Waxing

Does it make any real difference to us who just want to get to the bottom in one piece?

Is it worth the effort if our middle name isn't Bode or Benni?

Hamish Macbeth wrote:Does it make any real difference to us who just want to get to the bottom in one piece?

Is it worth the effort if our middle name isn't Bode or Benni?

not a great deal in my experience, certainly in some problematic snow types, ie wet snow or slush, it's a help or if you know you're going to have to schuss a lot otherwise it's not a big deal. Bandit is here right now and her wax is way better than mine, on a flat section she easily glides past me and her skis don't have holes in them either for that matter, but once we're moving downhill and off-piste it's not a big deal.

I stick some universal wax on from time to time and that works just fine.

Hamish,

Can't explain quite why, maybe it's the anticipation of a great season, but I'm feeling a little feisty today!

I used to own a 1.8 diesel Mondeo and it was great for getting up and down the motorway, it was quite fuel efficient, it could easily exceed the speed limit and had a fantastic load carrying capacity and every day I drove it, without knowing it, I died a little …

When I drove the first V8 super car I owned, I suddenly felt as if I had been in a coma for all those years. The acceleration made my heart race, the cornering was SO precise and the 50-70 acceleration made motorways a place of joy. The trade off was that the servicing costs were higher and our friends in blue tended to take a greater interest than with the Mondeo.

And so it is with a well tuned and waxed ski. Suddenly everything feels just a bit easier, the turns are just a bit smoother, the carves can be pushed just a bit further and life feels just a bit better. The downside, as ever, are the servicing costs – Your investment in educating yourself about the subject and taking the time to experiment with perfection!

I would suggest that if you have the chance, have a skilled person discuss your skiing technique and requirements with you and then get them to provide a personal tune for you.

Sure you may be fractionally faster to the bottom of the hill but ultimately, who cares, what will be evident will be that you have a secret under your feet that seems to generate an unstoppable grin spreading from ear to ear :lol:

So with love and kisses to the Ford Motor Company you make a very practical car but I doubt anyone just suddenly broke into a grin driving one of your Mondeos – Hamish, experience the supercar ride just once in your life and then ask why anyone bothers with wax – You may have the answer at your feet!

Happy discovery,

Jab

Jan I Stenmark wrote:
And so it is with a well tuned and waxed ski. Suddenly everything feels just a bit easier, the turns are just a bit smoother, the carves can be pushed just a bit further and life feels just a bit better.

To be fair he was asking about wax, it's hard to do much with a ski that's not got a decent edge on it on piste particularly as it gets firmer and towards ice, off-piste or powder even that doesn't make a deal of difference.

It's hard to justify trying to use a dozen types of wax and finding the perfect one, it works for racers as they need to find the right one for a couple of minutes on a known terrain. For the rest of us it's just a recipe for turning up with exactly the wrong wax for the majority of conditions we'd see in a few days or even hours.

There are issues with durabilty/ wear on the ski. Regular waxing makes the skis last longer. Unless you can afford to buy new skis every year, you may wish to wax on a regular basis. :)

Now, as to performance. . . Skiing, for most of us, is about enjoyment - not a race against the clock. But, as a pleasure activity some of us desire to expend the least amount of effort while we have fun. Why work hard if you don't have to? A properly waxed ski is just easier to use! Yes, it may be possible to be "faster," but we go back to the sports car analogy. :) Why would you want to have to "push" yourself if you can just glide there!

Now, I am not trying to tell anyone they have to wax their skis, but for some of us it is a necessity!

Dshenberger wrote:There are issues with durabilty/ wear on the ski. Regular waxing makes the skis last longer. Unless you can afford to buy new skis every year, you may wish to wax on a regular basis. :)

Does it? I've never heard that before. The closest I can guess as to why that could be true is that a regular wax process will "flush" through a sintered base removing foreign particles but I'd be pretty surprised if that was ever much of an issue.

Dshenberger wrote:Now, as to performance. . . Skiing, for most of us, is about enjoyment - not a race against the clock. But, as a pleasure activity some of us desire to expend the least amount of effort while we have fun. Why work hard if you don't have to? A properly waxed ski is just easier to use! Yes, it may be possible to be "faster," but we go back to the sports car analogy. :) Why would you want to have to "push" yourself if you can just glide there!

Now, I am not trying to tell anyone they have to wax their skis, but for some of us it is a necessity!

The trouble with the sports car analogy is that we're going downhill :D It's your brakes (and suspension etc.) that allow you go faster down a hill :D For skis that would be your edge of course and that's exactly what allows you control your speed.

It's an interesting enough subject but the answer the question that Hamish posed is no, it just doesn't make a difference, all that's really true is two things:

1. some wax is better than no wax
2. universal, or a high temp' range, wax is better than the wrong specific wax.

What you don't need is a box full of expensive waxes and a hour each morning with a snow thermometer testing the snow.

I think ise has it about right with his point 1; however I am not so convinced that controlling speed is simply a function provided by the edges. The advantage of correct wax selection (and base preparation) is that it allows the ski to be manoeuvred with less effort and more accuracy. This means less expenditure on energy which means less fatigue and therefore a higher likelihood that the edges can be used effectively.

Last season I was skiing in St Anton (Stanton for the hip!) and was lazy with my wax selection and had one of the worst days skiing I can remember. The skis fought me the whole time and I was exhausted long before lunch. At one point there was a gentle schuss and I just ground to a complete halt and I had no option other than to take my skis off and scrape the bases as much as possible (with the scraper from my portable tuning kit.) After some hard brushing things were better but still far from perfect. In this case no wax was better then the wrong wax. (kinda ise’s point 2)

Ultimately the question Hamish poses can be answered by asking another question. How “easy” do you wish you skiing experience to be?

Wax (and ski prep in general) is a critical factor in racing and I believe this leads recreational skiers to believe it’s use is all about speed, however, I would suggest that the correct selection of wax is at least as important as choosing the correct clothing in ensuring that your day is as good as possible. Over dress or under dress and you recognise the symptoms very quickly, choose the wrong wax and I suspect that all beginners, and the greater majority of intermediates would have no idea that the problems they are experiencing are wax related.

Coincidentally, I know quite a few skiers who classify themselves as experienced or expert skiers who have not equipped themselves with a working knowledge of wax or more importantly how to recognise when it’s the wax that’s causing their problems!

So, Hamish, in my opinion, yes, wax is a very important part of your equipment and as in all cases the more effort you put into understanding its application the greater the reward you will reap. Ultimately only you can be the judge of the effort / reward ratio.

Happy choosing,

Jan

Can wax left over from candles be used?

I realise that you wouldn't know what temperature it was suited to but it would protect the base.