Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

satsuma wrote:I am surprised that you are getting the advice to avoid waxless skis. If you are breaking trail, the glide isn't going to be much different with waxable or waxless skis. I don't think you have to worry about icy conditions in NE Washington, so grip is not an issue with waxless skis. It may be a liittle colder where you are skiing, but at elevation in NE Oregon, it is frequently sufficiently sunny and warm enough that temperatures will change significantly during the day, often crossing the freezing point. This could make grip waxing difficult. Using skins is OK if you have a long uphill, then a downhill, but if you are continually going up and down, than waxless skis are more convenient than skins, although grip wax is still an option.

In regards to ice, it really depends on the day. Today we had a high of 31 and all the wet stuff from earlier in the week was pretty icy. I am trying to glean what I can from all the info out there. I may end up going with the Asnes USGI Surplus skis and a set of skins. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with a waxless pair at some point as well. Right now it is trying to figure out the most economical way to get started again.

most economical way is cl or play it again sports. just get a setup that seems like it will work, ski the hell outta it, and then upgrade thru time. in the 4 years i have been skiing this is the first year i have any new gear, its all been used up till now and i have pretty much like everything i have had. (i will mention that i have gotten really lucky with used boots up till now.)

get the skis first and then maybe splurge on some boots that will work with existing bindings. you could get away with less than 200 easy for the whole thing, even with new boots. yes, it may not be perfect for you, but it will work and then you will know what kind of skis you might like after you have gotten out a few times. or if you even want skis or if you say screw all this and go with snowshoes!

another note on wax, if you want economical, then a waxless is for you. you can easily spend 100 bux on a very minimal wax regime. and that will only cover most situations. so if you go waxless you will spend 15 on some spray glide and thats it. much more economical, imo.

t-$ wrote: just get a setup that seems like it will work, ski the hell outta it, and then upgrade thru time.

This is so true.

Hard to know what questions to ask and how to receive and interpret any advice until you have some significant miles on the snow.

you can easily spend 100 bux on a very minimal wax regime. and that will only cover most situations. so if you go waxless you will spend 15 on some spray glide and thats it. much more economical, imo.

My off-track kick wax system only relies on two waxes. I do keep a third soft wax in my kit- but I only use it as a very LAST resort. I try to reserve very soft kick waxes for true late winter/spring skiing when I know that the warmer snow temperatures are not just a result of winter thaw.

$20 worth of kick wax, a scraper and a cork is all you need to get started.

hey!

i hate to beat a dead horse, or seem like i am arguing. but this is the one thing about the xc ski industry that really sticks in my craw. wax is the only real "consumables" segment that they can make money on, and boy do they exploit it. i get it from a companys standpoint, but from the consumers standpoint, it sux big swix.

lc, i most often agree with what you have to say, and your advice has been invaluable. but if you have no waxing stuff at all, then a 2 wax system (i'm talking decent wax) will run 25-36 usd in my area just for a green and violet. add 8 for a cork, yes, that's what they cost at a store as im sure you know! i haven't used a real ski scraper always just repurposing other scrapers, but a new one of those if you need it was 10 bux last month. so we are at 42-54. there is no glide wax here. thats another 10 for the cheap stuff. so now an easy 50+.

then, the salesperson will try and convince you that you need a binder wax (which i tend to agree with), so add another 12 at least. $62. plus tax, which may not apply in all areas i suppose.

and the cost at the most popular ski shop in alaska??!! forget it! but i realize that isn't a fair comparison due to cost of living to most places. just sayin'....

anyways, sorry. i'm just hyped up on caffeine and bored

I replied to this post in the grip wax thread.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1790&p=21183#p21183

johral wrote:

satsuma wrote:I am surprised that you are getting the advice to avoid waxless skis. If you are breaking trail, the glide isn't going to be much different with waxable or waxless skis. I don't think you have to worry about icy conditions in NE Washington, so grip is not an issue with waxless skis. It may be a liittle colder where you are skiing, but at elevation in NE Oregon, it is frequently sufficiently sunny and warm enough that temperatures will change significantly during the day, often crossing the freezing point. This could make grip waxing difficult. Using skins is OK if you have a long uphill, then a downhill, but if you are continually going up and down, than waxless skis are more convenient than skins, although grip wax is still an option.

In regards to ice, it really depends on the day. Today we had a high of 31 and all the wet stuff from earlier in the week was pretty icy. I am trying to glean what I can from all the info out there. I may end up going with the Asnes USGI Surplus skis and a set of skins. Who knows, maybe I'll end up with a waxless pair at some point as well. Right now it is trying to figure out the most economical way to get started again.

For us, it's been an unusual year--alternating rain and snow in the mountains. I'm not excited about skiing on rain crust on top of 30 inches of ungroomed snow.

t-$ wrote:hey!

i hate to beat a dead horse, or seem like i am arguing. but this is the one thing about the xc ski industry that really sticks in my craw. wax is the only real "consumables" segment that they can make money on, and boy do they exploit it. i get it from a companys standpoint, but from the consumers standpoint, it sux big swix.

lc, i most often agree with what you have to say, and your advice has been invaluable. but if you have no waxing stuff at all, then a 2 wax system (i'm talking decent wax) will run 25-36 usd in my area just for a green and violet. add 8 for a cork, yes, that's what they cost at a store as im sure you know! i haven't used a real ski scraper always just repurposing other scrapers, but a new one of those if you need it was 10 bux last month. so we are at 42-54. there is no glide wax here. thats another 10 for the cheap stuff. so now an easy 50+.

then, the salesperson will try and convince you that you need a binder wax (which i tend to agree with), so add another 12 at least. $62. plus tax, which may not apply in all areas i suppose.

and the cost at the most popular ski shop in alaska??!! forget it! but i realize that isn't a fair comparison due to cost of living to most places. just sayin'....

anyways, sorry. i'm just hyped up on caffeine and bored

I think if more people skied waxable skis xcd would be more popular.

t$ are you in Ak.?

lowangle al wrote: I think if more people skied waxable skis xcd would be more popular.

Hmmm....

lilcliffy wrote:

lowangle al wrote: I think if more people skied waxable skis xcd would be more popular.

Hmmm....

I think if waxbles were more common, there would be a lot more people skiing my local trails. I bet Nordic trail skiing would be way more popular, if retailers had been selling waxables, rather than pushing the easy button.

fisheater wrote:

lilcliffy wrote:

lowangle al wrote: I think if more people skied waxable skis xcd would be more popular.

Hmmm....

I think if waxbles were more common, there would be a lot more people skiing my local trails. I bet Nordic trail skiing would be way more popular, if retailers had been selling waxables, rather than pushing the easy button.

Exactly, and they would be paddling more canoes than Kayaks too.