skis | Green Ice Wax

Preparing for the Off-season

It’s that time of the year. We have changed our clocks and spring has begun. Mountain road bikes replace skis and snowboards. But before putting your equipment in the garage for the summer, remember properly stowing your equipment will make for a much easier transition come fall. The base is made of a plastic, which dries out over time. The steel edges will rust and pit, and the bindings can “gum up” and stick. In order to preserve your equipment’s integrity, it is recommended that you prepare your investments in the off season. We have put together five simple steps to protect your skis/board in the off season.

1. Wax the ski or board with a soft hydrocarbon wax. Be sure to cover the entire surface of the base. A soft iron-on wax like our GI HC warm or rub –on like our GI FE are of the best choices. Let the wax cool without scraping. Leaving a coat this coat of wax on the base for the summer will hold moisture in the plastic and keep the base from drying out.

2. Cover the edges with wax. If you used enough wax in step one the base, the edge will already have a decent amount of wax on it. To cover the remainder of the edge, rub the wax bar along the side edge. Be sure the wax is adhering to the steel. This will prevent oxygen from oxidizing with the steel edge, forming rust. If the edge rusts, the rust can begin to penetrate further into the steel. At this point, tuning and filing will not remove the rust causing a burr to remain on the edge.

3. Put the skis together using ski straps. If you do not have straps, a soft cloth wrapped with tape will suffice. This will keep the bases from rubbing against each other.

4. Cover the bindings. If you are looking to go the eco-friendly route (and we hope you do), find some used paper or plastic shopping bags to cover the bindings. Fix the bags to the skis with some tape. If you do not have any bags, plastic wrap from a local grocery store will suffice.

5. Store your equipment in a dry, clean area until next season.

Rocker Skis and Boards

As early as 2003, rocker skis and boards were introduced to the ski world. However, this technology is nothing new, as water skis and wake boards have taken advantage of the rocker design for many years. Recently, these skis/boards became increasingly popular. Now what is it that makes a rocker design and why is it effective?

1. Camber

First we must look at the traditional shapes available. Since the parabolic shape has become the standard, consider this ski/board as our basis. To describe rocker, a concept of camber must be understood. The traditional ski has a camber. While laying a ski/board riding side down on a flat surface, it can be seen that the center (under the binding) does not touch the underlying surface. Once pushed downward, the flex allows the board to touch. This upward curvature is called camber. It is the camber, in conjunction with the parabolic shape, which allows the rider to carve turns once on edge.

2. Rocker

The newer design for skis/boards is rocker or reverse camber. Now if we do the same thing as with our traditional ski/boards and lay a rocker flat on the surface, the board will touch the underlying surface in the center. The ski/board will flare up at the tip and/or tail. Ski manufactures have produced many variations of rocker skis. The degree of rocker can be from extreme to moderate.

All skis including camber and rocker produce a rocker shape when pressure is applied while turning on edge. A traditional camber board puts more pressure on the tip and tail in the curve as it must flex in order to turn. A rocker ski/board requires less energy to initiate a turn. With the shape of the ski already in a “flexed” position, the ski engages more quickly and effortlessly.

By combining these technologies, manufactures have produced skis and boards that fit all types of terrain and riders abilities.

Green Ice Wax

Environmentally Friendly Ski and Snowboard Waxes

Tag Archives: skis

Preparing for the Off-season

Rocker Skis and Boards