Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

Lately, I have been having grip problems.
Like my grip on reality, but that’s a different problem.

I mean wax grip.
I’ve been wondering what the “right” amount of wax is to apply.
Some days, I have light grip, great glide.
Later in the day, after it starts to cool down, maybe I have good grip AND glide, or, maybe good grip and crappy glide (no fun going down hill with drag).

Anyway, another post took me to this SWIX waxing link.
In the video, he is putting on at least 2X the amount of wax I normally apply.
How does this match up with your application rate?
(Click on the Video link on the left side of the page.)
https://www.swixsport.com/us/wax/kits-c ... -standard/

Yes.

Sometimes the second or third coats go on different lengths depending on what I feeeeeeel or depending on what else might already be on the ski.

But, if the ski is generally clean of old wax, then what he did is right about average-- a good place to start. Adjustments made for wetter snow & higher camber (Gamme at 28degF) or maybe just what he did for cold dry snow and low camber (Nansen at 10degF).

That looks about right to me. I think I go a little lighter but my kick zone is longer and my ski has less camber so it works for me.

Other than his wax went on a lot easier, and it corked a bit easier, that seemed about right.
Cold fresh sticky snow, maybe only one layer. Older more slippery snow, maybe longer and three layers. Some days super easy, some days not so easy, not so perfect results, but it’s always good. Good to be out, good to be sliding on snow, good to be a kid for a while!

It depends a lot on snow conditions, and on which wax you are using, too.

For polar, green, and blue, I can get away with a really long kick wax pocket and still get good glide.

With purple or red wax, I try to keep the wax pocket short, because these are just such a sticky mess.

This Friday, the snow where I was skiing (Waterville Valley) was so abrasive I had to re-apply (blue) kick wax every 5 miles or so. The last time I applied wax, I just crayoned on what would have been way too much under normal circumstances, and did not even bother corking it in. By the time I got back to the car, it was pretty much gone!

The videos I have watched on YouTube for XC waxing all recommend sanding the wax pocket. I am staring to wonder if that is why it looks like they get a lot more wax off the crayon and on to the ski with each pass. I have a mental block preventing me from intentionally scratching up the base of my skis with sandpaper.

Does anyone here sand the base of their skis before kick waxing?

Starting with a clean base, I have a few times, but certainly not as a regular practice.
(My understanding is that you need to start with a clean base to do this.)
I’m betting you will hear a lot of “Never” for that one here.
For touring, I think it would be hard to quantify the advantage.
I guess one would have to do it to one ski and see if wax stayed on the ski longer (which I think is the reason for the sanding?).

The other thing that is standard for kick waxing double-cambered XC classic skis is a binder. The binder to use is Vauhti Super Base: http://shop.caldwellsport.com/vauhti-base-binder-super/

The binder goes on a clean ski, before you apply the kick wax of the day. It doesn't have to be applied every time. Certainly at least once a season, and more depending on how much you're skiing.

I defer to others as to merits of a binder for touring skis. It's another step, but really helps hold the kick wax and make it last. It should come right off with a mineral-based solvent or kick wax remover.

FourthCoast wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:33 pm

The videos I have watched on YouTube for XC waxing all recommend sanding the wax pocket. I am staring to wonder if that is why it looks like they get a lot more wax off the crayon and on to the ski with each pass. I have a mental block preventing me from intentionally scratching up the base of my skis with sandpaper.

Does anyone here sand the base of their skis before kick waxing?

This was something we did when I raced xc in high school. And I still do it on my straight and skinny waxable skis, but I haven't done it on anything that isn't a purebred double cambered xc ski. The important things to consider are the direction you sand in and the area you sand. For direction, I haven't tried going side to side, but I've never seen anyone do it and I feel like there's a reason why. Go lengthwise back and forth and I think you're less likely to do anything that might seriously slow the ski down. I'd be tempted to say it's not a huge deal because the kickzone shouldn't really touch the snow when gliding anyway, but in the world of offtrack skiing, that sort of assumption goes out the window. As far as area, I think the general consensus is that you should really only do the klister zone, so not the entire length of the kickzone. When you sand, it should be pretty light, just enough to rough up the base and give it more surface area for wax to bind to, not take any material off the base. Lastly, use a decently fine grit. Swix corks usually come with a piece of sandpaper on the back, and that's what I usually use, but I think it's about ocmparable to a regular 220 grit sandpaper if you just want to pick it up at the local hardware store.

Funny thing is that when I'm gliding during K&G almost all my weight is on the lead gliding ski. Theoretically that should compress the camber putting the wax pocket in contact with the snow during the glide faze. The only time the wax pocket is not contacting the snow would be when gliding on both skis where your weight is distributed between both skis. The only time the wax should stick is when the ski momentarily stops when you kick and then it bonds to the snow.