Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec

With the Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec, you can exchange the skin easy to customize the ski’s grip properties

The Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec comes in a new and interesting look. Already in 2011, Atomic brought the first skin ski to the cross-country market, the Skintec.

Who would have thought Atomic's bold revival of the idea of animal skins under cross-country skis would take on such proportions? Now, eleven years later, almost every major ski manufacturer offers “skin” ski models for beginners as well as to elite XC skiers.

So the Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec ski model suits World Cup and Long-distance and recreational skiers alike. The ski has the same carbon fiber construction and Nomex core as the World Cup C9 Classic Carbon ski.

Besides with the brand new race coating BI 6000 SA, the C9 skintec has got a better glide.

And thanks to the easy skin exchange, the skins can be changed in seconds without tools, even just before a ski race. Changing the skins fast at the start depending on the current snow conditions is a big advantage.

What makes the Atomic Redster C9 Skintec so special

The C9 skintec ski is very light and easy to bring forward to the glide. There is minimal friction with the snow surface during the gliding phase, after the kick.

What you want from a top skin ski is "no slipping" and "no drag" for long gliding. However, as with any cross country ski, make sure you get the right tension “ski flex”.

Because with a slightly smaller pressure gap towards the snow surface, a hard double poling skier could experience a little bit of drag. But most of the time, the Atomic skintec ski is a bit soft and the mohair skin could tend to pluck.

The new Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec is Atomic's best ski in this category.

Atomic produced the first skintec ski in 2011. Today the Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec is the best model of this ski manufacturer

The new integrated Shift-In binding

I liked Atomic’s new integrated Shift-In binding. This makes it easy to adjust the ski’s grip and glide without removing the ski from your boot. I believe that sooner or later, all ski manufacturers will have “no wax cross country skis” with some type of an integrated Shift-In binding on the market.

During the test, I first skied with the Prolink integrated Shift-In binding in a neutral position in flat terrain while double poling. The ski’s gliding ability in hard packed snow and an air temperature of -2 to -5°C was very good.

In rolling hill terrain during double poling, I moved the bindings from neutral to forward and then backward while always being in motion. I did the same together with other ski testers in easy downhills. It was amazingly easy to do and without losing much speed and time.

The push-off behavior was very good in all terrain sections. When taking tight curves and then accelerating to higher speed while entering the track, the insertion behavior was smooth.

The skin of the Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec providing you the perfect grip and good gliding.

Even in up-hills with the integrated Shift-In binding in neutral and with good grip, I could change the binding position forward in about three seconds.

It takes a bit of practice shifting both bindings while you are in motion. But it’s doable and besides that, not everybody is into ski racing anyway.

It's a simple system, just turn the knob on the binding to adjust grip and slide without taking off your skis.

Turn the Shift-In knob to the right for better grip or to the left for more glide. Or leave the knob in the middle position if you want the best of both worlds.

Do you want a classic ski with perfect grip and good gliding ability with the newest integrated Shift-In binding system? Then the Atomic Redster C9 Carbon Skintec could be the right choice for you.

Besides, the Redster Carbon Skintec is cheaper then some of the other top skin ski models.

But if you are a heavier skier, I recommend you to choose the Rossignol X-IUM Premium RSkin ski. Of course, that assumes that you have an adequate technique.