Dave Winters Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Any tips? I have never found anything that works when it's below -10*F and either new snow or hoar frost on the ground. I have some Swix hard green that's rated to -26*, tried today and it's still like riding in glue. Tried Hot Rod too, and no luck. Do you want a thick coat or scrape & brush? Love to find something..... Thanks in advance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kieran Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 datawax polar x is supposed to be good from -16°C to -24°C, so that would fit with your -10°F need. i used it last year during jan when it was pretty cold here, and had no complaints. they suggest scraping while still warm, its a really hard wax. difficult to melt. not sure what he'd charge to ship to the USA though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpalka Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 I ran into the same issue yesterday, though I used all-temp wax, and the board hardly slid. I put some Zardoz NoWax on it and things improved, but I still had a difficult time on the flats and ended up skating a lot. But the fresh snow in the trees was outstanding and it was worth all the extra work. I'm considering buying some Magical Go-Go Freezer Burn wax -- has anyone tried that one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Wax with LF6/HC6, scrape, and steel brush. Then take LF4/HC4, and create a powder by rubbing on medium sandpaper or a file. Once base has a thin, light layer of powder, dab over with the iron to melt. You can then iron this thin layer normally, follow by steel brushing, then horsehair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardguru Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Try Dominator wax. I had Zoom (green) today in 2 degree weather. When stopped or while getting into bindings it was like being welded down. Once the slope turned down...better hang on because the Afterburners just lit up. Dominator is some of the best wax I've ever used in just about all conditions. But that just my .02 cents worth. Mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yooperluke Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 WTF, as in Why TF would you carve in these temps? Ice shack, wood stove, a good beer, cause you already know its cold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 WTF, as in Why TF would you carve in these temps? Ice shack, wood stove, a good beer, cause you already know its cold! because the groom if often perfect for carving at those temps, and everyone else is taking your advise, and staying away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Winters Posted January 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 ...If you have to ask...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Any tips? I have never found anything that works when it's below -10*F and either new snow or hoar frost on the ground. I have some Swix hard green that's rated to -26*, tried today and it's still like riding in glue. Tried Hot Rod too, and no luck.Do you want a thick coat or scrape & brush? Love to find something..... Thanks in advance... How much structure do you have in your base? I understand a structureless base glides a bit better in wicked cold snow. That said I have not had much experience riding in the negative farenheit ranges. I use Dominator Bullet as a cold weather wax - have you tried that? http://www.dominatorwax.com/bullet.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnuts514 Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 because the groom if often perfect for carving at those temps, and everyone else is taking your advise, and staying away. +1 I love crappy weather, keeps the pansies off the mountain so I have some room to carve finally and not have some frickin two planker trying to use me as a flag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Winters Posted January 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I do have a fair bit of structure in the base...from the SkiMD. I'll have to try the Dominator... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmbischoff Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Try Kuu Mach 2 in blue(cold). Make sure you start with a hot scrape of a prep wax. and be sure to brush and buff. Rotobrush if you have one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMU Alpine Boarder Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I'll 2nd the Dominator wax... I would use the HX 07 (white) Hydrocarbon wax when racing in sub-zero temps... It seemed to be more user friendly than the Swix CH4.... Also seemed to get better glide than SWIX as well... The key here is making sure that you are getting all the surface wax off through scraping and brushing... These waxes are hard and take some muscle to remove... Take your time and be thorough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terekhov Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 old siberian wisdom (for dry continental snow): clean off all of wax by diesel fuel, and ride completely dry p-tex - nothing will slide better than that on such ****ty cold flakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Race_Carver Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 When it is that cold, the snow crystals become sharp and aggressive like an abrasive. Like others have said, use a cold temp wax, and make sure you brush it totally out. You will need a stiff metal brush to remove wax that hard. Any wax left on the surface will just slow you down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.T. Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Dave, I agree that the best wax for those cold temperatures is none at all. As other have said, the sharp snow crystals are very sharp and abrasive and "grab" the wax, slowing the board. There is a separate issue related to glide at those frigid temperatures. I cannot go into much detail at this time... Sorry that this sounds like a tease, but t.stoughton's patent application has been accepted (he is currently in "patent pending" status; he is waiting to have the patent issued. Sadly, this could take up to 18 months. Preliminary testing on a closed FIS-rated course, using race timing equipment, proved to be very promising. Once the patent is formally issued, the new technology will be made available. For the tie being, do not use any wax at temperature that cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Don't you get wicked base burn with no wax? Granted, almost all of my riding is on man-made snow, but I burn through the wax and start getting white spots along my edges in just a few hours. I used some crazy-hard Swix blue wax (no labels) I got from a local shop in bulk. They hated it so they basically gave it away. It's so hard it'll chip instead of smear at room temperature. I apply sparingly and use a piece of Fiberline between the iron and the base to soak up excess in the last pass. Scraping it just isn't an option. It lasts the longest of any I've tried in -20F and colder conditions. I just run it along the edges as the center of my base doesn't touch the snow too much. We had -13F temps and fresh snow at the Nakiska Expression Session. I ran Kuu cold blue wax down the center of the board with the Swix stuff on the edges, it worked really well in the few flat sections we had to slide down to get to the good stuff. It sucked the next day in +20F conditions, as expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 I prepped my board with some KUU all temp (white) for that same session, and it worked fine. Although admittedly, we spent most of the day Friday riding powder, there wasn't a lot of groomers to be had. I picked that wax up in desperation after everyone in Calgary ran out of KUU blue last year, and it's worked well for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.T. Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Any tips? I have never found anything that works when it's below -10*F and either new snow or hoar frost on the ground. I have some Swix hard green that's rated to -26*, tried today and it's still like riding in glue. Tried Hot Rod too, and no luck.Do you want a thick coat or scrape & brush? Dave - to answer your original question, you want your wax as thin as possible. Be careful when ironing that you 1) don't smoke the wax, 2) blend the cold wax with any warmer base-prep wax that you may use. What has worked best for me to is cold rub HotRod, then use a WaxWizzard to finish. Too much heat from ironing will cause the HotRod to separate, resulting in lots of drag. The biggest issue I have had with poor glide has been at temps around -15ºF, sustained winds around 20pmh and windchill @ -30ºF, with lots of wind-deposited snow on top. The wind-deposited snow seems to be the biggest problem; fresh fallen snow has not been a non-issue. Don't you get wicked base burn with no wax? Granted, almost all of my riding is on man-made snow, but I burn through the wax and start getting white spots along my edges in just a few hours. Corey - some base burn does occur. I rub/buff it out when I get home. Ice has been riding/racing for years without wax, this includes placing second in his age group at the USASA nationals last year - this age group also had the five fastest times of the entire event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 I'm pretty new to this, so this is really a question rather than suggestion. From what I've heard/read, manmade snow is similar to very cold snow. ??? So some of the cold-snow waxes also suggest using for manmade snow. I ride on almost entirely manmade snow (air temp not below 20 F usually), and have settled on the following: rub on (as in, crayon) some hard but not super hard wax. I think I'm using an SVST purple. Set iron to about 100-110 C and use a sheet of fiber-free paper between the base and iron. This "softens" the wax into the base without leaving a thick layer. If I'm feeling energetic, I'll follow with a Wax Whizzard, since I have no reason to disbelieve Ray's Way. But I think ironing first makes sure the wax gets everywhere. Then sprinkle some extra-cold/base-burn-preventing powder along the edges. Iron in just as before, same temperature, use paper. You don't need a very high temp with this approach--low risk. Optionally, Wax Whizzard. Then brush with a fine soft steel brush briefly just before riding (there's little that scraping will remove). It's very easy and seems to prevent base burn for me, but I don't know how it would work in really cold snow. No problems with glide so far... I always pass everyone getting off the lift or just cruising down to the lot. I'm not a racer; I'm mainly concerned with preventing base burn and gliding without sticking. Any comments welcome! (I probably wouldn't have posted but this seems not too far from what DT recommends, so I'm curious if there's really any difference.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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