Pulled this info off of Swiwax.ca.
https://skiwax.ca
They’re a Canadian mail order company with a lot of interesting info and products. Never done business with them but they do a good job describing basic snow conditions and its effect on glide and grip wax selection… using many of the concepts touched on in my original article.
[Note: Not a big fan of floro waxes, so any mention of them isn’t an endorsement in any way for C8 products which are believed to be carcinogens, bioaccumulating, and generally really bad for the environment.]
Pink Snow Conditions (Saturated, New Snow, +20°C to 0°C)
Friction Characteristics
In pink conditions, the layer of fresh snow acts as a seal to keep all the water on the surface. This means the only type of friction to worry about in pink conditions is suction friction. The best way to counteract suction friction is to get some aggressive structure into your ski base with a rill tool or an aggressive stone grind. Highly hydrophobic waxes or fluorinated waxes help a lot as well. Using a stiffer ski will also counteract suction friction by propping up most of the ski - giving space for water to vacate from the bottom of the ski.
Kick Waxing
Unfortunately, finding a kick wax in pink conditions requires klister - the softest, goopiest klister, to be precise. It is difficult to find a substance that will get a grip on what is essentially liquid water, so what will generally be the best option in these conditions are hairys or zeros. The hairs and burrs on skis set up this way are able to penetrate below the film of water on top of the snowpack and dig into the more frozen layer beneath. Skin skis are also fantastic in these conditions for the same reason.
Yellow Snow Conditions (Wet, Slushy, Old Snow, +20°C to 0°C)
Friction Characteristics
Physically, the wet snow crystal structure has the most rounded edges. This means kinetic friction is very low. The main source of friction in this snow type is suction friction from the vast amounts of liquid water between the ski base and the snowpack. The top priority for glide waxing for these conditions is getting rid of water from the bottom of the ski base. Waxes for this temperature range used to be physically softer (soft waxes are more hydrophobic than harder ones), but in recent years, glide waxes for this temperature range have become much harder to help keep ski bases free of dirt. Fluoro compounds are massively hydrophobic, so anything with fluorination will likely be an excellent choice. Adding aggressive structure to your ski base with a rill tool will have the biggest benefit to glide as the grooves and channels will give water an escape route. Often waxes with dirt-repellent compounds have a leg up on others since dirt builds upon the surface of the snow as it melts. Waxes with molybdenum or graphite tend to stay fast in yellow conditions over long distances.
Kick Waxing
Snow crystals in yellow conditions have melted into round, wet blobs. This makes finding a grip wax that is able to stick to snow crystals very tricky. The water surrounding the snow crystals acts as a lubricant, which is the equivalent of having oil on your brake pads. This means in order to find a kick wax that gets grip in this kind of snow; you'll have to get something as soft and sticky as possible: hence, klister! Hard wax is a no-go when the snow gets this wet, but rub skis (hairys or zeros), skin skis, and fish scales tend to work quite well if Klister isn't your thing. Again, a klister with Fluoros or other dirt and water-repelling compounds will help your grip wax glide.
Orange Snow Conditions (New, Glazing Snow, +5°C to -5°C)
Friction Characteristics
Because orange conditions usually occur when the snow is actively evolving from fresh, powdery blue conditions to wet, slushy yellow conditions, orange conditions occur at a crossroads of friction types. Kinetic friction is an issue when the trails have not been skied in much. But since the snowflakes are not too cold, they tend to melt when skied over rather than cut into your ski base, making it a lower priority. Fluorinated waxes are fantastic in snow like this because the HF or LF compounds help repel water. Glazing that occurs will act to seal water on top of the snowpack where it interacts with your ski. Aggressive rills are often needed in snow like this.
Kick Waxing
Usually, the advice for getting kick wax to grip in this type of snow is to resort to rub skis, skins, or fish scales. But when that’s not possible, and you need to use wax, you have a few options. Depending on the level of glazing in the tracks, klister or hardwax can work, but usually, a klister-cover is the way to go. If there is very little glazing, use a hardwax. It will be faster and won’t ice up as quickly. If there is glazing happening, use Klister since it will stick to the icy sheen. More often than not, there is a variety of glazed sections and powdery sections on the trails. This means taking advantage of both hardwaxes and klisters will give your grip wax good kick and glide on any part of the course. Klister-cover is where you start with a thin layer of klister and cover it was a hard hardwax (usually a hardwax that’s a step colder than the temperature). The Klister gives you grip, and the hardwax prevents icing.
