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Can you wax waxless cross country skis?

7 min read

Asked by: Lori Johnson

Yes. For recreational cross-country skiing, universal liquid and paste waxes are fine for waxing your waxless cross-country skis. These types of waxes are convenient because they don’t require a hot iron, scraping tool, or brushes with which to apply.

How do you keep waxless skis from sticking?

Concerning waxless skis, which have glide zones just like waxable skis, you should apply a coat of liquid glide wax from tip to tail, right over the scales, before every outing. Just like airing up your tires before a bike ride, a quick coat of wax will allow you to move forward with less effort.

Can you hot wax waxless skis?

The procedure for hot waxing tips and tails of waxless skis is the same as waxing skate or classical skis. After skiing, take a few minutes to clean your bases. It is a good idea to spray the base, especially the kick zone, with wax remover and wipe it clean with a base cleaning paper or paper towel.

How do you clean waxless cross-country skis?

Give the skis just a quick brush with a somewhat coarse ground brush.

Do waxless skis wear out?

Furthermore, the skin strip improves the glide comparing to scale pattern and can be used for any snow or weather condition. The strips are not as durable as scale patterns but still should last for hours of skiing. The exact time till they wear off depends on the trails you ski on.

Can I use silicone spray on cross-country skis?

Sticky snow can confound a fun cross country ski outing when it clings to the bottoms of skis and slows their glide. A little wax and some silicone spray can help ease skis and skiers along.

What kind of wax do you use for cross-country skis?

There are two types of ski waxes, and they fulfill similar, but slightly different functions, for both classic and skating cross-country skis. Glide wax is the wax you will encounter more frequently. All cross-country skis require glide wax. Glide wax is applied to the entire base of skate style skis.

How often apply glide wax to waxless skis?

You might get 10k out of these kinds of waxes, so apply them at the start of every ski day, and maybe again after lunch depending on your mileage. They are easy – slap them on, buff them up a bit, and off you go.

How do you prepare waxless skis?

How Do I Wax My Waxless Cross-Country Skis?

  1. Brush the bases free from debris and old wax with a steel or bronze brush. …
  2. Apply new glide wax using a hot iron for the temperature and conditions of snow in which you’ll be skiing. …
  3. Scrape the new wax from the base using a plastic scraper.

Why are my cross country skis so slippery?

If you’re slipping, the wax is too hard. Scrape it off with a plastic scraper and apply a softer wax. If you’re gripping too much and snow is building up on the bottom of your ski, scrape off the soft wax and apply a harder wax.

Are waxless cross-country skis any good?

Both waxable and “waxless” bases require a glide wax on the sliding sections of the base to glide properly along the snow. Waxless bases are great for: Skiers at all levels that don’t want to worry about day-to-day waxing conditions.

What is better wax or waxless cross-country skis?

In general, people who are serious about cross-country skiing use waxable classic skis. That’s because kick wax almost always gives superior performance over the various materials used on waxless skis. The superior performance comes from the fact kick waxes are infinitely adjustable.

Do Olympic cross-country skiers use waxless skis?

At Olympic-level competition, Hubinger estimated that the skis were good for about 180 miles of racing. The skis are not entirely waxless. Like any ski used for classic, waxes and powders to improve glide are applied using an iron to the tips and tails of the skis.

How do you tell if cross-country skis are Waxless?

The difference between wax and waxless classic cross-country skis is in the kick zone. The kick zone of a waxless ski contains a built-in structure that makes kick wax redundant. Traditional models have what could be described as a fish-scale pattern etched into the base.

How often wax XC skis?

If you ever see the bases of your skis looking slightly white the base has oxidised, and no amount of waxing can return it. To prevent that, make sure you wax your skis at least every 4-5 times you ski.

How do you know if your skis need wax?

Discoloration on the base of skis is common when the layer on wax on then has diminished or has been removed. This is one of the clearest signs that your skis are in need of re-waxing. This often can give a chalky white appearance on the base of skis. This chalky white appearance is most noticeable on black skis.

What happens if I don’t wax my skis?

Over time, without wax, the base of a ski or board will start to dry out and whiten, almost like the black is fading. As it continues to dry, it shrinks. In extreme cases, the base can shrink away from your edges, making them prone to blowing out of the ski on a rock or hard ice.

What is glide wax for cross-country skis?

The glide zones are the smooth sections of your ski (except for the middle third of the ski if you have a waxable ski). Glide wax, whether applied with a hot iron or in liquid form, protects and hydrates your ski bases. Think of it like lotion on dry skin.

Can you wax skis yourself?

It's best to use a specifically designed waxing iron because the iron you use at home could burn the wax or your base place your skis on your ski vise.

Does spray on ski wax work?

5.0 out of 5 starsThe best spray on wax! This spray-on wax is the best when you have a good base coat wax. I sprayed from head to toe lightly and it came out perfect. I put on approximately for light coats and it still went very far and hard even put a dent in the bottle.

How do you wax XC skis?

Afterwards so right now i'm just going to even out the wax a bit until it's a smooth even coat the ski has a porous base. So we're going to hot wax everything into all the little holes.

Does rub on ski wax work?

Don’t use rub on wax. It’s a waste of money and you’ll be lucky if the wax lasts more than a few runs. Rub on wax is designed as a temporary solution and it comes off after 2-3 runs leaving you just as slow as before you rubbed on the wax. On the whole, rub on wax just isn’t worth the effort.

What kind of ski wax should I use?

For recreational skiers and boarders, a basic hydrocarbon wax is usually suitable. For a step up in glide, go with a low-fluorocarbon wax. Racers often use expensive high-fluorocarbon waxes for the greatest glide.

Do you need to scrape off rub-on wax?

Whatever hot wax you are using you should always scrape off a maximum amount of wax after applying, and dispose of it correctly – don’t scrape on the hill! There are a lot more eco friendly rub-on waxes out there. And because you apply less of it to your base than a hot wax, less of it gets rubbed off into the snow.

How long should wax sit on skis?

Let the skis sit until the wax is cool, usually 30 minutes or more but the longer you leave them, the more the wax will soak into the base and fill all those grooves.

Can you wax skis too often?

There is no such thing as waxing your skis too much. Wax makes your skis hydrophobic, afraid of water basically… The more hydrophobic your skis are the faster they will be, it also makes them a lot easier to turn.

Can you leave too much wax on skis?

If you think you’re wasting time scraping, you should just skip the waxing part too. Your skis don’t automatically become faster/safer/better maintained by you just melting some wax on there. The whole point of waxing is to refresh the base of the ski. Melting the wax into the pores of the base is only the first part.