True, such a hunt, and even the very movement through the forest, with high snowdrifts, where no man's foot has stepped, is accompanied by certain difficulties. This is not for you to walk on the city's cleared sidewalks. So, it happens that in the forest more often the snow level is above the belt, and in order to somehow get through, the hunter needs to take care of the appropriate winter outfit, and in particular about skiing. With them you will be able to move quickly and comfortably in the snow. That's just what skis to choose - our publication is ready to help you with the answer to this question ...

What are the skis

If you go to your nearest sports equipment store, you will see different types of skis. There are camus skis, golitsy skis, and combined skis ... I would like to say right away that for hunting sports types skis do not fit. Their shape is too uncomfortable - narrow and long. In the forest, among the bushes and snowdrifts, you will very soon load in the snow. Therefore, we do not recommend you to spend your time looking at such models intended for completely different purposes, and trying them on.

What skis do a hunter need

Camus skis

Let's turn our attention to skis that are strong, flexible to improve movement, and wide enough. This is the shape of the skis we need. The ideal option is, of course, when such skis are sheathed with the skin of an elk, horse, reindeer or bison. However, having such a skin, you can do it yourself. And, instead of sheathing them, you can simply glue such leather with reliable glue. Thus, you get kamus or kisse skis. By the way, experienced hunters suggest that

The horse camus of black or white color has the highest driving characteristics, while the elk camus provides high strength, and the reindeer camus guarantees quietness and soft sliding on the snow. So, choose for yourself what is more important to you.

One more helpful advice- skis with glued camus will be stronger at their bend.

How to glue the camus yourself

Well, if you did not find ready-made kamus skis like this, but you have skis of a suitable shape and width and have the kamus itself, you can make kamus skis yourself at home. So, before glueing the camus, apply 2 layers of glue to the very surface of the ski. Dry and then add another layer of glue. After that, you can pull a wet camus on the ski, roll it with a roller in the direction of the bristle, in order to squeeze out excess glue and level the camus itself.

After that, you can tightly wrap the ski with twine or bandage - it is important for you to achieve maximum adhesion of the camus along the sides. When the kamus sticks and dries, carefully remove the bandages, and cut off the excess kamus protruding from the edges of the skis with a sharp blade.

What glue is better to glue the camus

For gluing the camus, in principle, any adhesives are suitable. So, BF glue on an epoxy basis is suitable, but it is better to take wood glue and add a little acetic acid to it - it will give the glue its waterproof characteristics.

How to store and care for skis skis

During warmer months, when you are not using your skis, store them tied up, sliding side inward, with a spacer between them. And, so that the moth does not eat the kamus - wrap them in a newspaper soaked in kerosene.

Disadvantages of camus skis

However, despite what we have said above, camus skis still have their drawback. The kamus itself gets wet quickly, therefore, when it gets wet, it becomes heavy, and it can be difficult to control such clumsy skis, and even on snow. That is why, it is recommended to use the combined ski option - to glue a strip of camus at the middle of the sliding surface, at least 8 centimeters wide, and leave the rest of the surface not pasted over.

Golitsy skis

They have proven themselves well with practical side and golitsy skis. They are most often made from a solid piece of wood or glued from birch veneer. It is better to choose the latter option - it is more flexible, reliable and lightweight. True, in recent times appeared on the market and plastic skis... Their cost is cheaper, they themselves are lighter in weight, and the characteristics of strength and flexibility in some points even exceed the characteristics of wooden skis. It is also convenient to care for such skis - they do not need to be lubricated with anything. But on the snow, such skis glide too well, therefore, it is unlikely that you will be able to climb up a hill in them. Whereas, a quick descent in them will definitely be guaranteed to you. True, given the fact that you will be riding with a loaded gun, and such skis go very quickly, they can hardly be called safe. But, here for a flat area, without mountains and hills - they are suitable.

What size skis to buy

Diagram of how to attach skis

In order for the skis to be in size, not to fly off your feet, they must be selected by size. So, consider the following calculation. On loose snow, 1 kilogram of a person's weight should have at least 50 square centimeters of support. Well, the length of the skis should be no more than human height.

So, for example, with an increase of 170 centimeters and a weight of 70 kilograms, the ski area should be at least 3500 square centimeters - it can be 160 centimeters long and 22 centimeters wide or 170 centimeters long and 20.5 centimeters wide. By the way, on flat terrain, it is better to take longer skis, while on hilly and on the mountains, skis should be shorter.

The word "ski" is of Slavic origin, and was first mentioned in the message of the emperor Nicephorus to the Kiev prince Vladimir Monomakh at the beginning of the 12th century. Also, the chronicles of the XV-XVI centuries tell about the use of skis for military purposes.

Skis not only make it easier for the hunter to move through the snowy terrain, but also make it possible to fish in very deep snow, when all the paths and roads in the taiga are closed for the "foot" fisherman.

