Here at Rhythm Snow Sports Cooma we like to use mixture of different waxes from Swix, Star, Beaver and a great all temp from Bentley Sport. Thom Beatson from The Snowboard Workshop Queenstown and workshop manager at Rhythm Niseko recommends an all temp prep wax followed by two coats of your preferred quality wax. But how much difference can wax make on your equipment? Let’s start with an all temp. This means it’s a base model wax that is suitable at all temperatures. This refers to snow temperature not air temperature. Snow temperature will often be quite different to air temperature. Here in Australia don’t really need very cold waxes because our snow never gets the really low, extended freezes of the Northern Hemisphere. An all temp or all conditions wax will work fine. If, however, you want to go faster for longer and glide on your traverses or cat tracks, you will need to start looking into wax options. Very simply put the more you spend the faster the wax. Most wax has a paraffin base and then this is blended with other chemicals to aid adherence, shine and water repulsion. A step up from that is a wax high in hydro carbons. This has a higher melting point and is resilient and fast. Next up is wax fortified with fluorine. This is a very hydrophobic chemical and as snow is water this produces a very fast surface. These fluorine waxes can be expensive so make sure if you try to wax your gear yourself get good advice and follow the manufacturer’s directions, or, come in store and let us wax for you. The perfect wax for new gear is our environmentally friendly Future waxer. This method of waxing uses heat lamps to warm the base. For years people have been using irons, like the clothes iron at home and these can be smoky and noxious. With an iron on application the wax is dripped on and produces lots of waste wax that is thrown away. The Future method only requires a brush after heating. A great first wax will last longer and help gear take wax in the future. Some people wax every day and this is the way to have your equipment sliding at its best but every 3 to 5 days is usually a good time frame. Remember, maintaining your gear is all about waxing! For tips on your Snow Sport equipment stay in touch with us: facebook/rhythmsnowsports instagram: @rhythmsnowsports twitter: @rhythmsnowsport

Posted by Emily Dorahy on August 21, 2015