Waxing irons - dedicated wax iron or just get something from thrift store?

[SKIP IN7RO]

4 out of 5 dentists recommend Star or Holmenkol for the nice cork handle

[Djongo Unchained]

Best bang for the buck right now is probably the Swix T77, not often you see a thick base on an entry level iron. Just bought one for my son: https://www.evo.com/tools/swix-t77-1...-t77-110v-.jpg

That is a sweet deal on a simple iron.
It never ceases to amaze me how committed some mags are to their ski program, yet consistently try to do everything as cheaply as possible.
Spend the money on a decent iron, buy some quality wax and don't be afraid to put on too much. You can afford a little more wax loss, jfc. I'm sure you've got a few minutes to scrape.

I recently bought some wax online and their video instructions said to heat the wax quickly on the iron, crayon it on, then iron. They claim you’ll use less wax that way

Interesting that the wax company suggests an approach that insures that you use less product.

On the flip side, an old clothes iron is more likely to be flat. I had a ski wax iron that was intentionally concave to spread the molten wax towards the center or something. Sucked. Just wasted wax leaving thick spots so I sanded it down to flat. Then I got a toko iron and while I think the base is supposed to be flat…it wasn’t really and you could feel it going metal on metal on the edges sometimes. Out comes the sand paper again.

I too have had an iron or two that didn't seem flat. Never heard of a concave base but I could see that as a thing. Any chance your bases were just edge high? yeah, the sound of a burr under your iron is spine crunching. A good tuner rarely encounters this.

[buttahflake]

Sez guy who places the tips to the right on the bench, laps

[XXX-er]

anybody try to re-use wax scrapings ? I assume we wana hot wax ?

[RShea]

I used the old GE clothes iron from my grandparents basement for years starting out. It was before the steam holes and solid plates. Then I got a second clothes iron in a Ebay purchase for a second Sunbeam backup (I purchased the ebay auction mostly for all the other ski wax stuff that came with the deal)... When they both failed, I could only find the steam irons with holes- maybe not a big deal for others- either have the wax fill in the openings or try some filling in with JB Weld or something. The figuring the smoking point or if a cotton or wool setting was needed was a bit of an issue and there would be wider swings depending on if using a warmer wax or colder...I picked up a slightly used Swix iron- either Ebay or maybe even someone on here and used that. Now that I am not racing, I got lazy and was using more of the liquid wax the last year....

[mcski]

I haven’t waxed my skis in seven years. Rawdogging the base all conditions

[waxman]

That is a sweet deal on a simple iron.
It never ceases to amaze me how committed some mags are to their ski program, yet consistently try to do everything as cheaply as possible.
Spend the money on a decent iron, buy some quality wax and don't be afraid to put on too much. You can afford a little more wax loss, jfc.

This. 1000 times this.

[californiagrown]

Unless it's super hard wax for really cold temps, don't drip, just crayon it on then iron. Don't even need to scrape, zero mess. I was skeptical when I read about doing this but it works. Puts the perfect amount of wax on the ski and nothing else.

Yep, agreed thats the way to do it. I only do a "real" waxing once every couple years for a ski if im feeling real motivated, its ashy as hell, and I have some time to kill. Otherwise, rub the wax directly on, then crank the thriftstore iron and rub it around in little circles to melt the wax in. do that up, and then down the skis, give it a halfassed scrape when the wax is still a little soft, make sure theres no wax on the edges and its good enough. The first lap on snow will scrape any excess off. My bench is in an awkward spot so its quite nice having next to zero shavings after my waxing.

To each their own for sure, but ive never had an issue with smoking/burning wax and i am certainly not some tuning savant.

[californiagrown]

That is a sweet deal on a simple iron. It never ceases to amaze me how committed some mags are to their ski program, yet consistently try to do everything as cheaply as possible.

Eh, spend the money where you see it matters most. Personally, for where i ski and how i ski, i just dont see much benefit in a well tuned/waxed base. When i travel otherplaces that actaully have groomers and flatter areas/runouts i could see the benefit of a fast, well taken care-of base. But, at my home mountain (alpental) i am very rarely in a position where its the glide of the ski that is slowing my down... its pretty much always my cajones or my leg muscles that are the limiting factor.
I would 1000x rather have a dialed edge tuning/sharpening setup before i dropped money to upgrade my thriftstore clothes iron to a $100+ ski waxing iron. YMMV.

[nickwm21]

That is a sweet deal on a simple iron.
It never ceases to amaze me how committed some mags are to their ski program, yet consistently try to do everything as cheaply as possible.
Spend the money on a decent iron, buy some quality wax and don't be afraid to put on too much. You can afford a little more wax loss, jfc.

This. 1000 times this.

Meh… there’s declining benefit doing anything more than just slathering universal on once a year…

If you’re skiing for a stopwatch, skiing in extreme temps, or skiing one pair an extreme amount… sure… otherwise it’s hobby maintenance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bodywhomper]

I have a swix iron that I bought used in 2008. Its thermostat works much better compared to the cheaper irons that I used before.

