trying to limit my expenditure. right now i use moly base then dibloc hf for racing, no fancy stuff on top. i do races that are mostly 15k, the odd 30.
can anyone offer bang-for-buck views on the below?
Thanks!!
Call (or visit) Brian or Sven at Gear West - they will steer you right.
trying to limit my expenditure. right now i use moly base then dibloc hf for racing, no fancy stuff on top. i do races that are mostly 15k, the odd 30.
can anyone offer bang-for-buck views on the below?
Thanks!!
It’s funny, people spend tons of $ in tri to save a few seconds. In skiing, it’s the same with wax except the potential is there to save significantly more than a few seconds. In my experience, people closely guard their wax secrets though since they are the result of expensive trial and error.
My advice is to go with one company, and get the widest range of stuff you can. Experiment with it on training days to see what works the best. Learning about the best wax for specific conditions can be a multi-year goal and since they keep bringing out new products it’s a never ending cycle.
As for the “rub on” stuff, I’ve used the Swix product in the past and it depends on the snow. If it’s corn snow (that has warmed and then re-frozen) it probably won’t last 5k. If it’s dirty snow, same thing. It’s good for sprints, but that’s about it. I’ve tried it in fresh, new snow and was initially impressed but a few km out (and less than 5) it felt like the effects of it had worn off.
A hand structure tool, I’m assuming you mean a “Riller”. I use the Swix tool, and in very wet conditions it can’t be beat. I haven’t used it in other conditions, but it breaks up the suction in very wet snow. They’re a little pricey for something you won’t use often though.
If you’re doing 15 to 30 km events, I’d skip these two things and go with getting as much stuff as you can and play around with it. It’s also worth saving up some money for the end of the season as a lot of places will give good discounts. For the last several years I’ve bought all my wax at the end of the season.
Here is a conceptual approach to a very minimalist wax kit as food for thought, from Zach Caldwell:
https://groups.google.com/...Wl3ZKVU/AuLHqsYGRYkJ
The message is that a cold flouro block is the first thing to add to your system. Since you seem to be on Toko, you could get their Jetstream blue and that would speed you up in most conditions.
Adding Jetstream red for warmer conditions would be even better. And a structure tool.
For me if I was making a racing wax kit, I’d get a warm and cold pure fluoro block, mainly because I’m cheap and those are easy to apply with a rotocork (and faster, generally, with corking than with ironing). Unless the snow is very abrasive that’ll last long enough for your races. You can also hand cork another layer over the roto (or ironed) layer for extra speed if you have time.
In choosing which specific product, I’d use info from the Boulder Nordic Sport PDF magazine they send out each year: http://www.bouldernordicsport.com/Magazine.aspx
I might mix and match these pure fluoros from different companies. Ski-Go looks great in this stuff, though I use Solda fluoros since that’s what I have and it lasts a long time since I don’t race much.
And a simple rolling hand structure tool. I’ve got an old Toko tool that is OK - if I was buying now I’d get the press in Aceco Finite Finish tool with a few different rollers.
This is not an elite approach - that requires testing different flouros against each other. But it’ll work OK.
EDITED FOR EMPHASIS: I don’t think it’s worth spending much time on waxes anymore but focusing on the fluoros and application of them (with a rotocork) plus structure. Swix makes a ton of waxes but I’m pretty sure a lot are never important in races (CH7, CH8, CH10). Similarly, Toko HC yellow and red are not raced on. Having a cheap warm CH wax for base prep is important, but it can be from any company. In most races, you’ll be gliding on a fluoro if you have one, so focus on that. Get a rotocork (and maybe a digital thermometer). Get a structure tool.
A hand structure tool, I’m assuming you mean a “Riller”. I use the Swix tool, and in very wet conditions it can’t be beat. I haven’t used it in other conditions, but it breaks up the suction in very wet snow. They’re a little pricey for something you won’t use often though.
Usually riller refers to a structure tool that cuts the base, whereas for general use a rolling structure tool is more versatile - the structure comes right out when the base is re-heated.
How important they are depends on where you ski (how moist is the snow) and also how many skis you have . If you have a bunch of skis with dedicated grinds for different conditions including a wet grinds, they’re less important. If you have one or just a few skis with cold or cold/universal grinds they’re very important to widen the range of your skis.
A lot of the wax gurus at least try light hand structuring even in cooler temperatures.
For about $100 you can get the Toko tool or something similar which is a great investment. For a bit over $200 the Aceco Finite Finish tools seems even better.
Read up heavily on the subject, then practice with ONE company’s product. Some are rated by air temp while others are rated for snow temp. Makes a big difference.
http://www.xcskiworld.com/...ing/waxing_intro.htm
https://www.nensa.net/...cienceofSkiWaxes.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klj8FLrotDc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQq-XHx1SEM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gsq_xtD_P30 (although I do disagree that the iron has to always go in one direction, years ago I talked to some pro techs for Solomon and they said they go back and forth all the time and one direction is leftover from the cold war era)
Cheers,
PS - Please pray for snow in the West, we have had no measurable snowfall in weeks in Tahoe!
(although I do disagree that the iron has to always go in one direction, years ago I talked to some pro techs for Solomon and they said they go back and forth all the time and one direction is leftover from the cold war era)
The reason to not to iron back and forth is that people waxing back and forth often pause the iron in place, which can burn the ski. This is particularly true if they are distracted by conversation. Watch people waxing in a big room at a race and you’ll see it all the time.
Not a huge issue if you’re regrinding your skis often (as top level guys do) or you have really good discipline to never stop the iron and always keep it moving (as top level guys do). But “one direction” is a good idea to avoid this issue.
You could wax tail to tip every time and get an equally good result.
Thanks for all the helpful information!
Were I going to bias my wax budget towards higher end stuff for warmer conditions vs cooler, what would be best?
Were I going to bias my wax budget towards higher end stuff for warmer conditions vs cooler, what would be best?
In pure flouros, cooler as the first one, because the good cold fluoros on top of a warm HF wax are usually better than the warm HF wax alone. So you can use them in all conditions. They are all “cold” but can be universal if on a budget or conditions are changeable or varied across the course.
In contrast, the warm flouros can be a liability in cold, drier conditions so you have to be more careful in use, and learn about them.
Once you have a good cold fluoro, plus a rotocork, good iron and structure tool, and you still have more $ to waste, get the next warmer fluoro which might gain some time in warm conditions.
For Toko, Jetstream blue should be the first fluro buy. For Ski-Go, C105. For Swix, FC7 or FC1 if it’s still around.
Really great info on specific flouros from Ski-Go and Holmenkol, and on concepts in fluoro us eand application, is in the Boulder Nordic document I linked to.
Thanks! That link actually isn’t working for me though, can you post it again?
Thanks! That link actually isn’t working for me though, can you post it again?
Maybe now:
http://www.bouldernordicsport.com/Magazine.aspx
If not, go to http://www.bouldernordicsport.com/ and click “Magazine” in the navigation bar.
Also, this is key on waxing - watch the rotocork technique: