How to Reglue Climbing Skins

Climbing skins enable backcountry skiers to ascend uphill on their skis. The skins attach to the skis via a combination of clips and glue. They have a plush fabric that enables forward movement, but resists backwards movement. The glue side will eventually get all kinds of debris attached to it, like pine needles, and lose its stickiness. Reglue the skins yourself and save a lot of money.

Things You'll Need

  • Gold Label Glue or glue sheets Scissors Brown paper bags Masking tape Old credit card Iron Newspapers Utility knife Paint scraper
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Instructions

  1. Getting ready

    • 1

      Put down the newspapers; use enough that the ski is entirely over newspaper. Attach the skin to the ski with the sticky side facing up. Slide pieces of newspaper between the skin and the ski to protect the ski.

    • 2

      Remove the old glue with a heated paint scraper; do this in small sections, working from tail to tip.

      Alternatively, cut the paper bags up into sections wider than the skin and place them on the skin. Iron the paper bags lightly to get the glue loose and attached to the paper bags, then pull the bags off the skin. Repeat this until no glue is soaked up by the bags.

    • 3

      Scrape the last bits of glue off the skin with an old credit card or a plastic scraper.

    • 4

      Apply the masking tape to the center stripe of your skins (if they are the Black Diamond type). Brush a thin layer of the Gold Label glue over the skins, going side to side and tip to tail. Let it dry for 30 minutes and apply a second coat. Let that dry. Apply a third coat and let it dry overnight.

      Another option is to use the glue sheets. Trim the sheets to the length and width of your skins and then remove the adhesive backing of the sheets and press them on the skins, working tip to tail. Run the iron over the glue sheets going tip to tail until it is smooth. Do this two or three times.

    • 5

      Trim any excess glue from the sides of the skins with the utility knife.