Keen on speed and the full complement of waxes to juice the skis? Then you’ve likely noticed the “full complement” has become markedly reduced in recent years when considering perfluorinated products. Further, PFOAs or C8 (eight chain) fluoro compounds were effectively banned in the EU as of July 4, and are no longer available for most uses in the U.S., including ski wax. Older waxes formulated with C8 are considered the most effective at repelling...
There’s truth in jest as the saying goes. While FasterSkier’s April 1 piece made light of the issues, it hit home in some unexpected places. During one of FasterSkier’s conversations with the Environmental Protection Agency to examine why it had begun investigating the importation and sale of perfluorinated waxes, the EPA’s representatives cited the April 1 piece to question why FasterSkier had begun reporting on the issue. Whether readers appreciated the humor or not, the...
his SuperTour win last Sunday and I told him that it was nice to see a good guy win. His response was excellent too, as he asked me, “Thanks FBD, but honestly, are there any guys out here who aren’t good guys that you wouldn’t want to see win?” This is such a good point and it goes to show you that even at the highest level in the sport, those fighting tool and nail...
Complete e-blast) Testing and Choosing Race Skis at the Boulder Mountain Tour 2017 On a typical day in the Wood River Valley, you can pretty much bet on sunny days, cold nights, firm new snow and amazing grooming. But so far, this hasn’t been a typical year in Ketchum. Last week it didn’t seem to stop snowing, with about 20 inches accumulating on Friday and Saturday, it made for some interesting ski testing, and racing!...
Original e-blast) Boulder Mountain Tour Wax Reports Testing up at Galena Lodge on Friday conditions were new soft snow with temperatures in the mid twenties, just a couple degrees cooler than were forecast for race day of the Boulder Mountain Tour. We found Toko LF Red running better than black waxes for a base layer, and HF Red also running very well. So that’s what we ran for base layers. The Red has a great...
Original e-blast) How to prepare new or freshly stoneground Nordic or Alpine skis and snowboards This time of year many people have either new equipment or have just stoneground their skis or snowboards from last year. Here is how to get those bases running fast. 1. Wipe the bases down, brush them out well with a copper or steel brush, and wipe the bases down again. New ski bases can be dirty and also post...
Original e-blast) How to have fast skis ALL THE TIME and in EVERY CONDITION I love my job. The contact that I have with people in the ski community is pretty much always positive and enjoyable. We have great waxes and other products so of course generally interaction, feedback, and my motivation are very positive. However sometimes at events or otherwise, I have people approaching me trying to get me to guarantee super fast skis...
e-blast) TokoUS.com. The specific link is here. You can drill down on a specific region too of course. How to Wax Backcountry Skins With all of the snow falling recently and plenty more on the way, people might be heading into the mountains for some backcountry skiing. Here is a quick video on how to best wax backcountry skins by Toko Tech Team member Erich Wilbrecht. See entire video library
e-Blast) Introducing an inexpensive workbench with good options – for Alpine, Snowboard, or Nordic Ski Vise Race: The least expensive quality 3 part vise on the market. End pieces allow working on the skis at a 90 degree angle for waxing and tuning or at a 60 degree angle for working edges. Middle clamp opens to 90mm and can be fixed to bindings or binding plates to accommodate wider skis. Comes with 2 ski brake...
( If you wear base layers, you will be glad you watched this short video. Learn about my favorite product, any brand, any purpose: Functional Sportswear Care, a treatment to reactivate and improve Base Layer performance leaving you dry and the right temperature. The difference is huge and you’ll really appreciate this stuff! Video Footage from Recent USST Time Trials at Soldier Hollow Men’s and Women’s Skate Sprint Race including Prologue Women’s Classic Speed Workout Men’s...
( USST Toko Athlete Sam Morse on What Makes a Champion At just 20 years old, Morse’s maturity separates him from his peers. And, he’s so very kind. He is one of the most genuine humans this planet has to offer. The future is bright for this one, so make sure to follow him as he moves up the ranks on the Team. We asked Morse our three questions on what he believes makes a...
The primary purpose of this event is to get women out and take away their excuses. It certainly is a nice date and the event gets done in time to watch the Super Bowl. Race Director, Tamra Kornfield said 500 women signed up for the event this year, a slight drop from last year’s numbers but the goal is to get more women interested in the sport as well as supporting a good cause....
SMS T2 US Nationals Wax Report Classic Individual Warming temps, glazing tracks, new snow. I went pretty simple on glide for the classic race, waxing with HF Blue cut with AX134 for the guys in the AM, and a mix of HF Blue, AX134 and HF yellow for the ladies who were racing second. The traffic from all of the competitors was releasing a pretty decent amount of moisture and I wanted to soften the...
Jennie Bender is just coming off a dominating performance at US Nationals. She has had some bad luck the past few years with her health (Mononucleosis and back injuries) and it has been so inspiring to see her fight through it all with both patience and dogged determination. Congratulations Jennie! Toko All Stars: Jennie Bender 1. Who was your skiing role model when you were growing up and why? I looked up to each person...
Toko Glove All Stars: Ida Sargent 1. Who was your skiing role model when you were growing up and why? Chandra Crawford- I watched her win Olympic gold with the biggest smile on her face and it doesn’t get more inspiring than that! 2. What skier inspires you currently and why? Kikkan Randall- she is a leader for our team and an incredible role model. Kikkan isn’t afraid to set big goals and believe...
Field Report from Mansfield Nordic Club Eastern Cup #1, Craftsbury, VT December 19th, Freestyle sprints December 20th, 5km Freestyle for all Friday afternoon conditions were transformed corn snow the was fast and slick. Overnight, temps dropped to the mid-20s and new snow fell. For the men’s race, temps were mid 20’s rising toward 30 with intermittent sun and clouds. the snow was skied in, fast and slightly glazing from traffic (the qualifier was 2.5 laps...
Toko Grip & Glide Wax: For No Wax Skis We get asked all of the time how treat no wax skis and more specifically often times how to prevent wax from clumping up in the kick zone in new falling snow around 32f. The solution is simple: Toko Grip & Glide Wax. Apply Grip & Glide Wax to the entire base of the ski – both the glide areas as well as the kick...
(Press Release) Sun Valley SuperTour Field Reports – What the teams used in their own words: Classic Sprint Super Tour December 5, 2015. Conditions: Hard track with cold temperatures in the early morning ~7 degrees Fahrenheit warming to mid 20s during the middle of the day. Mid- low humidity and tracks set very nicely despite the warm temps the proceeding days before. Waxes Used: HF Black paraffin base. Toko HF Red. Topcoat: Toko Red 2.0...
Skate Super Tour November 27-28, 2015 Conditions: Hard packed corduroy with sub zero Fahrenheit temperatures. Lows both nights exceeded -15 degrees F with low humidity. Sprint loop became a little sugary on the surface with many skiers on course, but maintained its firm base. Distance loop stayed hard packed on Sunday throughout the entire day. Temperature during the races was warming through the teens. Toko Wax Used: Both days- Paraffin Toko HF Blue with X-Cold...
The first Supertour races presented us with extremely cold temperatures and “new” snow that saw A LOT of skier traffic. This cold, dry and transformed snow did not respond well to powders most of the week so we decided to forgo that layer for the sprint. For paraffin layer we found the standard HF blue and cold powder 1:1 mix running well. We top coated with the old Jetstream blue block(tested both 1.0 and 2.0)...