Waxing, how much difference does it actually make.

A snowHead

Just come in from tuning and waxing my skis for the first time. Normally I've taken them to a shop but that seems to off closed down now and so the nearest one to where I live in Cornwall is miles away. I get the edging thing but when it comes to waxing I've just spent forty minutes melting wax on to my bases and then taking it all back off again with scraping and brushing. They now look and feel exactly how they did before I started. Unless something magic has happened that I cant see at a microscopic level I'm none the wiser. It also occurs to me that an unscrupulous ski service shop, or very busy one, could tell you they have waxed your skis and could you tell? You arrive at the resort don't glide as well as you would like but that could just as well be the conditions, who's to say.

One guy on a youtube video I watched recommended that your skis need re-waxing every 12 runs. What twice a day? I can understand if you're competing at a high level and between you and the next competitor could be tenths of a second but for a recreational skier like myself its not going to make a lot of difference surely.

Anyway I'll carry on doing it coz it's fairly therapeutic and its something to do to heighten the excitement of the forthcoming trip and I wouldn't want to shock my skiing buddies into a frosty silence by admitting that I hadn't had my skis waxed before I came out.

A snowHead

It makes a lot of difference; a ski or snowboard that hasn't been waxed for a long time will behave really badly (not glide) on certain snow types. There are some snow types that don't reveal the difference, but there are others which noticeably do: spring snow and poor-mans-powder would be good examples.

You are correct: the difference is not really visible to the naked eye. Note that wax itself doesn't glide (try pushing a candle around), but it does something magic to the stuff your bases are made of. Somebody much more knowledgeable about it than me will surely give us some details! That's why once the wax has fed into the base, we scrape all the superfluous remains off again.

Freshly waxed bases do shine and make the material look better fed, although I've never been able to make mine look anything like the shine that comes from a shop wax (which I suspect only looks shiny in the first place because its what the customer somehow expects). Still, however it looks, the results on the hill show that it's been worth doing.

Every 12 runs sounds absurd for anyone except competition racers! I would say every few days, though if I'm lazy I can easily go 10 days without bothering. (Which is not to say that the benefit doesn't exist.)

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I've been skiing in a dome recently & after about 90mins the skis start to get very 'sticky' & the bases are very dry indeed; completely stripped of wax. Then I get them waxed for the next trip & they are brilliant for an hour or so. If it was real snow I'd expect to get a couple of days out of them at least.

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@Jools 837, If they look and feel the same maybe they didn’t need waxing Very Happy

You will get every response from “I wax my skis every day”, to “I’ve never waxed my skis in x years and they’re fine”. Somewhere in between those two extremes is fine.

Usually you can feel the difference when skiing with the bases flat on the snow, between a well waxed ski and one that needs wax. If with everything else being reasonably equal, if you find you are sliding faster or slower than you skiing partner, then the wax is probably the difference.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Mine get waxed at start of the season, ski 50 days or so, wax again, ski another 50 days or so and they are fine BUT, I also give them covering of liquid wax from a tube and a rub over almost every morning which I think helps a lot.

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After all it is free

Yes, it's a universal wax & I know that I can ask for a harder one for dome use; it's just that at this time of year I'm hoping to be able to take a run up to Glenshee so they're set up with that faint hope in mind. Anyway, the point I was trying to make for Jools was that wax makes a difference & you can tell when it's gone.

I can't disagree that wax makes a difference, but if 90 minutes of skiing in a dome is completely stripping your bases then you're either on the wrong wax or you're waxing them wrong because it's not staying in the base.

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@Jools 837, You must be referring to Penrose having closed but there is an alternative in Truro, Bluebird ski services http://www.bluebirdskiservices.com.

I collected my board from Jamie yesterday and he was very proud to show off his work, despite a fairly worn base the wax is as good as any I've ever had done in resort and a huge improvement from the last mess.

BTW I get my boards waxed about every 15/20 full days or so with a couple of diy liquid waxes and a bit of filing in between.

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Mrs EWW had her skis waxed in the UK before our last trip. Seemed okay dowhill but no glide on the flats.

Halfway through the week took them to a shop for a rewax and completely different.

After that, always get mine waxed in resort, as locals match to temp / snow type.

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Only my experience but . . .
Skied in Scotland one weekend. Arrived in Austria late the next Saturday evening. Out skiing Sunday, dear lord it was hard work, skis just grabbed the snow. Dropped them off for a wax and edge Sunday night, Monday morning was a revelation. Smooth, fast, slidy skis!

You know it makes sense.

Looks like some heavy product selling here. The same post on numerous threads were wax is mentioned. I’m new to ski waxing, but there’s no way I’d invest a penny in a liquid spray that makes such claims. I would consider using it once it was well established as being industry leading and had glowing reports from many sources, mags, web sites etc. Confused

Until then, I’ll stick to the tried and tested.