In ancient times, a hunter who crossed someone else's path was chopped off skis - this suggests that skis were and are one of the most important types of hunter's equipment. Not only successful fishing directly depends on the quality of skis, but also health, and sometimes the very life of a hunter. What are the requirements for hunting skis now? Firstly, they must be strong, but light, and secondly, they must provide an easy climb on slopes of sufficiently steepness.

With certain skills and knowledge, skis can be made by yourself. The most durable skis are made from birch and maple, less durable skis are made from spruce. Birch logs for skis are best harvested in winter, when the movement of sap in the tree is suspended. The tree is chosen even, with a thin bark, without knots in the lower part of the trunk. From the felled tree, a two-meter ridge is sawn off from the butt, which is split or sawed into bars, parallel to the escape of the trunk and the direction of the wood grain. After that, the blocks are cut, resulting in boards with a thickness of 3.5-4 cm. The outer side of the board facing the bark is always used for the lower, sliding surface of the skis, and the butt part is used for bending the socks. After at least a month of drying, the board is shaped into a ski, then the nose of the ski is steamed in boiling water for half an hour, while it must be borne in mind that insufficient softening of the wood can lead to a break in the sock when it is bent, and excessive steaming leads to the formation of folds on the inner surface wear or cracking. The bend of the ski toe is made on a wooden, home-made template, and the curvature of it should be made somewhat steeper than the desired bend of the ski toe, since they are removed from the template after a week of drying by ten millimeters. Before removing the skis from the template, the lower part of the bend is “fried” over coals for better fixation. After all this, the ski blanks are processed in accordance with required dimensions, which should correspond to the weight of the hunter, but in any case, the height of the skis should not exceed the height of the owner. With loose snow, one kilogram of the hunter's weight should account for about fifty square meters. centimeters of support, based on this, it turns out that with a hunter weighing 70 kg, the ski support area should be equal to 3,500 square meters. cm, which is achieved by the following dimensions: the length of the skis is 160 cm, the width is 22 cm. Holes are drilled in the toes of the skis for towing. Finished skis must be impregnated with heated tree resin diluted with turpentine and tar.

Hunting skis are of three types: golitsy, camus and combined. Golitsy - skis not lined with camus. Before going hunting sliding surface The loins must be treated with a specially prepared ointment, for example, consisting of molten wax (three parts) and one part of stearin and fish oil. It is better to prepare special ointments designed for certain temperature conditions. The ointment used in a thaw or in a slight frost (down to -10 ° C) consists of three parts of paraffin, two parts of brown wax and a small amount of tar. A frozen piece of such a mixture is rubbed on the heated lower surface of the ski, then rubbed to a shine with a cloth. At lower temperatures, an ointment is used consisting of three parts of wax, one part of stearin, one part of blubber (or fish oil) with the addition of a small amount of tar and rosin. In very severe frosts (below -30 ° C), it is good to lubricate skis with commercial tar. The main disadvantage of the hooders is the difficult climb uphill. The well-known methods - climbing "herringbone" or "ladder" - are impossible in the dense taiga. To overcome a steep ascent, you have to make large zigzags, which take a lot of time and effort. All this can be avoided by equipping the golits with a simple device - brake plates. To do this, a plate is cut out of three-millimeter aluminum across the width of the ski and 15 cm long.One end of it (persistent) is made rounded, the second is bent into a tube into which a thick, preferably stainless, wire is inserted, its ends are bent in the form of a clip with loops at the ends , which are fixed on the heel of the ski with an aluminum plate 4 cm long. Clamps are installed on the heels of the skis 16 cm from the edge, fixing the thrust plates when driving on flat terrain. When overcoming climbs, the plates are removed from their fixation and freely stretch along the track, without interfering with forward movement, but as soon as the skis have gone backwards, their lower end rests against the snow and hold the hunter in place.

The second device that eliminates the lack of hobbies is a brush made of coarse hair (bristles), for which the ski itself serves as a block. The brush is placed in front of and behind the support platform. The hair tufts of the brush are placed in relation to the sliding surface of the ski, to its heel at an angle of 45 °. For the manufacture of brushes on the lower surface of the skis, a breakdown of the holes for them is performed. Holes that are best pierced with an awl are staggered. They should be tapered with a diameter of 2 mm on the upper surface and 4 mm on the bottom. To make it easier to work, the holes can first be drilled with a 2 mm drill, and then, to give them a taper, processed with an awl made of 4 mm wire. To ensure the same slope of the holes, a template must be made.

