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START kick scotch tape?



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 15th 03, 03:02 PM
JMC
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Default START kick scotch tape?

I found a package of Start's Grip Tape at Mountain Equipment Co-Op. Read and
followed the instructions and got it on my skis in a few minutes.

There is a piece of sand paper stuck to the package, used to "abrade" your
kick zone. This sandpaper is rather agressive (looks like 80 grit). I used
it on an area about 2cm shorter in the back and 4 cm shorter in the front
from my usual grip zone. Applying the "tape" was very easy. What it is
really is a strip of wax paper backing with some kind of thin gel on it. You
apply the tape over the desired area, cut it, press down the backing, remove
it and voila, your kick zone is covered with a thin, even, red sticky coat.

I tried the "tape" at Mont Orford on Saturday. Temperature was around -10C,
hunidity was low, trails were freshly groomed with hard packed granular
covered with about 1cm of fresh snow. I went for a 20 km ride and found the
tape to work fine on flat and all type of uphills. However, glide was
slightly affected. This may be due to the thickness of the tape; I will
reduce the front of my kick zone and see if it helps. To compare, I tried
other skis with Swix blue and noticed no diffference.

Further testing under other temperatures an humidity levels will be required
to determine adherence and more kilometers will be required to see if it
picks up dirt and how this will affect performance. Right now, it seems to
me this will be a good product for recreational skiers if applied and
handled properly.

The only thing I can be positive about right now is: make sure your grip
zones don't touch each other when handling the skis. It is impossible to
separate the skis without ruining the tape... I saved the waxed backing:
back from skiing, I covered the tape right away, until my next test (which
may be tonight, in fresh ungroomed city park snow).


JMC

P.S. Conditions in Orford where just great last Saturday. They got 60cm a
week ago; it poured rain last Thursday, which reduced ground cover by half
but turned what survived into a hard packed solid base; a few centimeters
fell over that base on Friday. Everybody getting off the trails on Saturday
had a big smile up to their ears and sparkle in their eyes!

I checked their site this morning: they already received an additional 60cm
since yesterday, and it is still snowing!!!







Ads
  #2  
Old December 15th 03, 06:37 PM
revyakin
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Posts: n/a
Default START kick scotch tape?

Was that an online store? Do you have their URL?

"JMC" wrote in message . ..
I found a package of Start's Grip Tape at Mountain Equipment Co-Op. Read and
followed the instructions and got it on my skis in a few minutes.

There is a piece of sand paper stuck to the package, used to "abrade" your
kick zone. This sandpaper is rather agressive (looks like 80 grit). I used
it on an area about 2cm shorter in the back and 4 cm shorter in the front
from my usual grip zone. Applying the "tape" was very easy. What it is
really is a strip of wax paper backing with some kind of thin gel on it. You
apply the tape over the desired area, cut it, press down the backing, remove
it and voila, your kick zone is covered with a thin, even, red sticky coat.

I tried the "tape" at Mont Orford on Saturday. Temperature was around -10C,
hunidity was low, trails were freshly groomed with hard packed granular
covered with about 1cm of fresh snow. I went for a 20 km ride and found the
tape to work fine on flat and all type of uphills. However, glide was
slightly affected. This may be due to the thickness of the tape; I will
reduce the front of my kick zone and see if it helps. To compare, I tried
other skis with Swix blue and noticed no diffference.

Further testing under other temperatures an humidity levels will be required
to determine adherence and more kilometers will be required to see if it
picks up dirt and how this will affect performance. Right now, it seems to
me this will be a good product for recreational skiers if applied and
handled properly.

The only thing I can be positive about right now is: make sure your grip
zones don't touch each other when handling the skis. It is impossible to
separate the skis without ruining the tape... I saved the waxed backing:
back from skiing, I covered the tape right away, until my next test (which
may be tonight, in fresh ungroomed city park snow).


JMC

P.S. Conditions in Orford where just great last Saturday. They got 60cm a
week ago; it poured rain last Thursday, which reduced ground cover by half
but turned what survived into a hard packed solid base; a few centimeters
fell over that base on Friday. Everybody getting off the trails on Saturday
had a big smile up to their ears and sparkle in their eyes!

