American Birkebeiner: Toko Wax Recommendation

Cable to Hayward, WI Saturday, February 27 23K/50K Skate or 23K/54K Classic Classic start at 8 A.M., first Skate wave at 8:25 A.M. Wave 10 starts at 10 A.M.

Forecast/Conditions: Low of 7F overnight and a high of 28 on race day. Snow will stay cold through noon. There is a lot of debris (twigs and pine needles, etc.) on the course, especially between OO and Mosquito Brook.

Glidewax: Apply LF Blue/LF Moly mixed 1:1, scrape and brush, use the Red Structurite Roller (one good hard pass), then apply HF Blue, scrape and brush. Iron in JetStream Blue (one good pass). Let cool. Use the Blue Structurite Roller over the ironed JetStream Blue. Rotocork the JetSteam Blue over the structure. Brush with a dedicated nylon polishing brush and polish with a thermopad. Dirt is a factor, as is durability. Bases need to be hard.

Gripwax: We can’t say at this point what the grip wax will be. It should be either straight Carbon BaseWax Green (thick and short) or

Carbon Klister Base Green covered by the grip wax of the day. See the Toko Tech Team crew in the shops Thursday and Friday for more info. Structure: See comments in the Glidewax section as to exactly how and when to apply the structure. Given that there is ice mixed in, having some structure really helps the ski glide. It is unusual that we recommend the Red roller with pretty cold temperatures. Here it is due to the speed of the snow and the ice content. The structure as we have laid it out has tested well.

Comments on Birkie Wax Tip: It is a straight forward and predictable wax tip except the structure recommendation is a little different from normal for us. This is due to the fast conditions and ice content of the snow. Basically, this structure tested better than the straight blue roller which is what we would have used had there been no ice in the snow.

The order is pretty important. If you put the red roller on after brushing out the JetStream, I think it would be too coarse or sharp and result in slower skis on the climbs.

There is dirt in the form of needles and twigs especially between 00 and Mosquito Brook. The snow is cold and abrasive. The temptation might be to wax with HF Blue/Red mix, but if it is cold and abrasive as it is supposed to be, this softer wax combination might be too soft. This would result in the base being dried out before the second half of the race when the Blue/Red mix might kick in. It is better to trust the blue waxes. They are hard enough to last the entire race and the JetStream Blue as well as the HF Blue will perform very well in the second half of the race, better than a Blue/Red mix as there will be more wax left in the base.

Good luck!

Ian Harvey

Toko USA