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

I know the inventor personally. Its mad how people are so stuck with old technology, especially when it costs more and is awful for the environment.

Its quite incredible how well it works and has been tested on some big players in the industry for the last few years. Many pros use it without telling anyone as they don't want to give away their advantage!

A snowHead

Ok, but it’s kinda suspicious that you’ve just started posting and they are all about the same product. I’ll wait to be proved wrong. Very Happy

A snowHead

Thats because im trying to help him out! Anything wrong with spreading the good message - its not like its a bad product lol

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@CharlieBaron, Get a decent reputation first. Looks kinda spammy from here. Nothing wrong with that from a user perspective but from an advertising perspective you don't want a reputation as a spammer.

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@Thornyhill, it is spam. I knew from the start. Dp had mentioned them before. See the current Equipment Review threads. He’s just got on the wrong side of dp. Ouch. Twisted Evil

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks Boardiek for the heads up on Truro. I was using some people in Newton Abbot coz I'm in South East Cornwall.

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

I had a board waxed in La thuile and it was the best the board has ever been, since then on the first day of any trip i leave it to be waxed for collection the next day.

Surely if it works or not is subjective but part of the waxing process is to fill the grooves made from stones etc, for the glideeeee.

As for the liquid stuff, i would buy it but still have the board waxed on the first day, and top up with spray when i felt i needed to, however at £ 30 a bottle thats pretty steep for the average once a year skier,(compared to 10 euro wax) missing a massive market, do a smaller bottle for half the cost.

good luck though

After all it is free

quick question for the Juice infinity mate

why two websites and two different products, a response would be appreciated, seems weird they are crowdfunding when they have a live product already.

https://looknowax.com/

https://www.juiceinfinity.com/

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Would have been better to be up front about it, but as someone who waxes wayyy to many ski's most weeks, I'd happily look at something which reduces the time spent. I'll punt 30 quid on a bottle and give it a go, and promise to review it honestly.

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Waxing makes a huge difference if the existing max has worn off, particularly in certain snow types as mentioned above.

My sister and brother-in-law, on hire skis, came off the top of the first chairlift in Alp d' Huez on day 1 of a holiday a few years back. It was snowing wet snow, and they literally stopped dead. Couldn't move.

Snow stuck to the ski, could be wiped off but immediately stuck again. A quick liquidwax got them back to the hire shop, where the techie tried to tell them it was the wrong type of snow. 😂

Meanwhile, my freshly waxed skis were fine all week.

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I have been using Snake OilTM that I bought from a traveling salesman, and it works a charm.

You know it makes sense.

@Pyremaniac, in his first response pretty much answered your question @Jools 837.

I'd agree you really notice the difference on spring snow and wet snow.

Also you can tell the difference more on those long flat run outs. If you're not waxed you'll see how you don't hold speed anywhere near as well.

Here's my board with the wax on prior to scraping.

If you look at the right hand side tip where I haven't applied wax you can visibly see how dry the base is. Before teh wax went on much of the bottom of the board was like that.

And here it is after scraping and brushing.

So you can see the difference. I find a good wax and scrape will last me 3-4 days, so ideally on a week trip I like to re-wax mid-week though I must admit of late I've been slacking off and I can really feel the difference in the back end of the week. If it is spring snow with slush and what not the wax can wear off in a couple of days.

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

I usually apply wax indoors where its warmer, leave it in a warm room overnight, then scrape the next day in the garage.

And don't forget the golden rules:

Applying wax requires a civilised drink, a martini, or a g&t, or somesuch delight.

Scraping is energetic work so cold beer is the required accompaniement Toofy Grin

A snowHead

Oh and yes, it does feel non-sensical waxing it then scraping it all off again, but as you say the magic happens inside the material. As you heat the base and wax with the iron, the pores in the base open out and absorb the melted wax. You want to keep heating it as long as possible without burning it/the base - so don't just quickyl melt the wax, keep working it around as long as you can - until you feel the other side of the board just starts to warm up, so you now the heat is getting right into the base.

As it cools the pores close up and seals the wax in. You then scrape the excess off. The more you absorb into the base the better the glide and the longer it lasts, hence a two or three coats is better than one. I usually do two coats for a weeks holiday.

What no one has ever been able to tell me though, is why if Im doing two coats, do I scrape off the excess wax from the first coat to then apply more new wax. In my head why can't I just reheat the excess wax and warm the base through again and soak more in.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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

Quite right, I shall wax when I see fit, your mileage may vary, but no need to call others waxing schedules absurd.

After all it is free

@endoman, yes but if you're waxing them twice then that's what you're doing.

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There wuz me thinking that waxing just mitigated razor rash to us poor sensitive cheeked blokes rolling eyes

Help!!

Waxing, how much difference does it actually make.

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