Ski Trab likes to go it alone. They require uniquely sized drill bits, make 14-layer skis, and invented a whole new boot interface for the TR2 binding. Unsurprisingly, the thought-leaders of Bormio use non-standardized climbing skin attachments (not that there are any standards for such things).
Trabs latest system is called Attivo and the skins are attached with wide, flat clasps onto the tips of Gara Aero, Maestro, Magico, Mistico, Libero, Sintesi, Altavia, and other such finely crafted and named skis. Trab skis often feature Duo swallow tails, which naturally require a special kit for fixing skins. We’ve noted your troubles and now offer these unique specimens for repairing or crafting your own rugs. All the attachments are sold in pairs.
Attivo Tip & Tail Kit - Two flat tip clasps with pull straps and two plastic & rubber knobs for swallow tails. Also included are plenty of rivets. The instruction sheet only has a few words in English, but the picture is worth 1000 of them.
Attivo Tip Kit - Flat clasp with pull tab built for any of the current Attivo skis. Rivets included.
Attivo Tail Kit - Black plastic and rubber knobs built for the swallow tails of the Trab Attivo skis. Rivets included.
Duo Sint Tip & Tail Kit - Tip connection designed to fit older Trab Duo skis with a wide "V" notch in the tip. Also included is a camming tail piece to lock the skin on tight. Comes with rivets.
Duo Sint Tip Kit - The fancy tip connectors for older Trab Duo skis (including Freerando). Triangular locking mechanism spins into place in the "V" notch. Rivets included.
Duo Race Tip Kit - Same as the Duo Sint but a bit skinnier for Duo Race skis. Rivets included.
EVO Tip Kit - Unique tips for the first generation Trab Evo skis (Polvere, Volare, Ripido). Black plastic blocker slides in from the side. Does NOT work with later model Evo Attivo skis (Polvere, Volare, Ripido). No rivets in the kit.
Tail Hook Kit - Simple square metal tail clasps for skins with a flat tail and notched tip. Rivets included.
Camlock Tail Kit - Black plastic tail clip that adjusts along a non-stretchy strap. Rivets included.
PVC Tips & Metal Brackets - Basic square tip buckles with a fold-over piece of PVC to securely attach to the skin. Rivets included.
Metal Tip Brackets - Square metal buckles; several widths available. To attach your skin by simply doubling the skin back on itself.
Glue Tube - 65 grams of Ski Trab's finest skin glue. Please do not huff.
Hammer Rivets - Front and back pieces designed to be hammered together. Use for affixing tips and tails to skin material.
I'm curious if the old Duo Sint tail cam device would work on new duo tails (Mistico, Magico, etc.)?
What I'm really wondering is whether that might be more secure than the little "push in" device that goes with the current-generation swallow-tail skis. (I haven't had problems, but I'm wanting to modify my some high-traction BD skins for my Trab Mistico skis, and wondering what the best tail connecting device would be.).
Hi Eric, I've tried it out on some demo skis at the shop and it appears that it would work. Whether it will be more secure is a different matter though. The attivo push-in connector is very secure. We haven't really heard of any connection problems with it. It's dead simple, and with most of this gear, the simpler the better.
Just FYI for you guys and gals that are building/repairing/replacing Ski Trab Skin parts and have a question about what the Attivo Tail Kit should look like when it's installed, I attached a picture for reference. It should sit 2/3-3/4 of the way out of the tail notch rather than resting all the way in. If it's too far in it will be much more difficult to remove your skins while in the field.
Which tail kit do you recommend with the Ski trab's, I have the camlock for my Ripido's and its ok used it once on Teton Pass, I want one that slots the tail for my son's Volare's. Grazie millet.
Hey Anthony, the attivo tip kit is what the current Volares use. I'm a little bit fuzzy with my memory on exactly which year they changed the tip and tail attachment but on older models (13/14 and older would be my guess) they will use a different attachment. If you have any questions or want to clear anything up send us an email. -Trace
Hey Anthony, the little button (Attivo kit) for the swallow tails seems to work just fine. No need to cam the thing in my opinion. The glue still does most of the work holding your skins on.
The only thing I'll add on to Jonathan's review above is that I HAVE retrofit these onto existing skins (to work with Trab skis) and they are a breeze to install. The only tools you need are a hammer, a leather awl or hole-poker of some sort, and a small metal pole or cylinder to pound in some rivets for the tail attachment. I found that the easiest way to install was to put on the top/tip attachment, then lay the skin on the ski and attach the tail piece exactly where it should be from above. Simple.
I can't vouch for how easy these are to retrofit onto other brands of skins. However, I can vouch for how well they work on Trab skis once they are already attached to attached to Trab skins: the tip is my favorite of any brand or type, and the tail works fine too. See my review of Trab's own skins for more details, but if for some reason you want to use a brand of skins other than Trab's own for your Trab skins, then you should strongly consider retrofitting on the Trab proprietary skin attachment system.