However, I generally only wax for very wet snow. Being a California skier, I rarely ski on very cold snow. For the past 3-ish years, I’ve been mostly following the prescription from the skivisions guy: work out hardened digs on the edges, light touch-up/refresh of base structure and flattening, polish/sharpen edges. It usually takes a few minutes per ski and is much faster than waxing. I’ve only found a big benefit with waxing (in addition to the base structure/edge work) when in rain or wet spring snow (yellow wax).

[XXX-er]

I used to wax the night before every alpine sesh but I am not so anal anymore my money guy never ever waxed cuz with the going downhill he was always faster than all of us


At the xc area skiing people often waxed at the beginning of every sesh cuz no downhills


I wanted wax for the local citezen DH so i asked buddy at the LBS who had been in every race for > 30yrs what wax and sold me a little chunk of triblock for 70 $ I was a little skeptical but on the other hand i won my class and went the fastest I ever went in that event, most of the chunk is leftover and so i still use it for cruising the hill at just below zero and it sure makes the redsters fast and fun so there is somthing to be said for FAST well waxed skis

[singlesline]

I too have had an iron or two that didn't seem flat. Never heard of a concave base but I could see that as a thing. Any chance your bases were just edge high? yeah, the sound of a burr under your iron is spine crunching. A good tuner rarely encounters this.

I'm sure it was catching burrs/bad spots on the edge, but the iron base was definitely not entirely flat--a few passes on a sheet of sandpaper confirms that quickly.


The concave iron was a Wintersteiger--in this listing: https://shop.sportsbasement.com/prod...eiger-wax-iron

they describe it as "Unique curved plate to "cup" wax as you iron and prevent wax loss."
Maybe it prevents wax from dripping off the edges of the ski, but I'd rather lose a couple drips of wax than have the wax be twice as thick on the middle of the ski...

And because of course there is, here is a a SkiTalk thread about "tuning" your wax irons that came up when I was searching for a link to the concave Wintersteiger: https://www.skitalk.com/threads/tune...ng-irons.6493/

[jackstraw]

If your hill has flats then wax is key and Squaw is pretty flat in many sections. Rubezahl at TSV comes to mind also. The Village is fall line to the lot. My bc skis are always waxed for the same reason.

I just use a regular old iron. If and when it dies I will buy a wax specific iron, but it's still going 20+ yrs.

[Djongo Unchained]

I tune my skis a lot by most of your standards. Becuase I ski the village daily averaging about 15-30k per. The comments about where, how and when you ski, is spot on methinks. For sure many places dont need much, or often.

I haven’t waxed my skis in seven years. Rawdogging the base all conditions

Contrarily, I get a kick out of this...and it always amazes me how slick some dry-as-a-bone skis are.

[ QUOTE=californiagrown;7222587]Eh, spend the money where you see it matters most. Personally, for where i ski and how i ski, i just dont see much benefit in a well tuned/waxed base. When i travel otherplaces that actaully have groomers and flatter areas/runouts i could see the benefit of a fast, well taken care-of base. But, at my home mountain (alpental) i am very rarely in a position where its the glide of the ski that is slowing my down... its pretty much always my cajones or my leg muscles that are the limiting factor. I would 1000x rather have a dialed edge tuning/sharpening setup before i dropped money to upgrade my thriftstore clothes iron to a $100+ ski waxing iron. YMMV.[/QUOTE]

$55 is not $100+. And point taken regarding where, etc. ////Slippery skis lessen the workload on your legs. Dragging skis make it a job, for obvious reasons.

Id think at Alpy, storms lean towards wetter snow, dont your skis get sticky or glopped up sometimes?

Meh… there’s declining benefit doing anything more than just slathering universal on once a year… If you’re skiing for a stopwatch, skiing in extreme temps, or skiing one pair an extreme amount… sure… otherwise it’s hobby maintenance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting take, hobby maintenance...I get serious temp swings at the vill, universal just doesnt cut it and def not once a year.
I gots many skis but generally ski 2 pair, DDs and a wider storm ski. The dailies get fresh wax about every 4-5 ski days.

If Im smoking the ganjalas while tuning, I guess its hobby level then. So yeah, I'm a chronic hobby tuner fosho.

I'm sure it was catching burrs/bad spots on the edge, but the iron base was definitely not entirely flat--a few passes on a sheet of sandpaper confirms that quickly. The concave iron was a Wintersteiger--in this listing: https://shop.sportsbasement.com/prod...eiger-wax-iron they describe it as "Unique curved plate to "cup" wax as you iron and prevent wax loss." Maybe it prevents wax from dripping off the edges of the ski, but I'd rather lose a couple drips of wax than have the wax be twice as thick on the middle of the ski... And because of course there is, here is a a SkiTalk thread about "tuning" your wax irons that came up when I was searching for a link to the concave Wintersteiger: https://www.skitalk.com/threads/tune...ng-irons.6493/

Ok, this is as rich as it gets.

Last year I kinda went off in the volkl thread about unflat fresh boards. Turns out I had just bought that exact iron and, without a true bar to hand, I assumed it was the skis being edge high.
Eventually pulled out the old Demon mini-iron and realized it was that other iron and way less so the bases.

