How often should i wax my skis?

Question

im an advanced recreational skier and mainly ski in the north lake tahoe, ca area. how often should i wax my skis? i pretty much ski once a week for a full day. what are the negative effects of not waxing? possible to damage the skis?

thank you!

Answer 1

You should wax your skis as often as you can & there are extremely negative effects of not waxing. If you're skiing a full day every week then I would wax your skis at least once a month, depending on conditions. If the skiing is warm & wet then you should wax them more often since this will wear off the new wax. It's like keeping your car waxed. The more use, the more it should be waxed. Your skis should always be very slippery on the bottom. Use a soft cloth & rub the waxed area. If it's smooth & the cloth slides quickly along the waxed portion, then they're waxed enough. You'll ski much better with waxed skis & remember, they will be faster. When they're waxed well, the wet snow won't slow you down as much. Another thing, is that a waxed ski will protect the surface & the surface should never get damaged since it's always covered with wax. If the bottom gets damaged from skiing over a rock or tree limb & it takes damage there are ways of fixing this. You should fill this area more heavily with wax until it becomes as smooth as the other areas. You can fill the hole or it will effect your skiing. Another thing to remember & you didn't mention it is to always sharpen your metal edges. Most ski shops have these sharpeners or you can use the type of sharpener that people use to sharpen kitchen knives. This is as important as wax. When the edges are sharp they will cut through the snow like an ice skate & you won't slip on a turn. You'll be able to carve your turns much better rather than sliding & possibly falling more often.

Answer 2

It depends on the snow conditions. If you are skiing icy hardpack then you will need to wax every 4 ski days or so. If you are skiing powder then you wax every 10 days.

Also, if you are skiing backcountry and are using skins you will need to wax every day. The skins strip the wax off the skis.

Answer 3

The answer depends entirely on the ski day. If you are skiing fresh soft snow, you could get several days from a good hot wax, but on older snow you will start to notice wax being eroded along your edges.  If you ski hard and fast the wax will not last as long as if you ski slowly.  Look at your skis and let them tell you when to wax.

Obviously, if the conditions are changing significantly you may need to rewax unless you use something universal. I tend to blend Swix Uniblue with Swix F4 and find it covers all but the coldest by adjusting the blend (more F4 in warmer wetter conditions and more blue in colder drier conditions). For cold dry nordic skiing I use a Start Green none fluoro. I just bought some blocks of Hertel Super Hot Sauce and Spring Solution to try out this year. We will see if the Spring Solution lives up to the hype.

Depending on how often you ski, it might be cost effective to buy your own waxing gear (bench, iron, scraper, brush, and wax). I wax alpine and nordic skis for my wife and I, and my snowboard, so it was a no brainer to buy my own gear, including a RotoBrush. It gives me a lot of flexibility and I find the process quite enjoyable.

As part of the tuning process you should get the edges tuned for your skis and then simply maintain them with a diamond stone, unless you ding them hard, and they are easily obtainable. The one I use came from Artechski and cost $14. FK SKS Mini Stone Tool ARTECH Product # 7702. It is a small pocket tool that is angle adjustable so you just rub it along the base to polish the edges. Works great!

Not waxing the ski can reduce its life, but you would notice the lack of performance long before serious damage. Wax, in theory, can protect against minor rock damage, but if you hit anything hard the wax is still softer and you'll be looking at a ptex repair.  Although people think wax is about speed, really, waxing is all about making the ski more controllable, so it is easier to turn and more fun to ride. I notice this the most in the spring when I miss judge how warm the weather really is going to be. You can sometimes really feel the drag, particularly at lower speeds.  For these days I carry a tube of Toko Dibloc Hi Fluoro Paste, and rub that on after a number of runs. I let it dry while taking a break and give it a quick polish before setting off again. I'm hoping the Spring Solution will help me with this problem a little.

Answer 4

It all depends on the conditions.... when your skis start to feel sticky then is a good time to wax them.

If you ski 1 day per week, i'd probably look at servicing once a month....

I ski 3 or 4 weeks a year on snow and tend to wax then after each week anyway, and at the end of the season, i wax them and leave the wax on until next season, this stops the edges rusting and helps to protect the base.

If you dont wax, your skis wont proform at their best, and you wont ski well... Also the base will dry out.

Any hire shop will wax your skis, usually over night.... I do mine myself, takes about 30 Min's per pair.....

The only negative affect of servicing skis is that you are reducing the amount of edge.... this is minimal, and to be honest.... you can do more damage skiing in bad conditions than you ever will by servicing them.

Look on the web at toko, swix or any other wax manufacturer, they have tips for servicing skis, or the ski manufacturer or ski shop......

Answer 5

every tiime you ski thats what i do