G3 Scala Climbing Skins put a new spin on a category that hadn't really changed in years, at least since plush went synthetic. G3 replaces the conventional material in the tip of the skin with a Hybrid Tip Connector - a molded urethane component that incorporates G3's self-adjusting tip clips but sheds snow and glides better. A scale pattern is molded into the plastic for grip, but that's a secondary benefit as there's usually no weight on the tip anyway. More important is the reduced gliding friction and the fact that snow packing under the tip of the skin is kept to a minimum. Plus, they look so damn cool.