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Black Diamond Ascension GlideLite Nylon STS Skins cut weight and bulk from your backcountry load. Skinnier than a regular skin, the GlideLite has a Tractor-Print base which allows them to be folded even smaller, so you can easily stash them in your pocket at the end of a climb. The STS attachment system fits any tails out there, including twin-tips, and the reversible double-bar tip can be attached to a much wider variety of skis than ever before. The GlideLite Nylon STS Skins need to be on your skis or in your pocket for your next lightweight backcountry tour.
The sts kit is my attachment of choice, if the skins gt wet and stretch you can tighten them up. Every skin will ice up if you let them, just throw them in your jacket and warm them up between laps and they will stick and not ice up!I find their glide fine for the up and down of today's main users.
The STS tail kit is a great improvement over the old clip fix tail. It keeps the tail on snug. The tail straps will break over time, so carry a spare. The Glidelite skins are a nice lightweight skin. I have had issues with the sides curling due to the thin backing material. I would highly recommend these, but don't expect to get as many years out of them as the regular BD skins.
I have purchased a set of Glidelite STS 60mm for a pair of Fisher Touring Crowns. They measure 58-50-52 but the tip clamp seems too wide to grab even when turned over- it just slides down the ski. I haven't attached it to the skin yet, maybe this will take care of it?
The GlideLite skins are a nice light weight improvement to the classic BD/Ascension skins. With the thing backing, they are prone to edge curling so you need to store them carefully. carry extra tail stretchers as they do break.
I have used these skins for the past four years. Lighter than the Ascension line (great on fatter skis), and more flexible in the cold. I haven't had an issue with durability yet and have taken them over rocks/tree stumps. Attachment system is the best and most secure that I have used yet even on my twin tipped Volkl Gotamas.
Yes, it goes by the narrowest part, which is the waist, so buy for that size and cut down.If you buy skins for the narrowest part of your skis you will have exposed base which sucks. The preferred method is buy skins for the width of your tip or in the Case of Volkl Mnatra 133m. 140mm skins would give you full coverage 120mm would leave about 6.5mm of base showing on each side of the ski at the wides part of the tip. If the side cut is aggressive you many not have much base exposed with 120mm.
I have been using these skins for about three years now and they still work fine. I was worried when I first bought these that they wouldn't hold up as well as the asensions but I wanted something really light weight and small in my pack. So far I haven't been disappointed. I think I may need to reapply some glue but they seem to be staying on fine anyway because of the clip system. When they wear out I will def. replace them with the same skins. And my friends with the ascensions are thinking about getting these.
I have taken them out five times now and so far so good. I appreciate the strip down the middle of the adhesive side. makes it easy to line up the skins when putting them on. but more so makes it easy to take off of the ski. I also ski twin tips, which is why i bought these particular skins. The clip on the back has yet to come off, which i have heard is a problem with some skins. All in all-very happy with my purchase and i would recommend them to anyone.
I have some Movement Flames spec 118,78,108. Which skin width should I get? I am worried that if I go for 100mm the loop tip will be too small. Do they vary in width? And will the STS fixation work with rounded tails?
I would definitely go with the 110 mm width. You will regret going any skinnier. As far as the STS tail clip and rounded tails they do work but not perfectly... if you have less than perfect skinning technique and you cross you tails on kick turns then you will probably kick the clip off of the tails here and there.
I haven't had issues with the tip adaptors, even on skis with up to 130 tips. Re: width, buy the closest size to your tip, then trim with a razorafter you've applied to your skis. I.e. I recc' buying 110 vs 100s. STS tail clips work fine on rounded tails. Or at least they do for my ANTs.
Well, the fact that they work already makes them infinitely better than my G3 skins which were awful. These skins were easy to cut and although I have only used them about five days they have been wonderful. The glue is good, they have decent glide, and they are much lighter than my previous pair of skins. I am very happy with their performance and look forward to using them for all my spring skiing.
