Start Klister Tech Notes by Jacob Huseby 

A note regarding what klisters you should try first:  

There are many klisters, some with a broad range of effective conditions, and some with a narrow range of effective conditions. My position is that there are no "best" or "worst" waxes, but rather waxes that suit different conditions. There are definitely some waxes that are more suitable for a wider range of conditions, and those should be your first picks when stocking up. 

However, for those who are getting started working with klister, our Universal Wide and Universal plus will give you good skis for most days in klister conditions. In competition, these waxes can be used alone or mixed with other klisters, or covered with hard wax. While I do list many klisters, most people can have decent skis with just 2-3 klisters in their box. This is a technical guide covering all of our klisters intended all level of skiers from recreational to advanced level technicians. 

2024 update: I've made some changes to the descriptions and added more of our race service waxes as we have made them available. Since we are skiing on klister this week for the Birkie, I figured it would be good timing to re-release this piece with updates. 

Standard Catalog Start Klisters

START UNIVERSAL WIDE. If you were to have one klister in your box, make it this one. Among the “Universal” klisters available, this one performs at a high level in a broad range of conditions. It can glide in cold temperatures and kick when the snow warms up. This wax outperforms other klisters in fresh snow conditions when applied thin with a sharp kick, and can kick in transformed ice crystals when applied thick relying more on bulk properties. In racing, this wax can be used as a mix with another klister, or under a cover wax.

The versatility of this mix is in part due to its composition of klister raw materials, terva (tar), and aluminum. The aluminum additive prevents the formation of ice around freezing when snow is in transition between solid and liquid state. The aluminum also prevents dirt/bark/needles from sticking.

The special ingredient is the terva which enables the wax to kick in warm conditions and remain fast on cold snow. The wax can adapt to the conditions you are skiing in because of the thermoplastic properties of pine tar. The wax gets harder (faster) when it gets colder, and softer when it gets warmer. In a thin application, the tar hardens and creates a shell to protect from fresh ice crystals. In a thick application, the tar acts as a cushion layer to provide kick on rounded and transformed ice crystals. Start has Terva in many of their grip waxes, including the Oslo line, Terva line, universal hardwaxes, and the new Terva World Cup grip waxes.

START UNIVERSAL PLUS.  is a warmer variant of Universal Wide and should not go unnoticed. Universal Plus has similar characteristics to the Universal Wide mix, except it is made for warmer snow conditions. +3…+10 all snow types. This contains many of the same materials that make Universal Wide great which makes this a safe pick for waxing at or above freezing. However, I rarely use this wax in competition. We have a new version, 4436 which is a universal warm premix dubbed "wide super" that I've been using for a while here as well as the Start Finland domestic service crew. 

Red Klister is made for wet snow. Useful for softening harder klisters on coarse snow or adding grip in wetter snow conditions. Like the RCR10, I will often use 4436, or 3098 instead of red. 

Special Klister O C or ~32F This is our second most popular klister behind the venerable “Wide”. This klister is advertised for “zero conditions”. I've found this is awesome in fine grained, humid snow and can be really fast. This is often used as a mix in with universal wide. We now sell a premixed version because we use the combination so much here. 

Purple Klister is made for humid, coarse, and/or icy Snow. On wetter days, it can be used as an intermediary klister between your base klister and your soft kicking klister. Be advised, you will want to apply your intermediary while your base klister is still warm.

Blue Klister is made for icy, abrasive snow. This can be used to harden other klisters or as a base klister. See World Cup 3322 below.

BM Klister uses molybdenum disulfide to repel dirt and enhance grip. Coarse snow with a firm deck and fresh set tracks. Can be very useful in difficult conditions where the snow changes from wet to dry to wet. Can be used as a bump wax by adding a few drops under the toe. Needs to be skied in for a few km before racing.

Base Klister is a harder klister intended to bridge the gap between our kicking klister and the fancy plastic in our ski bases. An ironed application is recommended for softer klisters and will prevent the kicking klister from moving on the ski.

Liquid Base Klister comes in a sponge bottle applicator. For the US market, I asked that these come in a sponge bottle instead of the old spray bottles. Useful for large teams, klister/hardwax days/ or days where you are working with hard klisters such as blue or 3322. 

Race Service Klisters. 

3322 The new version of Blue Klister. Improved version of our blue klister with more grip, more resistant to hardening. I have used this wax much warmer than it was intended, on large grained icy artificial snow. This is useful when the conditions call for klister but everything else feels slow, this can be quick and kick. If you are applying this outside, I strongly encourage using a wax roller. 

3300 A new version of Special. harder than regular special but more elastic, less prone to glazing and more grip. While the new version of blue may replace the old blue, this special² will be used in addition to the current version of special. I still find myself using the original special more, but it doesn't hurt to have this option in the box. 

3098 Extra Wet. Contains tar which can make the wax forgiving in changing conditions or as temperatures change along the course. Can be used to soften other klisters without being a liability for icing.

4269 Silver. Old, wet, dirty, coarse snow. Can be used as a middle klister in high humidity.  Useful as a bump wax when conditions are warming above freezing. 

4436 Wide Super. This is an improved version of universal plus. Many of the properties of wide, but suitable for warmer, more humid snow conditions. A must have. 

Wide/Special Premix. This is a 50/50 mix of Universal Wide and Special. The wide adds some body to the special, and the special is magic in fine grained and humid snow conditions. Together, this is a winning combination. We use it enough to the point where having a premix on hand is really useful. 

MNFW Red Klister For conditions below zero where the snow is coarse/icy this stuff rocks. Can give a lot of grip while remaining durable. Also proves to be less of a liability when fresh snow is present. NF Version of MFW Red.

MNFW Yellow Klister  For coarse grained and wet snow above freezing. NF Version of MFW Yellow. 

MNFW Red/Yellow Premix 50/50. This is helpful to have on hand, I will use this more often than the MNFW Red or Yellow on it's own. Tolerant of newer snow, works in coarse, wet snow. NF Version of this premix.

RCR50 It is a modified version of our Universal wide intended for high humidity, glazing tracks and artificial snow from 20F up to 38F. 

A popular combination by the Start racing service is to apply RCR50 and cover with a thin layer of Oslo Violet for artificial snow 20F-38F. For application, you want to rub in your klister and let sit on the bench until room temperature. Then apply Oslo violet in 2 layers and finish with a single pass on both sides of the groove with your thumb, mixing the klister and Oslo a little. The Start Finland domestic racing service team uses this combination often, applied in this method. I almost always test this combination on klister days. 

RCR30 is best used as a covering wax to improve the speed of a klister job without sacrificing grip in hard pack and new tracks. It also looks like toothpaste. NF Version of FHF30.

RCR10 Is for clean, high humidity, wet snow. Much like red, 4436 or 3098 klister is usually preferred. NF version of FHF10.

Questions? Email me! Jacobh@EnjoyWinter.com

Photos from Craftsbury 2024, Photo of Annika on the right was taken by Phillip Belena. You can find more of his work here. https://www.phillipbelena.com/