 Poster: A snowHead
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I've read a couple of scientific papers which asserted that non-waxed skis used as a reference in wax tests turned out to be faster-gliding and stay that way through the tests, which was an unpredicted outcome.
Then ald posted this!!!!....
Why bother with wax?
http://epubl.luth.se/1402-1757/2006/03/LTU-LIC-0603-SE.pdf
http://kuzmin.se/pgs/scrapers_engl.html
snow report
I indeed thought that white patches were 'sealed bases' ie oxidised - apparently not
I did realise that there is not such process as 'opening up the pores' on a base - this confirms other papers rejecting the 'pores' notion
This thesis turns a lot of thinking on its head - if true and I need to triangulate it with other papers, but it looks right from the papers I refer to above....radical stuff
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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?
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Best post ever on this whole site.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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If true, that is a real shame for me. I find waxing strangely therapeutic. If I'm not to wax my skis or snowboard, I'll need to find something else to wax in order to relax!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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frenchst, Surfboard
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Started to read it but got bored very quickly – way too many factual inaccuracies will tend to do that.
Anyone using pseudo science like that would fail even an O level in physics.
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Talking to yourself there, old chap 
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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.
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i havnt had my snowboard serviced for about 4 years thats got to be 60 plus days on the snow .. im still more concerned about stopping than going faster 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| altis wrote: |
.....For a related, more convincing, read try:
http://www.escnordic.org.uk/
then click "Myths and Fables" and then "Base Pores" |
Assuming he is stating fact, that is convincing. However, I would need a lot of persuading that my skis do not glide better from having wax than would otherwise be the case.
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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.
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I think I'm inclined to go with primoz on this one....
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I don't really bother waxing at all anymore. The composition of the snow itself seems to have a much greater effect on the friction between the ski and slope than the wax on the ski at least in my subjective experience. I can see where you'd want to spend the time perfecting the waxing for racing though given things are decided by hundredths of a second. Mind you there is likely a large difference between the level of preparation a professional ski tuner puts in and the normal recreational skier.
I do see a benefit using skin wax on warm wet days though but then a skin and a ski base are very different materials. 
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You know it makes sense.
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our French neighbour, who has skied all her life, saw the OH doing ours one day, out on the terrace, and asked "Do you do that every year?". She'd had her skis for yonks - and only after an accident which damaged her knee did she buy (partly because I kept nagging her) some much shorter, modern skis. A lot of French skiers who ski many days each season don't seem to fret about their gear anything like as much as the average British holiday skier.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hmm until I hear of WC speed ski techs not using wax I will consider the jury out
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Poster: A snowHead
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| narc wrote: |
| Hmm until I hear of WC speed ski techs not using wax I will consider the jury out |
From one of the linked articles above, "Kuzmin had his wife Antonina Ordina compete on unwaxed skis as early as the 1995 World Championships, and she won a bronze medal."
(Albeit in cross-country)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Albeit in cross-country
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they make even more of a fandango of waxing in cross country!!
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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?
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| meh wrote: |
| From one of the linked articles above, "Kuzmin had his wife Antonina Ordina compete on unwaxed skis as early as the 1995 World Championships, and she won a bronze medal." |
I totally agree. But the thing is, this is totally different thing. There are conditions when not waxed skis work much better then any wax. But this is about kick wax! There is no single condition where glide wax would work worse then no wax.
As far as xc skiing is concerned, wax plays even bigger role with xc skiing then with any alpine skiing. So waxing abilities of xc techs are way beyond any alpine tech, so reading stories about "unwaxed" skis winning WC/WCH races are pretty funny. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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primoz, the research linked above is about glide wax not kick wax. The whole article I quoted that result from is also about glide wax not kick wax.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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meh, I know. I just wanted to make clear when someone brought xc skiing into this. There are two types of waxes, and while for kick wax "clean" skis are sometimes way to go, there is no way it would work for glide wax.
Edit: Sorry it was actually you who mentioned Ordina.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I wax my skis about once a week, bought a 4 kg load of wax years ago for not much still using it so the cost per wax is close to zero. I once skied in Banff at -40 deg!! I asked the tech in the ski shop what was the best wax, he said when it was so cold no wax was the best option.
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Interesting food for thought. I hot waxed skis for years which has been believed for years to be the most effective way of keeping skis in good condition. These days a true hot wax is rarely done by ski shops (if ever!) as it's very time consuming and labour intensive.
To do it properly the skis need to be at room temperature (which can take a couple of hours or longer when they come in off the slopes), then you iron the wax into the bases for a few minutes. The skis then need to be left to stand for a while (the longer the better) whilst the wax hardens before being scraped and brushed (for structure depending on snow type).
If you never wax skis the base changes colour on the most worn parts, generally along the edges and under the feet. Hot waxing is also a good solution for ski storage over the summer, put a think layer of wax on the base and it will cover the edges as well protecting from rust.
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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.
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| pam w wrote: |
| A lot of French skiers who ski many days each season don't seem to fret about their gear anything like as much as the average British holiday skier. |
A combination of two things perhaps?
1. All the gear, no idea.
2. Time spent at home dreaming about skiing, preparing the equipment is as close as an Englishman can get for much of the year. Moreover, as it's just two (one, three, six) precious weeks everything has to be "perfect".
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Unless you're racing there really isn't much need to wax or even tune skis that much. Once every two months or so seems to be fine for me.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| clarky999 wrote: |
| Unless you're racing there really isn't much need to wax or even tune skis that much. |
On hard icy pistes I reckon that a pair of edges don't last two days. Hence three days at most for the two pairs of edges your skis have. Maybe I'm not a good enough skier to cope with blunt edges, but I really notice the difference between the left and right sides if I always wear skis the same way round.
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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.
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James the Last, Ski less nasty icy pistes then lol.
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