DPS Phantom base treatment, how to avoid waxing recreational skis - Notes 2020

[marzNC]

So you guys don't feel sticky snow at all? Hmmmm. I need to check my bases, though I'm not sure how to.

It's not that sticky snow isn't noticeable, it's that the effect is less than with skis that have traditional warm weather wax. Especially if using waxed skis for more than a couple hours without adding some sort of "quick wax," meaning a paste wax or a liquid.

I found during a May trip to Oregon that I trusted the Phantom skis would not stop suddenly if I ran across a patch of sticky snow. I would slow down, but not so much that I felt like I was about to fall in some fashion. I tried my other pair of skis for a run or two, and then headed back to the car to change skis.

The other head-to-head comparison I did was at Alta in April a year later. I skied longer during a few warm afternoons by an hour or more compared to most people staying at Alta Lodge while using the pair of skis I brought that had Phantom.

 

[TiffAlt]

It's not that sticky snow isn't noticeable, it's that the effect is less than with skis that have traditional warm weather wax. Especially if using waxed skis for more than a couple hours without adding some sort of "quick wax," meaning a paste wax or a liquid.

AH! Ok, I get it, it does feel like a spring wax after one or so runs.

I guess I was hoping for something more "miraculous" - but yea, even saying it out loud sounds silly. I mean the laws of physics still apply. It's just jarring from top to bottom of a run cause you start out re-frozen, gets soft in the middle and then the bottom of the run is just "grippy-slippy".

 

[marzNC]

After getting down to 27 degrees last night, it warmed up a lot at Alta this afternoon. Fair to say that @TNtoTaos and I probably stayed out longer than we might have without having skis that have been treated with Phantom. We lasted until about 3:00 when the temperature at the top of Collins was 42 and at the base it was 53.

 

[marzNC]

DPS is having a spring sale for Phantom. 30% off in early April.

 

[leia1979]

We ended up getting our skis done at the local shop because my husband didn’t want to wait for me to have time for DIY. I’ve only skied one day so far. They were a tad sticky at first, but it was pretty cold. They felt plenty slick as the day warmed.

The guy at the shop was like “you’re still going to have to bring them in for a wax every so often.” Considering I was waxing every two to three ski days, getting 10+ days would be great. Are people having to still wax much, if at all?

 

[BlizzardBabe]

I'm thinking of getting Phantom on a new pair of skis. I usually wax every 5-7 days of use and I'd love to extend that out. Would you get the Phantom right away or ski-off the factory prep first?

 

[diymom]

Are people having to still wax much, if at all?

I still like to wax occasionally to keep my bases from drying out and looking nice. Nothing like the look of a nice shiny base. But I also find waxing to be a bit of a zen thing. I have Phantom on my favorite skis so I can wax when I want to vs when I need to.

 

[marzNC]

The guy at the shop was like “you’re still going to have to bring them in for a wax every so often.” Considering I was waxing every two to three ski days, getting 10+ days would be great. Are people having to still wax much, if at all?

I had a pair of skis that I used in the east that had just over 100 days on them after I treated them with the first version of Phantom. Never waxed them. Before that, given the snow I was on they needed wax every 2-3 ski days if I wanted to keep them in good shape.

I've taken skis with Phantom in for a stone grind after a season or two. Have done a tune to get edges sharpened and small dings fixed up. I don't wax at home any more, and I don't bother to pay for just waxing skis at a shop.

 

[marzNC]

I'm thinking of getting Phantom on a new pair of skis. I usually wax every 5-7 days of use and I'd love to extend that out. Would you get the Phantom right away or ski-off the factory prep first?

For the all-mountain skis that I only use out west, I waited a few seasons. I only waxed them once a season (at Le Ski Mastery in Taos where I bought them from) and was skiing 20-30 days on natural snow. After that I had a stone grind done (at Powder Shack near Mnut). Took them home to NC and did the DIY Phantom treatment. Have at least 80 days on them since them. No waxing starting with the 2020-21 season.

Just finished a warm spring day at Alta with those skis. Temps in the 50s at mid-mountain by noon. Had a good time. Quit skiing about 2:30 because I was tired, not because the skis couldn't handle the snow conditions. Started skiing warm soft snow off-piste with friends after lunch time.