Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Wax, where does it all go...?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Well to answer my own question, all on the floor certainly in my case.
I've just come in from waxing my skis for the forthcoming and it got me thinking of how much wax actually gets absorbed into the ski. Melt a load on and then scrape it all off. If I could accurately collect all the scrapings off the floor weigh them against what I started with and I would have the answer. In which I suspect very little has stayed on the ski.
So in conclusion if such a microscopic amount gets into the structure I'm surprised there isn't an alternative synthetic compound you just spray on without all the faff. Maybe a similar stuff which goes on glass to repel water and dirt. Which you could spray on while waiting for your bombadino to arrive while having a stop up the mountain.
latest report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Well there's Notwax. Not a spray, but a felt-covered puck that you slide over the surface of the ski. Takes about 30 seconds, lasts about 4 hours.

I waxed my skis yesterday. There wasn't much on the floor really, which either means you used too much or I'm rubbish at scraping Confused
snow report
 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?
Quote:

Maybe a similar stuff which goes on glass to repel water and dirt. Which you could spray on while waiting for your bombadino to arrive while having a stop up the mountain

It's called Notwax wink
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Have you seen Zardoz Notwax?

Think I've also seen that Jacques bloke on Youtube weighing wax etc.

After a bit you learn how much to put on so you aren't scraping away too much, and yet still covering all the ski.
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Have a look at the new Phantom base treatment from DPS skis. It's a once-and-done base treatment that impregnates the plastic permanently, and reviews that I've read seem to be saying that it's as good as a fresh coat of wax all the time. It was developed by a chemist who is also a skier, and had exactly the same thoughts as you - there must be a more sensible way. Phantom isn't widely available yet, I think it's expensive, and I like waxing my skis (although I hate collecting all the scraped wax off of the floor!).
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@FrequentFaller, I think how long a hot waxing lasts is very much down to whether your base is 'sintered' or 'extruded' material. The 'extruded' materials don't have any tiny tiny holes to take in any wax relying only on 'adhesion' abilities to stay on the base material. Extrusion base materials are harder than sintered (AFAIK) and last longer.
The 'sintered' base materials I understand start off as a powder which upon heating then fuse into a solid but with tiny gaps into which wax's penetrate a little.
Some people ask why not just put wax on top of other wax, why the de waxing spray/coat and clean off etc. 1, the de waxing spray will remove tiny tiny bits of dirt and 2, makes preparation for a better wax 'adhesion' property and a longer lasting wax duration.
So is all this waxing so necessary. I have an extruded base and I'm reasonable sure that if the base is flat and in good condition with some structure (pattern) I have wasted much time over unnecessary waxing. Just come back from 17 day ski trip (Jan/Feb Dolomites) and didn't wax before I went and only applied hand rub on wax once! Honestly, I never noticed any significant difference at all...
Please note 2 exceptions ill admit to.
1, if you want a fast ski immediately in the morning, sure, base prep, wax and brush out all wax as per procedures you can find everywhere. I'm sure the wax will easily dissappear within a day but a good flat prepared base (extruded) will last for easily 2 weeks without much attention.
2. Ice Freeze. If before a chair ride you ski over wet snow / water, then it could freeze and stick to the unwaxed base and be difficult to come off. Just before the chair picks you up, shuffle ski's back/forth on the snow where your waiting to remove any water or, if temp above 0c, don't bother...

NB. I'm far more concerned and get better payback for my time with a good flat base and sharp / deburred edges than waxes. If not a racer, a good edge could last 3 to 6 days on hard pack condition easily for the average skier. I'll run a finishing diamond over them every 2 days on very hard snow/ice, swapping ski's /inside edges over every day.
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@FrequentFaller, I think the same every time I wax my skis. 95+% ends up on the garage floor. Sad Maybe I put too much on in the first place. Having said that, the wax I use, Hertel Super Hot sauce, is amazing. It has great glide properties and lasts approx 5 days. At the last BB I again noticed how often I was gliding past people who were resorting to polling. It’s not cheap at £13 for 5 x 1oz bars. Although, even that is cheap compared to their Hertel White Gold wax; which costs £90 for 1 ounce!!! That would truly break your heart to see 95% of it on the floor. Shocked Confused
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@FrequentFaller, you're accurate in your observation.

