 Poster: A snowHead
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My 9 year old daughter is going to do her first race on the artificial slope this season. I'm trying to find out what I should be doing to the bases of her skis to help her get some speed up. I've seen people putting gels, wipes and sprays on the bases of skis before a race but I'm new to all this and really don't have a clue what I should be doing. PLEASE HELP!!!!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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usually there's enough mr sheen/back to black/gunk of varying types along the first few gates so don't waste your money!! We used to used CH4 wax or something similar just to stop the bases burning really.
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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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Jillysuze, Agreed. Use the hardest wax available to protect the bases. CH4 as heidiky, said is the best. Also need to keep the edges sharp to be able to turn. They get blunt very quickly on the matting. That's all TJ did when he was racing on dry slopes, and he won virtually everything along the way.
Good luck with the racing. Hope she does well!
Which club are you with?
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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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As above -40 Concerete wax and if you are looking for a quick cheat KY Jelly works a charm and does not burn up as quickly as others 
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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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I used to wax uber hard wax and make sure its smooth, then not scrape. Buff with lavender polish and then add silicone and buff that.
Then add copious amounts of Mr Sheen.
That worked a treat.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Jillysuze, as the others have said, use the hardest wax you can find. I use CH4 for races, but 4Mat (from Ski Racing Supplies) for training (as it's a lot cheaper). I think 4Mat is pretty good for a run or two, but CH4 lasts longer.
A couple of years ago I did a bit of a test as to what was the quickest gunk to put on the bases. Zardoz NotWax makes a big difference to the way the ski glides over the full length of the course (i.e. much longer than the other goops), but didn't feel the fastest out of the gate. Basically anything wet and slippy makes a difference over the first three or so gates, but not much after that. I did originally use Tesco Value Washing Up liquid as the top layer (19p/litre  , quite thin compared to the more premium liquids which felt a bit claggy), but that did seem to reduce the amount of grip I would get from the edges quite a bit. Lots of people use the ClearGlide or blue pulling lubricants from Ideal - but they aren't cheap (particularly from the ski suppliers  who charge about 50% more than places like this). BTW, don't use Yellow 77 as it's banned from a number of slopes, and I think a few ban the blue stuff as well. Those lubes are a little bit sticky though, so another guy at our club reckoned that the best bet was that ClearGlide after diluting about 50:50 with tapwater (which also makes it go twice as far ). I now use some white cable pulling lubricant from BT that contains little silicone granules that act like ball bearings for a blisteringly slippy start - felt way faster than ClearGlide to me - but it still only lasts about 3 gates.
I don't use it myself, but a lot of people seem to swear by rubbing in powdered graphite - lightly scatter on, and then rub in with a bit of cork. This is reputed to work only if the slope is dry though - it gets a bit claggy if it's wet (misted or raining).
So I do the CH4/4Mat hotwax without scrape, then let a practice run buff it smooth. For the race run itself, I always put on Notwax, then a spray of Tesco's lavender spray polish (way cheaper than Mr Sheen), followed by a top layer of that white lube. Not too sure whether the Tesco's polish really does anything in that sandwich, but it feels OK.
As she's only 9 there may be a bit of difference in the effects of all these goops as she's not the weight of vivski or me - as we're both in the old lags group (sorry, dear )! I'd start off with some Notwax and washing up liquid to see how she gets on, and then worry about anything more sophisticated once she's really got to grips with it.
And at her age, by far the biggest difference in speed is going to be her carving technique and line selection (and pushing hard for the line on flat runouts)!
Where is she racing?
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Mon 16-05-11 13:49; edited 2 times in total
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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´ve put a bar towel with fairy liquid on and slide over it before each run. Fairly flew down.
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