Black Diamond GlideLite Mix STS Splitboard Skins Review

The new Black Diamond GlideLite Splitboard Skins are made of mohair and nylon offering a nice combination of grip and glide. Find out what I liked and what can be improved with the Black Diamond Splitboard Skins in my review below.

Black Diamond GlideLite Review

Why do I like the Black Diamond GlideLite Splitboard Skins so much? Well, it has to do with Black Diamond’s patterned tail clips.  The Black Diamond Ascension STS tail clips that allow you to easily lock your skins into place. When you go to attach the skins you can hear a clicking noise that tells you the skins are locked into place against your tail.  You’re talking some serious peace of mind in the backcountry.

The things about skins are they work until they don’t.  Many brands of splitboard skins perform well in cold temperatures while others don’t.  The same can be said for when it warms up, skin glue is a finicky thing.

If you have ever had to re-glue your skins then you’re familiar with Black Diamond’s Gold Label Adhesive. This is basically the only skin glue on the market in North America which should tell you something about Black Diamond’s Glue.  That being said, if your skins need re-glued It’s time for a new set…

For testing, I put in some skin tracks in deep snow and even followed some slick skin tracks up the mountain to see just what the Black Diamond Splitboard Skins were capable of handling.  In all conditions, the Black Diamond GlideLite Splitboard Skins totally impressed me.  Keep in mind these were brand new skins out of the box, they performed the way they should if not better.

Overall Impression

Overall these skins rock.  You may hear some chatter about people complaining about the skin bag shedding material?  Well here’s a pro tip: stop putting your skins in a skin bag, the best place is folded up inside your internal jacket pockets.  Or simply folded inside your pack as these skins have a very small footprint when folded flat.

Kudos for Black Diamond for entering into the splitboard market with the GlideLite Splitboard Skins ($179.95). Splitboarders no longer have to jimmy rig, BD ski skins to work for their splitboards.

One last important thing to keep in mind.  If you find your skins failing.  It’s most likely not the skins themselves but an issue due to the profile of your splitboard.