Sticky snow

[my poor knees]

Last 3 days skiing, Monday - Wednesday, I experienced that herky jerky type snow that sticks to the bottoms of your skis and really slows you down. If the snow was in the shade it was better. Thought I was prepared, hot waxed using some Swix yellow spring wax, but didn't really work, Any tried and proven methods to share?

[Mister Moose]

Did you ski all 3 days with freshly waxed skis? If so, you don't know how much worse it would have been with no wax. That aside, fresh wax every day is better. There are also some field applied liquid wax products that are designed for warm snow, they last only a few runs. There is no miracle solution though. Once the snow corns up the stickiness goes way down.

[Dude GFY]

Wd40

[Ski_the_Moguls]

Wd40

I am sure you were joking.

Lately, I have been using this stuff. Easy to apply and lasts for the whole day (maybe even 2). Seems pricey, but a little goes a long way.

https://dominatorwax.com/products/dominator-ffc-p2

[Captain Hafski]

On flats, you can ski in a bit of a wedge, ski in a skidded turn, and/or lean back. All 3 techniques reduce the time each 'piece' of snow is heating up and melting under your skis.

[asher2789]

the goal is to create more friction so a thin layer of snow melts to liquid water under your skis/board. you can get more structure put in your base with a base grind, and you can use wax that has additives that create friction, such as graphite.

im a huge one ball jay fan, i use their graphite rub on, then hot wax a mix of the x wax (fastest line they have) in warm and their summer slush wax which contains graphite and silicone. i then brush it with swix brushes. OBJ reformulated the x wax so the graphite is in the wax instead of rub on before which is disappointing. you can get their waxes at darkside but beware its pricey. i hot wax as needed, usually not more than once a week unless theres a major change in temps that would warrant a new wax or major snowfall. or if im riding a lot of park (sliding boxes and rails removes wax), and i barely rode any park this year...

on days that i anticipate the snow to be extra slow i bring that graphite rub on with me and apply every few runs. i was able to make it out of the canyon to k1 without taking my back foot out for what its worth. also aim for the shadows and anticipate the warm slow sunny spots...

[Ski_the_Moguls]

the goal is to create more friction so a thin layer of snow melts to liquid water under your skis/board. you can get more structure put in your base with a base grind, and you can use wax that has additives that create friction, such as graphite.

im a huge one ball jay fan, i use their graphite rub on, then hot wax a mix of the x wax (fastest line they have) in warm and their summer slush wax which contains graphite and silicone. i then brush it with swix brushes. OBJ reformulated the x wax so the graphite is in the wax instead of rub on before which is disappointing. you can get their waxes at darkside but beware its pricey. i hot wax as needed, usually not more than once a week unless theres a major change in temps that would warrant a new wax or major snowfall. or if im riding a lot of park (sliding boxes and rails removes wax), and i barely rode any park this year...

on days that i anticipate the snow to be extra slow i bring that graphite rub on with me and apply every few runs. i was able to make it out of the canyon to k1 without taking my back foot out for what its worth. also aim for the shadows and anticipate the warm slow sunny spots...

One does not want to create more friction! What makes it sticky is the suction created by the excess of water in warm conditions. Structure in the ski base helps because it breaks up the suction, reducing friction. Graphite also reduces friction, though mainly by reducing electric static in cold conditions. I do not think it helps much unless you are racing, but it certainly would not hurt. Some say graphite also helps with the dirt in the old spring snow.

One thing I like about the paste wax I mentioned above is that you put on such a thin layer that your base structure is still open and working. Hot waxing initially fills up the structure and requires a lot of work brushing to clear out the structure. You still have to brush out the paste wax after it dries, but it takes much, much less time than brushing out a hot wax.

[Dude GFY]

Wd40

I am sure you were joking.

Lately, I have been using this stuff. Easy to apply and lasts for the whole day (maybe even 2). Seems pricey, but a little goes a long way.

https://dominatorwax.com/products/dominator-ffc-p2

It was that or KY jelly :)

[Ski_the_Moguls]

Wd40

I am sure you were joking.

Lately, I have been using this stuff. Easy to apply and lasts for the whole day (maybe even 2). Seems pricey, but a little goes a long way.
https://dominatorwax.com/products/dominator-ffc-p2

It was that or KY jelly :)

Believe it or not, years ago I actually tried that stuff on skis once. The WD-40, not the KY. That is when I learned that WD-40 is great for cleaning the wax out of diamond edge sharpening stones as it actually dissolves wax! As for the skis, they pretty much ground to a halt. Luckily no permanent damage as a fresh hot wax brought them right back.

[TheLurker]

Stone grind?

[Dude GFY]

Wd40

I am sure you were joking.

Lately, I have been using this stuff. Easy to apply and lasts for the whole day (maybe even 2). Seems pricey, but a little goes a long way.
https://dominatorwax.com/products/dominator-ffc-p2

It was that or KY jelly :)

Believe it or not, years ago I actually tried that stuff on skis once. The WD-40, not the KY. That is when I learned that WD-40 is great for cleaning the wax out of diamond edge sharpening stones as it actually dissolves wax! As for the skis, they pretty much ground to a halt. Luckily no permanent damage as a fresh hot wax brought them right back.

10w-30 motor oil then...im starting to run out of suggestions here...

[buckethead]

Believe it or not, years ago I actually tried that stuff on skis once. The WD-40, not the KY. That is when I learned that WD-40 is great for cleaning the wax out of diamond edge sharpening stones as it actually dissolves wax! As for the skis, they pretty much ground to a halt. Luckily no permanent damage as a fresh hot wax brought them right back.

good to know...i have a structuring file that is very waxed.
before next outing i'll get it cleaned up...and thrn structure those bases!

[Ski_the_Moguls]

Believe it or not, years ago I actually tried that stuff on skis once. The WD-40, not the KY. That is when I learned that WD-40 is great for cleaning the wax out of diamond edge sharpening stones as it actually dissolves wax! As for the skis, they pretty much ground to a halt. Luckily no permanent damage as a fresh hot wax brought them right back.

good to know...i have a structuring file that is very waxed.
before next outing i'll get it cleaned up...and thrn structure those bases!

Be patient. The small amount on the diamond stones still takes me a couple of minutes to remove with WD-40 and an old toothbrush. I’d imagine a very waxed file will take significantly longer.

[Big Bob]

Believe it or not, years ago I actually tried that stuff on skis once. The WD-40, not the KY. That is when I learned that WD-40 is great for cleaning the wax out of diamond edge sharpening stones as it actually dissolves wax! As for the skis, they pretty much ground to a halt. Luckily no permanent damage as a fresh hot wax brought them right back.

good to know...i have a structuring file that is very waxed.
before next outing i'll get it cleaned up...and thrn structure those bases!

Synthetic blend, full synthetic, or dino?

[Dude GFY]

Believe it or not, years ago I actually tried that stuff on skis once. The WD-40, not the KY. That is when I learned that WD-40 is great for cleaning the wax out of diamond edge sharpening stones as it actually dissolves wax! As for the skis, they pretty much ground to a halt. Luckily no permanent damage as a fresh hot wax brought them right back.

good to know...i have a structuring file that is very waxed.
before next outing i'll get it cleaned up...and thrn structure those bases!

Synthetic blend, full synthetic, or dino?

Yes