To prevent the tufts of hair from bending very steeply, a recess is made in front of each hole in the back along the course of the ski. After all the holes are ready, they need to be deburred. Next, we proceed to the manufacture of brushes, for the device of which 7 cm bristles are harvested. Fishing line with a section of 1 mm with the help of a nail, we fix one end on the upper surface of the ski at the front extreme hole, then we push the fishing line itself in the form of a loop from top to bottom and put a bunch of bristles into this loop. The intended bend of the bristles on the loop is liberally lubricated with glue, best of all with epoxy, after which the free end of the line is pulled up, while the bristle bunch fits tightly into the tapered hole. Then the line is threaded into the next hole and the whole operation is repeated again, and so on until the end, after which the second end of the line is fixed in the same way as the first. After the necessary drying, the hair on the brush is trimmed in a plane parallel to the plane of the ski, leaving hair tufts no more than 15 mm. Puncture points on the upper surface of the skis are covered with colorless varnish. If the skis converted in this way do not keep you on the slope, then either the slope is very steep, or the weight of the skier is heavy, and it is just worth adding a few rows of beams. Camus skis are devoid of the drawbacks of hooders. They provide fast travel and stability on deep loose snow and the ability to climb uphill at normal pace. Kamus is the hard-haired part of the hide, removed from the lower part of the legs of an elk, deer, or horse. According to most hunters, the horse is considered the best kamus, it is also called the most popular. Elk kamus is considered the most durable, and the softest, non-squeaking kamus of reindeer. Roe deer, musk deer, and maral kamus are also used. In coastal areas, seal skins are often used for these purposes. The camus is selected so that there is as little "transverse" hair as possible. To lighten the weight, the kamus is fleshed to an extremely small thickness, after which it is sewn into one long strip with the pile directed in one direction. When installing the camus on the skis, it is necessary to follow the general direction of the hairline, it is necessary that in the middle of the camus the hair lies parallel to the edges of the ski, otherwise it will go to the side when moving, in other words, "mow". Fastening the camus on the skis, it is either nailed or sewn on, and, finally, it can be put on glue.

The hunters have no unanimous opinion on this matter. The kamus is nailed, starting from the toes of the skis, first along the "axis" with studs with a wide head, maintaining a distance of 5 cm between them. In the places where the kamus joins, nails are nailed more often, and the sides of the kamus are nailed in the same way. If some nails have gone through the ski, it's okay, bent towards the heel of the ski, they hold the camus more reliably.

You can sew a kamus with a varied dratva. For strength, the edge of the kamus is swept with a vein. Before installing, the kamus must be soaked in warm water. Then, every 10 cm (at the toe of the ski every 5 cm), two holes with a diameter of the thickness of the dratva are drilled or pierced: one is 10 mm away from the edge of the bast, the second is 18 mm. Through these holes, they pull dratva, which is used to attract and tie the kamus to the ski. The free end of the dratva, overcasting the edge of the camus, goes to the next pair of holes, and the whole operation is repeated around the entire perimeter of the ski, starting from its toe. With this method of fastening the camus, it can be quickly replaced, when it becomes unusable, it wipes out. Without spoiling the skis, this is difficult to do if the camus is nailed down with small nails.

Most hunters find glue-on skis to bend stronger because all the power is in the ceilings and the glue. Before gluing the camus, the ski is covered twice with glue. After drying, a third layer of glue is applied and the wet camus is pulled over the ski, after which it must be rolled with a roller in the direction of the hair until excess glue comes out and the camus is completely flattened. Then the ski is wrapped with a bandage or twine so that the camus on the sides sticks well and does not warp. After the necessary drying, the bandage (twine) is removed, the excess kamus at the edges is cut off with a sharp knife. Various adhesives are used to glue the camus. This is both BF and epoxy-based glue, but the most preferable is wood glue with a small addition of acetic acid, which makes the glue waterproof. For the summer, camus skis are tied with the sliding side inward with a strut in the middle. To prevent damage to the camus by moths, it is necessary to wrap the skis in a newspaper soaked in kerosene.

The disadvantage of camus skis is that the camus gets wet and the skis become heavy, uncontrollable. Therefore, many hunters make combined skis by gluing a narrow strip of camus on the sliding surfaces of the ski-hoists, which is located in the middle along the entire sliding surface. The width of the camus strip should be at least 8 cm, which provides sufficient braking of the skis from sliding backward when going uphill. The camus tape is glued in the following way: glue is applied to the surfaces to be glued in an even layer, after which a strip of camus is placed strictly in the middle of the sliding surface of the ski with the nap to the heel and pressed firmly until the glue is completely dry. After gluing the kamus strip, excess glue along its edges must be removed. The ends of the kamus strip must be bent at the toe and heel on the upper surface of the ski and secured with glue, it is allowed to glue the kamus strip directly onto the sliding surface of the ski, but, to improve performance, it is better to place it in a specially selected groove 2 mm deep and 80 mm wide.

