How often to wax race base?
- Thread starter Kickerzzz
- Start date
onenerdykid
Active member
When you have any type of sintered base, you can never over wax your skis. In fact, the more you wax them, the faster and more durable they get.
As a minimum, I would suggest to hot wax your skis after 10 days of skiing. And like I said, doing it more frequently only makes your setup stronger and faster.
As a minimum, I would suggest to hot wax your skis after 10 days of skiing. And like I said, doing it more frequently only makes your setup stronger and faster.
onenerdykid
Active member
If you can't always match up the wax with the temp/conditions of the day, I would recommend that you use Swix BP 88. It is a blend that works great to condition your base for the wax of the day but is also a great stand alone wax if you have no idea what kind of snow temp/condition you will encounter.
k2andcannoli
Member
Get an old iron and a power converter for your car... Hot wax in the parking lot....its not ideal but better than any rub on app. If your skiing alot, you should be doing your own waxing imo...
I wax my park skis (sintered bases) at least once a week (I try for twice, but sometimes I don't get around to it). I ski 5-6 days a week, so basically I wax my skis once every 5 times I ski.
Race skis, I'd wax 'em every time I need them to go fast...if I was just going to ski them around for the day I wouldn't worry about it, but for a race or practice, as close to when I need them as possible, no later than the night before, but if possible the day of the race, that way you know pretty much the exact temp and snow conditions and get get the best wax job possible.
Race skis, I'd wax 'em every time I need them to go fast...if I was just going to ski them around for the day I wouldn't worry about it, but for a race or practice, as close to when I need them as possible, no later than the night before, but if possible the day of the race, that way you know pretty much the exact temp and snow conditions and get get the best wax job possible.
onenerdykid
Active member
Generally speaking you have two types of bases- extruded and sintered.
Extruded bases are much cheaper and usually found on lower end skis. They are pretty durable but do not absorb wax well. In fact, hot waxing an extruded base does not really do much since the wax stays on the surface of the base and does not penetrate the base. It will only last for a a few runs, so you are better off not wasting all the time and money on hot waxing and just getting a simple rub-on wax designed for extruded bases, like Maxi Glide.
Sintered bases will out perform extruded bases in terms of durability and speed, but only if you properly maintain them through regular waxing. Sintered bases come in grades, usually 1000 series up to 7000 series. The higher the number the faster your base will be, but again only through proper waxing. A sintered base that goes unwaxed (say 2 weeks) will look like dry skin- white and pale. Hot waxing will not bring this back to life because the material has dried out and needs to be ground off. So only after a belt and stone grind will you be able to wax that base properly again.
Sometimes companies advertise they have a "race base" when in reality it is only a basic sintered base. Sadly, not all companies list the exact series their base material is so sometimes it can be hard to find out.
Extruded bases are much cheaper and usually found on lower end skis. They are pretty durable but do not absorb wax well. In fact, hot waxing an extruded base does not really do much since the wax stays on the surface of the base and does not penetrate the base. It will only last for a a few runs, so you are better off not wasting all the time and money on hot waxing and just getting a simple rub-on wax designed for extruded bases, like Maxi Glide.
Sintered bases will out perform extruded bases in terms of durability and speed, but only if you properly maintain them through regular waxing. Sintered bases come in grades, usually 1000 series up to 7000 series. The higher the number the faster your base will be, but again only through proper waxing. A sintered base that goes unwaxed (say 2 weeks) will look like dry skin- white and pale. Hot waxing will not bring this back to life because the material has dried out and needs to be ground off. So only after a belt and stone grind will you be able to wax that base properly again.
Sometimes companies advertise they have a "race base" when in reality it is only a basic sintered base. Sadly, not all companies list the exact series their base material is so sometimes it can be hard to find out.
