First Look: Pomoca Climb Pro S-Glide Skins
Update: check out the preliminary review here.
Well Christmas is over but I got to unwrap another sweet toy today. Well not really a toy…new skins! After using the excellent Contour Hybrid Mix skins for most of the past couple seasons I’m switching it up. Enter the Pomoca Climb Pro S-Glide climbing skins. Nice concise name. Really rolls off the tongue. Jokes aside, these skins are highly regarded by backcountry skiers, so I thought I would try them out this season. They should be fairly comparable to the Contours, and I’m curious whether I’ll miss the super easy glue-to-glue separation of those skins. Time will tell…
I haven’t been out on these yet (hopefully in the next few days) but in the meantime I’ll show you what’s in the package. I was going to say what’s in the box, but they come in a fancy zippered fabric pouch.
What’s in the Pomoca Package?
The big reveal…a quick unzip revealed all the goodies. Skins with glue protectors and a trimming tool on the right, what looks to be a storage pouch and tip loops on the left.
Digging a little deeper I found there is also a microfiber cloth, presumably to wipe your bases down before applying your skins. Different approach from Contour. They have a microfiber cloth built into the inside of the skin bag so you can’t lose it. And those tip loops are extra, slightly narrower tip loops in case the standard ones don’t fit your skis. Nice.
I was pleased to discover that the tail clips are already attached so there won’t be any fiddling there. After unfolding the skins I found that there is a set of tip loops attached already too. Excellent. The tip loop attachment looks pretty similar to the Contour – it pulls apart so you can easily throw a new loop in there if you need to.
The Climb Pro S-Glide Skins
I hope you like the color teal. Or at least don’t hate it. Almost everything about these is teal (which I’m fine with. You don’t really see your skins when you’re using them so who cares really). It’s just kind of funny that everything is the same (similar at least) color. Tip connectors, tail connectors, and the fabric…all very close. If only they could figure out how to make the glue side the same color…
On to things that actually matter. The skins themselves feel pliable, so they should be easy to pack up. The fabric side is smooth in one direction and grippy in the other as expected. With a super sophisticated ‘hand-rub test’ I’ve judged that the glide will be at least on par with my Contours. That is to say they’re nice and smooth with the grain.
The glue side is covered with one solid sheet of plastic. To compare to Contour, they had a 3-piece plastic covering so the trim tool slides along plastic instead of glue. This worked exceptionally well, but according to Pomoca’s videos, the trim tool works just fine on the glue. I’ll report back when I get them trimmed up. No cheat sheets in this box, so hopefully these skins aren’t too hard to pull apart in the field.
Tip and Tail Connectors
No real surprises here aside from the fact that extra narrower tip connector loops are included. They’re really easy to swap out too. All you have to do is line up the ‘bump’ with the ‘slot’ (pic below) and push the tip loop toward the skin to pop it out. Reverse that process to pop it back in.
The tail connectors seem well made too and are pretty similar to the Contour tail connectors. The straps are a bit more flexible and a more rubbery material and the clips themselves are plastic. I haven’t heard reports of any problems with these.
Other Goodies
Along with the skins themselves you also get a storage bag, base cleaning cloth and a trim tool. No cheat sheets in case you were wondering. I’m personally not a big fan but I know some people like them.
The trim tool is definitely the funkiest I’ve seen. The two big protrusions on the back side are grips, and I’m curious how well they will work when trimming. Stay tuned for an update
The storage bag is…adequate. I’m not knocking it. It’s just a bag with some handles. I’m betting that pristine white cleaning cloth won’t be white for long! Curious color choice…they should have made it teal (ha!).
Closing Thoughts
Updates will follow once I trim these Pomoca Climb Pro S-Glide climbing skins (rolls off the tongue, right?) and get out in the field with them. But at first glance they seem like they’ll be a good replacement for my Contours. Open questions are whether I’ll miss the hybrid glue of the Contours and how the grip and glide compare. Stay tuned to find out!