Black Diamond  Ascension Nylon Skins

The clip at the tip of the ski fell apart on my fourth lap using these skins. The two metal springs popped out of the cross bar. Unfortunately, this is not something that's easy to just put back together; I tried on the slopes, but had to resort to using pliers and a mallet at home. The only thing I can think of that may have caused this is my ski tips must have knocked into each other when I was skinning up. Maybe if you're a veteran skinner this would never happen to you, but if you're a beginner, you should be extremely cautious with your technique if you have these skins otherwise your day could be ending early. I submitted a warranty repair request to Black Diamond, hopefully they can make this right.

The clip on the tail is not great in conjunction with the rubber tail strap. When it is sub-freezing the rubber tail strap has no elasticity, so the clip will not seat easily in the strap and the strap is almost impossible to stretch over the tail of the ski. The glide is not great either. I really wanted the Pomocas, but they were not available at the time purchase. Also, the storage mesh for the skins could benefit from some very simple refinement: trim the raw edges of the mesh, so they don’t get hung up on the mesh top of the storage bag.

I have been using these skins for 5 seasons now and they are showing little sign of slowing down. They are a classic nylon skin, which means you get great grip on the snow, at the cost of higher friction when you glide. Therefore, these will save you energy on days with hard, slick snow surfaces and/or steep climbs, but you will be a little slower on longer days with gentle skinning. The durability has been good where it really counts. The plush still grips well, and the glue has remained sticky for an amazingly long time. Both the tail clips have ripped off due to the plastic strap breaking, but the glue is so sticky that I haven't missed the tail clips one bit.

I brought in skis and a snowboard for a free wax service. The store seemed quite slow. The ski shop would not wax our equipment because the skis had skin glue on the bottom. The ski shop brought my skis out and placed them on the rack without the wax being completed. Additionally I bought these skins for $205.00 and asked the they trim to fit and install on my skis and the ski shop refused to do the trim work and recommended I come back at another time. This is the first time I have ever had a poor experience at REI. I returned the skins the next day and took my business elsewhere. Unfortunate.

I bought these skins and trimmed them to fit my skis. When I folded them in half, glue on glue (like you should) and then pulled them apart the glue came right off the skin in various places, mostly on the edges not limited to. They have never even been used once. The glue seriously just easily rolls right off of the skin base into big goobers. Wish I could post the photos. This can't be right, these skins are unusable. What a total waste of money! These are the first Black Diamond skins I have bought, I currently own three other brands that have worked perfectly for over a decade.

Excellent grip on variety of snow surfaces - and good glide. The trim tool could be improved - I tried the BD one that came with the skins but switched and used an old 3G tool that is molded with a nice offset to give a consistent exposure of ~1/8 inch of edge/ski base. Also bought a Factor shell - loooove it! Rugged build, quiet material, not crinkly, have worn skiing with puffy underneath in low single digit temps, with lighter layers in teens/20 temps and just base layer for fast hikes on the Long Trail with our dog. Good hood design, can tuck your chin in on cold lifts, easy pits zips. OK, one complaint - inside mesh pockets could be larger to hold skins (but the large outside front pockets work well.

I taught myself how to trim my newly purchased Ascension skins (much thanks to your SUPER helpful video series)…. and someday when it snows here in Pennsylvania, I’ll be ready to rip (uphill).

Kit came with everything needed to cut skins- super easy process. Super easy to transition. Super cute color too!

Best skins on the market. Easy to trim, covers the whole ski base. They are not the lightest but they are the grippiest and stickiest skins I’ve ever owned. They stay sticky after multiple laps. And they will last for years. I had a pair for over 10 years, the strap and clips at the tail had long since been lost and torn off. They still stuck to my skis every time. Even on the super frigid days in AK. If you take care of them and store them over the summer as suggested these skins will do you proud on the sketchiest skin tracks. A caveat… I have ski crampons, and I use them when the conditions necessitate. Bombproof crust and breakable crust are just too frustrating for me, ain’t no shame if you make it to the top!

Bought these skins last year. First, if your skis are at the top end of the recommended length, buy they next size up if you still want black diamond. They cut 2cm off the skin length meaning the strap can barely stretch to the last hole leaving you no margin of error if the strap breaks which they do on occasion. In my case the top bale failed during a 4 day outing in the back country. Not a happy camper and having used skins since the 70s, yes you snake skin fans, this will probably be my last pair of BD unless they make me an offer I cannot refuse.