Decent waxing iron?

FatWhore

FatWhore

Active member
Does anyone have experience with a decent waxing iron that they'd like to recommend? Looking into buying one but don't know what's the difference in a $80 one vs a $30 one. +k for any help
 
i use a regular iron, for park skis/pow skis, no need to use something expensive.
 
This. Any kind of iron will work. I also use an old regular iron I found in my garage and it works great. No real need for a temp gauge. Just make sure the wax isn't smoking when it is touched to the iron. I've done this for the past 3 years and its worked great!
 
what everyone has been saying pretty much. it doesnt matter as long as the wax doesn't start to smoke. although it works best when waxing to have the wax melted at the highest temperature before it starts to smoke. :)
 
Just be sure to use the lowest temp that still melts and spreads the wax. Too much heat will burn the wax, and heat up the epoxies that hold the skis together leading to delams.
 
The only real reason people buy ones specifically for waxing is your typical clothes iron doesnt maintain a constant heat, it heats up to a certain point, shuts off for a while, then starts to reheat. Whereas a waxing iron stays at a constant temp.

That being said, it doesn't make enough of a difference to notice so just go pick one up from a thrift store or your mom's old one.
 
toko makes the best irons around IMO

the reason you don't want to use a shitty iron is because they don't always have proper temp settings or even heating, this is more of a problem for racing though, not to mention they are built far worse then quality waxing specific irons
 
I always used a shitty travel iron i got from goodwill until i spent a winter working as a wax bitch in a shop. A nice iron isn't necessary, but if you wax a lot, then a nicer iron is worth it in my opinion.
 
Get the basic Swix wax iron, and it's also rebranded by a lot of companies. I think it's 30 or 40 bucks but well worth it.
 
Find the oldest iron you can. Something with a really thick sole will hold constant heat better than a thin sole. Otherwise just a cheap iron preferably with no steam holes. My old boss used to work for Swix with the Canadian world cup team and the two irons we used in the shop were just old clothes irons which lasted longer than wax irons.

If you do want to spend a little cash, Holmenkohl's SmartWaxer is pretty good for the money, I've had one for 3 years and still going strong.
 
i got a cheap swix iron, and it really sucks

i like my old clothes iron A LOT better, the cheap swix(which i think might be the same as the dakine?)is terrible
 
sorry, i replied in class

the temperature is nowhere near constant across the iron, and the temperature of the iron as a whole fluctuates, too.

Any wax I put on, at nearly any temp high enough to actually melt the wax, will start smoking sooner or later.
 
asked the guy that owns the cheap swix one and he said just go with a cheap clothing iron. I use that and it works fine. Just make sure it has a smooth enough metal base.
 
Sorry to threadjack but I was looking for irons as well, does it matter if I got one with holes? I heard something about how the holes cause wax to remain, making the air it's being used in hazardous to breathe?
 
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I've used an iron like this for the work I do at ON3P, we only had to replace it this year after thousands of hours of operation and thousands of pairs of skis. Scratches and burrs in the metal base can be easily avoided with a good scrub with a scotch-brite pad, and I usually just duct tape the temp control knob once I've found the perfect setting.
 
Just an old iron that you dont use for clothes any more works great.Thats what I've always used and you'll save alot of money too
 
Maybe this is the gear snob in me coupled with working in a shop for a long time, but I would never use a clothing iron on my skis. I like my skis, and I want to keep them happy. I've seen too many customers burn their bases because they used a clothing iron. Burning wax is one thing, but I would not want to burn my bases.

Like Rowen said earlier, a good iron does a super good job and lasts a long time. You don't need to go out and spend $300 on a digital iron, but spending $75ish on an iron will be a good investment especially if you wax your skis every week.
 
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