Considering the Gamme

[mikael.oh]

Second guessing my decision to get the 45 mm mohair skins...If I intend to use skins for grip wax replacement, or for days with variable temps, should I get the 30 mm instead? I do plan to climb steep terrain with these skis, so maybe better to have both?

I'd say get both. Use the 30mm as short as you feel you can get away with and enjoy the glide and using an active technique. Have the 45mm longer and use them in a more relaxed, ski touring kind of manner. They're so small and light anyway that you can just keep them in your pocket and switch if and when you need to.

[Musk Ox]

Second guessing my decision to get the 45 mm mohair skins...If I intend to use skins for grip wax replacement, or for days with variable temps, should I get the 30 mm instead? I do plan to climb steep terrain with these skis, so maybe better to have both?

I'd really hesitate to say that the 30mm skins are a total wax replacement. There's no greater pleasure than the simplicity and sensation of a pair of quickly waxed and corked skis. It's just... the best. That pleasure's kind of the point, for me. Or one of the points. I think the 30mm skins are a revelation in some conditions, and keep my wider skins on for days on end, but even so!

But yeah, get both, ha ha! 30mm and a pair of wide ones probably. And some wax!

[grizz_bait]

Wax is definitely on the agenda!

[Smitty]

Lilcliffy writes in his kick wax tutorial in the Telewiki section that use of polar was traditional method in Quebec.

I haven't glide waxed in almost 20 years. Polar is my glide wax.

It's what we did with wooden skis, that's where I got it. I think I'm the first one to promote it here, and people were skeptical.

For sure, the tip-to-tail Polar works great in a lot of scenarios. I didn't grow up skiing, I'm a wide open, flat-land, southern Saskatchewan farm boy. Moving to Alberta for college and meeting my wife is what introduced me to Nordic touring. Her parents (now 65) and grandparents (now 85) toured extensively in the Alberta Rockies. And they are in the same camp - always waxed tip-to-tail Polar and then apply wax of the day underfoot. Same story - it harkens back to how they used to prep their wooden touring skis and they carried it over to their synthetic skis in the 80's.

Where this really didn't work for me was when my wife and I were living up in northeastern Alberta. Often skiing in -25 to -35 degree C temps, no sun softening or moisture in the snow, crystals were sharp and hard. When Polar is the wax of the day, you're shuffling. The best I could find for somewhat reasonable glide at those temps was hot waxing tips and tails with Swix CH4 (their polar glide wax; extremely hard, terrible to get it to melt/spread and even worse to scrape, avoid if possible haha).

Now that we're back down into the west-central country, this technique likely becomes more relevant for us again. But at the same time, I don't mind hot waxing either (you know, as long as it's not CH4).

[tkarhu]

Welcome to the cult club.

@Musk Ox Thanks! Certainly I am getting into it… While I am waiting for a pair of 200 cm Gammes to arrive, I got today a pair of 205 cm Åsnes Ragos. Rago is the same model as Amundsen, but before 2000’s rebranding. Are Ragos an ultimate solution for the 200 vs 210 cm dilemma? They had 205 cm back then. Shame that the Ragos do not have skin inserts. (Some newer Ragos do, but too much in front for wax replacement skins.)

[tkarhu]

By the way, I notice two topics repeat above:
1) Ski length 10 cm longer than Åsnes recommends (200 vs 210 cm Gamme)
2) Full length Polar grip wax

I came to think — do the two ideas go together? Could polar wax bring some grip besides glide? @lilcliffy and @fisheater do I remember correctly that you both do long skis and polar base wax. What do you think?

[fisheater]

By the way, I notice two topics repeat above:
1) Ski length 10 cm longer than Åsnes recommends (200 vs 210 cm Gamme)
2) Full length Polar grip wax

I came to think — do the two ideas go together? Could polar wax bring some grip besides glide? @lilcliffy and @fisheater do I remember correctly that you both do long skis and polar base wax. What do you think?

Gareth would be the more experienced, better skilled skier that mentioned his weight and the length Gamme he was skiing. I’m the heavier, older, hard headed guy that figured if he could do it so could I! I really don’t know why I was tentative about going 210 cm with the Gamme. The wax pocket engages nicely.
Also yes to the full length polar. When I first started waxing on this forum, Gareth recommended I might see an improvement in grip and glide utilizing the polar as a glide wax method. The improvement was noticeable, and I have been using ever since.
However I’m still just corking my polar in

[エイダン.シダル]

Re: polar as glide.

One of the posters mentioned it fails for glide at Prairie extreme cold and dryness, which makes sense for what the wax is. I should probably try it, except I've had no issue with hot glide waxed tips and tails; however, I still think as if I may go skiing on one of the -35C Montréal days, from my university years... three decades back. Reality is that in Southern Ontario it'll never get that cold. Maybe I'll set up a pair to try it next year.

[grizz_bait]

So if you’re corking in polar wax for the length of the ski, you wouldn’t even need an iron huh. Trying to get into waxing without spending an arm and a leg, so this is appealing.

Just picked up an assortment of kick waxes, a scraper, and cork...

[fisheater]

So if you’re corking in polar wax for the length of the ski, you wouldn’t even need an iron huh. Trying to get into waxing without spending an arm and a leg, so this is appealing.

Just picked up an assortment of kick waxes, a scraper, and cork...

I just cork it in, and have for a few years with good success. The guys that wax it in tell me they get better durability. Really I’m cheap and don’t want to waste wax by using the iron. Now I’ve been doing it long enough that I have a system, that works for me.