A Little Love for Rex Universal

[fisheater]

I'm keen to try this one; has anyone tried to stick a skin over this wax? Or does it behave like a softer wax and pulls off the ski together with the skin?

It felt harder than I expected it to. Had no issue with a half skin over it.

Thanks Smitty that’s good to know. It is quite hard below 20F, but does get softer in the house.

[fgd135]

Seems like I recall Swix back in the 70's having a somewhat universal kick wax- one for above freezing and one for below freezing.

Swix sold a two-wax system for years, similar to the Rex--Swix gold for below freezing, silver for above freezing. It was done, I think, in an attempt to hang on to some kind of market share when most entry level and recreational skiers were purchasing waxless skis, by simplifying waxing, reinventing the wheel, so to speak. "New skier? You only need two waxes, not 7 or 8." Forget those waxless skis...
Worked ok, the trick was to use as little as possible and cork it in really well. The colder it was, the less wax you would use, and closer to freezing, use more of it. The silver wax was a softer wax, very similar to the old Swix Red Extra, and was used the same way. The silver wax must've been had an anti-icing ingredient similar, oddly enough, to silver klister. Worked pretty well in a fashion.
I was told by a Swix rep that the gold wax was basically same formula as a warm blue wax, with the idea that most folks would be using it in those conditions just below freezing.
Looks like Swix must've discontinued it, so Rex is probably a good bet.
Jack Rabbit Wax wa always my favorite pine tar wax. Love the smell of pine tar in the morning.
Was out on skis last Thursday and Friday, using Rode Alaska as a kick wax, as the days were sub zero Farenheit.

[Smitty]

I'm keen to try this one; has anyone tried to stick a skin over this wax? Or does it behave like a softer wax and pulls off the ski together with the skin?

It felt harder than I expected it to. Had no issue with a half skin over it.

Thanks Smitty that’s good to know. It is quite hard below 20F, but does get softer in the house.

Good point Bob, the warmest it's been when my skins went over the Rex Universal was probably -2 C. YMMV depending on ambient, if you rip skins before bringing skis inside the house, etc.

[Johnny]

I find the Rex Universal ok for slow walks in the woods or snowshoeing around...
The grip is quite nice, but the glide kinda sucks...

[fisheater]

I find the Rex Universal ok for slow walks in the woods or snowshoeing around...
The grip is quite nice, but the glide kinda sucks...

We all have our experiences. While I think the glide is poor on more transformed snow, I find it to be quite excellent on powder snow. I wouldn’t be singing it’s praises if I didn’t go fast with it.
Besides I didn’t think you would use wax, no sticky fingers???
Welcome back to sliding on smooth skis! Next thing we’ll get back on some Rotte ST’s !
Peace

[Johnny]

Welcome back to sliding on smooth skis! Next thing we’ll get back on some Rotte ST’s !

I never quit grip wax... Only I use it very sporadically on only 4-5 pairs of skis... What I have been doing for several years to prevent sticky fingers is to keep one pair of ski for each temperature / color...

It's just like the ST's, I still use them sometimes... Only about one time out of 150...

[Capercaillie]

Thank you @fisheater for the recommendation on this wax. On cold fresh snow the grip with Universal Tar is much better than Swix Polar and Green (conditions so far this season), glide seems decent, just a simple and reliable touring wax and a pleasure on the local multi-use trails when it's snowing. Hit a patch of old snow and you feel how slippery it is in those conditions though. My first season waxing, huge improvement over skin skis.

[grizz_bait]

Tried this wax for the first time today and I was impressed. Air temp was around 34 and snow likely colder, considering we’ve had arctic temps down to -40 for the last four days. Grip was excellent in the 1-2 inches of powder on a consolidated base, and glide was pretty damn good too. I’ve always struggled to get good kick on this particular trail as there are some pretty steep sections, but it was no trouble at all today. Highly recommend. Plus it makes your skis smell like campfire

[lilcliffy]

I am impressed with this Finnish "King" tar wax as well (I too love the smell!)-

Question- any tips for dealing with peeling back the damn can?
Wow- that can is not easy to peel back...

[Capercaillie]

Question- any tips for dealing with peeling back the damn can?
Wow- that can is not easy to peel back...

Tiny pliers. I have the same problem, for any kind of wax tin.