What happens as a board ages?

[bumpyride]

I use 2 boards, almost exclusively, both Burton.  These boards are 20 and 16 years old. Coil year 1996 for soft day off piste bump and glade runs. Ultraprime year 2000 for harder days on icier bump days and when there's no new snow.  Both have had more than their share of rocks and have probably only been waxed once a year.  Board 45 to 70 days a year and they just seem to get better. Don't know if this is normal, but they sure are fun. I have backups for both boards and I figure they'll last me till my days are done. I am, however thinking about having Sean build a off-piste powder board based on the Coil, but have to have it perform the same same way except for better float, a little earlier rise, with the same waist/camber/flex (still working on that).

I'm too set in my ways to have to learn new tricks, especially if everything seems to be working,

[terekhov]

11 hours ago, BlueB said:

Don't know man... I had boards in storage for years and they still had wax on them. "Dry evaporation" would also mean that candles would disappear after few years, and we all know that doesn't happen.

it can be easily viewed when bases is waxed and then scraped. I saw that many times myself when prepped board stay forgotten for some year or three :) not when they have unscraped conservation amount of wax

 

on wax-base penetration - it's all a lie (maybe not a 100% lie, but definitely not nearly 100% true). if there's no general agreeement between many scientifically minded guys on any theme - I think I - being not chemical scientist but some other kind - need be VERY sceptical on any opinions of commercially interested parties. you can find electronic microscope photos of ptex for yourself to see. all wax question is closed for me for years - to many sham science and city legends, so I decided not to find truth and live by feeling: if I FEEL the need to wax - I wax. but most of my boards see wax very seldom, without any practical consequences - and not coz I am lazy but coz I generally hate any sham science.

[b0ardski]

If I don't wax the 1 inch from the edges every day there's hard snow the ptex gets burnt

every board I've ever owned, especially extruded bases

[Corey]

1 hour ago, b0ardski said:

If I don't wax the 1 inch from the edges every day there's hard snow the ptex gets burnt

every board I've ever owned, especially extruded bases

Ditto here.  I don't even touch the center unless there's a drastic temperature change.  

[terekhov]

3 hours ago, b0ardski said:

If I don't wax the 1 inch from the edges every day there's hard snow the ptex gets burnt

sure it is. it's not burn per se, it's simple abrasion effects - ptex fluff. surely protective function of crystalline wax - I use hard swix cold weather powder (ch4?) - cannot be overestimated! but where I ride there's almost no hard snow - siberian continental climate with no man made icicles. when I ride in harder (seaside) conditions - surely I wax-protect that areas: it's simple matter of longevity of board base without grinding, protection from edge-high effect when ptex along edges was been erased by ice

[b0ardski]

Abrasive=friction=heat

Burnt

[digger jr]

On January 25, 2017 at 0:59 PM, big mario said:

Only a Little???

Ok,

As slow as a bucket of molasses on a cold day at the top of Ruthies.

Hope I can speed up by next week:)

[ibrussell]

If I get passed on a cat track, I take my toys and go home and rewax.

[terekhov]

6 hours ago, b0ardski said:

Abrasive=friction=heat

Burnt

over 100degC of heat? I've never ever think of that in cold siberian climate! :) but yes, casual word for that effect is burn (ожог in russian)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-molecular-weight_polyethylene

[johnasmo]

On 1/24/2017 at 5:47 PM, digger jr said:

2 years ago  when conditions were warm/ firm at SES,I tuned up one of johnasmos Coilers. I think he said it was approaching 2,000,000 vertical ft for that board.

He had never sharpened the edges before...... Said something about the snow is usually soft in Montana. The edges were still perfect, no dings or anything, just perfectly rounded. He did say it had more grip on the firm snow after sharpening.

That board is a 2011 Coiler 175 that was a Nirvana Balanced pre-cursor.  It has over 2.7 million vertical feet on it now from 142 days on snow.  That represents 16% of total vertical since 2011. Still going strong.  It has been my most versatile alpine board in a wide range of conditions until this year, when we may have finally come close with another equally capable design.  Since having Ron tune my boards in Aspen, I have purchased all the necessary tools to do it myself and have started cleaning up the edges when I wax.  :)  But that's only once or twice a season. :(

P.S. Ron, it still has the checkered duct tape racing stripe you put on when you tuned it.  I liked the look so I left it on.  Might add that to my next custom topsheet.