How do you even go uphill?...

[mca80]

Polar grip wax outside of the pocket would not be working here this week. Heck, even polar in the grip zone must be applied lightly, but I was out in -10F this morning.

-24C (-10F) should be ideal for Swix Polar- but, yes, you wont need much.

It was good in certain respects, I scraped the green that was there and corked 2 thin layers of polar, but made the mistake of going all the way to the snakebite for the first layer. Grip was really good on uphills, just didn't have the best glide on flats or down as I think that frontal area near the skin attachment point may have been dragging a bit. Also my glide wax was toko blue, I should have ironed in the really hard stuff, Start green. Never had enough speed to do any turns but if the snow is right and waxing and skis are right, I might someday be able to use this new area I found not far from the homestead for low angle short turns.

[mca80]

I think you make a valid point @mca80 , my thought was he still has a couple miles of approach that that makes k&g a priority too. I did suggest a narrow skin cut at the heel that could offer k&g on the approach, as part of the kit. You don’t want to mix warmer wax with skins.

Tricky situation. I just pictured long ascents at a slope too steep for any wax job to be better than skins.

[lilcliffy]

Also my glide wax was toko blue, I should have ironed in the really hard stuff, Start green.

Yes- as you experienced- too warm a glide wax and the cold snow crystals will dig into the wax, creating a lot of friction.

Moving back and forth between different temp glide wax is one of (many) reasons why I avoid glide waxing for my local BC Nordic touring.

I can strip grip waxes in seconds with a metal scraper.
Once it gets cold enough for Polar grip wax to be an effective kick wax- I start stripping and polishing.
No glide wax to strip and reapply.

[wabene]

The Start green glide wax seems to work pretty well all around. It's hard so it's durable. If it warms up it's still better than a softer wax in cold temps. Plus when it does get warmer, a quick paste wax job over the green does the job. Kinda been my go to. I'll use the blue during periods of consistent warmer temps.

[mca80]

Well, toko performance blue _says_ down to -22F, but I question some of these temp claims. The Start green would definitely have been better, that's a serious cold weather hard wax.

[Chass3ur]

Many many thanks! This board's UI is foreign to me so I'm group replying to y'all's many comments just here.

I do think I may be "wanting too much" from wax, but you all did get my gist for sure. Yeah, I'm in CO, and my climbs tend to be long and unrolling/no gliding. I just love minimalist concepts and skinning up and stripping is not that. Someday I may experiment more with my skinnier tele setup to see what's do-able-- if I do I'll report back.

Temps are almost up to 0F, so it's time to go earn some turns before it swelters heh

[Erica Diaz]

When skiing uphill, especially on ungroomed terrain, using only kick wax might not provide enough grip, particularly on steeper or inconsistent surfaces. For short, steep climbs, you can either sidestep or use the herringbone technique, though it can be tiring and tricky. Climbing skins are highly effective for these situations, offering better grip and making the uphill journey much easier, even for short inclines. While it may seem unnecessary for small gradients, skins could save you significant effort and frustration, ensuring a smoother, more enjoyable experience in varied terrain.