Toko: Applying a HF Blue/XCold Mix

Applying an HF Blue/XCold Mix

XCold Powder has earned its way to being one of the absolute most popular waxes on the racing circuit. Its main purpose is to make the skis slide faster when the snow is cold and slow. If conditions are cold and fast, leave it out. The video below demonstrates how to mix HF Blue and XCold Powder, a very common and successful combination.

Nordic Grip Wax Line

Toko Nordic Wax Base Green, Yellow, Red, and Blue. Super new packaging that allows the wax to be screwed out of the tin like chapstick and enables always the perfect amount of packaging to hold on to. Base Green’s formulation has stayed the same, but the rest are completely new waxes. They’ve been very well received at all levels, but especially at the highest racing levels despite their simplicity. Nice!

Transition to First Snow and Classic Technique Tips

Sometimes you just plain get lucky. That was the case this year for the first annual Mansfield Nordic Thanksgiving Camp at Craftsbury. A dozen of 802’s strongest high skiers got together for a five day training camp in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. The day before the camp started, the grass was green and the sun was shining as I packed my rollerskis for what I expected would be five days of dryland training. When I woke up the morning of camp, however, I thought I was still dreaming when I looked outside and saw over a foot of fresh snow on the ground!

The next five days felt like an entire season’s worth of conditions condensed into one week: from cold, soft tracks on Wednesday, to perfect crust skiing on Sunday in shorts and working on a beach tan, we got to ski the gamut of snow.

Our time on early snow was the perfect opportunity to work on the basics and build a foundation for the rest of the season. Bryan Cook, one of the country’s best classic technicians, had us skiing around a flat loop while working on three phases of our striding:

1. Initiating the kick by driving your back leg forward like you are kicking a soccer ball. This creates momentum to effortlessly drive forward up a hill.

2. Having a distinct pause in the glide phase, balancing on one ski as you glide down the track. This forces us to commit our weight to one ski with a full weight shift and allows us glide further with every stride.

3. Using a quick impulse to get on and off the kicking ski quickly. This impulse allows you to completely compress the kick zone for maximum traction on any terrain.

This advice may be review for many skiers, but it takes practice to engrain. By the end of the session, everyone was skiing with a much more fluid, efficient stride.

After a high-quality, focused practice session, the group blew off steam in an epic game of Thanksgiving football on skis before devouring Craftsbury’s classic Thanksgiving feast like only high school skiers can.

As you make your transition to snow this winter, take the time to practice the things you need to work on and have fun playing in the snow. See you on the trail!

Garrott Kuzzy