Taking care of your skis is probably the most important thing to do with your skis other than actually using them. Taking care of your skis will keep them feeling new and make it easier to shred the mountain. For example, if you don’t have your skis waxed you will stick to the snow and you won’t move at all. Also, if you don’t have sharp edges you are going to have a hard time stopping and turning. In this blog, I will go over waxing your skis, which is so easy you can do it at home. The materials needed to wax your skis are a waxing iron, wax, plastic or metal wax scraper, rubber bands, wax brushes, and a cork (optional). There are a couple different types of waxes, all-weather wax and hot and cold weather wax. Depending on where you live or how much you wax your skis will determine what wax you use, if you live where the temperature fluctuates between low and relatively high temps or you don’t wax your skis often you will want to use all-weather wax. But if you live where the temperature stays fairly low most of the season you want to use cold weather wax and if it stays relatively warm throughout the season you want hot weather wax.
Step 1:
Take the rubber bands and put the brakes into the rubber bands, then pull the rubber bands over the fin on the heel of the bindings so the brakes are pulled up and out of the way. Then take a towel and clean off the bottom of your skis to remove any grime.
Step 2:
Set the temperature of the waxing iron to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. After the waxing iron is up to the correct temperature, grab the ski wax and put the corner of the wax up against the waxing iron and then go in S shapes down the ski. After you apply the wax, apply equal pressure along the ski with the waxing iron and go at a steady pace to spread the wax on the ski.
Step 3:
After applying and spreading the wax, set the skis or snowboard outside to let it cooldown for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes are up, I would let the skis warm up slightly to make it a little easier to take the wax off. Then take the plastic or metal wax scraper and start scraping off the wax, you might need to put a lot of pressure. After you scrape off the wax you can take a waxing brush and wipe off any residue that remains.
Step 4:
Have fun with your freshly waxed skis or snowboard!!
Winter Sports & Activities 