Wax Wisdom

FasterSkierJune 19, 2009

The following wax tips were not prepared by me alone. A few years ago SOLDA wax was imported and distributed by Torbjorn Karlsen. Torbjorn, along with Gordie Lange, traveled, coached and waxed for many of the best cross country athletes in the country. A segment of this post appeared in Fasterskier.com in 2004. I am editing and re-sending it because I believe there is a great deal of basic wax wisdom here. Again, much of this is the work of Torbjorn Karlsen:br /br /Have Fast Skis In Any Conditions From The First Day On Snow br /br /The following guideline is meant to help you simplify waxing and have fast training skis from the first days on snow. Some wax companies are recommending numerous applications of this and that before you add a high number of layers of the next wax before moving to the next one…We have tried this (10-20 layers of wax) in our own racing as well as in World Cup and Olympic competitions. It’s in most cases a big waste of time, energy and money. There is a limit how much wax a base can absorb – so why add water to a bucket when it’s already full?br /br /Our goal is to have the fastest skis without spending all night in the garage or wax room trying to accomplishing this. Join us if you agree and like this approach: br /br /Training Waxesbr /There are three waxes that will give you great training skis in most conditions. We recommend that you start using these three waxes for you training needs in most all snow and temperature conditions. Learn to use these waxes, and then add 1-2 waxes for typical or extreme conditionsbr /in your area. These three waxes are also a great start for your race-wax kit:br /SOLDA PERFORMANCE RED: This is a low fluoro wide range wax with a fairly low melting point that runs well in most snow conditions with snow temps from 27F to 14F. br /SOLDA UF7: This wax has a similar temperature range to the Performance Red, but with just a bit more fluorocarbon additive. It is still very reasonably priced and runs a bit better than the red in the cold end of the snow temperature range.br /SOLDA TECHNO GREEN: This is a hydrocarbon wax for conditions that are colder and drier than the waxes mentioned above. Recommended for snow temps of 14F down to -4F, it comes in a 500g block for $20.00br /If conditions are generally warmer than those listed above consider adding SOLDA PERFORMANCE YELLOW to the arsenal. It runs in snow temps of 33F to 27F.br /For very cold conditions you might add SOLDA F15 Blue to the wax box. It is a terrific base hardener in a mid-fluor wax.br /br /br /Racing waxesbr /SOLDA has a number of great and unique race waxes for a lot lower cost than any competing brands. We race and wax skis every weekend and is convinced that SOLDA is as fast as and often faster than the competition. It makes sense to have the fastest skis at the lowest cost. In addition to the waxes we mention above, we would also ask you to read about the following waxes on www.webskis.com to see if they work in conditions you would be racing in. This isbr /what you should look up:br /br /HPO5 in Powder or Spray br /A unique and great Fluorocarbon. Designed for relatively cold snow we never go to a race without this wax.br /Fluoro 100 Powder or Spraybr /100% Fluorocarbon makes this wax superb in warm temperatures and high humidity (over 60%).br /PowerJet 2 and 4br /Fluorocarbons especially formulated for colder (PowerJet 2) or dryer (PowerJet 4) conditionsbr /br /S-30br /A must for very cold, abrasive snow conditions. It can be mixed with HP05 or used as a finish layer to harden bases in dryer conditions.br /br /Dirty or dry basesbr /If your ski bases are dirty, clean them first with wax remover (SOLDA ECO 2000) and then apply one layer of basic cleaning wax or travel wax, for example SOLDA HC.1 Yellow or Universal Base. Scrape while the wax is still warm and then brush. Add one more layer of the same wax if your bases appear dry. Spend a little more time (2-4 minutes per ski) ironing in this second layer with the iron on a low setting. Move the iron slowly from tip to tail. Let the ski cool before scraping and brushing. Then apply one layer of today’s training wax. Dry bases can also be treated and waxed with SOLDA HC 28 Hydrocarbon or HC27 Fluor Carbon. We typically prepare them with HC28 when we expect to be skiing on cold and dry snow. We prepare the bases with HC27 if we expect moist or humid conditions.br /Keeping your skis maintained with the SOLDA waxes discussed will assure you fast skis every day. Skis that glide well are more fun, your movements can become more efficient and training and racing more successful.br /Happy skiingbr /br /Bertdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6589659500745667109-7921663424073584261?l=www.webskis.com%2Fwebskisblog.html’ alt=” //div

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