Gear reviews | Contour Guide Mix 2.0 ski skins

First impression

The first impression of climbing skins is made when unpacking and cutting them to size. The Contour Guide Mix 2.0 comes with a skin cutter for cutting, instructions, a skin bag and two protective foils. Reading the instructions is highly recommended - especially for newcomers to cutting skins.

The cutting went well, although I did make a small mistake: As I am right-handed, it seemed easier to cut on the right-hand side of the ski. I therefore turned the ski over and cut the other side accordingly. However, you cut against the direction of the hair, which can cause the material to fray. It's better not to do this.

The length can be easily adjusted using the tail clip at the rear end and does not slip during further use.

Test conditions

The skins were tested on the Black Crows Camox Freebird with a length of 172 cm in combination with the ATK Crest 8. The Contour Guide Mix 2.0 in length L (169-176 cm) was used for this. The skin is also available in two different widths. Due to the sidecut of 133-96-113 mm, the correspondingly wider and therefore slightly more expensive version with 135 mm is required here.

Of course, one could complain about the weak winter so far and the moderate snow conditions. On the other hand, there have been a whole series of fantastically sunny days. Despite the limited possibilities, we managed to complete around 20 ski tours - enough to extensively test the Contour skins in a wide range of conditions. These ranged from cold powder snow to wetter spring conditions, which gives a realistic impression of how the skins will behave in everyday touring.

In everyday touring, the uncomplicated handling when putting on and taking off the skins and the overall solid adhesion over many uses are particularly impressive. After around 20 tours in varying conditions, the skins proved to be reliable and easy to handle. Even on tours with repeated skinning, the skins stuck reliably to the ski - a point that is often problematic in practice. It is therefore not necessary to put the skins in the jacket to melt snow or to restore adhesion due to the higher temperature. After all, wet and cold skins in the jacket are not one of the highlights of a ski tour.

All in all, a good skin saves a lot of energy on long tours. The first thing that comes to mind is the weight, which is already pleasantly low with the Contour Guide Mix 2.0. However, good gliding properties are also important, which are average for this Contour skin, but by no means poor. A higher mohair content could further improve this property, but then you would have to make compromises elsewhere. The good grip, which reduces slipping, and the water-repellent material are also crucial. As a result, the skin remains light, hardly soaks up any water and has little tendency to roll up snow. The skins were also tested in warmer temperatures - the material proved to be very effective here.

A particular highlight is that the skins are PFAS-free. In skiing, this is a highly topical issue in terms of environmental compatibility, as water-repellent and durable properties are technically more challenging to implement without PFAS.

Another plus point is the regional production in Innsbruck. The skins have probably covered fewer kilometers between production and handover to the PowderGuide team than they did later in use on ski tours.

Conclusion

The Contour Guide Mix 2.0 are convincing across the board: light, grippy and reliable, even with repeated skinning or warmer conditions. The skins are easy to put on and take off, the adhesive lasts for many tours and thanks to the water-repellent material, the skin remains light and hardly sticks.

Advantages and disadvantages

+Very reliable grip on the ascent

+Low weight and good pack size

+Well-designed

+Water-repellent

+Easy handling for everyday touring

-Wider variants for touring skis are correspondingly more expensive

-Careful cutting is important (note the direction of the hair)

-Slight fraying possible on the sides