New Skis

After much thought i have finally decided to go ahead a buy a pair of skis.

I'm a reasonable intermeadiate skiier (spending most of my time on Blues and Reds) and have been recommended some X-wing 6's by a shop.

Anyone tried these? - the feedback on the internet generally seems good, but I'm after some re-assurance.

Finally a stupid question - do new skis need to be waxed before taking them out?

Thanks in advance
Tony

These get a good write up, and a guy in my chalet rented them 2 weeks ago and loved them.
Piste skis, so not much cop if you want to venture further off piste.

As for waxing, they should come factory prepped. However, I took my brand new skis into a local guy here and had them prepped with a hot wax and edges, and it made a big difference to how previous skis behaved on their first weeks. I'd say it was £20 well spent, and they don't need a service after the weeks action. Mind you, it was soft and powdery nearly all week which helped.

Its your edges which are the crucial part, and you might find if you dont have them prepped that you need a hot wax after a couple of days in resort, depending on conditions of course.

Used some X-Wings last season, but can't remember if they were the "6's" but definately the best pair of ski's I have rented and therefore the best I felt I have skied. It also helped that they were new and well tuned with sharp edges, had that many plasters on my hands at the end of the week.

The second trip a few weeks later the shop in that resort didn't have any and nothing felt the same and ended up changing the ski's 3 times in one day before settling on a set.

Would be good if they had a trial pair that you could use somewhere to make sure before you spend your cash.

tonyr1967 wrote:

Finally a stupid question - do new skis need to be waxed before taking them out?

Tony

Ideally yes. There is factory wax on them, but it may last a day, or a week. Skiing with no wax will cause base burn. Not the end of the world, but not nice on a new pair of skis. You would ideally for new skis get one or two coats of a base prep wax, followed by a good universal wax. The best results are if the skis are hot boxed. This is where the skis are given a heavy coat of prep wax, and then put in a hot box for several hours. If the skis have a good ptex base, you will have to be very neglectful to ever to see base burn after a good hot boxing.

The factory edges are normally very good. I've only ever had one pair of skis where the bevels were not set properly. You could ask the shop to check the bevels, but not do anything if they are OK. A good shop should have no problem with this. Some people (esp. racers)will tune their skis when new, because they want specific, or special bevels. Unless you want ultimate edge hold, and edges that dull quickly, you don't have to worry about that. Just get them sharpened again after a weeks skiing.

One thing you might do, if you want to really look after these skis, is to invest in a small pocket diamond file (course, normally blue). Just run it up and down the edges each night to remove any burrs from rock impacts (odd little bits of stone that occasionally are on even groomed runs). This will also help to keep the edges sharp.

Trencher

Trencher wrote:
Just get them sharpened again after a weeks skiing.

Had my new Volkls edge sharpened after two weeks of Scottish and St Anton stones, and a couple of days of Niederau hard pack. It made a huge difference to the edge grip.

How do you normally define an edge sharpen, Trencher? My skis received two sand belt passes on the base, and two edge passes.

Dave, I don't know much about machine edges. I gather it depends on the machine, and the only sure way is to finish the edges by hand. I set edges at 0.75 on the base, and 87 (or 3) degrees on the side. I do notice a difference if these angles are off, because I mostly carve. As to sharpness, I guess the fingernail test works as well as anything. Scrape your fingernail across the edge and if you peel a layer off your nail, it's sharp. The more acute the edge angle, the more often you will need to sharpen.

If you don't carve much, or never run into ice, a 1 degree base, and a 89 degree side (90 degree overall) will work. I used that for years, but as I started to carve more, and wanted more edge hold, I changed to 87 degree side bevel. Less base bevel (0.75, or less) will make the skis catch, or hook into the turn. Great if you are expecting it, or like it, but unnerving if you aren't used to it.

Trencher

Thanks!!

Your comments are much appreciated. Now ordered and I have a 'to do' list!!!

Trencher wrote:Dave, I don't know much about machine edges. I gather it depends on the machine, and the only sure way is to finish the edges by hand. I set edges at 0.75 on the base, and 87 (or 3) degrees on the side. I do notice a difference if these angles are off, because I mostly carve. As to sharpness, I guess the fingernail test works as well as anything. Scrape your fingernail across the edge and if you peel a layer off your nail, it's sharp. The more acute the edge angle, the more often you will need to sharpen.

If you don't carve much, or never run into ice, a 1 degree base, and a 89 degree side (90 degree overall) will work. I used that for years, but as I started to carve more, and wanted more edge hold, I changed to 87 degree side bevel. Less base bevel (0.75, or less) will make the skis catch, or hook into the turn. Great if you are expecting it, or like it, but unnerving if you aren't used to it.

Trencher

That is knowledge, will check mine when I get back on my feet.