In all of the above options, the kamus is used both dressed and not dressed. You can make a kamus yourself. To do this, 10 liters of water are poured into a wooden container, 1 kg of table salt is poured into it and, taking special care, 200 ml of sulfuric acid is poured in, all this is thoroughly mixed. The kamus is placed in the resulting solution for three days, after which it is taken out and nailed with cloves, stretching on a board to dry, with the skin up. The kamus made in this way is not afraid of dampness. And one more thing: when working with kamus, it is necessary to correctly process it at the joints, for which, at the junction of the kamus, both ends of it are cut to "no", and the hair itself must be cut there as well.

And the last important detail is the fasteners. On the one hand, they must securely hold their foot, on the other, for example, when falling or, if necessary, quickly get off the skis, almost automatically release their legs. Mounts are installed in such a way that the heel of the ski, when moving, gives a greater draft than the toe. To do this, the center of gravity of the ski is found and a transverse line is drawn through it, then, stepping back from the toe of 40 mm, a second line is drawn parallel to the first, which will be the line of the beginning of the attachment. The support platform for the foot is best made of multi-layer plywood, in it from the bottom select the groove for the loop and glue it to the ski with waterproof glue, for greater reliability, you can also screw it on with screws. Under the foot itself, it is necessary to glue microporous rubber, which, compressing and unclenching, does not allow the snow under the foot to be compressed. In the absence of rubber, you can use a birch bark plate, and it is glued only along the edges. The straps for fastening are best made of well-smoked elk skin, it does not get wet and does not stretch, as is the case with rawhide, limp from dampness. Tarpaulin belts can also be used. There are many ways of fastening, I will give some of them.

First. The main strap passes through the toe of the shoe just behind the toes, a heel strap is attached to it, which, on the leading foot, crosses twice in the instep (double figure 8). The tension of the strap should allow at any time to pull the leg out from under the main anchorage strap. On the second ski, the toe of the foot goes deeper under the main strap, the rear strap fits the shoe more freely and crosses once.

Second effective method fastening is that the heel strap is not attached to the main strap, but to a metal hook attached to the front of the support platform, or to the front of the ski itself. With this method of fastening, the leg gets tired and freezes less, since the main belt practically does not bear the load and does not squeeze the leg in the shoe.

Sometimes the bindings are sheathed with special stocking bags made of dense fabric, which, together with skis, are put on the legs and tied just below the knees. With this method of attachment, the snow is not packed under the foot and does not creak, thereby ensuring a quiet ride, but there is no way to quickly get off the skis.

The simplest and at the same time reliable fastening has been known for a long time. The heel strap is completely absent here, the whole secret lies in the fact that the bosses are sewn onto the toe of the felt boot with tarred gratva (it is good to make it from the boot of another boot). It is enough to raise the heel of the foot higher, slip the sock of the felt boot with the lug under the main belt and that's it. When driving through deep loose snow, some hunters tie the ropes with one end to the holes in the toes of the skis, and the other under the knees, thus freeing the front halves of the skis from falling through the snow.

In this article presented to your attention, I tried to cover the rich experience of hunters in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. I apologize in advance if this came out a little awkward. With great respect to all hunting brothers.

Leonid Mamonov,
hunting biologist

Winter is a great time of the year for hunting enthusiasts. However, hunting in the winter requires special equipment, since it is often not so easy to move around the snowy forest. An experienced hunter who has traveled more than one mile knows firsthand that sport skis not designed for walking in large snowdrifts. To do this, his equipment must necessarily include special skis for hunting.

Criterias of choice

When choosing a hunting ski, you need to pay attention to the following criteria:

• strength and flexibility;
• material quality;
• lenght and width;
• fasteners that fix the leg.

Hunting skis should be distinguished not only by strength, but also by good flexibility, so that even when passing the most snowy places, the hunter does not lose maneuverability. In terms of size, they must be selected taking into account that the support area for 1 kg of human body weight should be at least 50 square centimeters. Moreover, their length should not be more than the height of the hunter. Mounts for hunting skis it is necessary to choose in such a way that rigidity is provided and during riding the leg does not slip and does not bend.

Materials (edit)

When choosing equipment, first of all, the hunter should be interested in what the skis are made of and which ones should be purchased. Hunting skis are available in plastic or wood.

Plastic

Plastic skis have become very popular lately, because in terms of their strength characteristics, many models are not inferior to wooden ones. One of the advantages of using them is that there is no need to treat them with a special lubricant before each trip.

But plastic also has a significant drawback - it slips very much. Due to this, climbing a high hill on plastic snowshoes is quite problematic, and going down a large slope, a hunter can completely lose control over speed and fall. Therefore, plastic hunting skis are best used on more gentle slopes and flat terrain.

Wooden

Wooden skis are for deep snow. They are made from the most durable wood species - birch, pine or maple, thanks to which they are lightweight and reliable.

