Listed below are some articles on how to prepare new waxable cross-country skis to be waxed for the first time. Initial base prep is of primary importance because nordic ski bases are inherently soft and require sufficient ironed-in wax to protect them. These protocols each involve numerous waxing steps to allow plenty of wax to penetrate the bases. Once you've completed one protocol or the other, you're ready to use your skis and wax them normally, as needed. If you have questions about this information please give us a call at (781) 891-6575.
Ski Preparation by Pete Vordenberg
Whether your ski is new or newly stone ground this is a good way to prepare them for the season. It is adapted from the Swix method for pre-season ski prep. Take each ski and brush it from tip to tail with a soft Swix nylon brush a few times to loosen and remove any dirt that might have landed on the bases. Next define your classical kick zones (please see below).
On the glide zones and skating skis start with a Swix T-89 blade tool and delicately swipe it from tip to tail (drag the blade down the ski, rather than pushing it or will dig into the base), removing any extra PE hairs. Continue 2-3 times until there are no more hairs.
Next, proceed with a "hot wipe" cleaning with Swix CH10. While the bases are new or newly ground, take extra care with heat. All PE bases are very sensitive. As the ski base absorbs soft wax over time, the wax will decrease the risk of overheating the base. But when the skis are new, they are very sensitive. Using inexpensive irons that emit inconsistent amounts of heat will easily damage the base with heat.
Once you have dripped wax from tip to tail, start at the tip and proceed with one long swipe with the iron all the way to the tail - repeat the process. Waxing in this manner, with a good Swix waxing iron, will increase wax absorption while decreasing risk of overheating the base. Next, scrape the bases while the wax is still warm. This will essentially "clean" the base of any dirt, loose surface hairs, and any other materials that may be sitting on the base.
Let the bases cool down and proceed with at least 5 layers of Swix Base Prep (or CH10 -- soft wax only!). Allow the Base Prep to cool completely in between each waxing. You can scrape and brush each time or re-iron the wax once or twice. The more you wax them, the better - five times is minimum. Your skis are now ready to accept the wax of the day!
Recreational Skis
The fundamentals of ski care that apply to racing skis also apply to recreational skis. A ski glides well, lasts a long time and stays free of ice and dirt build-up if it is glide waxed often. Even for recreational skiers who aren't interested in going fast, skiing shouldn't be any harder than it has to be, and so a ski that performs up to its ability will be a lot more fun to use than one with a torn-up, dried out base.
The minimum amount of care that should be afforded a ski base is a yearly (yeowch!) waxing and base tune-up that almost any ski shop can do for a very reasonable price.Waxing them a few times a year will really help. If you want to do this tune up yourself, it can be done easily and inexpensively with the Swix T-89 base prep tool as outlined above - you can use it more aggressively, especially if the base hasn't been waxed for a while. After using the T-89 apply a few layers of soft glide wax as outlined above.
We recommend using a Swix iron, but since many recreational skiers use fabric irons, they must be very careful with iron temp (racers or any skier who invests much time, money and energy in their skis should never use anything but a pure waxing iron or they risk wasting their time/money/energy investment - we recommend Swix's iron). If it's smoking - it's way too hot! During the ski season it will help considerably to use a wipe-on wax such as Swix F-4 before and more importantly after skiing to help protect the bases.
Dialing in Your Kick Zone
Different snow conditions call for different methods of kick waxing. Finding the kick zone and understanding the versatility of your skis for various conditions can aid your racing efforts and help you enjoy pure recreational skiing because you will know how to wax your skis so they perform optimally in a variety of snow conditions. Here we'll cover the Swix method, a variation on the Fischer test board method, the eyeball method and the on-snow method.
The Swix recommended method of finding the kick zone requires a friend, a very flat surface and a piece of normal typing paper (they suggest A4, 60 gram paper, but any fairly normal typing paper will do). Place the paper under the ski and stand with the body-weight equally distributed on both skis. For all these tests you must stand with your feet on the ski where they would be if you were skiing on them - on the bindings. Have the friend move the sheet of paper towards the tip. At the point where the movement comes to a stop, mark with a pen on the sidewalls. This point represents the forward front of the kick zone for cold, dry snow conditions (hard kick waxes such as VR 40 or Extra Blue).
