Taking Care of Your Gear

Proper care is essential to ensure the survival of your ski or snowboard. Getting into the habit of routine maintenance can maximize the life of your equipment. Over-tuning, however, can shave time off of its life and cost you unnecessarily.

If you haven’t done so yet, it’s best to start the season fresh with a full tune and for skis, a binding safety check. You may choose to have an additional mid-season tune if you ski or ride regularly or are heading out for a big trip. Cleaning up your edges to remove rust and burs and re-texturing your bases are good ways to guarantee a successful vacation. Periodic hot wax treatments throughout the season will help to keep bases from drying out. A hot wax once for every five days on the hill is enough to keep them in good condition. In addition to regular hot waxing, a special wax may be required to accommodate varying snow conditions. It’s easy to tell by looking at a ski or snowboard’s base if it needs to be waxed.
If the base appears dull and pale it’s probably in need of wax. A ski or board that needs wax will feel like it is not gliding properly; making it difficult to maneuver and feel as if it’s sticking to the snow.
Snowboards have a much greater base area than skis,
so proper waxing is essential to for the best performance. Quick liquid and paste waxes available in ski and snowboard shops, are a fast way to improve performance. These wax treatments are easy to apply and last for about one day on the slopes. Rubbing the wax from tip to tail then buffing it off with a soft rag will improve glide and provide an extra layer of protection between the hot wax treatment and the elements.
The elements on today’s mountains and roads can be quite hazardous to bindings, edges and base material. When skis and snowboards are transported on rooftop car racks, they are often exposed to some potentially damaging elements. Road grime, air pollution, and chemicals used in snowmaking can eat away at wax and base material, damage binding components and pit edges and increase their rust rate. Remember to always store your equipment in a cool, dry place and transport it in bags, even on a car rack, to protect them from salt and road dirt. Taking the time to wipe down your ski or board after each use will help.

When edges appear rusty or if conditions are particularly icy you may want to touch them up but keep in mind that repeated grinding will thin edges. While grinding a nice texture into the base will improve performance, thin bases can be easily damaged. Rock damage can easily go all the way to the core of a ski or board with an over-tuned base and repair may be difficult because there may not be enough base with which to adhere a repair patch.

At the end of the season it is important to ‘summer-ize’ your equipment. At Willi’s, this service includes a full tune up with hot wax, which is an edge and base grind and a final treatment of wax that covers the entire base and the edges. Unlike during the season, the wax is not scraped off, but instead is left on throughout the summer to protect the base from drying out and the edges from rusting. While this can be done at any time during the summer sooner is better than later as rust can build up, requiring extensive grinding to get a good clean edge. It’s harder to bring back the life of the ski or board if it has been sitting collecting rust while the bases are drying out. In addition to protecting your equipment summer-izing will make getting on the slopes faster and easier next season. In the fall the wax is cleaned off the edges and buffed into the base. With a simple binding safety check you are ready for the slopes. It’s important to find the balance that ensures top performance while maintaining the life of your equipment