Being small in size, such snowshoes can easily move, both on freshly fallen snow, and on loose crust. The tapered front helps reduce snow resistance. There are small slots in the bow to use them as drags.

If you treat them with resin before each use, they will last a long time, and regular lubrication with a special compound will improve sliding.

Types of fasteners

Hunting ski bindings are commonly used in three types:

1. Simple fasteners are leather or tarpaulin straps that are inserted into holes on either side of the pad. The foot in the shoe is pushed into the strap and secured.
2. The padded mounts provide another strap to help keep your foot in place. You need to intercept them with a leg slightly higher than the heel and tighten it well so that the snowshoes do not fall off while riding.
3. Another option for mounting on hunting skis is a semi-rigid mount. A metal plate is installed, into which the leg is resting and, with the help of the straps put on from above, they are fixed. The heel in this mounting option is not fixed with a belt, but with a spring that adjusts to the leg and is fixed at the shoe sock.

The best option would be to place the fasteners in the middle. But here it is already necessary to listen to the wishes of the hunter, many prefer to put the mount closer to the bow.

You can also use rigid mounts, but then the hunter runs the risk of being limited in movement, which is completely inappropriate in such a matter as hunting, where dexterity and agility are needed. It is best to use one of the three options above, and ideally it would be a good idea to try each fastener option to determine the most convenient for you.

How to make camus skis with your own hands

Materials for making

Almost every avid hunter has at least once been interested in how to make skis with their own hands. After all, just in order to achieve maximum convenience, most amateurs winter hunting make homemade hunting skis for themselves. Wood for their manufacture must combine such qualities as fracture strength, flexibility, resilience and lightness.

All these properties are possessed by birch, which is the most popular in the manufacture of do-it-yourself hunting skis. Also, cork, Amur lilac or Maca acotnik are often used, less often willow and aspen. What tree to make skis from is determined by the master, choosing from the above tree species and based on their availability.

A camus for skis is needed so that on the slopes they do not roll back and loose snow does not stick to them. It is sewn from leather taken from the leg of a horse, red deer, deer or elk. In these hoofed animals, the skin on the legs is covered with elastic hair, which will give the snowshoes flexibility, good stretch and compression like a spring. Hunting skis with elk skin kamus have the highest strength, and the softness and noiselessness of red deer and reindeer kamus are simply unmatched.

Wood harvesting

So how to make your own hunting ski? Typically, wood is harvested in winter, while the moisture in the tree is frozen. The main thing is that it is straight-grained and without rot. Some craftsmen prefer to take the material at the end of summer, explaining that it is no longer so hot and it is more convenient to hew at this time than in hot or frosty weather.

The tree is cleaned of bark and the log is sawn into 5 cm thick bars corresponding to the length of the skis. After that, they are firmly tied and a spacer is inserted into the middle part. At this stage, the master sends the workpieces to a cool place for drying, which lasts about 20 days. A contour is applied to the dried bars, and then the excess is sawn off and cut off.

Size selection

Determine the size homemade skis pretty simple. If you put the ski vertically with the toe up, its length should correspond to the height from floor level to outstretched arm. Usually the length range is 180-250 cm, no more. The width is selected according to the distance between the thumb and forefinger, on average, it is 18-20 cm. The thickness should correspond to the distance between the middle and ring fingers of a person with widely spaced fingers. Usually, the master tries to bring the thickness to 0.8 cm, and in places of the bend up to 0.5 cm.

Bend

At the first stage, the front, middle and rear curvature of hunting skis is carried out by burning their ends and steaming them in boiling water. After the ski is placed in a special bending machine. It is necessary to carefully monitor so that there is no distortion when bending, otherwise there will be no top move and all the work done will be useless.

You can pour boiling water over the product directly in the machine - this will give great flexibility and plasticity when bending. After making sure that the procedure was successful, the product can be taken out in the cold or placed in a cool place to cool down.

Hole markings for fasteners

To make holes for fastening, the ski is placed on the edge and in the area where the leg will be located, it is raised with the thumb and forefinger. The ski should be at a 45-degree angle to the floor with the bow pointing up. When she assumes this position, they put a mark on it and draw a line across it in width.

After, retreating 4 cm to the bow, draw another line parallel to the previous one. Mark the middle on the lines and put a fist on it, so that its middle is level with the centers of the lines. In places where the edges of the fist touch the lines, mark the points of the four holes for future mounts for hunting skis.

After this, the holes are burned and combined from below with grooves of good depth so that the belts below lie clearly.

Making a camus

After making the skis themselves, you can start dressing and patterning the camus. The stretched paws of the animal must be dried and freed from fat and flesh debris. The camus should be suitable for the size of the ski and provide for a small margin for a twist. After that, the paws are cut lengthwise into two parts and soaked in cold water.