Next, fold the paper once and repeat the process. Where the paper stops represents the forward front of the kick zone on freezing point conditions (soft kick waxes such as VR 60 or a red kick wax). Finally, fold the paper once more so that it is 4 times its original thickness. Repeat the process by moving the paper as far forward as possible. This time the stopping point represents the front of the kick zone when using klister. The rear of the kick zone normally ranges from under the middle of the foot back to the heel of the boot. Very, very seldom does the kick zone extend beyond the rear of the heel. Often a klister kick zone will stop under the mid-foot while a hard wax kick zone will extend back to the rear of the heel.
Generally the length of the kick zone, using hard waxes, is approx. 55 cm, from the heel. For klister it is slightly shorter, around 50 cm. Remember these are just initial, though often accurate, guidelines - see the on-snow method below.
All Fischer retail shops are equipped with a Fischer test board. The test board enables the customer to find not only the kick zone but also the exact right ski for their weight. While using the test board is the best way to do these things the way they measure the kick zone can be duplicated to some degree at home. Again you'll need a friend and a piece of paper and the flat surface (one reason the test board is so good is because few of us have access to a flat enough surface - irregularities in floorboards, tables, etc can lead to incorrectly marked kick zones). This is not Fischer's exact method, but a variation on it. Stand with your feet on the ski where they would be if you were skiing.
First, to determine that the ski is not too stiff for your weight, stand on one ski with all your weight on the ball of your foot (you are standing on one leg) with the paper under the ski beneath the toe. If the paper can be moved, the ski is too stiff. If it cannot be moved it is not too stiff. Next, to determine the kick zone, stand flat on the ski so your weight is on the whole foot (you're still on one leg) the paper should now move, the forward most point you can move the paper is the shortest possible kick zone - for klister skiing. Repeat for both skis.
Next, stand on both skis with your weight evenly distributed. Move the paper fore and aft marking the furthest points of movement. This is your hard-wax kick zone. Again the rear of the kick zone should be near the heel of the The on snow method is a necessary step toward finding the right kick zone. Since it is easier to add wax while out skiing than remove it, start by waxing your skis only within the shortest kick zone - if you have used the Swix or Fischer method use those marks. If you have not used them then start with the eyeball method. Holding the skis base to base, grasp your skis on the bindings and give them a squeeze that is hard enough to get them to almost touch in the middle. sight down the space between the skis and note where the wax pocket appears to be (the space between the skis, where the bases aren't touching).
Start by waxing well within that zone - from the mid-foot forward. For this exercise do not sand the kick zone and do not iron in any binder wax. Simply ski on your skis applying wax forward two inches at a time, until you are satisfied with the kick. Ski on them for a time and check the wax periodically for wear. If there is considerable wear then you maybe waxing too long (at least for those conditions). If there is little or no wear continue adding wax, until you reach the wear point. All of these methods are only starting points to find the kick zone.
Though these methods are often accurate, snow conditions, technique, experience and other variables make experimenting in a variety of conditions necessary. Don't be afraid to bend or break the rules. A good example of this was at the World Cup 15km last year in Heber City. After the race (After!) we learned that all the International Fischer racers, including Johan Muhlegg waxed well forward of their normal kick zones. Conditions were new, loose-in-the-track, cold, dry snow on top of warmer, wetter man-made snow. While many racers scrambled with warmer wax, which was too sticky, the top racers used colder wax layered far forward on the ski (Swix VR 40 was rumored to have been Johan's race wax that day - but how he used it was more important). Have patience and have fun playing on your skis.
Stone Grinding
Basically stone grinding flattens the base, removes PE hairs and puts a pattern in the base that combats friction, suction or to some degree both. It also removes the old hardened top layer of base and reveals a new, soft under-layer of base that absorbs wax better.
Get your skis stone ground if: - they have spent the summer without glide wax on the base. - you haven't waxed them very often (but want them to be fast). - they are naturally stone ground from too many low-snow outings. - the bases are wavy (not flat). - the base has odd, dull looking patches (base burn from iron heat, too little glide wax) or the whole thing has a dull sheen if any sheen at all. - the base looks and/or feels hairy (you get kick without kick wax). - bases dry out (look white in patches) after a short ski. - the skis do not glide as well as your ski buddies' skis.
