Review: G3 Alpinist

Nothing ruins a day in the backcountry like iffy skins. It can’t be “all about the uphill” if snow is piling up between your skis and your skins, your skins won’t stay attached to your tails, and you’re losing traction after an hour. Avoiding that hellish scenario is easy: get a pair of Alpinist skins from G3. G3’s dual-pronged tip attachment design means your skins are secured and fortified against intrusive snow pile-up under your tips. The tail attachments have up to 16cm of adjustability and I have never had any issues with connectivity, no matter how long I’m out for. In a lot of ways, these skins are like any other good piece of gear: I know they’re working well because I never notice them. $139; genuineguidegear.com.