When they are softened, they are folded with shagier edges to each other and attached to the ski so that the thickest pile is in the middle of the sliding side. Then the kamus is sewn with a strong nylon thread and its transverse edges are beveled to increase the bending strength.

Gluing

Pockets are made along the edges of the camus in order to tuck the sock and heel into them. After sewing, the kamus is sent to dry, since during gluing it can be wet, but not wet. The next step is to coat the camus with glue and glue it directly to the ski.

Epoxy glue will also work for bonding camus skis, but it is preferable to use a good carpentry. Before glueing the camus, the product is coated with glue in one layer, allowed to dry and coated again. After that, the camus is applied and, rolling with a roller, squeeze out the remnants of the glue until the camus is completely aligned on the surface.

If you don't have a special roller at hand, you can use well-rolled pebbles or cobblestones.

Then you should rewind the product with the kamus with a bandage or belt so that the kamus sticks well to the sides. It would be nice to attach a piece of rubber under the foot to avoid snow sticking. The product is sent to dry in a well-ventilated dry room, after which belts are threaded through the holes for the fasteners.

This step-by-step instruction how to make skis, this is complete. And the homemade camus skis are ready to use. Just do not forget to lubricate them before going out.

Making a ski pole

A stick or tunnepun is usually made from the same wood species as snowshoes. At its lower end there is a shoulder blade, and at its upper end there is a ring and a claw. To use a stick to determine the level of snow, marks are made along its entire length every 5 cm. Tunepuns are good at walking on ice, they can clear a road or a place for a halt.

Storage

For storage, plastic and wooden skis are tied together, suspended in a dry, well-ventilated place. The mounts must not get water and after each use they must be carefully freed from the remaining snow. If the screws of the fasteners are loose, it is necessary to unscrew them and pour epoxy glue into the holes - after that the functionality will be restored.

Video

Watch our video how to prepare your skis for the hunting season.

Material... In modern kamuses, two types of material are used: mohair (wool of angora goat) and nylon (often "synthetics" in manufacturers' catalogs). Mohair glides much better, which requires less effort from the skier, but also wears out much faster, in addition, it is lighter and more compact to carry. Mohair is less prone to snow sticking, because has a natural protection from getting wet - the one that the goat still had. Nylon is cheaper and more durable, however it does not glide as well and is more likely to adhere to snow. Most manufacturers mix mohair and nylon to take advantage of both materials. Below is a table - the results of a comparison of kamuses, which was carried out by the Swiss Institute of Snow and Avalanches.

Width... When choosing the width of the camus, it should be remembered that in no case should it protrude beyond the edges of the skis. For classic skis(pre-carving) you should choose a camus 5 mm narrower than the waist. For modern skis, you need a camus in the shape of the ski. Some of the kamuses are sold ready-made for the most common ski models (not presented in Russia), another option is to buy a wide kamus for trimming (cut-to-fit, trim-to-fit) and give it the shape of your skis.
Another version of the camus specially for wide freeride skis (110 mm and wider) is lightweight and does not require cutting to the shape of the ski, called Split - these are two strips of camus 35 mm wide, which are glued along the edges. It is recommended for short, simple climbs.

Fastening. Most kamus are fastened to the toe and heel of the ski (there are mounts only on the toe or kamus without mounts at all), because you cannot rely only on the glue that is applied to the camus and holds it on the ski along its entire length. Each manufacturer has developed their own mounts, but they are all similar and work in much the same way. It may be necessary to replace the clips only in an exceptional case, but the glue will have to be renewed once every couple of seasons, depending on the intensity of use. Make sure the glue on the camus does not remain exposed between rides - this can dry out the glue. To check the condition of the glue, connect the kamus together and try to separate them. If they tear easily, it is worth updating the glue before your next ride. To do this, you can use a tape with glue (the glue is transferred to the camus with a hot iron) or glue in a tube (squeeze out onto the camus and spread evenly with a piece of plastic).

Cheat Strips. This is a novelty designed to simplify the removal / donning of kamuses. Instead of rolling the kamus in half with the glue inward, you place Cheat Strips made of plastic mesh between the two kamus, and it will be much easier for you to separate the kamus when you decide to stick them on the skis again. In addition, the glue with this method lasts much longer.

If snow sticks to the camus. On warm days, and especially after fresh snowfall, snow sticking to the skins can be a serious problem. The best way protection against this phenomenon - preliminary application of paraffin (special - for kamus or ordinary - for sliding). This treatment will also improve glide, so it makes sense to take a small supply of wax on a long journey. At the first sign of adhesion, try chasing steps to shake off the snow with each step, or if there is already a lot of adhesion, clean the kamus by running the stick up and down with the stick. If you have a piece of paraffin or liquid paraffin with you, use it (just rub the camus with paraffin), otherwise everything will happen again soon. You can also use a variety of glide sprays, but they work shorter and worse.

