Official Ski/Binding Maintenance Thread

Honestly this thread is really long and i dont want to sift through the whole thing.

I have a couple questions.

1- Whats a good cheap all temperature wax for me to use? I dont need anything fancy, just something that will protect my bases and work for multiple temperatures/ snow conditions.

2- Ive had my invaders for 2 and a half seasons. Im going to be brutally honest ive only waxed them about 3 times. I never realised the importance of it. Is it too late for my bases? Im planning on purchasing and iron and stuff. SHould i even bother with these or just wait until i buy new skis to really take car of them.

3- Is it worth it to get a cheap tuning kit? like the dakine one. Or is it more worth it to buy some wax, a 2 in 1 brush and an iron seperate.

4-If im too cheap to get two brushes, and i have to choose one. What brush should i get? Bronze or soft nylon.

Thanks alot!

Also if anyone has old tuning gear theyd like to sell, give me a shout!
 
1. I use Dominator all-temp, I find it works well. You really can't go wrong with Swix or Toko though.

2. Wax them, wax them, wax them! Saturate the bases. They won't be as good as new bases properly maintained, but the sure as hell will be better than they are now.

3. Dakine irons are just rebranded swix irons, I have one, they work pretty nice. Price out an iron, wax and a brush separately and as a kit. Go to local shops, support them if you can, even if its a little bit more than online.

4. Get bronze, that is all you really need unless you are racing.
 
So i landed front seat on a 180 yesterday with my rossignol world cup bindings (fks) and i ejected ( honestly probably the 4th time ive ever ejected with these bindings ) and when i went to get my ski my break wouldnt lift completely when i clicked my binding in. It wouldnt lift past the bottom of the ski.

I took it all apart and realized the break had bent forward when i landed front seat.

To fix this can i just stick them in a vice and bend them back?
 
Be happy they didn't rip off. Only thing you can do is throw them in a vice, grab a pipe and bend them back, and hope they don't break. If they break, then they can't brake. Bad pun. Had to.
 
1. I really like Holmenkol's beta red. Its awesome for our everyday conditions in ottawa. Its ment for -4C to -14C (snow temp), and old or coarse (manmade) snow. I think its about $20 for a decent amount.

2. HOT SCRAPE!!!!!

Steps to clean your bases:

1. Brass brush

2. Fiber Tex (smooths out all the base fibres that the brass brush picked up)

3. Wax with a warm really soft wax (yellow)

4. Scrape right after you wax

5. Brush with a softer brush (horse hair, nylon)

The point of a hot scrape is too clean out your bases. Don't use base cleaner, its chemicals and its not great for your base.

Thomas has a great vid on how to hot scrape, skip to about 9:30: http://vimeo.com/17832964

3. Depends on your budget, whats in the kit your looking at.

4. Get a swix mini brass brush (its like $20 at T&L) compared to $40-50 for a full sized one. Use this and some fibre tex before you how wax. Then get a nylon or horse hair brush for after you scrape (about $20 for one). Both are really good and almost neccesary to have. If you really can only afford one, get the brass brush and some fibre tex. All the leftover unabsorbed wax will come off after a couple runs if you don't brush with a nylon brush.

The guy above raised a really good point. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHOP, especially cus i work there.
 
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Yesterday coming out of a box, my ski came off and rolled under me. The plastic part that covers the brake broke completely off. I can still get my foot in, but the brakes don't come down if my ski comes off. Can this be fixed? do I need a new binding? does rossignol's warranty cover this?
+K FOR ANSWERS
 
This is going to sound dumb but i would appreciate some answers (+k)My skis are 114-75-103 and i got them mounted "center" at one of my local shops last year and it doesn't look dead center,does anyone know why?is it because of the shape of my ski?
 
It's where the core is the least wide, and since your ski is asymettrical, core center is not going to be the direct center between the tip and the tail.
 
Yeah your skis are railed, but they aren't ruined. You can take them to the shop tell them whats wrong and they should be able to stone grind them down. but if your just sliding rails it probably won't make a difference. it really matters when it comes it going fast and maintaining control, you won't haha.
 
There should be an iron temp on the wax box...but a good rule for when you're starting out is if the wax is giving off smoke on the iron, turn it down until it isn't, and if the wax doesn't melt, turn it up. You get the hang of it pretty fast.
 
Quick question. I pretty much have all the essentials needed in a waxing/tuning kid minus the wax. Currently I have odds and ends of left over swix wax from when my sisters raced. I have very little left of the swix universal pink wax aswell as the blue and red ones. What types of waxes would you guys reccomend to start rebuilding my collection of wax? Its currently spring time here in utah which means most of the days are going to be slush filled park laps with a few pow days if that helps......
 
Pretty sure this hasn't been answered yet and it's sort of a stupid question but, does detuning affect your carving at all since you're dulling the edges?
 
Yes. More specifically, detuning the tips and tails of your skis, especially to and a little past the contact point (I say its essential for any rockered ski having ridden a few that are improperly done), will make them hook up less and carve normally. Detuning underfoot, you're really only taking out 10-15% of your overall effective edge, it doesnt effect the ski that terribly... unless I suppose you're on a very small ski or on a ski thats got like no running length because of large rocker sections.
 
Im thinking of getting a second pair of skis,what are some good skis for me im 5'7",140 pounds and i would like to ride some drops and free ride obstacles
 
The top sheet of my moments has delamed a bit at the tip. Can I just glue it and then clamp it down? What kind of glue/epoxy should I use?
 
Other than hot waxing a couple of times a season how often would you recommend getting a full shop service/ doing a proper base cleaner job on them?
 
Couldn't decide whether to post my question here or in a thread. Anyway,I have ar7s(Not symmetrical) with fks 140s. I'm planning on doing 60% park, 40% all mountain, and being on the east when I do decide to go all mountain I want to be able to carve fine with no worries. But when I'm in the park, I want to be able to ride out switch fine. Do I need the center mount because I heard it affects your all mountain performance for the worse? Also, if I had it mounted at -2.5(factory recc), would I still be able to ride out switch fine. I'm just talking riding out switch, I don't plan on doing switch groomers or anything. So -2.5 or center, or somewhere in between?
 
Yeah I was thinking of just going in between so thanks. But how does a 2.5cm difference affect riding switch? And do you think -1.5 will still be fine for all mountain riding?
 
omIV's guide to pro level ski prep:

step 1: unwrap your radical new a-bangs (extra points if you picked your ski length for a sick graphic)

step 2: get liquid base cleaner. swix sells a good product; just be careful, cause it's somewhat toxic, and flammable as shit.

step 3: empty a bottle into the base of each ski

step 4: light your skis on fire

step 5: learn your lesson about buying a-bangs

step 6: order on3ps, sidewall-constructed armadas, or any other ski that was at least touched by a human during the manufacturing process

skis will perform like shit if they are made out of shit. if the base is made out of solid plastic, no amount of wax will ever make a difference. your skateboard technology skis will always handle snow like skateboards. so don't buy them if you're a 15-year old with a stratton season pass.

love, jah bless, omIV.
 
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