nekdut Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 I know that Virus advertises this as an option. Does this actually work? Is there a noticeable difference in speed/glide to the standard stuff? I am admittedly lazy. I am getting tired of waxing the fleet. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I'm probably going to be flamed for this but: there seems to be more claims around a lot of what virus does than actual proof of concept. I'm assuming most of these materials and their magic properties do work, just not as well as stated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxguitarist Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 In the XC-Ski world, the no-wax stuff is fine, but you won't find a competitor on it. No idea how much that pertains to our uses though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crucible Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 For me, tuning and waxing my snowboards is part of the total experience... I draw the same analogy to snowboard prep as I do to keeping my knives in good working order - when I take time to properly prep a knife or snowboard, I am always amazed at the increase in performance. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 For me, tuning and waxing my snowboards is part of the total experience...I draw the same analogy to snowboard prep as I do to keeping my knives in good working order - when I take time to properly prep a knife or snowboard, I am always amazed at the increase in performance. Well, like I said, I am getting lazy with age. What if you could potentially get all of the performance with none of the prep work? I am pretty sure it isn't that simple, but, what if? I would love to know more about this material. Bruce, Sean? Have you guys tried this stuff out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgforce Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 For me, tuning and waxing my snowboards is part of the total experience...I draw the same analogy to snowboard prep as I do to keeping my knives in good working order - when I take time to properly prep a knife or snowboard, I am always amazed at the increase in performance. George I couldn't agree more!!!! As everyone knows snow comes in many types and conditions. Manmade, new snow, old snow, etc. It doesn't makes sense that there is a base that can be efficient with all the different conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Varsava Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Well, like I said, I am getting lazy with age. What if you could potentially get all of the performance with none of the prep work? I am pretty sure it isn't that simple, but, what if?I would love to know more about this material. Bruce, Sean? Have you guys tried this stuff out? I have 2 pieces in the shop but have never applied it. It was obtained for a BX proto which may someday be made. if and when I use it, feedback will come fast. Weird stuff as of course the wax is not a good thing to mix with epoxy so it has a real shiny side which you are supposed to use for bonding. I guess they apply a coating to keep the wax away from the glue. I am also in the group who believes nothing like a good old fashioned wax job. There can only be a limited amount in there and it surely won't keep coming to the surface so you're going to end up waxing anyways I would assume. So you may have to buy a grinder instead of an iron to get to the wax 40 grand vs stealing you wifes iron. Well the 40 grand may have less negative effect:freak3: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 I have been thinking of playing around with glass filled teflon. Not cheap, but it would be neat to see how it compares...... It will be a MAJOR pain to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 I have been thinking of playing around with glass filled teflon. Not cheap, but it would be neat to see how it compares...... It will be a MAJOR pain to work with. please explain this material Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 please explain this material OK. Glass filled teflon is exactly that. Teflon that is filled with glass fibers of 5-50%. It increases wear and machinability. It also helps with bonding, but it is still tough. The coefficient of friction increases as the percentage of glass increases. Teflon is not great stuff too work with. It tends to move instead of machine, it cuts nice but the edges tend to round. To bond to it the surface needs to be deflourinated, either through a chemical or electrical process (plasma). Chemical of course works best but is the nastiest. It comes from the suppliers with a treated side for bonding that has an intermediary layer for protection and better aging (teflon likes being teflon and will REflourinate over time), I don't know if that will be compatible with the epoxy I will be using and I have to do my own treatment or not.... It is expensive relative to P-tex or equivalent. A 4 X 8 sheet in the thickness we need is about a grand. The up side is you can make quite a few boards out of it, if it works......:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Say you manage to gouge it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Say you manage to gouge it.. That would be the down side..... durability should be ok, but you can't fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donek Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Well, like I said, I am getting lazy with age. What if you could potentially get all of the performance with none of the prep work? I am pretty sure it isn't that simple, but, what if?I would love to know more about this material. Bruce, Sean? Have you guys tried this stuff out? I'm not sure what material Virus is using, but I did talk with the guys at Crown about their prewaxed material. Sounds like a gimmick to me, dreamed up by Burton's marketing department. Unless you have some way of adding more wax to the base, there's no way it will always be there. Just like a good hot wax it eventually goes away. Fundamentally Base material (polyethylene) and hydrocarbon waxes are very similar. The only real difference is the length of the polymer chains. Both materials are hydrocarbon chains. Based on the description I got, it was a bit unclear as to wether someone just decided to start calling polyethylen wax in order to say that the base was permanently waxed. I've never used it, and as stated, you can't plan for all snow conditions with a single wax. If you want the best performance, you'll have to put a little sweat into your base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 That would be the down side..... durability should be ok, but you can't fix it. Bleh. I'd rather have a stainless base. That would be awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Bleh. I'd rather have a stainless base. That would be awesome. Do you think it really would? I thought that there was something clever about the way wax and snow work which makes the board slide.... I ver much doubt you'd get the same effect from something made of metal... they're not hugely similar materials... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 It would look cool. No clue on how it would work, perhaps the same as a no wax base. Realistically, anything that dissipates suction and is highly hydrophobic would appear to work well. Someone has to try applying scotchguard to an older board. Wax is great though, I agree. It protects the base from abrasion, it allows for structuring, it's easily reapplied, and it's hydrophobic. What more could you ask for in a design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUD Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Bleh. I'd rather have a stainless base. That would be awesome. Yeah, IF I do anything with it, it will be purely for curiosity only..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Wooden bases worked well, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 They didn't, believe me... The only reason they kinda worked is that wood is porous enough to absorb some wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Sorry. Couldn't hold back the sarcasm among ideas such as SS bases. Sounds fun though, pores on wood also allow water damage..Maybe if you have a naturally oily wood. What comes to mind is the guy who designed the accurate clocks which used naturally lubricating woods..Designated them H1, H2, H3 etc. He made it possible to determine longitude based on a known longitude, speed, and time elapsed. Much better than hopefully "sailing a circle" on a line of latitude. John Harrison is the name. Delrin is fun stuff too. Way too easily scratched for snow usage, but it's extremely porous. Wait, what the heck are we even talking about here anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 You got me now into talking sailing :D Known position + speed + time elapsed are good enough only if you are on non-mouving water. Any current, even wawe motion, and you are stuffed. Very first hi-tech sailboat cleats were made out of Delrin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted December 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 Well that seems to answer the question for the most part. I will stick to the high grade ptex (5000+ hopeully! :)) and wax away like a good boy. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 How about a Teflon base? I have some hydrophobic non-stick pans... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrus the virus Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 We used Teflon bases 2 years ago its a really fast material may be the fasted ever, the disadvatage is that it´s to heavy to repair for the user so we stopped that. Now we have a new prototype high C running base which is not availlabe onm the market its filled with 56% carbon and doesn´t burn in the area near the edges where you have the highest pressure and heat ( yes heat!!!!) during hard carving! It´s used for downhill competition skis normally! And you can believe us it´s really fast stuff:1luvu: Regards Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted December 10, 2008 Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 You got me now into talking sailing :D Known position + speed + time elapsed are good enough only if you are on non-mouving water. Any current, even wawe motion, and you are stuffed. Very first hi-tech sailboat cleats were made out of Delrin. Haha..Boats...Teak skis. Hey, those clocks we better than going "YARR I HAVE SCURVY SO IT MUST BE GETTIN CLOSE TO OUR ARRRRRRRRRRRRIVAL!" I can dream right? Did they really use delrin? Didn't it get waterlogged? Although, salt would solidify in it..kinda like wax. Hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.