Pro Tips

Use the table below to estimate your splitboard size based on rider weight. Remember to include an estimate of how much gear you’ll be carrying when determining your total weight.

Rider Weight (lbs.)	Splitboard Size (cm)
110–120	128–136
115–130	133–141
125–135	139–147
135–145	144–152
140–155	149–157
150–165	154–162
160–175	159–167
170+	160+

1. Goofy or regular?
   1. First things first, you need to determine whether you’re goofy-footed (right foot forward) or regular-footed (left foot forward).
2. How wide?
   1. The next step is to determine how wide your stance is. Measure from the center of one binding to the center of the opposite binding to find this distance (red line in diagram).
3. What angles?
   1. Now, you’ll need to determine your binding angles. Make sure you communicate whether the angle is + or – so we know what direction the bindings need to point.
      1. For your front foot, let us know what angle you’d prefer (most prefer between +15 and 21 degrees).
      2. For your rear foot, do you position it perpendicular to the board, forward, or to the rear (duck stance)? Most prefer between +6 to -6 degrees.
4. Binding positions?
   1. You’ll need to measure the distances from the nose and tail to your bindings (blue lines in diagram).
      1. For your front binding measure the distance from the nose to the center of your front binding.
      2. For the rear binding, measure the distance from the tail to the center of the rear binding.
5. Boot size?
   1. We want to make sure you have correctly sized bindings for your boots, so please let us know your boot size. As a reminder, you need to supply your own boots.

To transition from uphill to downhill mode:

1. Step out of your split-skis and remove the bindings by lifting up on the “gas pedal” at the very front of the binding. It’s good practice to push each binding into the snow any time it’s removed from the board…you don’t want to lose one!
2. Remove climbing skins, fold them up, and store in your pack or inside your jacket.
3. Clear snow/ice from the inside edges of the split-skis. This will minimize issues when joining them together.
4. Connect your split-skis together to create your splitboard. It helps to hold the board halves so both hooks are lined up, with the board halves slightly out of plane, then bring the board halves into their final position with both clips engaging at the same time. Ensure all connections are locked into place. There are two clips at the tip and tail, and two clips about 12″ from the tip/tail. All of them need to be engaged.
5. Slide the bindings onto the board, being mindful of placing the left/right binding in the correct place. Lock your bindings into place by pushing down on the “gas pedal” at the toe.
6. Flip down the “doingus” on the highback
7. Collapse your poles and attach them to your pack.
8. Enjoy the descent!

To transition from downhill to uphill mode, simply follow the steps above in reverse order!

To apply climbing skins:

1. First, wipe away any excess dirt or snow from the base. Dry off the split-ski bases as best you can.
2. Orient your split-skis so they are standing upright in the snow, with the tips up, and tails dug into the snow.
3. Match the left/right skin to the correct split-ski.
4. Keep the skins folded up as much as possible while attaching them to the split skis. You’ll peel open the skin as you apply it to the board. This avoids having the skin blowing around in the wind while you’re trying to attach it.
5. Hook the tip clips to the tip of the split-ski and let the folded skin hang.
6. While holding the skin in place with one hand, gently tug down on the skin to start separating the folded skin, exposing more glue surface and laying the skin in place on the board.
7. Continue opening/unfolding and pressing the skin against the split-ski slowly as you work your way towards the tail end. Make sure you apply the skin evenly and that there are no wrinkles. You want to see the edges on both sides of the board with the skin installed.
8. Once you’ve pressed the entire skin against the split-ski base, clip the tail end of the skin over the tail end of the split-ski.
9. After the entire skin is in place, press down against the entire skin to make sure it has a firm grip with the split-ski.
10. Repeat steps 1-9 for the other split-ski.

To remove climbing skins:

1. Remove your split-skis and brush off any snow from the climbing skins.
2. Set your split-skis in the snow with the tails up, tips driven into the snow.
3. Detach the clip from the tail of the split-ski.
4. Peel off the skin slowly, stopping about halfway, when you have gotten to the touring bracket (the pivot point at the toe of the binding.
5. Now with half the skin off the board, fold the skin so the glue sides are touching.
6. Flip the skis over, so the tails are in the snow, and the tips are up.
7. Peel off the second half of the skin, fold it to itself .
8. Store in your pack or jacket.
9. Repeat steps 1-8 for the remaining split-ski and enjoy the descent!

• Skinning can be frustrating!
  • Consider hiring a guide, or taking an “intro to backcountry” course, so you get good instruction and feedback on your technique. The techniques are not super-complicated, but they aren’t always intuitive, and getting feedback definitely helps!
  • Here are a few tips:

• Find balance
  • You should be in balance while skinning. Stand proud. Stand over your feet. You should be able to be in balance without leaning on your poles.
• Keep your heels down to stick
  • If you go up on your toes, you lose traction. In steep spots be intentional about keeping your heels down.

• Pole posture
  • Don’t put too much pressure on your poles when skinning uphill. Doing this causes excess pressure on your toes and forces you to hunch over (both inefficient uses of energy while moving up a slope).
• Skinning sidehills
  • While skinning across a slope, you’re going to have one ski higher than the other and you’ll feel like you’re at an off-camber angle. Find a relaxed, balanced stance.
  • Don’t shorten your poles while skinning sidehills. Instead, choke up on the uphill pole and keep the downhill pole extended to keep your body in balance, and upright.
  • Generally, you want your skins to be as engaged as possible with the snow. In softer snow, or a well-formed skin track, you will want your skis to be flat. In firmer snow you will want your skis to match the slope angle, so more of your skins are engaged with the snow. In very, very firm snow you want your uphill edge to engage in the snow, and then roll your ankle just enough to let enough skin engage to provide traction.
• Kick-turns
  • When making a kick-turn, the first step is taking your time to balance and conduct the movement smoothly.
  • Find the location for your turn, and plant your downhill ski firmly. Swing your uphill ski facing the new direction by kicking forward & up and firmly placing it into position.
  • Once the uphill ski is in position, pivot your body and lift the downhill ski to line up with the uphill ski. Make sure to kick your leg back and lift your heel to your butt as you move the ski. This will prevent the tip from catching in the snow.
  • Once both are in position, your uphill/downhill positions will be reversed and you’ll be all set to continue!