Love the light weight and they climb great. Easy on and off and they stay in place great, even when the occasional early season branch needs to be crossed. No complaints! The stow bag that comes with them is a little snug but that's no reason for complaint.
I have been using these for four years with out any problems. Lighter and more supple that the BD Ascensions, have not had any issues with durability. Tip/Tail system is the best that I've seen yet.
Skins work great on dry light snow and handle very well. I would not recommend for use in the heavier north west types of snow though. Pack down nice and small and have used for years and they work great!
seem solid enough. I haven't yet tested them out in all conditions as my climbs have been on firmer snow in sub arctic temps but just to address a couple issues that have been brought up:
I find the bag to have plenty of room.
All razors that come with skins are terrible in my experience.
They have very little glide at all.
They weight on the skis seems pretty good for the size, but it's hard to gage on the fat skis. These are cut for my Jaks. It's really hard for me to imagine how these are much better or worse than any other skins i've used. They certainly did the job, but my biggest problem is clumping and that wouldn't happen with any skin on Hoth.
Bonus: sts is real easy on and off so your hands stay a bit warmer than on other tip tail attachments i've tried.
These skins have great traction and are very lightweight. Easy to trim as well. They are on on the thin side so you can store them in your jacket if need be. The big tip loop and the sts tail attachment make putting the skins on and taking them off very easy. Very secure attachment.
Got a pair of the 140mm for my Line SFBs. Skins were easy to cut and have been solid so far. Grip is good on all but the steepest sections of the worst snow. Glide isn't fantastic but I'm guessing as they wear slightly this will improve. Haven't seen any signs of wear and tear or poor craftsmanship. Highly reccomended especially for your fat sticks.
These are great. I have used these skins for two solid seasons and also used the ascensions skins as well on other similar skis and did not notice a difference in performance between the two other than the GlideLite was lighter. It is also a little bit cheaper. Great choice for skins. As far as wide skis go, suck it up and hike with it. It's worth the ride down.
If you get the 110 mm skins they should work fine. They won't cover the whole ski at the tip or tail, but you'll have enough surface area that it won't matter.
Love these skins, they grip really well. They fit on Hippy Stinx and K2 Nancies well. I don't know if they're worth the whole price but that's a different story!
I have these skis in length 172. The tip has a metal-enforcement about 8 mm thick. Does the loop fit and what size should I choose?Model: Dynastar Legend 4800 (2007)Size(cm) / Radius(m): 158/14 165/15 172/16 178/17 184/19Sidecut: 114-75-102
Erik, the metal tip on the Dynastar Legend is no problem with the skin tip loop. You should buy skins that are 120mm wide this will give you full coverage once you trim the skins.
These skins climbed fantastically my first time out. The glide was a little lackluster, but the grip and ease of use more than compensate. There's a trimming demo on BD's website that was very helpful.
Over the past two years, I've purchased three pair of BD Glidelites for our family. They've all worked flawlessly for us. They're light, the glue has stuck in all conditions, and we haven't had any problems on the nasty steep skin tracks that some young studs and studettes have set. The attachment system works well.
These skins are must if you own twin tip skis and you want to tour on them. They climb like mountain goats and glide with the best of skins. A must purchase for twin tip tourers.
Either a 110mm or 120mm. The 120 will obviously require more trimming, but will give a true edge to edge wall of skin on your skis. I usually size my skins for the widest part of my ski. The tip and tail kit should work fin with your twin tips. I use this same skin on a Karhu Team 100 twin tip.
I purchased these for a trip to Japan. The snow has been incredibly deep and so I needed a pair of skins for the Volkl Kuro. The width of the skins is perfect, but the double bar tip attachment isn't big enough. I improvised with a copper hanger. It seems to be working. I think a bike spoke would work better, stronger. And I agree with Jeff, it would be great if the bag was a little bigger and the razor sucks. I broke my razor on my first cut.
