Waxing snow skis

[achris]

I have just been told that snow skis need to be waxed at the end of the ski season and again at the beginning of the season, and that the waxes are different....

Any truth in this? Or should I just wax at the end of the season and know that come December I can ski again without having to do anything special....

Thanks,

Chris...........

 

[all thumbs]

Re: Waxing snow skis

Not sure why you would wax at the end of the season. Mine sit in the garage all summer and I think the wax would heat up and attract dirt in the hot weather. I start in the late fall by striping off old wax re-preping the bottom then cork lowest temp glide wax I can find.

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: Waxing snow skis

Older x country skis needed to be waxed EVERY use. The wax you use depends on ambient temperature. When i was an avid XC skier as a kid, I carried wax, and changed wax along the trail as the day warmed up or cooled down. Get the wrong wax, and you went nowhere fast.

My new skis are waxless, and that's all they sell for the last 15 years or so. No wax needed ever. There are repair waxes that you melt in to repair deep scratches and grooves.

However, you can still wax the glide zones on waxless skis and I occasionally do on very cold days for a touch of extra grip. My g/f never needs to because she spent a bit more $ on her skis than I did. They have spray waxes now which are very cool! but pricey...

Downhill skis- as a recreational skier, you'd only wax them if you want to kill yourself.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Waxing snow skis

Chris,
I live in New England, thats the north east part of the USA. I am also a professional ski instructor (member of PSIA for a few years now) i used to do it full time for a few seasons but now i only do it part time.
To answer your questions waxing/tuning ski's depends mostly on how often you ski, your level of skiing, the conditions that you ski in, and the quality of the product you put on your ski's in the first place.
They make different wax's for different tempratures. if you ski in sub zero then a 30 degree wax is going to get brittle and chip. If you ski in 30 degree weather then a sub zero wax is going to get soft and gooey and slow you down.
For me personally, I am an expert level skiier, and i ski pretty hard. Wax lasts me a fairly long time (as i am usually not on the flats of my skis) but by edges constantly need touching up. But I just drop them off at the tune shop and get it all done at once. Mine usually go in once every 2 to 3 weeks.
as far as of season storage goes. Don't bother wax them when winter is over. its a bit of a waste. The best thing to do is just make sure they are clean. If you spring ski then the bottoms will fill up with pine pitch and god knows what other crap. Get it all off!! I use purple power, you can find it at an autoparts store. Castrol brand "super clean" is to strong for ski's, and simple green isn't strong enough, so if you can't find purple power you'll just have to hunt for something else... or dilute some super clean. Next take some wax (glidewax, candlewax, surfboardwax, sexwax, crayonwax) whatever, doesn't have to be special. Run it pretty liberally up and town the steel edges to get a good coat of wax on it. this will keep the edges from rusting up. Then wrap them all up in an old bedsheet and toss them in the basement for next season.

PS~ I have never heard of waxless ski's. I'm skiing on 2008 Elan MagFire 12's right now... and they are fairly high end. They need wax just like every other ski out there.

 

[AK_Chappy]

Re: Waxing snow skis

The "waxless" skis he was talking about are the XC skis.
If you look at the skis carefully, you will find out they are talking about the very center section. They will have little scoopers there, they are called "fish scales". That is the part that doesn't need wax.
My wife has those, without wax on the other parts of the skis you might as well be walking with sticks on your feet. Because you aren't "skiing".
My son's skis are smooth all the way down the base. He is not allowed to use the fish scale skis on his school team. He waxes them depending on temp and snow conditions.
I have downhill skis. They get waxed after every 2-4 times out. It will depend on what conditions I am in. If it is powdery snow, the wax will last longer. If I am racing, they get waxed pre-race and waxed post-race for regular skiing.

AK Chappy