How to treat camus with paraffin (hot iron method)... This method is borrowed from alpine skiing, where paraffin treatment improves glide and overtakes opponents. For all types of ski touring, this is a simple and very effective way to prevent the penetration of water and ice particles into the kamus, which in turn improves sliding and prevents snow from sticking and prevents the kamus from peeling off. Without treatment, the camus is soaked in water, and the wet camus does not stick to the ski. All you need is some camus wax (regular ski wax works well too), an old home iron, and 10 minutes to spare. If the skis are folded in half, treat each side one by one, or, if you have an old pair of skis that you do not ski on, stick the skis on them for the duration of processing (do not use the skis you are skiing on, as hot glue penetrates not only in the camus, but also in the skis).
- Turn the iron on cold (ideally 60 degrees).
- Rub the surface of the camus with a good layer of paraffin (against the coat or against - it doesn't matter)
- Iron the wax for about 60 seconds. Run the iron in the direction of the wool.
- Rub the camus with paraffin again and repeat ironing (you can repeat it three times, if you wish).

Your camuses are now paraffin-impregnated and will perform well in all conditions. Please note that when you first walk on the kamuses after processing, they will not slide well for the first five minutes. During this time, excess paraffin will be erased from them, after which the sliding will greatly improve.

Kamus research. A recent study by the Swiss Snow and Avalanche Institute (SLF) of the grip and sliding properties of the different materials from which kamus are made showed that the quality of grip depends on the length of the fibers, not the material used (longer fibers give better grip).

Slip - on the contrary, depends only on the materials used, especially at lower temperatures that occur in the morning. At warm temperatures (0-4), pure mohair always gives the best glide, a fairly close mix, but both are significantly better than pure synthetics. At lower temperatures (from -4 to -15), the result will be even more different: the slip of the mohair will improve, the mix will slip as well, and the slip of synthetics will deteriorate sharply.

Considering that mixed kamuses last 3-4 times longer than pure mohair, we recommend them as the best option for most situations. If high speed is important for you, for example, in races, then your choice is definitely mohair, but you will have to change such kamus much more often.

Manufacturers:
Coll-tex(available in Russia) - produces only kamus
http://colltex.ch

For hunting, you need special skis that differ from the standard narrow sports models. Real hunting skis are very wide, so you can move on them in the snow without falling through. They are indispensable for a hunter in winter, as they allow you to move through any landscape, climbing into the most interesting places for fishing. Hunting skis are sold in stores, but you can make them yourself at home. Someone enjoys making equipment with their own hands, someone wants to save money or just lives away from cities where you can buy skis.

Hunting ski device

Hunting skis have two main differences from sports skis - width and type of binding. Usually they are not already 15 cm, this is what allows them to keep their owner in the snow, not allowing him to fall through.

The mount should provide the hunter with a large degree of freedom, so that he can ski comfortably for a long time, and also so that he can instantly remove them if necessary. It should be designed for boots or boots that are commonly used for winter hunting. A good option for homemade hunting skis is strap bindings. There are two main options:

• an attachment consisting of one strap into which the toe of the shoe is threaded;
• fastening of two straps - one for the toe, the second holds the heel.

Wooden and plastic hunting skis are industrially manufactured. The latter glide as well as possible on the snow. On the one hand, it allows you to move quickly on a level surface. On the other hand, when going uphill, such skis glide strongly backward, and when descending, they gain too much speed. Wooden skis are devoid of these shortcomings. They are well suited for driving over rough terrain with ups and downs, and when moving downhill, they do not accelerate to critical speed. Moreover, they can be made quite easily with your own hands.

For hunting, wooden skis-golitsy or camus skis can be used. On the working surfaces of camus skis, there are pieces of skins that make it easier to slide on the snow, and also help to climb a mountain, preventing rolling back. The disadvantages of camus skis are the complexity of manufacturing and a greater weight than that of skis.

Choosing the size of skis

How more weight hunter, the larger the area of ​​the skis should be, so that they can provide reliable support. To make a hunting ski that works best, when choosing a size, you can focus on the following parameters:

• the height of the skis - along the eyebrow;
• width - 16-18 cm for a hunter weighing 60-70 kg, 18-20 cm - for a hunter weighing 70-80 kg, with a weight of more than 80 kg - more than 20 cm.

It is undesirable to make lizhas wider than 24 cm, otherwise it will be inconvenient to walk on them through the forest. On wide skis, it is difficult to squeeze through the trees, and you constantly have to hold your legs "varskoryak".

An example of the geometric dimensions of skis for a person 190 cm tall and weighing more than 80 kg.