These are my first pair of skins, but they work great. I don't have too hard of a time taking them off (like my friends). The divider for storage works great.
I have rossi bc60's 185 length and am just getting into a bit of backcountry. I know these skis are not very good but I want to try some skins because these no wax ski cant climb much. What size should I get and am I just wasting my dough? My girlfriend has Fischer snowbounds 169 which are 77,61,69 width which width should she get?
Work great in almost all conditions, with only minimal ice/snowball accumulation under foot in VERY mixed conditions. Very easily fit and adjusted and the clip system keeps them in place no matter what. So much nicer than my older skins that would fall off in the worst of places...Store them correctly and they will last a long time.
I have used the purple skins before, had some glue sticking issues on warm days and wasn't really jazzed about the tail clips coming off allthe time on my Pocket Rockets. These Glidelights are a whole different story. Glue is better (just keep bases waxed and clean), and the tip and tail loop work fine even on the P.Rockets! Kick ass skins!
I am thinking of buying these to use on Line Prophet 100 ski's. Any recommendation on what size to go with or other skins that may work better on twin tip skis?
I only have the old-school Ascension purple skins to compare to, but these don't seem to get quite the same traction as those. The tip connection is too wide for my skis and slips back pretty far, letting snow in. It also has the disadvantage that there's no elastic so you have to be very careful putting the skin on. My old Ascensions had a green elastic that let you stretch the tip connection around the tip once the rest of the skin was on. The tail clip seems to be overly complicated and I keep worrying that the metal piece will come loose and get lost, but on the plus side it is adjustable for different length skis.
Good light touring skin, definitely holding off judgment until I see how it holds up over time though as the glue doesn't seem as tacky as my G3's. Put these skins on a pair of Black Diamond Velvet skis and found that the standard toe clip that is provided (w/ 90mm skins) doesn't fit the toe that well. I might need to replace this with a looser wire type.
What is the best skin for my DPS double reverse camber skis? I am on Lotus 138s at 192cm length. Width underfoot is 138mm (140 at the widest arc); full dimensions: 125/140/138/139/108.
This skin would work well for those skis. Because the skis are so fat, you will want to get the lightest skin possible and this is it. Also because of the surface area of your ski, you will not sacrifice any grip by getting this skin.
These skins are really great! Impressed with Black Diamond this time, they seem to be making products that fail. Not these skins, the tail system makes them really snug, and they grip and glide really well. I think better than purple skins.
I have been using my Glidelight Skins for a couple weeks now and I just love them. They are light, easy to fit to skis, never come off, easy to put on and take off...and the blue prints make everything better! A great buy that I recommend!
These skins have the worst glide in cold conditions of any skins I've used. Might as well use sandpaper. Mohair or mohair/synthetics are a much better skin, although pricier.
Great skins. Easy to assemble and awesome performance in the field. I had never used skins before so my frame of reference is limited. I had to cut them to fit my skis and through the instructional video on Black Diamond's website and the provided instructions and tools, I was able to get this done properly. The clips on the back were easy to install and get to the right size. The first time I used them, things went great. I was out at Whitegrass in West Virginia and I got right up some steep slopes in iffy conditions. There wasn't too much snow stuck to the bottom (although I imagine this depends on conditions more than anything else), and I was able to take the skins on and off fairly quickly and easily throughout the day. Haven't had em long enough to talk about durability, but so far so good.
So far, so good. These skins worked well the first time out. Trimming and fitting them to my skis was straightforward. I was able to climb faster than my snowshoeing/snowboarding buddy though the time it took to remove and stow the skins was longer than his shoe/board exchange. Hopefully practice speeds things up.
I just picked up a pair of Armada JJs, which have non-standard dimensions (126-136-115-133-121). Do i still use the tip dimension when choosing a skin or should i go with the widest dimension, which is a bit center from the tip? Any size recommendations would be appreciated, thanks much.