I checked their site this morning: they already received an additional 60cm
since yesterday, and it is still snowing!!!

  #3  
Old December 15th 03, 06:59 PM
JMC
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Posts: n/a
Default START kick scotch tape?


"revyakin" wrote in message
om...
Was that an online store? Do you have their URL?



It is brick and mortar with 8 stores across Canada; they do have an online
store, http://www.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp but I do not think all items are
listed. You may have more luck going first to
http://www.startex.fi/ENGLISH/maahan...&laji=xcountry to
find your local importer, whow you can call for store(s) near you.


JMC


  #4  
Old December 15th 03, 10:39 PM
Sylvain Fauvel
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Posts: n/a
Default START kick scotch tape?

revyakin wrote:
: Was that an online store? Do you have their URL?

: "JMC" wrote in message . ..
: I found a package of Start's Grip Tape at Mountain Equipment Co-Op. Read and
: followed the instructions and got it on my skis in a few minutes.
:
[-- snip --]

See www.mec.ca.

I did a quick check and the tape does not seem there. The web site list all
types of wax as not shippable outside Canada too so i guess you will have
to look in the US retailer.

Sylvain
  #5  
Old December 17th 03, 09:27 AM
Anders Lustig
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Default START kick scotch tape?

"JMC" wrote in message . ..


There is a piece of sand paper stuck to the package, used to "abrade" your
kick zone. This sandpaper is rather agressive (looks like 80 grit). I used
it on an area about 2cm shorter in the back and 4 cm shorter in the front
from my usual grip zone.


According to the comments of one (1) skier I talked to,
it´s better to make the grip area shorter, up to 10 cm
in the front and 5 cm in the back.


I tried the "tape" at Mont Orford on Saturday. Temperature was around -10C,
hunidity was low, trails were freshly groomed with hard packed granular
covered with about 1cm of fresh snow. I went for a 20 km ride and found the
tape to work fine on flat and all type of uphills. However, glide was
slightly affected. This may be due to the thickness of the tape; I will
reduce the front of my kick zone and see if it helps. To compare, I tried
other skis with Swix blue and noticed no diffference.


The guy had very much a similar opinion, but he commented
that above -5C both were better, "clearly equivalent with
what I´d get with my usual wax job, better than any sunday
skier would get, but obviously not on a par with what any
experienced waxer with a decent bag of stuff would".

The durability may not live quite up to the advertised
150-250 km, though - but "who ever got more than 50 km on
klister?".


Further testing under other temperatures an humidity levels will be required
to determine adherence and more kilometers will be required to see if it
picks up dirt and how this will affect performance. Right now, it seems to
me this will be a good product for recreational skiers if applied and
handled properly.


Yes, the cleaning and abrading, and pressing out any air
bubbles are essential for durability.

But if the headache of *what* wax to apply, the need to rewax
when the conditiosn change, and the messiness of klister are
now things of the past for the sunday, the recreational and
(for training purposes) the lazy cit racer, the kick tape does
seem to, basically, live up to the hype.

(The price here is €9.90.)


I checked their site this morning: they already received an additional 60cm
since yesterday, and it is still snowing!!!


You lucky *******:-)


Anders
  #6  
Old December 17th 03, 02:53 PM
JMC
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Posts: n/a
Default START kick scotch tape?


"JMC" wrote in message
...
Further testing under other temperatures an humidity levels will be

required
to determine adherence and more kilometers will be required to see if it
picks up dirt and how this will affect performance.


Monday: In a foot of loose powder, temp -7C, 77% humidity. I packed my own
tracks, about 1,000ft long, on flat terrain and made about a dozen return
trips in them. At first, I was more "snowshoeing" than skiing, so grip was
not an issue. Once the tracks were packed, I had some back slipping (may be
due, to a certain degree, to the imbalance caused by poling into that foot
of powder).



Tuesday: Same tracks as above, next day, temp -5C, 82% humidity. Grip was
perfect, even skiing without poles, but the tape picked up most of the
debris blown into the tracks . . .





So far, I would say this product is good for touring. However, it will never
replace kick-waxing experience and will not last too long in dirty tracks.



JMC




 




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