Please do look at SkiEssentials. I was looking very quickly while waiting around at the airport. I would expect them to be able to add Phantom to any pair of skis even if the webpage for a particular model doesn't have it as an option.When I am in the market for my next intermediate skis, if SkiEssentials has what I want, they will have the choice of putting Phantom on my skis or having me go somewhere else to purchase skis.
For me, it isn't the time involved with waxing and tuning, but the effort. I'm just not interested in buying more stuff that has to take up space in the house or paying enough attention to learn all the skills needed. I used to wax my skis a few times a season but also paid to have tunes done while at a ski area/resort. Never wanted to deal with sharpening edges. Not part of my personality. The fact that my husband is a non-skier and that we live in the flatlands and I fly to ski big mountains are other factors.If someone already had the bench, the vise, the iron, the guides, the stones, etc., the wax cost is negligible. The time is the big savings. But if you're still doing edge maintenance, and have the rotobrushes, etc., even that savings is not much. The only attractive part of this to me is the ability to leave the iron, wax, brushes, home if I travel. Now that has value.
Has anyone used this in -4°F weather?
In the Feb 2018 review in Blister Gear, there are comments about skiing Phantom in frigid weather, meaning single digits. Sounds like it worked pretty well.Has anyone used this in -4°F weather?
As long as the air temperature is over 50 degrees, applying Version 2.0 is pretty straightforward. Only needs an hour of good sunlight for each cure (A & B).At the end of the season I intend to have the same shop grind to structure and apply phantom 2.0 myself, if DC metro still does not have a cure station within driving distance.
Has anyone used this in -4°F weather?
The suggestion I got from a DPS rep is that for frigid temps, can always add the appropriate cold weather wax to Phantom-treated bases. The idea is that Phantom provides performance that is equivalent to general purpose wax. So when CH3/4 is the appropriate wax then waxed skis will do better than Phantom. Same principle as for people who race. Waxing is better than just Phantom, but having treated bases can enhance the performance as the wax wears off.He's comparing it to CH 6, which to me would be what I use in warm weather. I've currently got CH3 and 4 on the skis, because nighttime is in the negative 20's and it doesn't warm up all that fast. I think air temps in the sun today were -12f. So I'm assuming shaded North side snow is still lingering a bunch colder. I'm gliding fine. Others are poling.
@sibhusky : the additional info from the DPS rep after consulting with the Phantom team is that "What we've found is that people who apply cold weather wax to their Phantom prepped skis are finding that their wax is staying on longer due to the structural change made to the base."The suggestion I got from a DPS rep is that for frigid temps, can always add the appropriate cold weather wax to Phantom-treated bases. The idea is that Phantom provides performance that is equivalent to general purpose wax. So when CH3/4 is the appropriate wax then waxed skis will do better than Phantom. Same principle as for people who race. Waxing is better than just Phantom, but having treated bases can enhance the performance as the wax wears off.
I would think the answer is "no." It's the UV that's necessary and it has to be above a certain strength. One reason the Cure Stations were created was that DPS learned the hard way with Phantom 1.0 in Jan-Apr 2018 is that people who live in the PacNW cannot get a good cure outdoors during the winter even on sunny days that aren't that cold. The sun just isn't strong enough that far north.Would indoors under a skylight work for curing? Just wondering out loud if it definitely has to be outside if someone does it DIY.
At least for people who don't live in the south. I treated my AJs in January 2018 in central NC right after Version 1.0 shipped. Version 2.0 shipped in Fall 2018 so there were certainly people in places farther north who could apply the treatment themselves before it got too cold or the sun was too weak.Ok so the curing stations and treatment is absolutely needed.
Had a chance to test Phantom 2.0 with warm spring conditions at Wachusett (near Boston) yesterday. Used my AJs in the morning when temps were in the low 40s. Worked as well as ever as expected. I treated them in Jan 2018 (Phantom 1.0). After lunchtime I took out the Floskis I treated last fall. They are wider and designed for soft snow. They work much better in the softened snow that's been pushed around all morning so that there are clumps and many places are essentially ungroomed. Temps were in the high 40s at the summit by 11:30 and slushy at the base in places. I had a good time at slow speeds on the flats and a higher speeds on the blue/black trails.
I think I'm going to take my old BPs to Alta in April since I also treated them in the fall.