Most skimo race skis have a notch in their tips for skis to attach to. This allows racers to quickly rip the skins in a transition without taking off the skis. Race skis have an elastic attachment at the tip and no attachment at the tail – in fact, they are usually cut well short of the ski tail. I decided that rather than buy new skis for my race skis, I would re-purpose an older pair that I had kicking around.
Black Diamond Mohair Mix STS Skin
I started with a pair of Black Diamond Glidelite Mohair and Nylon Mix skins that were cut for a pair of fat skis. I started by trimming them down to fit my 60mm waist skis. I cut off the tail attachment and ripped off the ribbon covering the middle of the glue side of the skin. Trimming as easy using a G3 skin trimming tool but I still had to go back and clean it all up with a scissor.
Trimmings.
Next I pulled the wire out of the tip attachment loop. I decided to leave the plastic on the skin. They might be a bit heavier but were actually pretty good for holding the bungee cord in place. MEC had just the right sized elastic cord and I cut off about a 3 foot piece. Centered in the plastic skin clip, I hammered back on the metal clip and was all set to go.
I tied two knots in the elastic and then punched two holes into a soda bottle cap. This slid over the cord and I knotted it in place.
That was it – they work great!