Key updates to the Pomoca Free Pro Skins make them a quiet hero on a day of ski touring.
While ripping skins on Teton Pass, WY, earlier this season, the thought dawned on me: when our skins work perfectly, we ignore them. It’s only when they start to fail that we really give them our full attention. It’s a lot to take for granted from a piece of equipment. But while we may not spend as much time agonizing over our skin choice as our tech bindings or skis, if you really think about it, skins are about as crucial to ski touring as the highest ticket items. We should probably stop overlooking them
The updated Pomoca Free Pro Skins, which offer an ideal blend of glide, packability and durability, make a hard case for thinking more deeply about our skin selection in the backcountry.
The Pomoca Free Pro Skins at home in their natural environment: breaking trail through deep powder.
The hot pink Free Pro Pomoca skins have become pretty iconic in skiing, lining the bases of plenty of our sport’s top freeride skiers—Cody Townsend and Eric “Hoji” Hjorleifson, to name a few. I’ve skied on previous iterations (previously known as the Free Pro 2.0) for years, somehow always finding my way back to them after straying the course.
The Free Pro plush is made with 70% mohair, 30% nylon, a combination that seems to be the gold standard for most intermediate to advanced backcountry skiers. The glide comes from mohair (fibers made from Angora goat hair) and the grip and durability comes from the nylon, so the 70/30 breakdown finds a solid balance of the two.
The updated Free Pro plush now features a new PFAS-free Ever-Dry 3.0 hydrophobic treatment, which sheds moisture to avoid glopping during long days, while removing harmful chemicals that past hydrophobic treatments used.
Another key update to the Free Pro is the metal Power Hook tail clip, which is not only stronger, but also easier to adjust on the fly. The old plastic tail clip was the only place I ever had issues with these skins in the past (I once cracked one on a -5 degree Fahrenheit day in Grand Teton National Park), so I was really excited to see Pomoca update that with a robust metal piece. They offer a bomber hold on my tails, and when I've needed to make micro adjustments to the tail length, whether it’s for a different pair of skis or just stretch in the plastic over time, I’ve found the metal clip to slide much easier over the plastic to reach the next groove.
The metal tail clip is a huge improvement to the Free Pro Skins. Not only is it more durable, bit it held my tails far better than the previous plastic piece from the Free Pro 2.0.
It’s worth noting that these skins take a tour or so to break in. I remember trying out the Free Pro 2.0 for the first time and wondering why everyone was raving about the glide. It felt like mine had extra friction. But after half an hour of touring, the glide becomes significantly smoother, and it’s all uphill (literally) from there.
Glide aside, perhaps what folks (including myself) like most about these skins is their packability. The main way Pomoca achieves this is by utilizing an ultra light backing material. That way, there’s no sacrifice to the plush or glue, just the material in between. I love that I can rip these things off and stuff them in my jacket for ultra-fast transitions.
Each pair of skins comes with a trim tool, so be sure to order the width that fits the widest part of your ski (not the waist width), since it’s best to trim down a wider skin than try to work with a skin that’s too narrow.
All in all, kudos to Pomoca for continuing to update something that’s already been so well received. The only downside to the fact that everyone loves these skins is that it’s easy to lose them on a hut trip—pink skins are draped all over most boot rooms I’ve entered. Sharpie your name on the tips of the plush and head for the hills! Maybe we'll remember to appreciate our skins next time.
The Pomoca Free Pro Skins retail for $289.95 and come in a variety of lengths and widths, depending on the size of your ski.