Splitboard.com Forums

new review on wildsnow:

http://www.wildsnow.com/6281/gecko-skins-review/

I've ordered a pair so will give a review once I use them. I need to get some tail clips it sounds like (the split model doesn't come with them )

How timely I was just going to post a more extensive review but wild snow has done it for me.

My bottom line
No problems from 50 degrees F to 0 degrees F
more backslide on steep slopes then I'm used to (previous skins were all nylon) but it's really only apparent in cold weather/dry snow
No more problems with skins coming off than with traditional stickum
far easier to use
I haven't had problems with laps (though the wild snow article indicates you might)

I still have not a a full year on them so I would fully vouch for durability but no problems yet.

Disappointed to hear no tail clips. When I bought them in the spring the CO rep told me they'd be out next year. I was looking forward to getting a set. Maybe he meant "next year" literally and not "next season". Still I would guess the sparks mod would work.
I will probably get them even though my experience is they are not necessary.

Happy skinning

it appears they do have a tail clip mod for $19.90 another not is I got mine for $180 last year and now it looks like they're $220. For once early adoption worked out in my favor

{You may want to carry an extra set of skins} - how many people do that? And if so, how much does a set of Gecko skins weigh, less than the G3?

Fitit
reread that section. He reccomendathat for all skins

Finally got a day on these. I love em so far. I'm using with Sparks DIY tail clips (love them too).
You can literally pull the skins apart with two fingers on each hand. Takes no effort at all. They are MUCH lighter and less bulky than Voile/BD skins. Skinning wise the glide was amazing and although the skinning wasn't technical this day I purposely looked for the steepest spots to try to get these to slip and I didn't have 1 slip the whole day! This was supposed to be their weak point but so far that is a non issue. My buddy was actually slipping in front of me quite a few times with his Voile skins, however I have many more days skinning than him. Looking forward to more vigorous testing but so far very pleased with my purchase of these over G3's.

(p.s. it was a warmer day in wet pow so didn't really get to test potential sticky issues with multiple transitions and icing)

I needed to set my wife up for her/our first splitboards.
I ordered tractors,G3,& the geckos
After seeing how hard the others pulled apart & not wanting to deal with cheat sheet issues we went with the geckos.
I installed park rear clips.

To get us use to the rigamorrow we skinned up Stowe on the groom. We decided to skin up the side of the
slope style area & watch the kids defy gravity & death. At time we had to duck into very steep tight powder
tree sections to stay within sight & out of the way.

Tough we lost footing at times when side stepping the skins never seemed to move.
so far so good

P.S. Mountain Gear.com,Venture,& Bryce at Karacorma have all been extremely great to deal with

Guys
What do you pay for these in the US?
They are about $270 in Ozzie ouch!
No an option realy

I got mine for $170 although I think they retail for $220 w/out tail clips . Kinda spendy. I only got em cuz I got a deal but so far so good (I have tail clips so don't know how they work w/out them. Just get some Sparks tail clips if you get these imo)

Been out with BG with my tractor skins and him with these geckos. I want some bad after seeing how well they work and how much faster they are for transitioning. They work just as well IMO, but with less weight and faster transitioning, they are worth every penny.

damn $220 for skins is a lot, but i'm pretty interested thanks for the reviews BG and Peacefrog.

BG-have you tried them on firm sierra snow yet? if so how did they do?

sounds like for super cold deep days in the Wasatch they might not be that great, but for long spring approaches they seem pretty rad.

After a solid season on them I'm 100% sold, they are worth paying a bit more for. They stick as good or better to my planks, they come off easier, work better when wet, and you don't have to think much about how to fold them or worry about pulling them apart... and as a bonus, no re-gluing when they get older!

I didn't bother with tail clips - I called Gecko and asked about the clips and was told that they don't usually use the clips (even on skis), and that it's just another thing to do during transition... I have a few Voile straps that I could use in an emergency if conditions caused them to not stick, but I've never had to use them or seen any need for tailclips thus far

I did 3 laps in super stormy, windy, snowing conditions yesterday and no problem although I did notice them losing their stick by the 3rd lap. However, with the tail clip this wasn't an issue as it really seems to hold the skin in place even when the stick was somewhat gone (for comparison, two days prior i was in same place with friend who had re glued Voiles and she had totally lost her stick after the first lap and was scraping the bottoms to get some stick back). I would still recommend getting tail clips for these just in case. I'm 100% sold and won't use anything else because they are so light and easy to use. If I was on some type of snow where they might not stick as well (no idea what that would be) I'd probably be using crampons on my skis anyway. Just fork out the dough and get some tail clips and you won't be sorry.