Having been suckered by the neat tractor-tread pattern, I decided to buy these skins and have been extremely pleased. Just finished the Haute Route (Chamonix to Zermatt) on them and very impressed by the quality performance and staying power that they have in the backcountry. Great product!
These skins are for going up. I wouldn't recommend them for long traverses with lots of up and down, since they don't glide very well. They do, however, stick to snow like glue on the way up. I found the sizing to be a bit larger than listed as my 105mm skis barely fit the 100mm skins.
I never used any skins prior. Tech support helped with the right model and the next day I was skinning up Tuckermans Ravine on New Hampshires Mt. Washington. I skinned up the entire way to the lunch rocks and was amazed on how well they stick on steep slopes and easy they are to use. Easy to take off, put in pack, and make turns all the way to the bottom.
have used these skins a number of times. Metal clasps at the tail of the skin both came off while climbing, but actually nicer now not having to worry about them. Fitting is a breeze and the glue from the factory seems to be holding up well. Good value
This is my first pair of skins, I've had them out the gate about 5 times, once for a multi hour skin up 2000' vert. They seem to work very well, though I did have one of the tail clips fall off. Since then I've been putting them on tighter and haven't had a problem. They climb great my only complaint is that I was under the understanding that they were very compact and packable. Though they are a little smaller then normal skins when folded up they are nowhere near small enough to fit in a jacket pocket like I read. Overall great skins just not as small as I imagined.
I have a pair of 174cm k2 twin tips and am wondering how to measure them for skins. My skis measure 8cm in the middle,10.5cm at the tail, and 11.8cm at the tip with all of those not including the edges, I hear these skins work well with twin tips what size should i get?
I own two sets of these for different skis. Also own the orange ascension Black Diamond skins for a third set. Lighter and more flexible than the ascensions, seem fine durability wise. Like them like I enjoy burritos and cold beer! Tasty!
The three things you want from a skin: easy on and off, sticks to serious tracks, and looks cool. The tire-track tread brings out the red-neck in me. Glides well on the flats to.
I'm trying to mount these skins, but haven't figured out how the sts tailpiece works. I see in some of the responses that BD has a trimming/fitting video, where do I find this?
http://www.bdel.com/gear/detail/glidelite_sts_detail.php#videosAlso, take a look at how the tail hook is inserted into the orange tail on the skins in the product pic on this page.
Worked really well in the Australian high country (yes there is snow down under) on my 6 day trip. Worked great in the powder, the wind pact and the wet sun affected snow. Only one problem on the last day, down low where it was warm, wet heavy snow accumulated on them making them heavier. Nothing a good wack now and then couldn't fix though. The STS attachments worked great on my twin tips.
I purchased the Glidelite's for my Volkl Karma's (New Zealand release with stiffening plates) powered by a set of Naxo 02's.
The setup is a huge success, I am able to climb straight up, leaving my friends slipping out behind me. I love these skins.
This was my first time cutting a pair, so I watched the video on BD's website, very informative, step by step instructions(the included instructions left some to the imagination). I did have a little trouble with the cutting tool, it was a bit flimsy, but it worked.
The clip system is great I have not had any problems in the field after about 15 days out on them, in everything from rain soaked slush to fluffy dry powder.
I would recommend you purchase the gob stopper wax with these, it's cheap, it will last a long time, and it will greatly help your forward glide, being one thing these skins lack in ease.
The skins are long enough to fit on 190s Got these on 184cm skis, I trimmed some off and am only using the third shortest hole on the tail hook. Definitely will be long enough.
When I bought these I was afraid they would not climb as well as the ascensions, if this is in fact the case, it is hard to tell. They climb extremely well and are super lite. If you roll lite and fast, then this is your skin.
The STS Glidelights worked as well, or better than advertised. They provided excellent uphill slide and secure grip. They were so grippy that I never gave them a thought, which is exactly what a good skin should do.
They worked as well in soft, slushy, and corn snow as they did on much more firm, colder weather skin tracks.
