Brain Dump Please...Base grinding patterns for skis of large surface area?

[ExoticSkis]

Before everyone starts thinking about repairing the wear-and-tear on their bases from last season...What's your favorite tuner/waxing geek have to say about the best base patterns to grind into modern skis with such large surface areas these days? Seems like everyone has a different idea and a voodo-science reason behind their choice. Between all the arguments for chevron, reverse-chevron, no-pattern, mico-linear...blah blah blah... Whaddaya use that makes any real difference?

1. Dry snow?
2. Wet snow?

[marshalolson]

put ptex in holes. grind the sidewall edge flat. make the base flat. go ski.

anything more on a fat ski is just an excuse for skiing slow (ie wrong tune).

[jonski]

Agree with Marshal - Having worked in various workshops with various different techs, it truly is a case of doesn't matter as long as the base is flat and the edges are sharp enough.

Unless you're racing - but then it won't be a fat ski, so doesn't matter anyway.

However, a decent base grind at the beginning of the season and a bunch of waxings (or hotbox) before getting out on snow definitely helps wax absorption which does make you glide better. And then keep the waxing up through the season too.

Although enough folks out there feel there is no real difference if they wax or not, I don't see a reason to not wax. Taking care of gear means it lasts longer - even if only becasue you notice any potential problems sooner.

[cooltsi]

The only time I mess with structure etc...is in the spring usually after the first sticky day. The lurching through the slush back to the lift drives me nuts . I'll typically throw a coarse base structure on via one of those hand tools that came in someones discarded tuning kits and throw some really warm wax on.

The rest of these season it's either universal warm or universal cold or whatever I have excessive of. The few tenths of a second to be gained by proper structure etc...in a fat ski won't impress my friends.

[grskier]

The only time I mess with structure etc...is in the spring usually after the first sticky day. The lurching through the slush back to the lift drives me nuts . I'll typically throw a coarse base structure on via one of those hand tools that came in someones discarded tuning kits and throw some really warm wax on.

The rest of these season it's either universal warm or universal cold or whatever I have excessive of. The few tenths of a second to be gained by proper structure etc...in a fat ski won't impress my friends.

You need new friends.. My friends are like, woh dude, you just shaved like .05 and are totally gnar...

Seriously, unless you are experiencing some major issues, don't mess with fat skis too much.... but I have to say, even on my gots I still run my angles at 1 and 88.5 or so...

But they are my everyday ski

[dipstik]

gonna agree with everything said above. For everyday skiing, I think as long as you have some sort of normal base pattern/structure on your skis, and are waxing them regularly, then you're probably in pretty shape.

[Jer]

I have no idea what kind of structure/side/base bevel any of my skis have. I wax 'em with Toko universal wax - that's about it. If they make it through the first year, maybe I have them stoneground at the beginning of the next season. As long as I can blow by everone else on the runout, I don't really think about it too much.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

. As long as I can blow by everone else on the runout, I don't really think about it too much.

ha..yeah. Then ^^ and more importantly IMO is when I have trouble getting enough speed for certain takeoffs or feel like I'm 'sticking' too much on landings.

[Sinecure]

I'll weigh in on this. I've been riding fat skis for years now (I call them snowboards - they are generally 180mm underfoot). As mentioned above, about the only time I really notice a difference b/w structure and no structure is in the spring when it is wet and sticky. In that case a coarse structure and good wax make a big difference. In almost all other conditions the structure of the base doesn't mean too much - unless you are racing and as stated above, then you'll be on narrower skis.

Even when I'm racing my snowboards I don't worry too much about structure. The one exception is the annual Super G we do where there's a long flat stretch. If its warm I know I'll need structure to break up surface tension under my board during this section where the board will be running flat most of the time.

If I lived in VT, I'd be more concerned with sharp edges than base structure.

[jfost]

^^^

yeah sure, listen to the guy who runs with scissors... sheesh!

[summit]

It depends where you are skiing. If you need to do a lot of traversing at places like breck or vail or some backcountry runs that have long exits on snowpacked roads.... well having a nice wax and the right grind can make the difference between a little poling and a lot poling.

If you have something like spatulas, then it can make the difference between a lot of poling and miserable amounts of poling.

This is true in the winter to especially when you have a super cold day of fresh snow where it is that squeaky kind of sticky.

What is right? Dunno...