Skiing & Snowboarding

Speed: It’s Why Some Skiers Tend to Wax On

By Lynn Campbell, Guest Writer, 2-15-11

	Despite spending hundreds of dollars on top-of-the-line skis, many skiers don't wax their skis as often as they should.

Yesterday, Snow Blog ran a piece regarding the environmental impact of some types of ski wax. In the following item, the “other” side is presented, mainly why skiers choose to wax.

If you aren’t waxing your skis on a regular basis, then you probably aren’t getting the best performance out of them. Plenty of skiers invest in top-of-the-line skis, but never bother to maintain them.

According to Matt McGrath, shop manager of Open Road in Missoula, Montana, the benefits of waxing are obvious: It not only protects and prolongs the life of your skis, but improves glide, helps initiate turning and removes dirt.

“People buy a pair of skis, ski on them for three years, never waxing them, then they wonder why their friend is going so much faster,” McGrath said.

At Open Road, they use a hot waxing process on alpine skis, snowboards and Nordic skis. 

“Waxing for classic or skate skis is a different technique,” McGrath said. “Classic will encompass backcountry skiing and touring. Skate is the more race-oriented side of it.”

McGrath said that if skis have a white, chalky layer on the bottom that can’t be scraped off, they probably need to be waxed.

Paste and rub-on waxes can also be used, but these methods aren’t as effective as hot waxing. “None of that actually goes into the ski,” McGrath said. “It’s all surface prep and it’s not doing anything to protect the ski.”

McGrath also said that hot waxing is something an individual can do on their own outside of a shop. “That’s the beauty of it—it’s made for the garage,” he said.  “Everyone should be waxing.”

Landon Gardner, who is a member of the U.S. ski team currently recovering from a knee surgery and coaching the Missoula Freestyle Ski Team, agrees that waxing is something that the recreational skier can learn.

“The hot wax process, with a little bit of practice, is pretty simple,” Gardner said.

Gardner said there is a science to the wax. 

“The snow temperature and how much water is in the snow is really going to determine which wax you use,” he said. “It is going to basically make you have the least amount of friction on the base of your skis from the snow’s contact.”

McGrath said that abrasive ice crystals are formed in cold, icy conditions, which strip the wax off of skis more quickly. “If you’re dealing in a cold temperature, you need to be waxing more regularly,” McGrath said.

Missoula skier Grace Harris needs little convincing. She already waxes her skis with friends who have their own benches. Harris said that some skiers wax more frequently than others depending on how often they go or how competitive they are. 

“There’s a fine line,” she said. “You can do it every week and be like ‘I’m the fastest skier on the mountain!’ or you can do it once every couple years.”

According to McGrath, the most basic items you need to create your own bench are a real wax iron, a sharp scraper and a stiff nylon brush. “After that, it’s just wax selection, which is really cheap,” he said. “You can get a block of wax for ten bucks, which lasts you four times out.”

The first thing McGrath starts off with in the hot waxing process is a clean brush. He brushes a soft copper brush through one time. Once that is clean, he drizzles on the wax and irons it on using three passes from tip to tail. The temperature of the wax is subject to change depending on the conditions. He lets the wax cool for at least 20 minutes then begins to scrape from tip to tail again using low pressure with a super sharp scraper. Then he uses a brush again from tip to tail and scrubs with a stiff nylon brush and polishes with soft nylon.

McGrath said that waxing really does make a difference. “People are like, ‘Yeah, I don’t ever have to touch these things—I can just go out and ski,’” he said. “I think for a lot of people on a recreational level that’s fine. But if you’ve made an investment into a nice pair of skis, it’s worth getting into waxing.”

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