SkiPost Newsletter

Hello SkiPost:

I have been skiing for over twenty years, both classic and skating, enjoying every season, some with racing, some without. During this time frame, my knowledge of waxing techniques and wax products have not kept up with all the changes. Now that I have two kids that will be starting to race in the next few years, I'm sure that they will be looking to Dad to help them make sure their skis are prepared properly, or at least as close as possible.

Realizing that it would very difficult for us to own every wax and waxing tool that a supported racing team such as The Subaru Factory Team might have at their disposal. Can you recommend a starting point for items that should be in a basic kit, and Items to be added each year as budgets allow? I also realize that this is probably based upon each persons climate. In our case we make the Lake Tahoe region our home.

Thanks

Waxing is an area in cross-country skiing that has advanced at an amazing rate. As I was growing up I realized that every year there were faster and more expensive waxes hitting the marketplace. Now the chemistry of ski wax seems to be in a firm place, and small advances are being made to refine products that are outstanding.

We first of all suggest that you and any person with limited resources (including us) stick to one wax system. The Subaru Factory Team uses ONLY SWIX wax and tools. Why? It is an easy system to understand, and in turn is simply the most effective. There are some very essential pieces that will cover you on almost every day you go out to ski.

For any family attempting to get started you are going to want the following:

Glide Wax
-A sharp scraper (T0824) to remove glide wax
-Swix Base Prep (BP088) for travel wax and new skis
-Glide wax with Florocarbons will be important for fast skis in the spring in Tahoe. These waxes cost more, but make a WORLD of difference. Floro waxes to start with are HF7, 8, and 10.
-LF6 and 7 are great for a starting kit for lower humidity snow.
-CH4 or LF3 are good for the very cold days. (which Tahoe never has)

Kick Wax
-As time goes on and racing is on the agenda you should start using the VR line of hardwax. This VR line is good because as the temps go up you use higher numbered VR waxes (example: VR45 for new snow around 25'F; VR55 for new snow around 33'F)
-To get started go with the full range of the V line. This is similar to the older waxes used for many years (Green, Blue, Blue Extra, Violet Special, Violet, Red Special, Red/Silver). This will cover you in every hardwax condition, and is also easy to understand. Note: The Subaru Factory Team often race on Blue Extra or Violet Special - two of the finest waxes of all time!
-In Tahoe it is essential to have Klister! When I have raced in your area Swix VM Universal with KR60 (Red Klister) has been the ticket. Also some cold klister for those icy morning conditions.

Accessories
-Irons that are made for ski wax are essential. Spend the extra money to get a good wax iron. The temperature of wax irons are constant, and will not burn your base if used correctly.
-Always have sharp scrapers on hand, and something to remove your kick wax. I enjoy Swix Citrus Solvent (smells like oranges).

This is a pretty radical list of "stuff to get started." I think I may have even gotten a little carried away with suggestions, but I tried to emphasize the items that will be good for anyone getting a kit together while siting the important items for your specific area. The truth is you are going to want to go down to your local Swix dealer, and get some advice from them. For tips on how to wax, and what waxes to choose go to http://www.swixschool.com

See you at the Great Ski Race,
Justin Easter
Subaru Factory Team