new ski help needed

Hi Folks-

I am just getting back into XC skiing after a long time absent from
the sport. I live near the Seacoast of New Hampshire and plan to take
as many trips locally and north to the mountains this year as
possible.

My question revolves around caring for my new skis bases.

I just purchased a set of Fischer Superlight Crown waxless skis. I
want to make sure that the bases are prepped properly before I ski on
them.

The vendor I bought the skis from sold me some Zardoz Nowax and told
me to apply it to the entire ski before going out the first time. As I
am not racing or competing he thought this was the best advise for me.
I asked him about waxing, either hot or rub-on and he told me the
Nowax would last longer and be just as good as anything else.

My intuition tells me differently, but who knows, maybe technology has
really changed in the past 10 years.

My question to the group is; can this Nowax possibly be enough to keep
my skis gliding and "healthy"?

Any practical advise is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

-Nick T

(sorry for the return email address, but I'm not sure how to protect
myself from the spammers)

Nick T wrote:


The vendor I bought the skis from sold me some Zardoz Nowax and told
me to apply it to the entire ski before going out the first time....

My question to the group is; can this Nowax possibly be enough to keep
my skis gliding and "healthy"?


Nick,

I did a Nordic group search for "not wax" and found several entries
about Zardoz Not Wax abstracted as follows:

Scott Grimshaw (post Feb 4, 1997): "Not wax is actually DuPont
Krytox, fluorine based oil (says so right on the Not Wax label)...."

Ralph Thornton (post Feb 4, 1997): "We tested Not-Wax at Eagle
River Nordic last winter. We found that it provides adequate glide in
warmer temperatures especially those over 20F. The glide it not as good
as a well waxed ski but good enough in the warmer ranges....."

Bruce Freeburger (post Feb 27, 2001): "Zardoz Not Wax is a
liquid flouropolymer that will give you the fastest, longest lasting
glide for the little amount of work required...."

Sounds like Not Wax would be adequate for casual skiing. That said the
ritual of hot waxing seems to be part of the Zen of skiing.

Noel Charonnat, former owner of Sierra Nordic, has a comprehensive
"Tech Tip" on waxing no-wax skis:
http://www.fwpages.com/home/index.ph..._selection=736

I bought a tube of the Toko Dibloc Paste wax from Noel 4 years ago and
am still using the same tube (down to the last third) for my touring
skis. It works. I have also used the Toko Dibloc for the glide zone
of my waxable touring skis on multi-day tours with no access to a wax
room and iron.

Edgar

Nick T wrote:

Cant help with the Zardoz product, but your memory serves you right. Nowax doesnt mean no wax.
You need a glide product over the full ski, including the 'fishscale' section.

Nick T wrote:
Hi Folks-

I am just getting back into XC skiing after a long time absent from
the sport. I live near the Seacoast of New Hampshire and plan to take
as many trips locally and north to the mountains this year as
possible.

My question revolves around caring for my new skis bases.

I just purchased a set of Fischer Superlight Crown waxless skis. I
want to make sure that the bases are prepped properly before I ski on
them.

The vendor I bought the skis from sold me some Zardoz Nowax and told
me to apply it to the entire ski before going out the first time. As I
am not racing or competing he thought this was the best advise for me.
I asked him about waxing, either hot or rub-on and he told me the
Nowax would last longer and be just as good as anything else.

My intuition tells me differently, but who knows, maybe technology has
really changed in the past 10 years.

My question to the group is; can this Nowax possibly be enough to keep
my skis gliding and "healthy"?

Any practical advise is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

-Nick T

(sorry for the return email address, but I'm not sure how to protect
myself from the spammers)
Welcome back to the true faith!
I like Notwax and find it does a nice job. I also try to use a glide wax
that is around the right temperature (warm/medium/cold) that I hot wax
in, and use hot wax scraping as a good way to clean the bases (and hot
wax makes a great summer preservative coating!).
No matter what wax I got in the base (I say in, because the base is
porous and absorbs wax), I always wipe Notwax on top of everything.
One very important purpose of wax is to prevent icing and the sticking
of ice and snow to the ski and esp the fishscales, which pick up things
easily in wettish conditions.
gr

Hi Guys-

Thank you so much for the opinions and sharing your experience with
me.

A good deal of my confusion comes from all the information that is now
available on the web and in books on the waxing process. It is
especially hard to tell what techniques are best suited for racers and
which ones would be suitable for recreational and fitness skiers like
myself.

For instance; should I buy some real soft wax and iron and hot scrape
it into my brand new skis as a way of preparing them for first use or
should I just coat them with NOTwax and be done with it?

My intuition tells me a middle road might be best between the all-out
racers rituals and just coating with NOTwax.

But where is the middle ground, how far should I go?

Originally Posted by Nick T

Hi Guys-

Thank you so much for the opinions and sharing your experience with
me.

A good deal of my confusion comes from all the information that is now
available on the web and in books on the waxing process. It is
especially hard to tell what techniques are best suited for racers and
which ones would be suitable for recreational and fitness skiers like
myself.

For instance; should I buy some real soft wax and iron and hot scrape
it into my brand new skis as a way of preparing them for first use or
should I just coat them with NOTwax and be done with it?

My intuition tells me a middle road might be best between the all-out
racers rituals and just coating with NOTwax.

But where is the middle ground, how far should I go?

If you are already somewhat familiar with hot waxing a ski, I would suggest following that route (it's probably your safest option for the skis) for the tips and tails. Since the skis are new, I would suggest starting with several applications of a soft base prep wax and then follow up either with a universal glide wax or a standard glide wax for the temperature range you will most likely spend most of your time skiing in. Waxless skis tend to be a little slow anyway, so having the absolute right wax for the temperature is not as important as with waxable or skate skis.
I have several pairs of waxless skis and I hotwax the tips and tails once or twice a season (I don't use them as much as my waxable skis) and then use either Notwax or one of the liquid glide waxes on the grip pattern. I have been doing this to my skis for about 10 years and it seems to be working since the bases on my skis are still in good shape. Unlike what happened to my first pair of waxless skis many years ago that I never waxed and subsequently watched the bases deteriorate over a couple of years.
By the way, the superlight waxless are a real nice ski. If your shop sized them correctly for you, you should really enjoy them.