Gear Review

Black Diamond Ascension Skins

1. top glue performance
2. stiffer for wind handling
3. excellent attachment system
4. bring back the purple!

Ascension climbing skins set the standard when they first came out. They've long since been taken over by Black Diamond, but aside from a few hiccups along the way, everything has worked out fine, and the Ascension is still the top contender in the skin business.

You'll love the glue on these skins. Sticky, sticky, and stickier still, this glue locks your skins to your boards so securely you'll wonder if you even need the STS attachment to lock the tail.

Year after year, the Ascension glue stays sticky. I had a pair whose nylon mohair finally disintegrated after about 10 years. The glue was still as sticky as ever.

Compared to other skins, the Ascension has an intentionally stiffer feel; Black Diamond says the extra stiffness makes them easier to put on and take off in windy conditions.

It's also worth noting that Black Diamond's STS attachment system routinely bests other maker's designs in head-to-head reviews. It's a simple and reliable way to keep the tail from coming loose, and I certainly haven't had any problems with it.

You can choose to have Black Diamond pre-trim this model to fit several shaped ski templates. A trimmed skin weighs more (this may seem counterintuitive at first), but more completely covers your bases, providing better grip on snow. Depending on conditions, this extra grip will either be welcome or irrelevant.

The deep purple of these skins gives them a classic look that I like; call me old fashioned. This season's version has switched to an orangey yellow. Maybe we can lobby BD to change the color back! As for the competition, a few models claim to be lighter than the Ascension. I haven't seen the numbers—either on their scales or mine—to back up those claims.

Stick with the original: these are still the best skins you can buy.

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