Red Snow Conditions (Coarse, Packing Snow, +5°C to -5°C)
Friction Characteristics
Hard, rounded snow crystals from repeated freeze-thaw cycles can be quite abrasive even in higher humidifies, so red glide waxes can be somewhat hard to combat kinetic friction. Dirt that gathers on the surface of older snow is also an issue. Dirt-repelling additives such as graphite, moly, or gallium can be quite helpful. Red conditions have a high humidity content, so highly hydrophobic waxes like pure fluoros, HF or LF waxes reduce suction between the wet snowpack and the ski base. Rills are often necessary to break up large water droplets and pert them out the back of the ski.
Kick Waxing
Since the snow crystals in older snow have lost their idealized snowflake pattern and are now rounded blobs of humid ice, kick waxes will rarely ice up in red conditions. This means a straight Klister may not degrade your glide too much. However, a layer or two of hard wax on top of a thin Klister will definitely give the best combination of grip and glide. Sometimes straight hardwax will work, but often the humidity and rounded snow crystals mean hardwax can’t find a purchase.
Violet Snow Conditions (Icy, Sugary Snow, 0°C to -15°C)
Friction Characteristics
Violet snow has almost no suction friction, but the abrasive, hard, icy snow ice crystals provide kinetic resistance. This means durability is the biggest issue for both glide and kick waxes since the abrasive snow structure tends to rip away whatever is on your skis. Physically hard waxes (preferably with synthetic hardener additives) are your best bet for glide in these snow types.
Kick Waxing
Violet conditions come in a variety of snow crystal sizes. It can be very fine-grained, in which case hard waxes will work well, or the icy crystals can be large and corny, in which case Klister may be necessary. Violet conditions can also be straight-up ice where Klister may not work. On days like those, double-poling is probably in the cards! Base binders are super important in violet conditions. Always start with a hardwax or Klister binder when you're waxing for this snow type. Grip wax can wear off in less than 5km without it.
Blue Snow Conditions (Fresh, Powdery Snow, 0°C to -12°C)
Friction Characteristics
New snow crystals in this temperature range and with medium to low humidity are like a million tiny knives to your ski bases. Kinetic friction is the main kind of friction to deal with. This means hard, durable waxes that keep the sharp knives of the snow crystals out of your ski base is what you need. Any other water or dirt-repelling compounds will help your glide, but not to a high degree.
Kick Waxing
Kick waxing is dead easy in blue conditions. Hardwax sings. If you're skiing over 15km, use a base binder, but aside from that, it shouldn't be too hard to find a hardwax that gives you good grip and glide.
Green Snow Conditions (Cold, Squeaky Snow, -12°C to -30°C)
Friction Characteristics
Green conditions have two types of friction: kinetic and electrostatic. Kinetic friction is the result of snow crystals being frozen so hard they have no trouble biting into your ski's base. Using the hardest wax possible is key in green conditions. Synthetic hardeners straight or mixed in with your hardest melt wax may be even better. Since snow this cold holds virtually no liquid water, electrostatic friction becomes an issue where electrons are ripped away as your ski tries to glide. Graphite or gallium can help with reducing electrostatic friction. Because humidity is so low, fluor compounds are usually unhelpful and can sometimes get in the way of good glide. Low Fluor or non-fluor waxes may out-test high fluor waxes if it’s dry enough.
Kick Waxing
Pretty much anything will give you grip in these conditions, but the main question is, 'How much grip is too much grip?’ Green grip waxes are very hard, but some of them are also tacky or sometimes have tar additives. The tacky ones are essentially base binders. Often just a base binder is the best grip vs. glide combo in these conditions. Green waxes that aren’t tacky need to have a base binder to keep them on the ski since green conditions are abrasive. Keeping layers of hardwax thin and the number of layers minimal is very important in these conditions.
Brown Snow Conditions (Dirty Snow, Any Temperature)
Friction Characteristics
Glide waxes that have graphite, molybdenum, fluoros, or gallium are dirt-repelling and will resist the buildup of dirt on the ski. Also, waxes that are harder to the touch are also much more dirt resistant - providing a glide factor that does not diminish as quickly as you put in the kms. After you wrap up your session skiing on dirty snow, it's important to use a liquid ski base cleaner to clean off your glide zones. You'll be shocked at how much dirt comes off! Definitely, not a great idea to leave all that grime to be mixed into your next wax application.
Kick Waxing
Grip waxes can be sped up with fluor liquid or fluor powder covers that contain these dirt-repelling compounds. Some Klisters and hard waxes for dirty snow come with dirt-repelling compounds already mixed in. Cleaning off your used grip wax after a session on dirty snow will help a lot for your next ski. Dirty grip wax can get very draggy.
