The G3 Alpinist is our best selling climbing skin at Powder7 and our go-to for getting skiers climbing on snow. It covers all the basics very well with easy and secure tip and tail attachments matched with excellent glide and grip.
Click here to buy G3 Alpinist Climbing Skins from our shop, Powder7.com.
Unlike the next model down in G3’s lineup of climbing skins, the Expedition which I reviewed here, the Alpinist comes precut to length making them easily go from the box to your skis. The Alpinist has an 11cm adjustment range to fit different lengths of skis via an adjustable tail clip. This is fairly straightforward but be aware that skis can be a bit longer than their stated length so you may have to size up a skin size if you’re on the long end of the size that you initially think you need. For instance, last week I found that both the 171-181cm as well as the 162-172cm skin size fit my wife’s 168cm Head Big Joy’s. Going up a size if you’re between sizes makes most sense with twin tips. In that case the ski maker often measures the ski mostly by the edge length so those big tips in the tail are not getting included in the stated size of the ski. So, if you’re caught between sizes a bit then err on the side of going longer, especially if you have twin tips. If you’re still in doubt, you can always call us at the shop. There’s a good change that we have your ski and can pull out the skin to ensure that it fits properly.Now that we’ve gone over length sizing, next up is sizing to the width of your skis. I’ll rewrite essentially what I wrote in my Expedition review as the same applies here. Basically there are two methods to selecting width. Let’s say you have a ski that I like, the Volkl Gotama, which is 139/107/123mm wide. The first method is to buy the skin according to the waist of the ski. So you can get the 100mm width. Then you’d not trim it at all. This is the method that I prefer for the touring that I do, buying it just narrower and not trimming it at all although I will say that there are those out there who will angrily challenge me to a duel over this assertion. This Waist Width Method has worked well for me throughout my touring in Colorado although I haven’t attempted an Everest ascent with this method. This way should have slightly better glide and a little less grip. The second method is to buy according to the tip of the ski. So for the aforementioned Gotama you can get the 140 or 130mm skin and trim it so that throughout the skin it is just narrower than the skin. This may be the better method if you’re doing serious mountaineering on your skins and don’t have room for error in losing grip. You can also buy according to the tail of the ski so in this case you’d get the 115mm.
If you do buy a width that you’ll have to trim, the Alpinist comes with a cutting tool and using it is pretty straightforward, just follow the included directions.
Now the last bit about properly fitting them to your skis. If you have twin tips then definitely get G3’s Twin Tip Tail Connector Kit. With this, you’ll take off the standard tail attachment and replace it with one that securely attaches to twin tips. Instead of having a single connector which does work excellent with flat tailed skis, you’ll have two pivoting connections which will stop the skin from sliding left or right off the ski.
The grip and glide on the Alpinist are excellent. I’ve used these skins for longer tours over 10 miles in which I’ve been having with their glide. I’ve also used them on steeper terrain with firm snow and have been happy with their grip. G3 does make the Alpinist Mohair Mix Climbing Skin for better glide as well as the Alpinist High Traction Climbing Skin for you guessed it, better grip. The bottom line with these I’d say is stick to the standard Alpinist unless you’ve done plenty of touring in your area and know for sure that you want better grip of glide. The differences are fairly slight so it’s really not worth stressing about.
Thus far I’m happy with the durability of the Alpinist. I’ve gone over plenty of rocks on them without any tears. The grip and glide still feel the same on them. The same goes with the glue. They still stick just as well to my ski bases after folding them onto themselves many times to pack them away. A note about that, as with all skins take good care of them between skins. Unpack them properly when you get home, I dry mine by hanging them overnight on top of an open door, then put the included skin savers on and pack then in the included bag. I’ve always done that and it’s kept mine in very nice shape.
