To Wax or not to wax

Simple question.

What happens if you do not wax your skiis. I know all the stories, you will go slower, but mostly I use the brake downhill.
Have any of you seen damaged skis?
I'm not talking about heard about and so on, but actally seen a damaged ski due to lack of wax.
The edges goes without saying, if they become dull they wont work as good.

Thanks
TheDane
Who is new to owning his own equipment.

It's not just speed you'll lose (without wax), it's smoothness. In heavy or slushy snow (in particular) an un-waxed ski will feel like it's being repeatedly grabbed and then released by the snow. I experienced this with some poorly waxed hire skis a few years back - and it's an absolutely horrible feeling; like riding over strips of glue.

As for whether you can actually damage your skis by not waxing them, I don't know; but you will certainly damage your enjoyment of them! 8)

There are numerous different waxes, some with a very wide temperature range. Have a chat with your nearest ski shop and they'll be happy to advise and (I'm sure) delighted to sell you the wax appropriate for your needs.

In my experience, you will eventually get base burn. Not a ski wrecking problem, and mild base burn can be fixed with a graphite wax, and a steel brush. You will also end up eventually damaging the structure on the base, which is important to waxing and performance. That is still not going to wreck the skis, as a base grind will put it right.

If you want slow skis, try waxing them, but not doing a thorough job of scraping and brushing. The excess wax left on the skis will slow them down for a while.

Instead of using the brake, try turn shape and type to go slower. It's much more fun and easier on the ski bases than not waxing :)

Trencher

My suggestion, when you have your own skis, would be to have them prep'd before you use them first time so you dont need to hot wax them in resort, but maybe have some top up stuff you can apply yourself.
Get them serviced (ie waxed and edged or filled if there are any nasty gouges in the bases) preferably in resort when you finish for the week or use a local ski centre (I know a great guy in Nottingham).

I dont know about damage through not waxing, but you will certainly find performance suffers big time. They do tend to dry out, the bases, and go white if you dont wax them.

When you put them away at the end of the season, apply a coating and leave it on through the summer - that helps keep them in good nick.

Just a thought, but wouldn't slow skis be an awful pain on those European drag lifts :cry:

Trencher

It is quite simple it will protect the base of the ski and also reduce friction :shock:

Ian Wickham wrote:It is quite simple it will protect the base of the ski and also reduce friction :shock:

5 stars - why?

Tony_H wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:It is quite simple it will protect the base of the ski and also reduce friction :shock:

5 stars - why?

I guess I'm just a five star kind of guy :lol: