Ski servicing after a couple weeks' use

A snowHead

I have seen a few old threads discussing this, but was hoping to get some more advice.

I bought my first pair of skis earlier this year, I had always rented before. They haven't been used a great deal: one week-long trip and another three day trip, although the three days included a late season Vallée Blanche descent so was fairly unforgiving on the skis. So not heavy damage but some noticeable scuffs and wear.

With that in mind I think I'd like to get them serviced before my next trip, however I'm unsure whether to look for a full service or just wax and edge. What would folks recommend?

At the moment I'm looking at Ellis Brigham Milton Keynes as the closest option to me, out in the Cotswolds near Cheltenham, although if anyone knows anywhere nearer I'd be happy to hear. The advantage of a simple wax and edge is that EB can turn that around on the day, saving making two trips to Milton Keynes. I know another option would be to seek service in resort, but I'm unsure whether they would be able to get it done in the evening we arrive or morning before starting skiing.

Cheers!

A snowHead

@ejayAD, there must be somewhere closer to you ? Gloucester Ski slope ? Snow and Rock Bristol ? There's a great little shop in Swindon also.... https://www.atbshop.co.uk/snowboard-and-ski-service

A shop in resort will definitely service overnight for you ie drop off after skiing one afternoon, pick up the next morning.

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@ejayAD, With that amount of skiing they shouldn’t really need it, however, as they were new it depends on how you received them. If they only had a factory wax, then maybe good to get them edge and waxed. Most shops out in the alps will be able to do them overnight for you, so rather than waste travel time I’d get them done there. They certainly won’t need any further work on them if they don’t have any major base damage.

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I'm getting mine done at Swindon ski servicing on Saturday.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi, I'd be concerned with the full Ellis service as it looks like they do a belt grind and its unlikely you'll need that. I would have thought the hand edge and wax would be the max you'd need. I'd always do mine before going away, although i do them myself and i'm a bit OCD with that anyway.

Depending on where you are Jon Coster from the Piste Office is in Nottingham and this would be first on my list of options if he's about the same distance.

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What are they offering in a full service on top of the wax and edge?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Being that new all I would ask them to do is base file them (to get them properly flat and not railed - the single improvement to any ski), two passes on the stone to restructure them and a hand file for the edges. Detune, wax and done.

The shops in Morzine and Avoriaz will do a full service overnight.
If you can find someone that does it by hand (The Woods), rather than just passing it through a machine (most other places), then that is worth it.
They'll generally need it longer for bigger repairs such as re-pining a nose / glueing and clamping etc..
Even after filling a few gouges with PTEX it can normally be waxed the same evening.

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@ejayAD, unless your 2-week old skis look like they’ve been chewed by bears, it’s unlikely you need any of that and unnecessary base grinds will shorten the life of your skis. Save your time, money and skis.

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Thanks all, consensus seems to be that a 'full service' would be inadvisable and just to get edges done and wax. Also good to know that resort shops should be able to get that done overnight, saves a lot of hassle trying to find somewhere near me.

As an aside, I always find posting for advice on Snowheads to be a pleasure compared to anywhere else on the internet, a very helpful and friendly place, nice one everybody Very Happy

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@ejayAD, the other advantage of 'in resort' is you can ski the first day on the ever-so slightly 'fuzzy' skis, which will suit your return to snow, then get them serviced overnight for day 2 magic!

A base grind shouldn't be a grind. The stone is only supposed to structure the base. If it's done by hand you probably wear them out more skiiing on them. However, most people now just bang them in a machine and let it hammer them.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Compare two skis fresh out of packet, one just detuned, one basefiled flat and restructured. I could tell you which one you could ski on.We used to do this on ski tests.

A snowHead

When I had it done in shops and was paying I'd often go two weeks between services but now I DIY I do it after every trip weekly. As others said edge and wax only. Maybe a bit of ptexing.

A snowHead

I'm going away for 10 days skiing, I'll be taking my edge and wax kit with me.

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yep, used them on both 8 day trips last season, just a quick diamond to the edges and a hot wax mid way through the week, just an excuse to drink beer really.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

It's nice to have freshly serviced skis, and if you DIY it can be quite therapeutic (unless you make a terrible mess of it of course). However it's probably worth mentioning that if it were actually necessary to service skis every week or two, every ski instructor, seasonnaire, ski patroller and anyone else who spends all winter in the mountains would go broke within a couple of months.

Servicing is either expensive or time consuming depending whether you pay or DIY, and the great majority of folk who earn a living in the mountains would rather spend that time or money drinking beer or [insert your mode of relaxation here].

Worse still, as has been mentioned above, modern servicing machines are quite aggressive, so your skis won't last long if you submit them to that sort of treatment on a regular basis.

I ski almost every day through the season. Probably get the skis properly serviced once, plus the odd edge and wax maybe 3 times a season. We are (mostly) not racers, and skiing isn’t rocket science. It's certainly not worth scouring the U.K. to find a service centre before your holiday, when you can so easily get them done overnight in your resort if they really need it.

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@telford_mike, Thanks for that, good advice. Certainly going to wait until I'm in resort now!

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telford_mike - the international price is beer or spirits , cash does not change hands !
Def get done in resort, maybe give them a quick edge and wax for day 1 then get an overnight tickle up done.

After all it is free

@telford_mike, Interesting. TBH, I would imagine for those guys waxing was the priority. I wouldn't have thought they'd be doing stuff that did the edges most of the time but you'd think they'd want a smooth ride. The cost of time would be minimal I would have thought. Suspect they have a few pairs of planks on the go aswell. But also those guys don't ride all day every day do they. Us punters have to get out when we can. My ski's certainly look like they need work after 7/8 days skiing. Especially given some of the conditions I mince in.

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Following on from @telford_mike, when I was seasoning, I got services for free as we took our clients to the shop. I only ever dropped them in when necessary but guess that was every couple of weeks?

My new skis last year didn’t get serviced at all... too much time on the old rockhoppers...

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i normally wax my board at the start of the season then forget about it :/

usually do about 70 days.

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@eddiethebus, yeah but your a boarder.

I bet you trim your goatey every week.

rolling eyes

@eddiethebus, do you ride boxes / rails ?
After a cold dry night, my board will stick to wooden boxes ( the Stash ) like poo on a blanket?
My goatey is in ZZ-top territory btw Smile

You know it makes sense.

Our ski instructor skis all day every day of the season and hasn't waxed or edged his skis once since he's owned them in 3 years. He also has a hole in the back of one of them, that you can put your finger clean through. He says he doesn't need wax to go faster, he just eats more cake.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@doddsie, you can't be serious Puzzled

A snowHead

A snowHead

Layne - I kid you not. Although right at the end of last season he got them covered in mud and rather than clean them or show up to clients with brown skis, he dragged out a pair of ancient slalom skis to use.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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www.batterseaski.co.uk would happily do you a service but I fear we are too far from the Cotswolds! Be wary of over base grinding your skis.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@ejayAD, ...I bought my first skis in Alpe D'Huez in 1995 - Salomon X Scream in grey. Then, I skied two weeks a year. The skis were serviced each year - base grind, edges, wax. Goodness did I care for those skis. They left my hands when sold on in the condition they originally left the shop - almost. Now, I ski for a lot of weeks. My rat skis get edged around twice a season, if that. They are delaminating, have some core shots on the base, and the top sheets are scratched like a tiger has been at them. They're fine. Any big gouges get p'tex-d immediately, with a quick hot wax on top. My posh skis get edged around twice a week, by hand. Depending on the snow, they could be waxed every evening, or once in two weeks. All this shows is that you can ski on really worn planks. But edge control on ice will be better if the things have an edge. I sweat the details - always - but don't over-service skis - it just wears things out unnecessarily. But a pair of skis fully serviced with base grind will last a two-week-a-year skier for many more seasons than you would probably want - you would want to buy new skis before the base grinding would reduce the skis to 'ruined'.

After all it is free

@ejayAD, where do you live? My Dads place is in Little Witcombe. Could give them a quick once over when doing mine around new years?

I have used the Ellis Brigham a couple of times over the past decade and can say that is was a very thorough and was worthwhile. Having said that, it's 'luck of the draw' as to who happens to do your ski's at the time i.e. how long have they been doing the job themselves, do they like their job therefore do it with care and attention.

It' just like washing your car, it only really gets done properly and completely, if you do it yourself.

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I would never take a pair of skis to a place like Ellis Brigham or Snow and Rock without a really good knowledge of the person doing them.

Firstly my experience of such places is that they'll send people with no prior knowledge on a 3 day course and at the end they think they know more than the client. So you can insist you want your edges at 3,1 all you like but there's still a good chance you'll get them back at 1,1 with a ton of metal taken off the edges because the 3 day course said that 1,1 was the most common, which was mis-interpreted as meaning "better".

If you're not going to do them yourself, I'd seriously put them in a padded bag with some bubble wrap, wrap them in plastic and send them to somebody with a good individual reputation. Spyderjon from the forum would be my personal preference. Some people choose to do it themselves (myself included) but bear in mind that without some tuition and guidance from an experience tech, you could be doing just as much harm as good.

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Ski servicing after a couple weeks' use

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