Great Skins, takes about 5 small days to get these bad boys to glide like they should but after that you are golden. BD have always been my choice for skins and always will be.

I first bought a pair of these skins over five years ago. I put them on a pair of Seth Pistols and began traipsing into the woods with friends in Colorado. Since then, those same skins have graced the bases of more than ten different skis and to this day are still going strong.

In their most recent conversion, they are now assisting my girlfriend in her advances into the backcountry. They are much shorter now than when I first cut them, but the glue and fibers are all in place and easy to manage.

With my girl rocking my old skins, it was time for me to buy some new ones, and after asking around and looking at other options, I have settled on what I know best: the Black Diamond Ascension Nylon STS Skins are the real deal. I will never skin on anything else!

Skins are all pretty much the same from what I have experienced, but after so many pair in the past many years I have found the key is to keep them dry and they work. These came with easy cutting tool for shaping the skins to my skis and so far they have worked great, although I have not used them in super steep conditions. Otherwise the product seems bomber and durable.

These are the toughest, most durable skins on the market and will stand up to any abuse you can throw at them. I prefer the glidelites personally, they are a little lighter and thinner. But the ascensions are one of the top picks by many backcountry skiers, and for good reason. They are thick, tough, and provide excellent traction in all conditions. Great choice for those of you who tour a lot and are really hard your gear.

Just FYI- the 140 and the 160 size skins come with a much bigger tip loop to accommodate those huge superfat tips on your skis.

Some tips for kicking ass with skins: If the skins will be dedicated to one pair of skis, sew the tip loop. Use a file to notch the tail of your ski so the sts clip can't slide off to the sides. When regluing, screw BD's advice of soaking glue up with paper: use the paper to protect your iron, get the glue hot over a section of skin, then use a metal scraper to remove glue like it was a hotwax job on your ski.

These look very durable and grip very well. My friend skis with the nylon mix by BD and he definitely has a little more glide. As for grip, I'm not sure. We have not skinned anything too steep yet this season.

have used this skin about a dozen times this season in the wasatch and it is super solid. just be careful about taking your skins on and off, the glue is really sticky and it is very easy to catch debris (if this occurs a little cold water and rubbing should remove most anything).

the skin sticks to the ski very well, and climbs excellent. so far no problems and as long as the glue is looked after should last awhile.

Skins are easy to cut, and fit. The fasteners work well with rockered twins, and the skins grip on the way up.

These give great traction going up the steap stuff, but don't let you move much at all going down little hills. Also if the snow is wet, it kind of sticks to the skins.

These are the industry standard for climbing skins. They will work for you, no matter what. The only thing I can see being a possible issue is the glue wearing out, as it seems to have lost a bit of stick after a few days. Still, that is a fairly easy fix.

Tip - I would make sure to have a straight razor on hand when trimming the skins. The blade on my BD tool actually bent while trimming the second skin making it unusable. No worries though, the straight razor actually performed better.

Iv'e owned three sets now and will probably purchase again. I am hard on gear and these have stood the test of time. They are thick and large to pack compared to others(ex. glidelite). Not so easy to pocket to keep glue warm. I only have touched up glue on one pair which was used for 3 seasons, more due to junk build up than loosing tack. I've used partner's skins and none have seemed to hold as well on the uphill.

If there is one skin that does it all, its these babies.

When Mt. Baker got snow early back in October, a friend invited me along on a tour of Heliotrope ridge. In the past, I've boot packed most backcountry routes, but this time he gave me a pair of his skins to try out -ascension nylon sts's. Being that it was my first time on skins, I thought I was going to be in for a long day, but as soon as I started up, it was as if I was walking on asphalt. From sun sheer ice to powder to crust, I never slipped once. With these skins, I found myself walking straight up the mountain.

I bought my own pair the very next week.
If you want one skin that will do it all, dont even think about getting anything else.

These are super solid skins, I have used these on all my fat skis (K2 Hellbents, Atomic Thugs, Vole Drifter) They are built well, easy to trim to the ski, stay relatively sticky in cold temps, and glide well.