Also, the required area of ​​hunting skis can be calculated using a simple formula. For every kilogram of the hunter's weight, along with equipment, there should be 50 square centimeters of ski area. So, if you weigh 85 kg, and your usual equipment is 15 kg, the required area of ​​the pair is (85 + 15) * 50 = 5000 square centimeters. Accordingly, the area of ​​one ski is 2500 square centimeters.

It only remains to choose the appropriate length to width ratio. With a width of 15 cm, the required length is 2500: 15 = 166 cm. You can also make the skis shorter and wider, in which case it will be more convenient for them to move through the forest. For example, for a width of 20 cm, the required length is 2500: 20 = 125 cm.

Wood preparation

For the manufacture of hunting skis, you can use a wide variety of woods - aspen, spruce, birch, and so on. When choosing a material, one must proceed from its availability and working properties. The strongest skis are made from birch and maple. The lightest are spruce and aspen. It is more convenient to move on such skis, but you will have to be careful, as they are inferior in strength.

It is better to harvest wood for skis in autumn or spring.... It should be stored in a well-ventilated area. When the summer is over, you need to cut off the bark from it and store it for another year.

With such a long preparation, the wood will have best quality... If you speed up the drying, cracks may appear from the ends - thus, the material will not be strong and reliable enough.

It is better to procure material for two or three pairs of skis at once. Then it will take less work for one pair than if you prepare material for each set of skis separately. In addition, without proper experience, it is easy to spoil the material during the manufacturing process, after which it will be unusable. Therefore, it is better to have several sets of blanks on hand at once.

Ski making

When the preparation of the wood is completed, you can start making blanks for the skis. They should look like boards up to 1 cm thick in the middle part, and thinner along the edges. First, you need to make cuts across the prepared wood every 5 cm, and then chop off the excess material with an ax. After that, you need to give the blanks a finished look using a planer. Using an electric planer greatly simplifies this process.

Then the boards must be put in a bucket, putting a chip between them, put on the stove or put a boiler in the water and boil for 1.5-2 hours.

Then the welded parts must be placed in a special machine and bend them, thus making the noses of the skis. This should be done gradually so that the tree "gets used" to new form and did not break. Then, in the place of the bend, the wood must be hardened by treating it with a burner until it turns black.

The next step is to round off the toes and heels by removing excess material with a hacksaw. You need to saw in the direction from the center of the workpiece to the end so that the wood does not break off. It is necessary to act very carefully and without haste.

Then you need to drill holes on the toes and heels, having previously applied the markings with a pencil. They should be spaced about 2 cm apart. The diameter of the holes is about 2 mm. After drilling, each hole must be burned with a red-hot awl. In this case, their edges will become hard, and the thread will not cut them under load. A rope must be passed through the prepared holes, the tighter it is stretched, the better. Thanks to this thread, homemade hunting skis will be stronger and more durable.

Mount bases

After that, you need to prepare two bases for the fasteners. They should be made in the form of small planks with a depression in the form of a transverse track. They must be placed in the center of the skis, and then moved 3 cm towards the heels and marked with a pencil. Then the bases for the fasteners must be planted on glue and fixed with self-tapping screws. If the skis are thin, the screws should go from the bottom, and if thin - from the top.

Skis with incorrect bindings will slide to the side when moving. Therefore, this step must be followed very carefully.

Camus

The ski camus must be peeled off from the hoof itself, making an incision along inside legs. After fleshing, the skins must be pulled with effort onto the boards, fixing them with nails. Then the kamus should be dried for 1-2 weeks at room temperature, away from the stove or battery. It is not necessary to additionally dress it after drying - the thinner it is, the faster it will wear out. After drying is complete, you need to pick up a piece of skin for each ski. The less its thickness, the thicker the kamus should be, and vice versa.

If the skins are not large enough, you need to sew several pieces into one with coarse thick threads. Before the operation, the kamus must be soaked in a bucket of water for several hours, and then half dried. Hides that are too damp or too wet will stretch and tear when stitched together. When sewing, you need to make holes with an awl, and then pass the thread through them.

The holes should be angled so that the thread does not come out on the underside of the hide. The finished kamus must be glued with a reliable waterproof glue; the usual "Moment" is well suited for this. The glue should be applied to the inner surface of the skin and to the edges of the ski. To make your skis more comfortable to use, they can be painted or varnished. In this case, snow will not stick to them.

Mountings

The final stage of making skis is the installation of bindings. They can be made from leather or cloth belts. In the wooden base for fastening, mounted earlier on the ski, you need to thread a strap under the toe of the boot and attach a second strap to it under the heel. If during use it turns out that the ski goes to the side when walking, this second strap must be moved to the right or left.

When approached correctly, self-made hunting skis will be no worse than those you can buy in the store. It is important to choose the right size, and then make the skis in compliance with the technology. In this case, they will serve flawlessly, will be strong and durable. They will be able to climb into the most promising hunting places and always remain with good trophies.