Starter wax box for the 2021 season. It's not too early to be talking about ski wax right?

Hi SkiPost,

It's almost August, which means fall is right around the corner and I'm starting to research wax prdoducts for this season, keeping in mind the changing wax environment we've come to learn about. I'm wondering what top 5 wax or so products you would suggest for glide wax for training, top 5 for marathon racing and top 5 products for shorter 5-10ks. Basically looking for an ultimate industry-pro's recommended starter's pack that I can dumb down as budget allows.

-D

Hey D,

Who would have thought the convergence of international chemical regulations, marketing mumbo, and politicking among governing bodies for sport would result in confusion for consumers just trying to put a little go-fast on their skis?! Fortunately, I'm here to help. In the ever-changing landscape that is ski tuning, here are my picks for fluor-free waxes that will allow you to be competitive at sanctioned, and un-sanctioned races.

Training: My picks for training waxes are the following: SG Green, SG Blue, SG Violet Liquid, SG Blue Liquid, Magic 10. SG Green and SG blue are staple waxes that should be in every wax box. While Fluoros were still seeing extensive use, SG Green would also be incorporated into the racing stack for its legendary hardness. Nowadays that may change (more on that in a minute). I've incorporated the Violet and Blue liquid because I found myself reaching for these waxes last season more often than I would be reaching for the iron. Time spent waxing your skis is less time training, and this stuff will have your skis ready to go in under 5 minutes. There's no need to leave the liquid wax on overnight, we use an alcohol-based delivery rather than the smelly petroleum-based solutions. Finally, the Magic 10 may seem like an odd pick, but hear me out. Magic 10 is a special mixture that's only available here in the States of SG Green and the additive Molybdenum, which acts as a dry lubricant to protect your skis from getting dirty. This is an excellent wax to harden your bases and provide protection against dirt that is often found in synthetic snow. Dirty skis = Slow skis.

Racing and Marathon: For racing we are now offering the RG Ultra series of waxes which use micro ceramic lubricants that not only create a micro structure film on your bases to produce water, but also repel that water. Previously, HF mixtures of hard waxes like green would be slightly softer and not perform as well in extremely cold conditions. However, the new ceramics are hard materials (technically they're called rare earth elements which is a bit of a misnomer because there are several "rare" earth elements that are very common). The new ceramic waxes will retain their hardness regardless of the concentration of additive.

With that being said: here are my recommendations for racing: RG Ultra Blue or RG Ultra Blue Liquid, RG Ultra Violet or RG Ultra Violet Liquid, All 3 new RG Ultra Gel Finishers, and the RG Ultra Finisher Spray. Given the constraints, I've opted for two racing paraffins that are in the middle. If you want to ski in colder conditions, put a layer of Start Green or Magic 10 underneath the RG Ultra. Our Violet paraffin will reach up into warmer conditions when paired with the red RG Ultra Gel. Following your selection of base, then you pick the gel finisher that matches the temperature, finish with the spray. Immediate upgrades to this would be to grab the other two RG Ultra Gliders as bases, and then the RG Race line as your underlayer as your budget permits. Liquid is fine for 10ks and can work for longer races if a hard paraffin is used underneath, otherwise go with hard wax versions of those gliders for long marathon racing.

Recap:

Training: SG Green, SG Blue, SG Violet Liquid, SG Blue Liquid, Magic 10

Racing: RG Ultra Blue Glider or Liquid glider, RG Ultra Violet Glider or Liquid Glider, follow that with the temperature specific RG Ultra Gel, and apply the racing spray on top of that.

If my explanation has only resulted in further obfuscation and analysis-paralysis, feel free to browse our new waxes here, and shoot me an email with any questions you may have.

Happy Trails,

Jacob Huseby

JacobH@endurance-enterprises.com

Enjoywinter.com

Shameless self promotion: I've finally caught up with 2010 and made an instagram! Follow me @Jakehuseby