Donning the Vestments from Climbing Skins Direct

Before cutting the skins, I somehow got roped into doing this week’s blessing of the snows.

We’ve got new fur to test from Climbing Skins Direct. Check out the printing! Who would have ever thought we’d get bumper stickers for our ski bases? These guys are ramping it up. They say their skins match the glide performance of the original Ascension purple skins, and slide nearly as good a mohair. To keep it holy, the storage paper on these skins is unbleached and recycled, and they’re not treated with environmentally nasty DWR but rather depend on being waxed. It’s unknown if the plush is made from recycled cell phones, but we’ve heard a rumor that’s true as well.Check them out. We be testing.

And more from the WildSnow gear dump:

We’re leaving for Europe in a few days. Louie wore out his pair of Scarpa Spirit 3 so last night we converted the kitchen into a boot molding shop and got the new pair ready to rock. He likes the fit of the Scarpa last, and the performance/weight ratio of the Spirit 3 is just right for style of human powered skiing we’ll be doing on our coming trip. So that’s his boot choice. Lisa and I will be in Dynafit boots: women’s ZZero 4 and men’s ZZero Green Machine. Lisa and I got out yesterday for a short powder hike. It’s dumping snow this morning (looks like the March monsoon is finally here) and we should probably just go up to the ski resorts, but we need to test the new boot fit so we’ll go hike something safe. Stay tuned for our European gear lists coming at you soon.

15 Responses to “Donning the Vestments from Climbing Skins Direct”

1. Hal J March 14th, 2008 9:09 am

   Praise the snowpack! Hallelujah brother!

2. Mark Donohoe March 14th, 2008 9:16 am

   Lou,

   Being an ex catholic the picture today had me in rolling on the floor. I may try to grab it for my website. It will be the link into wildsnow… so you get credit. So funny! Hope your Euro trip goes well. Take care.

   Good turns to you and the family.

3. Justin March 14th, 2008 11:24 am

   I’m on my second pair of climbingskins.direct skins. The reason I’m on my second pair is because the first pair ripped very easily on some rocks (however, they did replace them for free!). They glide better than any other skins I’ve had, and grip just as well. Haven’t had any more icing up problems than with any other skins. So overall I like them, just question their durability.

   Off topic but have you heard anything about the Dalbello AT boot coming out next year (I think its called the Virus) which is supposed to be Dynafit compatible? Some info on TGR.

   Have you guys tested the Radium yet?

4. Bdc March 14th, 2008 1:38 pm

   I always thought Wildsnow was a cult and now there’s proof! I’ll pass on the Dawson Kool-aid

   Enjoy the trip.

5. AJ March 14th, 2008 2:23 pm

   for some people Dynafit is a religion, I think we just found the pope 🙂

6. mark worley March 14th, 2008 7:24 pm

   We thank the Reverend Dawson for bestowing backcountry skiing dispensations on us. Have a great trip.

7. George T March 14th, 2008 7:57 pm

   Honorable Biship Lou:
   God speed and safety on your trip and stable snow under your skis.
   GeorgeT, The Alter Boy

8. Justin Leech March 15th, 2008 1:54 am

   Hey Lou,
   In one of you blogs, you mentioned changing out Scarpa toungues to get a stiffer feel. Do you have any reccomendations for a Spirit 3 to get a firmer ride?
   Thanks,
   JL

9. Lou March 15th, 2008 7:26 am

   Justin, the stiff black tongues available from Scarpa (think they call them the “Ski Tongue”) fit in there just fine, as do many other tongues from this style of boot. Fitting some requires a bit of cutting or grinding on the tongue. The only problem with this mod is it can make the boot tour mode not as comfortable due to forward resistance.

10. AJ March 16th, 2008 11:38 am

    have a good Euro trip!

11. Lou March 16th, 2008 12:55 pm

    Thanks AJ and all! We’re sitting at gate A43 at the moment, Lufthansa to Munich flying soon!

12. Plinko March 18th, 2008 3:56 pm

    Hi Lou,

    You said Louie “wore out” his Spirit 3’s, could you elaborate? Where/how did they fail? How was Scarpa about replacements?

    Best wishes,

    Ben

13. Lou March 19th, 2008 12:15 am

    Plinko, I didn’t mean to imply that the Scarpas failed in any way that would be unusual or covered by warranty. They’re just as durable as any other boot, but after several years and hundreds of days of hard use, a few simple things were going on. Mostly, the rubber was worn out on the toe from climbing on foot with no skis, so they were getting tricky or even dangerous for scrambling. The cuff pivots were a bit worn as well, and the inside of the liners had been repaired with duct tape after wearing through. Nothing unusual for any randonnee boot. In fact, the Spirit 3 seemed to wear very well as it was put through some pretty brutal use.

14. Derik March 19th, 2008 7:29 am

    Normal wear and tear, yes ……… but the Spirit 3 sole area under the toe is particularly thin. It will wear with very little walking and scrambling. My thought is that the sole was designed thin there as a weight savings measure. Unfortunately, that impedes their longevity. Just take a look at the F3 sole, its much thicker in the toe area and already wears better.

    I wonder does the Spirit 4 also have the wear problem?

15. Lou March 19th, 2008 11:24 am

    Derik, I just compared Spirit 3 to some other boots. It’s not that the toe rubber is any thinner, it’s that the toe is cut back at an angle due to clearance issue from the Dynafit sockets being farther back. This seems to make wear of the rubber have more immediate consequence. Solution is to probably make the rubber a few mil thicker in that area, meanwhile, we like the stride improvement due to the position of the sockets, and feel any tradeoff is well worth it.