Phantom Glide™ base treatment, how to avoid waxing recreational skis - Notes 2022

[BlizzardBabe]

I think I may try it on my own with two skis this summer. I love the Phantom that the shop applied on my Blaze 94's. Time to do others in my quiver.

 

[marzNC]

And possibly the biggest question (though I have an email out to Phantom for this too), is there any problem applying it to new-new (as in not even mounted yet) skis? Any special prep for that?

No problem to apply to new skis that haven't been waxed. There are retail shops that offer Phantom treatment as part of the sale for new skis. DPS has offered Phantom treated skis for new purchases all along. If came waxed, ski them a few days first. Or until you would normally do a home wax. I didn't treat my Stormriders for a couple seasons since I only skied them on cold snow so only had them tuned and waxed once a season (20-30 days on snow per season).

I bought my Stöckli Stormrider 85s in 2017. Treated them at home in 2019 after a stone grind at a local ski shop (in VA). Have had them tuned about once a season since then, but never ask for waxing. One shop insists on waxing the skis since it's included in the tune package. Don't think the shop owner believes Phantom works. So have been waxed a few times. I've skied them over 140 days since the DIY treatment, all out west.

Had a great time skiing them in warm conditions the past week and a half at Alta. Most days I kept skiing until after 3:00, while most people didn't go back out after lunch or quit shortly after 2:00. My local shop fixed a gouge near the edge in the fall. Didn't wax them.

The skis I mostly used at my home hill in the southeast, Massanutten, had 60 days with Phantom during three seasons before I stopped using them. Skiing at Massanutten is almost all on snow from snowguns. In those conditions, it's good to wax every 2-3 ski days even though the number of hours the skis are actually on snow in pretty low because the trails are short (2-3 min runs) and the chairlift rides were slow (6-7 min) when I was using those skis.

Skis with DPS Phantom, photo taken Dec 2020
* Purple Bull Black Pearls (far right) treated Fall 2018, stone grind Jan 2020
* Stöckli Stormrider 85 (red/white logo), stone grind Feb 2020, treated before 2020-21 season
* Head Absolut Joys (shortest skis), treated Jan 2018

 

[marzNC]

I think I may try it on my own with two skis this summer. I love the Phantom that the shop applied on my Blaze 94's. Time to do others in my quiver.

The current formula is much easier to do DIY than the original or even the second version.

Heard the instructions now specify how much UV is need to cure properly. Not an issue in the southeast any time of the year. I've treated skis once at my house in NC when there was snow on the ground.

 

[Aerlind]

The current formula is much easier to do DIY than the original or even the second version.

Heard the instructions now specify how much UV is need to cure properly. Not an issue in the southeast any time of the year. I've treated skis once at my house in NC when there was snow on the ground.

The instructions I just read said at least 1 hour when the UV rating is 4 or higher. Definitely a summer task in Montana, as our winter UV is often below 4 even on a sunny day due to how far away the sun is. Meanwhile, from June-September, pick a day, it’ll be sunny with a UV rating of 9+. SPF is my best friend out here!

 

[marzNC]

Skis with DPS Phantom, photo taken Dec 2020
* Purple Bull Black Pearls (far right) treated Fall 2018, stone grind Jan 2020
* Stöckli Stormrider 85 (red/white logo), stone grind Feb 2020, treated before 2020-21 season
* Head Absolut Joys (shortest skis), treated Jan 2018

The skis on the left are the Volkl Yumis I bought used from a Diva in Nov 2022. The bases were in great shape. Had a stone grind (free as a favor) done before I did the Phantom treatment at home around Thanksgiving. Have used them four seasons, mostly in the east on manmade snow, averaging 15 days a season so about 60 days so far.

Only the AJs were treated with Version 1 that required 3 hours of sunlight. With that version, the bases looked white after treatment. So ski shop techs always thought the bases were very dry and needed waxing.

 

[marzNC]

Phantom Glide is on sale from the DPS website as of April 16, 2026. No idea how long the sale will last. The basic DIY kit is $100 instead of $130.