The one that comes with it will not,I use these with steezes and I had to get the size large tip hook and even then it barely stays onIf I were you I would look at the G3 alpinist, the system it attaches with is not affected by tip width
I purchased the skins for my son who works at Dodge Ridge Ski Resort in California. After the resort closed there was plenty of backcountry skiing left so he wanted to join the fun. Being in a low paying job he, of course, hit up the old man. He is very pleased with the skins. "No worries" I believe was his response to my request. I was also extremely pleased by the help I received from the tech support staff in making up my mind on which skins to purchase.
They worked just as they're designed to for me. I haven't taken them up anything extremely steep yet, but more most skin trails around Grizzly Gulch, UT they've been perfect. Easy to cut, and the tip/tail attachments work like a charm.
I like using these skins and have no complaints. I love the tail clips they are life savers. I had an old pair of skins for my split board that had this problem. I have yet to have a problem with STS skins.
The skin width should be close to the widest point on the ski, generally the tip. You will then trim the skin down so it fits the exact footprint of the ski. So if the tips of your skis are 122, get the 120 width skins.
These skins are my faves of the Black Diamond skin line. I used them on the Crossbows and now my Verdicts. It's just kind of a no brainer- they work really good and I don't worry about it. Well- I am worried that I got too much wax on them after their first day this year, and now they aren't sticking too good- so I need to fix that problem, but otherwise they work really well.
These pack down significantly easier and smaller than my pair of BD Ascension STS's. They dry out faster too. I've had these on powder, slush, windslab and boilerplate and they perform perfectly. I noticed a smoother and slightly faster glide compared to the Ascensions.
I agree that BD should make a slightly bigger sack for these. That's my only gripe. Do yourself a favor and take them to a shop to get cut. The provided razor sucks hard and breaks after the second cut and if you don't have a nice sharp thick razor you'll just f them all up using your old picnic pocket knife.
If my skis are 90 underfoot and over a hundred at the tip, should I get the 90mm skins or should I go with the 100mm skins and cut them. I want as much traction as possible, but I'm not sure which size would be better
Get the big ones and you need to cut them down leave just a couple of mm exposed on each edge for a perfect contoured fit... directions come with the skins.
Awesome grip but average glide, these trendy looking skins are good value for money. Easily on and off - I think I save about 3 minutes in transition time - thanks to the BD design sticky side. Awesome attack angle to the slope - you can go straight up. The fasteners work well and don't fall off when stressed. The durability jury is out, however, as they tear and lose fur pretty quickly. Hard to find a skin with better grip.
I have Rossi Scratch Sprayer BC skis (118-88-111) with AT bindings, and the Glidelite STS skins work great on them! The fat front bar fits on the fat tip, and the cam mechanism works well on the rear tip; no notching required.
The Black Diamond website has a good Tech Video on how to custom cut them:
Used these skins in Jackson Hole for 4 days and they climb great, easy on easy off. Skins will require AT bindings if planning on climbing steeper slopes.
Hey dude, well I mean there SHOULDNT be a mechanical problem with doing that... but skins on a pontoon would be enormous skis, enormous skins = enormous weight especially with an already fairly heavy ski. Skinning up anything is going to be a tough task with that much weight. Just my thoughts though
Fit on skis is good, the rear clip system works nicely. I have them rolled up in my backpack but have not run into a climbing situation were I actually needed to put them on my skis. I needed a part from the company and Black Diamond customer service mailed it right out.
Ordered 80 mm skins on the advice of the BC.com experts for my 76 mm wide ski. NOWHERE in the product description does it tell you that the included tip rings are 95mm wide!AND you have to order smaller ones directly from Black Diamond at an additional 12.95 EACH (who is currently out of stock at the moment) PLUS shipping! What did I get for my money? The pleasure of tagging behind my group with snowshoes and 15%off* one item on my next order! WOW thats a great deal!
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