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ProView – Backcountry Access Climbing Skins

Have you ever felt like you’re going to sustain an injury from pulling your skins apart? Enter the BCA Contour Hybrid skins.  By using an innovative new adhesive that promises easy separation and reliable adhesion to ski bases, it’s like they’re trying to make life easier for us.    

Backcountry Access BCA Climbing Skins

Product Description: Our BCA Hybrid climbing skins check all the boxes – good grip, good glide, easy to trim, easy to stash, and hybrid glue that works in a variety of conditions. Most of all, they pull apart easily. No regluing necessary: just wipe down the adhesive layer to restore tackiness. Includes flush metal top loop and adjustable tail hook, cleaning wipes, stuff sack, and easy-to-use offset trim tool to fit these skins to your sidecut.

Offer price: $199.95 - $219.95

  • Quality
    (4)
  • Features
    (4)
  • Ease of setup/trimming
    (5)
  • Durability
    (4.5)

Summary

If you feel like you need the help of a WWF wrestler to get your skins pulled apart, these skins might just be what you’ve been waiting for.

Overall
4.4

Pros

  • Effortless peel apart action as advertised
  • Innovative trim tool design makes trimming a breeze
  • Great balance between grip and glide

Cons

  • Tail clips do not maintain tension after repeated use
  • Fussy steps to ensure reliable performance

Caveates

I should offer the caveat that my time with these skins dovetailed almost like clockwork with the Covid-19 outbreak.  No sooner than the skins arrived in the mail, the world shut down.  And as such, my time on these skins was more limited than I would have liked.  Knowing my time would be limited I pushed them into some pretty ridiculous situations…effectively trying to find their weaknesses.  More on that below. 

Performance

BCA has an extensive history with climbing skins so my expectations were of a product that was well crafted and highly functional.  

Short answer: they work as advertised and I was pleased with their performance.  

Longer answer: The mohair mix offers predictable and favorable performance comparable to what I’ve come to expect from these blends.  Mohair mixes are my favorite.  Falling between G3’s and Black Diamond’s mo-mix offerings in terms of both glide and grip, BCA’s skins offer a perfect balance that just screams efficiency.  They also pack up super small.  But those features are almost compulsory these days with any halfway decent skin.  The real meat of this story is the adhesive. So here’s the deal.  They’re super easy to pull apart.  Like…really easy.  And they also stuck to the bottoms of my skis after multiple laps.  I walked some heinous sidehills, some gut-busting steeps, and plenty of funky variable early spring mank just trying to make the adhesive fail.  And I couldn’t.  They just kept doing their job.  

Issues

According to BCA, there are two required steps to keep these skins running smoothly.  

First, the user should wipe down the base of the ski before use.  BCA includes a wipe that’s stitched into the storage bag for this purpose.  This isn’t an unusual request, but does make me wonder just how critical it is…I mean I’d hate to be applying my skins in a driving storm with no chance of completely cleaning my bases as the skins went on only to find that they didn’t stick.  For the record, I’ve never been super anal about making sure my skis are bone dry before applying my skins.  But I also find cheater sheets annoying and am guilty of having a few flecks of dog hair and pine needles in my skin glue.  Oh, you too?  Let’s be friends.

Second, BCA recommends using their included cleaning wipes to clean the glue surface at an undetermined interval.  Basically, if they stop sticking, BCA says to “clean” the glue surface.  Cool because presumably you won’t have to re-glue these skins but I never arrived at this step so I can’t speak to the wipe’s effectiveness nor the interval that this treatment is needed.  

Also, I took issue with the tail clips which appeared to lose tension after repeated use.  The tail strap is a nylon material that just lacks the elasticity after multiple laps that other brands offer with their rubber straps.  On the first lap, BCA’s tail clips snapped right in place.  On the third, fourth, and fifth laps, the clips were a little less “snappy”.     

Noteworthy trim tool design deserves high praise

Big props to BCA for designing what, in my opinion, will become the industry leading trim tool.  Seriously, I’d consider buying these skins just for the tool.  I’ve always been a fan of G3’s tool and I’ve never been a fan of Black Diamond’s letter opener.  BCA’s tool leaves them both in the dust.  So easy to use, so effective, so well designed.  Also, in a smart move, the protective film that protects the glue from the factory is sectioned so that when you’re doing your initial trimming, you can affix the skin to the base of the skis just down the center, leaving the edges perfectly placed for trimming but unstuck from the ski, making the process super easy.  

Final word

While I can’t speak to the long term performance of BCA’s latest entry to the skin game, I can say that I was initially impressed with what they’ve created.  These skins are, by far, the easiest to pull apart of any I’ve ever used.  Other than that, their performance is on par with the competition.  The combination of those two facts may be good reasons to give them a look.     

Shop the Backcountry Access BCA Climbing Skins on Outdoor Prolink. Not a member? Apply today!

About the Gear Tester

Outdoor Prolink Pro
Quinn Keating
Quinn Keating
Ski Patrol Director

Quinn Keating calls the Green Mountains of Northern Vermont home and spends over 250 days a year on his skis and mountain bike.  Having worked various jobs in the ski industry starting back in 2001 doing everything from selling bagels at the base of the tram in Jackson to directing the ski patrol at his local hill in Vermont, he’s seen his share of trends come and go.  He now balances his outdoor pursuits with a career as a middle school teacher, father, and husband and is stoked to be sharing his passions with his daughter and students.  Like any self-respecting Vermonter, he likes maple syrup and IPA’s.

3 comments

  1. Burnsie

    Any comparisons with the Pomoca mix skins? These are OEM for Salomon and Dynafit and others. Good review, were your tests in VT? Higher moisture content snow? Any chance you used these in freakin’ cold conditions for multiple laps?

    Reply

    1. Quinn Keating

      Hi there. I’m ashamed to say that I don’t have any first hand experience with Pomoca skins, but I’ve certainly seen plenty in action. From my experience, the grip/glide action of the mix that BCA’s hybrid skins employ is on par with the industry standard…never felt sluggish and never wished for more traction. Yes, my review time was based in VT. In terms of temp, the skins didn’t arrive for testing until early spring, and so while they definitely saw plenty of high water content snow, the temps weren’t that cold. I’d be happy to report back in a few months as I plan on using them as my daily drivers this season and am sure to spend plenty of time on skin tracks in sub-zero temps. I’m with you on the suspicion of how they’ll hold up after multiple laps, but if my experience last season was any indicator, they’ll do just fine.

      Reply

  2. Graham

    Been using the BCA hybrid on a Volkl 108 (115×175-185) for a few weeks in NH & VT. Love them.

    Been great on man made snow, crust, stomping through the woods on a zero degree powder day, and the well traveled skin track. They’ve been working as expected. Love the easy on, easy off. Light weight and compact, so they’re easy to get in my pack.

    Yes, the tail clip looses tension. After the 2nd or 3rd day I stopped worrying and it’s been fine. Tip loops are solid and simple. They just work.

    Got a pair for my wife and she’s all smiles.

    Reply

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