So you got new skis for Christmas: Now what?
While new skis are ready to be enjoyed right out of the box, a helping of TLC will make them race ready. Here is how to make sure you get the most out of your new equipment.
Start by cleaning the skis well as even brand-new skis can be dirty from transportation and from sitting at the retailer.
For skate skis
- Wipe the bases with glide wax cleaner
- Polish the bases with fibertex and brush with a soft metal brush
- Heat in a couple of layers of fairly soft glide wax
- Let cool and then reheat the glide wax again
- Let cool again, then scrape with a sharp plastic scraper and brush well
- Heat in a layer of somewhat harder glide wax. Heat in twice as described above, then scrape and brush thoroughly.
For classic skis
- Use a base cleaner for the kick zone and a glide wax cleaner on the glide zones
- Sand the kick zone with sand paper
- Heat in a layer of base kick wax
- Then go to where you plan to ski, and add the kick wax of the day outside, on site.