"Set it and forget it" wax for skating?

[Larry]

Hi,

I just ordered a pair of Rossi Zynex for basic skating practice. I
told the shop that ideally I wouldn't want to spend any time in the
wax room and treat them as waxless skis. The shop said they'd apply 2
coats of hot wax to protect the surface. They also mentioned that I
should apply some kind of "white wax" before skiing for the first
time. They said they either don't carry that stuff or were out of it.
So, what do you think they had in mind? Any other ideas?

Thanks!

[ge...@none.net]

Maybe they were referring to a paste or liquid wax. Swix F4, Toko's
high flouro Dibloc and the versions of Fast Wax paste come to mind. I
prefer the latter two for glide zones. Rub on, let sit 5-10 minutes
and then buff or polish. The downside is that you'll normally only get
5K max out of those, depending on snow coarseness.

Unless you asked, the shop probably put on a straight paraffin wax, no
flouro. It's ok but slow, meaning you have to work harder (and drive
up your heart rate more). You might want to have at least a low flouro
on top. Depending on how much you ski, you also might want to rewax
once or twice during the season. Skating is more aerobically intense
than striding, so it helps to get every advantage you can.

Gene

[Gunde]

Hi Larry,

I understand your desire to keep it simple. But I want to argue that
just a bit of waxing is the most simple. I assume you are skiing (not
walking or snowshoeing) because you like glide. You get your best
glide from a well waxed ski. Skiing on a slow ski is an exercise in
frustration.

Putting in a cold carbon wax will work for most conditions through the
heart of winter. I disagree with Gene: flouro waxes are more expensive
and are only better in wet snow conditions. Flouros are actually
slower than carbon waxes in cold dry conditions.

So I recommend you put in a cold wax such as Fast Wax Blue
http://www.gearwest.com/fast-wax-hs-20-c-2468-p-1-pr-8903393.html then
perhaps wipe on some paste wax every so often to keep your bases with
some wax in them http://www.gearwest.com/easy-application-waxes-c-2405.html

Now if you want to get even more glide and want to spend some more
time to achieve it, think about hot waxing your skis more often, say
every 100km or so, and perhaps buying two more glide waxes for
differing temperatures. The Fast Wax Green is great in butt cold
conditions, and the Fast Wax Red in mild conditions.

Again flouro waxes are noticably faster in wetter snow (when RH is
greater than 50% such as in falling snow near 0C or in fog etc etc)
but they are expensive and require some caution when applying and can
be slower in dry cold snow.

[ge...@none.net]

I think we're suggesting the same approach to hot waxing - a few times
a season. The paste/liquid flouros I suggested are on the low end of
cost, in about the $10-25 range, and for most of us they last for many
seasons, if not a lifetime. The OP didn't say where he is skiing,
however it is an "old skier's tale" now turned myth that fluoros work
only in wet snow conditions. Just ask World Cup wax techs. Agreed that
in the U.S., wax company reps push expensive high flouros in colder
conditions when a low flouro, or even non flouro, is just as good or
better. But it's well established now that flouros can be used with
benefit in colder conditions. Even Fast Wax says so: see their Paste
line at http://www.skifastwax.com/, and a skier's Birkie tale
with the colder paste waxes under Newsletter).

Gene