Ski care question

[surfsnowgirl]

Two questions:

1) do you divas wax and sharpen your own skis or take them somewhere? Just wondering because I know many have many, many pairs of skis. Do you get them all sharpened and waxed up at the beginning of the season by your own doing or a ski shop or do you get them ready one by one as you need them? I have 2 pairs right now and will have 3 by the time next season starts so I was curious what others do.

2) what does everyone do on the off season for caring for their skis; summer wax, and I thought I read some folks do something to their bindings. Just dropped the skis off at our climate controlled storage unit today and want to care for them in the best way possible so wondering what everyone does.

 

[snow addict]

I do nothing, just drop them in my basement until next season, doesn't seem to do much harm. Never service them all at once, so when season starts at least one pair out of 4 should be ok to ski on, at least for a day. I service them in a shop in the resort, whenever they need service (probably not as often as I should but doesn't seem to be a problem). I don't have enough work space to do it myself and not enough time and hate ironing (my cleaning lady does all my ironing at home) so don't even wax, never had problems with a shop tune anyway so it works for me well enough with minimal hassle.

 

[Jilly]

There was a time when you were advised to back off the settings on your bindings, but not anymore.

I take all my skis to the shop at the start of the season, but because I help out, I don't pay. I put all the skis in a rack we made in the ceiling of the garage. They lay flat that way and not on the concrete. I don't even do storage wax. But I do wash up all the clothes and even my boot liners. The liners I just toss in the laundry sink and as I do a load they get washed. Give em a good rinse and leave them in the sunshine on the patio to dry. The back into the shells and all buckles done up. They and the clothes get to stay in an extra closet.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

I do my own waxing, but have a shop do the edges. I don't have my edges done all that often--probably less often than many skiing the east coast. I don't take them all to the shop at the same time--mostly just when I feel like they need it. I do tend to wax every 2-3 ski days though. I enjoy doing it myself, as it gives me the chance to inspect the bases for damage and feel the edges all along the length of the ski to see if I feel I need to take them in for work.
For storage, I just put on a coating of wax on the base and edges and then scrape it off in the fall a few days prior to skiing.

 

[sibhusky]

1). I do my own sharpening and waxing. Don't do base repairs, but then haven't needed any. Most of the season my skis are in the locker, but I TRY to bring a pair home when it's got 60,000 vertical feet. Since I also try to do tuning on "off" days, it could be longer or shorter. If they look bad and I decide it's not just wax coming off, then they'll get done that night. My goal these days is never to have a shop touch them. Even with absolutely explicit instructions, they seem to come back a mess. And I keep changing where it's done. Still two shops in the untried category, but the goal is to do it all myself.

2). I used to do the storage wax thing, but since I do extensive pre-season waxing, and the place they are is dry, it really doesn't buy me anything.

 

[altagirl]

We generally do ours ourselves unless it's a newer ski with serious damage or a friend at a shop can run it through the machine for free...

Otherwise, we have roughly 15 pairs in the garage - WAY too much money to be paying for maintenance elsewhere.

 

[pinto]

I wax, but leave edge work to the pros. Maybe one day I'll figure it out, but not yet. Have never used storage wax, just put everything in the dedicated basement closet!

 

[volklgirl]

Skiing 4-6 days a week, and with 20+ pairs of skis in the shed and others from friends and family, I have to be really efficient to get them all done. I do all my own edging, waxing, and base repair.

• At the end of each season, I do 2-3 prs a night: check and touch up the edges, do any base repairs needed, and hot wax, which I leave on for the summer.
  
• At the end of summer, about 2-3 weeks before the lifts start running, I fully scrape and brush all the skis in our usual rotation, and do a quick scrape on everything else.
• All skis get stored horizontally using bike hooks.
• After each ski day, I dry the day's skis thoroughly, check and touch up the edges if needed, and look for base burn. I usually wax every 3 ski days, or so (except for my race skis which get done every race night).

With this schedule, I rarely have to wax more than 2 pairs of skis in any given night, and edge work may happen once a week or so.

Waxing is messy, but so very, very, very easy! Drying, waxing, and the regular use of a gummi stone are the easiest things you can do to keep your boards in fantastic condition.

For boots, removing grime from the soles every day and drying the liners out immediately after each use will keep them from getting totally worn and gross - boot driers, removing the liners overnight, Hot Gear bag, whatever, just get it done! Once the liners are dry and back in the shells (if you had to remove them), buckle everything back up so the plastic keeps its shape.

 

[SkiGAP]

But I do wash up all the clothes and even my boot liners. The liners I just toss in the laundry sink and as I do a load they get washed. Give em a good rinse and leave them in the sunshine on the patio to dry. The back into the shells and all buckles done up. They and the clothes get to stay in an extra closet.

Never thought about washing my liners. I'll try that.

I put a coat of wax on for the summer. Haven't done it yet...

 

[ski diva]

I just put up a blog post about taking care of your gear at the end of the season. If you're interested, go here.

 

[Jilly]

SkiGAP - remember to take out any electronics - heated foot beds/boot heaters are not going to like water!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I wax, but leave edge work to the pros. Maybe one day I'll figure it out, but not yet. Have never used storage wax, just put everything in the dedicated basement closet!

Same here, except for not having a dedicated storage closet!

 

[SkiGAP]

If I only had electric footbeds :-)

 

[PowderNomad]

I wax skis myself, but also leave edge work to the pros (or to other experienced ski bums who accept beer as payment). I do put storage wax on my skis whenever they won't be used for a few months. I wax my skis a lot less than I should in the dead of winter and only tend to wax them when I notice they are grabby as temperatures warm up.

 

[Divegirl]

I don't wax or sharpen my skis. I take them in the fall and have them waxed and sharpened and then again in mid-February when NE has their school vacation and in late March if the snow is going hold into April. If I get some sort of scratch or gouge or notice they are scuffed and/or sticking I may bring them in again.

For the summer - I wipe the skis down w/ a damp towel and let them air dry. I then lay them across a a "U" shaped stair railing in my storage area over the garage. I flip them periodically so the weight isn't always on the bases. My boots are wiped down, aired out, sprayed w/ Febreeze and buckled up for the summer.

 

[SkiGAP]

The tail of on of my Kikus has a problem, the topsheet has separated from the base - I am certain due to some trauma from a fall or some such thing. I definitely won't do that myself.

 

[mustski]

I am terrible. I need to put the summer wax on but I am coast side - with all our favorite skis - following separate end of the season trips to Mammoth. It will happen ... it just may not happen in a timely manner. Edges I leave to the pros; I lack the confidence to give that a go. Waxing is easy-peasy.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Does summer wax really help? Really? I've never used it, and I've never lost (or entered) a race =P

I do wax every 3-4 days I use my skis, or if it's been a month or more since the last wax. If the snow is super slushy, I might wax more frequently (like every weekend) or use a rub-on in the morning.

 

[MissySki]

Does summer wax really help? Really? I've never used it, and I've never lost (or entered) a race =P

I do wax every 3-4 days I use my skis, or if it's been a month or more since the last wax. If the snow is super slushy, I might wax more frequently (like every weekend) or use a rub-on in the morning.

I do summer wax, but I'm in quite a humid summer climate so that's what I'm trying to protect against.. You are in such a dry climate comparatively, that I wonder if it matters as much?

 

[surfsnowgirl]

All the skis are in a climate controlled storage unit for the summer so they will be in temperature happiness. Febreeze in the boots; what a great idea. I would love to wax my skis but we lack any kind of space at home and don't have a garage. I used to wax my snowboard myself all the time and enjoyed it very much, it was like additional bonding time with my equipment. Not sure where we'd wax now.