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Should I get my new skis waxed before skiing?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
So many experts here saying don't bother, why bother...what a lot of bother.

Ironically there actually IS a real Expert (spyderjon)...but you don't want to listen to him do you?

I would always wax (more than one coat) and retune the edges, it is a hassle, but worth the effort.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
My last 2 or 3 new pairs of skis went in Jon's hotbox to great effect. The ski manufacturering gentleman I skied with occasionally confirmed that new skis are only waxed to keep them in good order for storage and shipping. The sort of wax you might apply as part of a hot scrape, but not Zardoz or the like.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Surely this is, to a certain extent, a "what level" discussion? As in, there's a world of difference between race prepared skis and those used by leisure skiers.

I've bought 2 pairs of new skis and neither had a pre-ski service, I skied them off-the-shelf and was very happy - I assumed they were adequately prepared for skiing pistes, and tbh couldn't tell any difference between them and freshly waxed rentals (Obergurgl; probs a good standard), the changing conditions/temps each day make more of a difference in their ability to glide over the snow.

My skies go as fast as I want them to, even after a week, and I guess I put them in for a service (15 euros?) every 40-50 hours (between Jan to March, we are away for the season) of skiing...

Ok...cut to the chase - is skiing on fresh from the shop but otherwise not treated skis detrimental to the ski?
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@Scamper, If it's only had a thin storage wax coat you 'could' end up with fuzzy bases after a week which will always tend to make the ski a little slower and more grabby in sticky snow conditions until you get a base grind. A lot depends on what the snow is like that you ski them on.


Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 4-12-18 11:44; edited 1 time in total
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Scarpa, Thanks for the reply - I think with my first ones they must have been adequately prepared (Atomics , bought from Decathlon) as they never needed a base grind as far as I know...tbh, I just stuck them in whatever shop was handy and trusted the people to do what was right.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I always edge and wax skis when they're new.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Scamper, You'd only really need a full grind if your bases were scratched to hell or very grey and fuzzy. My all mountain ski bases are pretty scratched up and at some point I'll probably get them ground for the second time, they are about 9 years old and have had a lot of hard use.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

It only needs a relatively small hanging burr in the right place to make a ski unskiable on hardpack.



And thus my ski legendness has been re-confirmed.
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Scarpa wrote:
You'd only really need a full grind if your..... very grey and fuzzy.


Shiite. I need to get meself booked in!

Wonder if they can do the skis while I'm there.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Scarpa wrote:
You'd only really need a full grind if your..... very grey and fuzzy.


Shiite. I need to get meself booked in!

Wonder if they can do the skis while I'm there.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Mosha Marc, I am now trying to get the image of you pole dancing on stage out of my delicate flower like mind Shocked Shock Laughing
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
A question about structure...

I went into the rental shop in Kitzbuhel last week and asked whether they could service my and my son's skis by hand. He flipped over my son's and said that because the base was unstructured - and that Rossignol was known for this, the skis would have to go through the machine to put structure into the base before they could be waxed. However the skis were sold as ex-demo and prepped ready to ski, and had since done a week in Feb.

He showed me the base of one of his rentals and it had small clusters of diamond patterns repeating over the base in contrast to my son's Rossignols which had nothing visible. So the whole thing seemed a bit contradictory but I did wonder whether he was talking about a specific structure to cope with the warm, slushy conditions that we struggled with.

So what do I need to have done to them to prepare them for next year? (Other than book a tuning session with spyderjon which looks better vvm now I've got 2 pairs I don't know what I'm doing with)
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@Riccardo, Every Rossi ski comes with a structured base. It could be that the skis had insufficient structure because they were really ex-rental not ex-demo but that's totally different than saying they're shipped from the factory unstructured. The standard Rossi linear structure combined with an ironed in good quality wide snow temperature operating range wax (ie Dominator Lime Zoom) that's properly ironed-in then wiped over with some Zardoz when needed will have no trouble handling spring conditions (ie refrozen overnight first thing in the morning to surfing late afternoon).


Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much on Mon 8-04-19 17:20; edited 1 time in total
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Cheers @spyderjon, I've just dropped you a line about the DIY tuition.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I paid @spyderjon a visit at the weekend for his DIY Tuning Lesson.

Incredibly thorough, I came out with box of ski tuning bits and bobs, a wealth of knowledge and possibly most importantly, confidence. It's not cheap for tuition plus tuning kit but the more pairs of skis you need servicing, the better value it is. I'd still highly recommend, I just need to practice it all again before I forget what all the bits and bobs were for.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Riccardo, we now own 5 pairs of skis, to justify that outlay Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
It's very simple, if your skis are not gliding well on flat schuses / chemins, and loads of feckers are going past you, then maybe pay some attention to your bases.

And that will very much depend on the temp of the snow pack, something than no UK based Ski Aficionado will know at the time, so don't get taken in by the hype!

And there's enough info on the internet should you have an iron and some scrapers.

C'mon how many are skiing the whole feckin season. Get real and avoid the BS

New skis, from my experience, which is 30 or so years, is such that they are perfectly adequate and I've NEVER had to bother*

For the whole season I make do with one maybe two waxes.

Unless you're a top Nordic skier you will not notice the diffe Smile rence!

* Black Crows Altos I've used all season!

And yes a bit of a red wine induced rant but people do get so suckered in!


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Wed 22-05-19 14:40; edited 1 time in total
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I too am a big fan of the Dominator Lime Zoom with Zardoz both under and over the wax (cheers for the supplies spyderjon). Years ago I used to wax my skis after every trip until I started skiing seasons but now I just do it when I feel the glide going, as I ski on a few different skis this may mean some pairs only getting one wax during the season and others needing a couple. Wiping with Zardoz does really seem to prolong the wax, especially if you do a few cycles with the iron and really work it in. I've found the Lime Zoom wax to work pretty well from the coldest depths of the Austrian winters to touring and skiing on old snow in June in 20C+ with no problems.
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Skis mostley spent months from manufacturing till being sold (in outlets even years).

So even if you don't argue about the edges, the factory wax is certainly no good anymore.
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