Klister wax on rando skis?

Hello,<br><br>I am planning to celebrate my birthday next Saturday by joining the Mountaineers on a Mountaineers Patrol race trip (see Lowell Skoog's history of the trip for details). In his detailed notes , Lowell writes: "Thin skins, wax, or no-wax skis are advised for skiing on roads and other low angled terrain.&#8221;<br><br>Has anyone used klister wax on rando/tele skis for skinning (w/o skin)? Any advice? Can one stick skins on top of the klister, then remove them, w/o side effects? Since I won't be able to experiment before the trip, I may just stick with my Ascension skins, but that is not what I would call a gliding setup at all...<br><br>Thanks!<br><br>drC<br>

Klister makes an excellent skin glue.<br><br>However applying the right klister / wax for the snow conditions and making it work effectively takes some practice. Even if a knowlegeable person correctly waxes your skis at the start of the course -- skiing using wax for traction often requires subtle changes in your movement patterns to get the best grip and avoid icing the skis. Also conditions will likely change / evolve of the course -- so being able to adjust the wax enroute is beneficial.<br><br>That all said -- if you wanted to try waxing for the first time on the Patrol Race -- Do some reading on the swix website -- it has a lot of good information:<br> www.swixsport.com

www.swixsport.com/ie5D1227.htm

www.swixsport.com/ie5D1224.htm

I've been meaning to try klister on my alpine skis, but I've never done it. On the Hurricane Ridge traverse last weekend, I carried every imaginable traction aid. My wife laughed at me, as usual.<br><br>* Full-width skins (and harscheisen)<br>* Thin skins (1-inch wide)<br>* Two-wax Swix system<br>* Klister and wax remover<br><br>I ended up using the thin skins more than anything. I never used the wax or klister. So, unfortunately, I can't offer the benefit of experience on using klister. I suspect that futzing around with klister is probably more trouble than it's worth if you haven't done it before.<br><br>I'm partial to thin skins, myself. But not everybody likes them. When I did the Patrol Race route with John Mauro in 2004 (referenced above), I lent him an extra pair of thin skins, but he didn't care for them much. He quit using them pretty quickly and went back to his wide skins.<br><br>This made it easier for me to keep up with him. As an old guy, I'll take any advantage I can get.  

Thanks all. It doesn't look like I should experiment with klister that day.<br><br>Lowell, one trick I want to try someday is to get pretty skinny skins (like 50mm) and slit them in the middle along their length, except for extremities. The theory is to then put the skins on and push the two halves next to the edges. You get edges and grip next to them, but much better glide.<br><br>Now if anybody could point me towards cheap mohair or mohair/nylon skins for that purpose, that'd be awesome. (I have some nylon full carpet ascension and those are sloooooww).<br><br>Lowell, I look forward to meeting you next weekend.<br><br>drC

One trick I want to try someday is to get pretty skinny skins (like 50mm) and slit them in the middle along their length, except for extremities. The theory is to then put the skins on and push the two halves next to the edges. You get edges and grip next to them, but much better glide.

<br><br>My guess is that the glide would be pretty poor with this setup. Not nearly as good as a single narrow skin down the middle of the ski. Sounds like an idea worth trying though...

I've got an older pair of skins (from Trak Alta's - remember them?) that I'm thinks about cutting for thin skins. I would use them with Karhu Dorados (91-68-75 waxless).<br><br>Should I cut right down to 1" as Lowell quotes above, or be conservative and start at 1.5 or 2"? Thanks