Climbing skins or "skins" refers to the material used on the bottom of the splitboard during tour mode for traction up the mountain. We spell out below the main differences between Voile and Burton skins.

Jive Stick likes to remove his skins before taking his skis off (must be the skier in him).

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Voile

Voile doesn’t call them Tractor Skins for nothing; these babies will set some steep skin tracks. Soon you'll be the envy of your skiing friends and they'll be bribing you with beer to break trail. Voile skins are the classic purple Ascension skins now made by Black Diamond. The plush is very tough and will stand up to a ton of abuse. The glue is also very strong and sticky and will last a few seasons before needing to be re-glued. Anyone that’s used them can attest to the strength it takes to pull them apart when they are new. Glueless strips have been added to the skins to make separating them easier. The tip attachments are also now riveted and more durable than the past sewn-on design.

Voile Tractor Skins. *Note the riveted hooks and the glueless strips.

Pros:

• Durable plush and strong glue.
• Great traction and glide.

Cons:

• No tail-clip
• A little heavier and bulkier than the competition due to the longer plush and take up more space in your pack

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Burton

The Burton skins have a slightly shorter plush than Voile skins, which make them the lightest and most packable option on the market. They use a simple, metal-flange design to attach to the tip, which is simple and effective. They also feature the first production tail-clip for splitboards! The tip and tail of the board have small notches in them to attach the skins.

Pros:

• Burton skins offer the World’s first production Tail-clip for splitboards.
• Lightweight and packable.

Cons:

• Fairly weak glue
• More maintenance required to keep them dry and sticky
• Grip and glide is compromised for lighter weight and increased packability. It would be nice if we could have our cake and eat it too. Stronger glue might allow this.

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Splitboard Crampons

Splitboard Crampons are an absolute necessity on firm and icy slopes or on long sidehill traverses. They’ll make your life much easier and you’ll be glad you have them. Both Burton and Voile offer their own splitboard crampon designs.

Voile

Voile’s Split Decision crampons allow the user to choose between a free or fixed mode. Use the free setting when you want the skis to glide until you weight them and use the fixed setting when maximum grip is needed to allow purchase up the slope. The crampons come anatomical (left & right) to offset the climbing bracket for more natural skinning and require longer slider pins (provided). Also note that older versions may not work with most Prior splitboards.

Pros:

• Durable and provide good grip in firm snow.
• Offers a choice between two settings, fixed and free, based on conditions

Cons:

• Requires stopping and removing your skis to put them on and take them off
• Not very packable due to the design

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Burton

The Burton crampons offer the user a free setting only. They can be put on and taken off without stopping to remove the interface or having to take your skis off. They are also the lightest and most packable splitboard crampon available.

Pros:

• Very light and packable.

• Provide good grip on firm snow.

• Can be attached and removed without taking your skis off

Cons:

• No fixed setting for maximum grip

• Less durable than Voile due to thinner gauge aluminum