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Ski Trab Skin Fix System – A Radical Departure

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We’ve been playing around with a pair of Trab skis along with their dedicated skin fix system. Check it out.

Trab backcountry skiing skin fix system
The tail fix is the heart of the system. You slide this cam lever into a slot that only Trab skis come with, tension the skin, then click it down. This shows the lever in the up position, just after sliding into the slot.

Trab backcountry skiing skin fix system
Rear lever down, in secured position. The lever works when oriented toward tip or tail, but is easier to flip up with your fingers when it’s oriented toward the tail. By using the cord (I added it) as a handle you can remove your the skins without taking your skis off, though I found doing so to be slightly more difficult than with systems such as the WildSnow rat tail.

Trab backcountry skiing skin fix system
Skin tail with system installed. I found it a bit tricky to install these myself without having done it before. Good service for a shop to offer.

Trab backcountry skiing skin fix system
You put the tip fix in before you do the tail. It also fits in a dedicated slot as shown in the photos above and below. I found this to be quite elegant compared to the old tip loop system. The hole in the ski has nothing to do with the skin system, it’s there for hauling the skis or building a rescue sled.

Trab backcountry skiing skin fix system

Our take: If you choose Trab skis, you’ll find their skin fix system is adequate, if not elegant. Downside is it’s a bit fiddly,the latch is tricky to work with thick gloves or mittens, and it requires quite a bit of duct tape to use your skins on non Trab skis. Durability is unknown (we’ll report back on that next season). In all, a Wildsnow.com thumbs up.

Check out our video of using the system.

Posted by Lou on March 15, 2007 | Filed Under Misc Gear Reviews 

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Comments

One Response to “Ski Trab Skin Fix System – A Radical Departure”

  1. Jonathan Shefftz March 15th, 2007 7:18 am

    A few comments (based on six outings with them so far):

    1. Instead of a fabric or cord loop for the tail cam lever, I’ve been using a cable tie loop (with a little bit of duct tape to keep it from getting smaller over time), on the idea that it won’t flop around as much.

    2. Alternatively, the tail cam lever can be used “as-is� if the lever is closed so that it points toward the tail of the ski (instead of toward the tip), as then it can be popped up by reaching underneath the split in the tail.

    3. Either way, once the tail cam lever is released, although I usually then peel back the skin from the tail, an additional option is to rotate the tip attachment 180 degrees and then peel back the skin from the tip.

    4. I agree that the initial installation (although it offers the option of using any old after-market skin, thereby saving $$) is time consuming (even with my second pair). I quickly learned that it is best to shape the skin to the attachment (using an Ascension or G3 template for shaping their skins to their tip loops) *before* riveting the skin to the attachment (although maybe that’s obvious?). And for the rivets, I eventually learned the technique of first forming a starter hole with a nail, then creating a bigger hole with a wide wood screw held by vise grip pliers.

    Overall though, I feel all this setup fiddling was worthwhile, given the setup’s ease of use in the field . . . as well as absolute security during tricky moments like extrication from a Sasquatch trap:
    http://picasaweb.google.com/jshefftz/WhenSasquatchAttacks/photo#5042147117756608338

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Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

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