Learn from the pros: "Waxing makes all the difference!" | Let's talk about skiing _Topic 2

INDEX

• Waxing: Bringing out the best in your skis' gliding performance
• The keyword is liquid wax. Highly recommended!
• However, there is also a traditional method using solid wax. In that case, do it like this
• How does wax work with stickers?

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professional with over 15 years of experience.
Let's learn from Mr. Tabata, the owner of "bottomline," a maintenance

This series features Tomoyuki Tabata, owner of the pro shop "bottomline," who will teach us tuning techniques to help you "ski more comfortably." This time, the theme is waxing. With the season finally starting, we hope you'll use this to prepare for hitting the snow.

the start of this series(Topic_1)to see

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Unleashing the full potential of your skis' gliding performance
Waxing:

The second topic, Topic_2, is "Waxing."
The snow season has finally begun. Before you hit the slopes, waxing is something that makes a huge difference! With the right wax, you can bring out more of your skis' gliding performance, or the opposite. You have great skis, but they're not gliding well...that's a waste of a good pair of skis.

So, let's ask a tuning professional to teach us how to think about and use wax so that our boards are in perfect condition for skiing

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Times have changed. Waxing in freeride is..

When you hear the word "waxing," some people still reflexively reject it, imagining it as a tedious task. However, times have changed. Waxing in freeriding, where you're not competing for position or time, has changed considerably from the old days. The key to this is liquid wax

The keyword is Liquid wax,
highly recommended!

When you think of liquid, the first thing that comes to mind is the so-called "easy wax." However, as you know, this was not long-lasting and was only a temporary solution. This is where the current liquid waxes, labeled "BASE WAX" and "TOP (gliding) WAX," came into existence. For example, something like this photo

It's easy to use.
Simply apply an appropriate amount to the dedicated felt or sponge and spread it over the gliding surface.

All you have to do is wait a few minutes for it to dry and then brush it.
No scraping is required, so there's no wax residue, and you don't need an iron. This means you can do it anytime, anywhere, indoors or on the go, which is very convenient.

Hot waxing probably lasts longer, but since you can apply it more frequently, the difference in durability is ultimately compensated for.

Here's a quick review of the basics of WAX

I wrote about BASE and TOP (gliding) wax, but actually, you can glide perfectly well with just paraffin wax, which is called BASE wax. Paraffin waxes are divided by the temperature range in which they are used (mainly colored yellow, red, and blue), so you should pay attention to that, but there are also some that don't even have that indicated (mainly white in color).

And this paraffin wax called BASE is often used alone even by competitive skiers when practicing. Many gliding waxes are expensive, and there is no need to distinguish between different waxes when it comes to acquiring basic techniques. By the way, catalogs also clearly state that there is training wax. The reason

for dividing them by temperature range is simply to change the hardness of the wax. This is because there are various factors such as whether snow crystals penetrate or not, and the wax is designed to accommodate these. I will omit the details here.

What is TOP (gliding) wax?
What are its effects?

So, what is TOP (gliding) WAX? Well, it's a wax that adds additives such as fluorine, silicon, and rare metals to the paraffin mentioned above to improve the glide on suitable snow conditions. That's why it's expensive

However, while its use may be necessary for competitions and other demanding situations, I believe it's acceptable not to rely too much on fluorine-based water repellency for freeriding, including backcountry skiing. Although C8 is no longer used, there's a recent trend towards being more cautious about fluorine below C6.

In short, base (paraffin) wax alone provides basic gliding performance and is long-lasting. Top wax is what adds various properties to that surface.

So, yes...top wax only shows its true potential when applied correctly, based on the various conditions of the snow at that particular time. Conversely, if it's not a good match, you can't expect any effect (despite its high price). This is the world where service technicians compete in the field. This is one of the reasons why gliding waxes can seem so difficult.

Another benefit of liquid wax is that it's eco-friendly

But back to the main topic. Liquid wax has another advantage. It's simply "eco-friendly." Since it doesn't require an iron, it doesn't require electricity, and there's no waste from scraping. These two points are actually big. I'm not sure if that's why, but companies are increasing the number of liquid wax products like this

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However, there is also the traditional method using solid wax,
in which case you should do it like this.

That being said, let's also cover the traditional method using solid wax. That involves
applying and removing the base wax.

For freeriding, using a waxing sheet when applying solid wax is still recommended. This is because it allows for a thinner application, which means less wax is used and easier to remove.

base wax using waxing sheets
Tips for applying and removing

The key point is...

when applying:do it at a temperature where smoke doesn't billow out, but the wax melts and spreads easily(check the video!).

When removing:Do not scrape off too much with the scraper.

Once you have peeled it off to a certain extent, finish it off a little earlier using a nylon brush. If there are any areas where the brush gets caught, lightly scrape only those areas again. The trick to not peeling off too much is to lightly touch the scraper to the finished product after brushing to check, and if there is still enough left to peel off lightly and thinly, it's OK. That's what it feels like in words

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By the way...
how well do wax and climbing skins work together?

Climbing skins are essential for backcountry skiing and splitboarding. These are attached to the base of the skis or snowboard to provide traction with their fuzzy surface, allowing you to walk uphill. In other words, they're useless unless they stick to the base. It's problematic if the climbing skins don't stick, especially when you're applying wax to improve glide. Finding the right balance is crucial.

In short, for backcountry skiing, keep pre-waxing to a minimum. Of course, this doesn't mean don't wax at all. Just anticipate using climbing skins. That's obvious, right?

So what should you do?

The idea is to hike up, peel off the climbing skins, and then apply the final waxing on site. In other words, you apply a light coat beforehand, and then carry a wax with good glide properties to use on site. Formally, it's an extension of simple wax, or perhaps a type of glide wax

However, we also want to be environmentally conscious. We would like to reduce the use of fluorine as much as possible. For example, this is our original wax

This wax improves gliding performance by increasing the amount of "Ag (silver) complex" rather than relying on fluorine for gliding. Here, we have tried to reduce the amount of fluorine as much as possible to the point where it does not even affect gliding. Incidentally, there are many waxes currently on the market that do not claim to have gliding properties due to fluorine, so be sure to check them out

In the next Topic 3, we will talk about "Handling edges to change your gliding."

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Information provided by : Tomoyuki Tabata (bottomline) Compiled by: STEEP Editorial Department

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