but at least to Canada they want to charge the shipping fee PER item- so there was no savings.

[lilcliffy]

I still haven't shortened any of my skin-locks yet (or Easy-skins for that matter).

I am reluctant to give up the extra grip when I need it....The snow conditions here are typically ideal for grip wax- therefore, I typically only pull out the skin-locks when I need some extreme traction.

Having the skin extend onto the glide zone of the tail certainly kills glide- but it greatly increases grip...

As a replacement for kick wax and/or waxless scales, in a XC K&G context, trimming the skin makes sense to me- but for climbing?