 

[Workevader]

I have had Phantom on my skis since it was developed. The original application I did myself in my yard on 2 pairs of skis. Now I have it applied at REI stores. I ski between 50-100 days a year. I love it but I do occasionally wax my skis on top of the Phantom.

 

[marzNC]

I have had Phantom on my skis since it was developed. The original application I did myself in my yard on 2 pairs of skis. Now I have it applied at REI stores. I ski between 50-100 days a year. I love it but I do occasionally wax my skis on top of the Phantom.

Did you get it from the original Kickstarter? What's your home region?

What kind of wax do you use over the bases treated with Phantom? Have read that in frigid weather, can be helpful. Phantom Glide is designed to be as good as a universal wax.

My Stormriders have been waxed a few times as part of a full tune. No extra cost so I don't argue with the tech who insists it needs to be done. Doesn't feel any different afterwards on mid-season cold snow in the Rockies.

 

[TNtoTaos]

I have had Phantom on my skis since it was developed. The original application I did myself in my yard on 2 pairs of skis. Now I have it applied at REI stores. I ski between 50-100 days a year. I love it but I do occasionally wax my skis on top of the Phantom.

The 30% off sale ends today at midnight MDT.

I concur with @marzNC regarding performance; also spent the wk at Alta in Spring conditions, and never felt like I needed wax. I've been using Phantom for the past 3 yrs - agree that the newest formulation is much easier to apply - it's more viscous, so doesn't run off the edges.
According to the instructions, you should remove old (or fresh) wax using a wax remover or even just dish soap, alcohol, etc., before applying, so new skis would be easy to clean off.

I've had my skis waxed both with cold and warm-weather wax (same shop as with @marzNC - I've given up arguing, LOL), but can't really tell when the wax has worn off.

 

[Aerlind]

The 30% off sale ends today at midnight MDT.

I concur with @marzNC regarding performance; also spent the wk at Alta in Spring conditions, and never felt like I needed wax. I've been using Phantom for the past 3 yrs - agree that the newest formulation is much easier to apply - it's more viscous, so doesn't run off the edges.
According to the instructions, you should remove old (or fresh) wax using a wax remover or even just dish soap, alcohol, etc., before applying, so new skis would be easy to clean off.

I've had my skis waxed both with cold and warm-weather wax (same shop as with @marzNC - I've given up arguing, LOL), but can't really tell when the wax has worn off.

Thanks for the sale intel. I took the plunge and ordered a kit for each of us....my SO HATES waxing his skis so I thought it might be a nice present for him. And of course, if I'm going to keep up, I need super-glidey skis too....

 

[TNtoTaos]

Thanks for the sale intel. I took the plunge and ordered a kit for each of us....my SO HATES waxing his skis so I thought it might be a nice present for him. And of course, if I'm going to keep up, I need super-glidey skis too....

Interestingly, they don't fell "super-glidey', like that "just waxed" feel, they just feel normal, more like the way skis feel after being skied-on after a waxing. And that feeling doesn't change as time goes on, or as conditions change.

 

[Amplify]

I got the Phantom Glide applied to my Liberty V76 and have skied two seasons on them since then and been very happy! Like @TNtoTaos , I feel like the Glide doesn't necessarily give that "these skis have just been waxed" feeling so much as it kind of levels each day out to a very reliable "these skis do not need to be waxed" feeling.

During some extremely cold weather this past season, friends complained about the snow being super grabby on their skis, and while I could feel it was "grabby snow" I did not feel remotely as affected by it as they did. To me it was just a footnote in an otherwise great day whereas for them it was irritating enough that they either paid for on-slope waxing or cut their day short. Things like that. I found the treatment least effective on its own in warm slushy spring skiing but I'm fine with that, because how much can I really expect from a single all-purpose treatment.

I understand that a lot of people will be like "it's never going to be as good as a fresh wax!" or whatever, but I'm not someone choosing between a fresh wax every time I ski, or Phantom Glide lol. You can wax your skis for specific weather conditions or whatever even with the Phantom Glide, so I like knowing that if I ever become someone who has the time and energy to put towards a thing like that, I will be totally just as free to do it as I always have been; but until then, I will have what (to me) essentially feels like a quick all-purpose machine-wax done fairly recently.