Got.Damn.It.

I still have it if anyone wants it. Tune it per whatevs and go.

If your hill has flats then wax is key and Squaw is pretty flat in many sections. Rubezahl at TSV comes to mind also. The Village is fall line to the lot. My bc skis are always waxed for the same reason. I just use a regular old iron. If and when it dies I will buy a wax specific iron, but it's still going 20+ yrs.

Theres the key, if it works and aint jankin you up, then thats the one for youts.

Honest to God, man, even at the vill, ya cant be slow, even on a cattrack. They took out the Z below Gannett and now its a veritable racetrack to Thunder. Soon, someones gonna miss the turn and sky offa that thing cuz its so fast now.

[EWG]

I wax up about every 5-6 days for each pair. Im mostly skiing Colorado in places like Steamboat, in Utah, and usually a week at Jackson. The runs I ski are all about traverses and runouts, so speed really helps. Even at the local Boulder hill some cattracks between lifts need speed. Edges I only do when I cant hold whatever we get in the Rockies that qualifies as ice, which is not much. So once or twice a year per pair for edges.

I think I believe somewhere in the back of my head that skiing dry bases fucks them up. Whether thats true or not probably doesnt matter much. Quick drip wax inside on the workbench, then a scrape a rotobrush outside when cooled. Take very little time, makes big impact. I just use universal wax. 90% of the benefit, 20% of the work.

[GoatRodeo]

I wax about every [emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]]-[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]] days as well. Hertel hot sauce pretty much does the trick [emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji637]]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]]% of the time, unless it’s super cold or super warm, then I’ll switch up the wax to something more temp specific. I use the Swix North iron. Not too expensive and still checks the “waxing iron” box, although the temp control can be a bit finicky.


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[jackstraw]

The shop at tsv had a wax belt. That thing was interesting. Most customers got that for a quick edge/wax tune. I think it worked ok.
We also had an "oven" which was just a plywood box with 200w light bulbs or something, I don't remember, but we'd put the skis in there so the wax would absorb in oh so nicely over night for the "special" tunes [emoji16]. I don't know shit, but I thought that was maybe over the top wishful thinking.Today I could chatgpt that and tell those kooks it was batshit crazy...or not [emoji23]

Bottom line is I always like my boards waxed, but I don't really like waxing my boards, so just stick to fall line turns is my preferred mo

[fleaches]

What was the consensus on the phantom juice dps makes? That sounds like it's really made for people who can't or don't like to wax often.

[XXX-er]

that plywood box was just for warming up leftover pizza I hope you didnt put skis in there

[jackstraw]

that plywood box was just for warming up leftover pizza I hope you didnt put skis in there

Actually we did use it to cure epoxy for base and sidewall repairs. That was its primary use and I'm not sure if that was needed either.

[Djongo Unchained]

Hotboxing unmounted skis used to be a thing for saturating bases, pre-mount. I dont think its time or cost efficient for most skiers, much less a shop. We did charge extra but not much...now we just hotbox the whole shop.

[Dantheman]

Spend the money on a decent iron, buy some quality wax and don't be afraid to put on too much. You can afford a little more wax loss, jfc. I'm sure you've got a few minutes to scrape.

Dripping and scraping is a big mess that I'd prefer to avoid. If it worked better it might be worth it, but it doesn't.

[XXX-er]

some people don't scrape they claim the excess gets worn off but i see unscraped blue wax months later, they claim the wax left prevents base damage but i doubt it


I know when i hung out with the paid prowaxer guy at the skicross champs he took off every bit of wax he had put on the night before during prep and every bit of high flouro he had crayoned into the ski with the roto brush

[bodywhomper]

However, I generally only wax for very wet snow. Being a California skier, I rarely ski on very cold snow. For the past 3-ish years, I’ve been mostly following the prescription from the skivisions guy: work out hardened digs on the edges, light touch-up/refresh of base structure and flattening, polish/sharpen edges. It usually takes a few minutes per ski and is much faster than waxing. I’ve only found a big benefit with waxing (in addition to the base structure/edge work) when in rain or wet spring snow (yellow wax).

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Sewell talk about it in more detail one or two other videos, but at about minute one, he discusses his base structuring and “no waxing” technique. https://youtu.be/IGmHz9pTfvE?si=7tX_L3PKVXWDdalq

I’ve been trying his technique and it’s been saving me a lot of time w/o noticeable loss of glide except in slush and with noticeable good edge hold. I will definitely wax for wet spring conditions, based on self experiments. If I have time, I’ll base and edge prep, including use of a coarser base stone (I have experimented much with sand paper yet). Then, i’ll crayon and iron yellow warm temp wax. I’ll scrape after it cools, and do another round of crayon and ironing warm temp wax. After scraping the cooled ski, I’ll use a nylon ski brush and then a swix base structure tool.

I’m skiing Sugarbowl, mostly. Sometimes I’m hotlapping in uniform all day long, rain, snow, or melt, on a few handfuls of piste and off piste runs, and sometimes I’m free skiing.