Altai Kom Waxing

[yoyoing]

I have a 162cm Kom.
Central New Brunswick Canada.
200-600m elevation.
Lots of snow.
Very cold for extended periods mid-winter- lots of fresh snow.
Extended skiing on deep, melting spring snow.
I grip wax the ENTIRE base of my Kom with a very hard-grip wax- saved it from the yard sale.
I simply could not get enough grip with this ski except on warm spring snow.
My verticals are typically 50-300m- I do not want to be constantly putting on climbing skins.
Grip wax cured my problem.
And I never need to use a paste/liquid glide wax on the scales.
Love this ski.

Northern Ontario for me with fairly similar conditions... Only less elevation unfortunately!!
Grip has never been a major issue for me though, but I'm a light guy and am willing to zigzag lower angle to climb.
They don't grip anywhere near as well as the Hoks but that hasn't really limited me yet.

I am really curious about this kick wax setup though...
If it's that grippy, surely it must affect the glide of the ski? How about on the flats?
Does it gum up the skis/fischscales (ie would it really mess them up if one day you decide to ditch the grip wax)?
If you could send me a link of the type of wax you use that would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks everyone for the input so far.
As usual, it sounds like there are many ways to skin a cat!

[johral]

From previous posts it is Swix Polar V05. Removal is pretty easy. You can heat it again and wipe it off with a rag or you can use commercial wax remover/mineral spirits.

I played around with it this weekend and it isn't that big of an issue if you have an iron or a heat gun.

[yoyoing]

From previous posts it is Swix Polar V05. Removal is pretty easy. You can heat it again and wipe it off with a rag or you can use commercial wax remover/mineral spirits.

I played around with it this weekend and it isn't that big of an issue if you have an iron or a heat gun.

Awesome, thanks for the info.

And the glide is okay on flats and downhill?
Does it only grip in one direction or something when you brush it out?
I've never used grip wax before, so it's very new to me.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience

[johral]

So...I'm not the expert, but I'll offer what I know. It sticks when you stop the ski and transfer your weight onto it during traditional kick and glide. When the ski is moving it glides...although at a somewhat reduced capacity compared to glide wax. As long as the snow is warmer than the threshold of the Polar wax, the snow won't be able to dig into the wax at all.