So little goes into the ski, the skiing equivalent of tightwad road bikers actually rub the wax onto the base first (rather than dripping it) to avoid waste.
latest report
 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.
95% on the floor ! So how many "waxers" scrapings, are recycled ?
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@limegreen1, at a guess; 0%. Certainly none of mine is.
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
If you caught all the scrapings in something like a sheet under the skis/board, you surely could re-melt them into a block shaped mould and be good to go again..
Although having said that I'm unlikely to bother..
Bring on the fancy sprays..
snow report
 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.
@limegreen1, I recycle mine... But then I am a boarder Very Happy
snow report
 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
Why is thread thread a sticky?
ski holidays
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@spyderjon, it wasn’t waxed well enough.
ski holidays
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I am not an expert waxer but certainly achieve far more than the 5 or 10% on the ski that's being talked about above. I use an adaption of @spyderjon, 's hot cupboard method using a commercial (electronically controlled) hot air gun. The wax keeps soaking into the base for ages and there's little to scrape off. Lasts for ages too. I was on my 10th day plus last week in Alpe d'Huez and nobody could outglide me on the Sarenne Laughing Mind you, even though I say it myself, my tuck is way ahead of the bum in the air, poles vertical brigade Laughing
snow report
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@Mosha Marc,
Quote:

the skiing equivalent of tightwad road bikers actually rub the wax onto the base first (rather than dripping it) to avoid waste.


Does that actually work? Sounds like a good idea if so but then I am a tightwad mtb'er!
latest report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@gixxerniknik, yes it works. Dab the block on a appropriately temp iron then crayon over the surface, repeat till covered then iron over to melt the wax in, leave to cool and scrape as normal. Just about to do mine.
ski holidays
 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?
@Richard_Sideways,
Brilliant! I'll give that a go next time I wax the board in a week or so. I hate wasting so much wax!
snow report
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Richard_Sideways wrote:
@gixxerniknik, yes it works. Dab the block on a appropriately temp iron then crayon over the surface, repeat till covered then iron over to melt the wax in, leave to cool and scrape as normal. Just about to do mine.


+1

I use 9-10 grams per ski using this method

Hertel Hot Sauce used for the trip I just came back from - great glide for the flats through the forest and schussing
snow conditions
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Once you get some of the wax on your ski, it then gets rubbed off on the piste. Only for you to have to put some more on, hot wax scrape it off, and then do it again.

Drives you nuts. There must be a better way!
latest report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I wax my skis in a DIY room in the basement of the apartment block that has a slight but long incline on the way out. Because of wax scrapings on the floor, and on by shoes as a result, I’ve had to crawl out before. Methods with less shavings sound worth a try.
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Themasterpiece, is this like years of alluvial wax deposits laid down by generations of ski tuners? I hope so, or you are using waaaay to much wax and run the risk of entombing yourself for a future generation of super cockroach archaeologists to puzzle over what significance this individual held to be ritualisticaly buried with weird wooden and metal edges weapons... Probably a fertility rite, ya dirty rascal! wink
ski holidays
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@Fish_Head, agree. Hertel Super Hot Sauce is great wax. The glide is amazing and it lasts 5 days. I lost count of the number of times I glided way past people who'd resorted to poling.
snow conditions
 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.
Teflon?
My frying pan never needs waxing...
latest report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
What length frying pans do you ski on?
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Richard_Sideways wrote:
What length frying pans do you ski on?


One 6inch and a cast iron 10inch, I seem to fry down the hill...
ski holidays
 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.
@spyderjon, I presume this is a mistake (it's quite easy to 'sticky' a thread accidentally) and I have unstickied it.
ski holidays
 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
@harrim51, Wow! what skillet takes to ride 2 different sizes!
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Richard_Sideways, gotta love deadpan humour...
ski holidays
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Careful you don't scratch up that nice new wax job on stones and woks...
snow report
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Well that was prophetic... Scraped the back bottom out of my board crossing a snowless road in La Clusaz - thought I saw a mat down... Wasn't. Ow.
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
skitow wrote:
I am not an expert waxer but certainly achieve far more than the 5 or 10% on the ski that's being talked about above. I use an adaption of @spyderjon, 's hot cupboard method using a commercial (electronically controlled) hot air gun. The wax keeps soaking into the base for ages and there's little to scrape off. Lasts for ages too. I was on my 10th day plus last week in Alpe d'Huez and nobody could outglide me on the Sarenne Laughing Mind you, even though I say it myself, my tuck is way ahead of the bum in the air, poles vertical brigade Laughing


hotboxing?
latest report
 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 just use Notwax, mostly because I've never learnt to wax my own skis...

spyderjon wrote:
Why is thread thread a sticky?


I got it wink
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
HoneyBunny wrote:
I just use Notwax, mostly because I've never learnt to wax my own skis...

spyderjon wrote:
Why is thread thread a sticky?


I got it wink

Finally!
ski holidays
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Richard_Sideways wrote:
@gixxerniknik, yes it works. Dab the block on a appropriately temp iron then crayon over the surface, repeat till covered then iron over to melt the wax in, leave to cool and scrape as normal. Just about to do mine.


THANK YOU @Richard_Sideways - not only does this use way less wax, it’s so much quicker to scrape off. Genius.
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
@BlueSky, that application technique is called 'hot touching' and is the only way to get a very hard cold temperature wax to stick to the p-tex prior to ironing it in.
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@BlueSky, you're very welcome. I have to thank JDEvans for it after he fixed my truely atrocious waxing attempt
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@Richard_Sideways, glad to show you something useful for a change... Cool
snow report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy