subject: Keep Your Ski or Snowboard in Top Condition With These Waxing & Tuning Guidelines [print this page] Keep Your Ski or Snowboard in Top Condition With These Waxing & Tuning Guidelines
Skiing and snowboarding are extreme sports and taking care of your equipment has to be a priority if you want to be safe and give your best performance. As seasoned winter sports athletes know, your skis and snowboards will only perform to the degree that you maintain them. The people who are most likely to overlook this basic truth are newbies and weekend warriors without much experience. In this article, we'll be discussing how to wax and tune your skiing and snowboarding equipment to help keep you safe.
There are many reasons why you should keep a good edge and wax job on your skis. Because you can fall due to dull edges, we're talking safety here as well as performance. Dull ski edges won't be able to grip properly when skiing on ice. You will end up falling more if your skis can't grip. The wax on your skis needs to be right for your conditions in addition to being properly applied. The outside temperatures also need to be taken into consideration. You can be slowed down by the wax on your skis if it is too cold out for what you used. Be sure to consider all these factors when preparing to wax your skis.
Follow the advice of the manufacturer regarding the edge angle when edging your skis. Skiers who have been doing this for a while, of course, develop their own preferences in this regard. The manufacturer can give you the best guidelines, however, if you're not that experienced yet. Edge angles can vary by as much as three degrees. You will need the proper file, and you may also want to have a file guide. If you are very adept at filing you may not need a file guide, but it can be helpful. A diamond stone is used after you're done filing the edges. You will find that diamond stones work more smoothly if you wet them a little before using them.
The first thing you must do is to get all of the old residue and wax off the surface if possible. Get a good scraper to do this he best way possible. Man made snow will leave a residue on your skis. You would think that it would make you go faster, but that's not the case. Sometimes you can hit some snow and it really feels like you just hit dirt. A cloth and solvent should get what you missed with the scraper.
Doing a proper job of waxing your snowboard or skis is not something everyone is going to do. Although it is highly recommended as we keep saying over and over. Only you can be responsible for your own gear, though. So at the rock-bottom very least, put some wax on your bases. If you go out without using any wax, you'll soon understand what we're talking about!
