Board Waxing - how much trouble do you go to?
ice and man made are the harshest forms of snow for the base so harder wax is needed
ice and man made are the harshed forms of snow for the base so harder wax is needed
What is this hard wax you speak of?
Is this just code for warm temp. wax?
colder wax
Cold wax is all I use because it still stands up well in the spring slush, along with the winter ice!!!!
Is that -2 to -12 type temp range? Or colder?
Is there some standard around warm all-temp and cold waxes?
*EDIT* Duh. User error - first double post for me. Someone got a dunce cap I can borrow?
depends on brand but for eg. oneballjay make a range for ice -11 and below, cold -5 to -11, cool -2 to -6, warm 0 to -3
Apologies to all who already know this, but I thought I’d give the heads up on exactly what waxing does.
A good sintered base is essentially a fancy plastic with a lot of little holes or pores in it. With temperature, the size of these pores changes (Hot/Increase & Cold/Decrease).
As you’re riding along, the surface of the board and the surface of the snow slide against each other and the difference in slipperyness (that’s an engineering term) between the two causes friction. Friction = heat, which then opens the pores and allows wax to seep from the pores. This then lowers the coefficient of friction and essentially ‘lubes’ your way down the hill.
This explains why a board dries out quicker on ice, as there’s a lot more friction.
Good explanation dude! It’s much clearer in my head now how it all works.
Apologies to all who already know this, but I thought I’d give the heads up on exactly what waxing does.
A good sintered base is essentially a fancy plastic with a lot of little holes or pores in it. With temperature, the size of these pores changes (Hot/Increase & Cold/Decrease).
As you’re riding along, the surface of the board and the surface of the snow slide against each other and the difference in slipperyness (that’s an engineering term) between the two causes friction. Friction = heat, which then opens the pores and allows wax to seep from the pores. This then lowers the coefficient of friction and essentially ‘lubes’ your way down the hill.
This explains why a board dries out quicker on ice, as there’s a lot more friction.
This also explains why a ‘warmer’ wax is ‘harder’ so it stays in the wide-open warmed up pores and doesn’t all run out of the board before you get down the hill. I guess the opposite is the case for colder where the wax has to be ‘softer’ so it makes its way to the surface without as much heat.
Correct me if I’m wrong…
Actually colder waxes are harder due to increased friction caused by cold/hard snow. Warm snow is less abrasive so warm temp wax is softer.
Actually colder waxes are harder due to increased friction caused by cold/hard snow. Warm snow is less abrasive so warm temp wax is softer.
Yep. That makes sense.
It’s all about how the snow works/heats the board. (denser/firmer/colder snow = more work/heat & pore opening)
I guess no-one really cares how the waxed board performs while it sits in the board rack at air temp.
anyone used soy wax? apparently its really hard and a bitch to scrape off… i wonder if it would last longer
I waxed my old board once in 2 seasons.
It still does the job fine
anyone used soy wax? apparently its really hard and a bitch to scrape off… i wonder if it would last longer
Yes, it was a **** to scrape off yes it did last on the base longer, but no it did not perform as well, IMHO.
performance as in speed? stickyness? on what type of snow and terrain?