Riff

Update: still pretty stoked on these, drying them out is no problem. They were plenty warm on an extended trip with temps in the single digits. There’s some spots wearing through the exterior fabric, but nothing unusual.

I did the application process myself, got lucky with a sunny day and went for it. Pretty straighforward, no problems there. The next day I tried sticking my skins on there- absolutely no grip. I briefly panicked, then consulted the DPS website and found that they recommend skiing a few laps on them to buff off the surface to get the best adhesion from skins. After two hours of warm spring skiing, the skins stuck just fine. Also, performance improved vastly over the course of the first half dozen laps, ...

Excellent point- i was hoping the material around the toe referred to as “perf” by palau would be closed cell heat moldable foam. It’s a low density open cell, probably comfortable but not as warm. It’s occasionally tough to figure out what the manufacturer means with descriptions.

These replaced a pair of Alien RS’s that I really liked. The Aliens were amazing, but I had trouble with the lack of volume in the forefoot, and the liners were wearing out fast. The F1LT definitely has a more generous fit in the forefoot, improving comfort and warmth in my case. The walk mode mechanism is great, and range of motion is the same as the Alien; tremendous. I think the cuff is a bit stiffer and more progressive than the alien as well, I’d say the boot descends a little better. The liner is b...

I have a season and a half on Free Pro 2.0’s and I’m pretty much going to seek them out for any climbing skin needs in the future. They are way lighter than my previous BD mohair mix, and also pack down much smaller. The glue is much easier to unstick from itself when folded than BD, a welcome feature. However, I do feel that I need to iron the glue back down flat and dry more often, and I’ve had some glue residue remain on my ski bases this season after putting perhaps 40-50 days on the skins. They ar...