• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

Use this instead of ski wax

dblskifanatic

Active member
Joined
May 24, 2019
Messages
767
Points
43
It gets good reviews and seems to hold up in different temps!


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone
 

elks

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
254
Points
18
Location
New England
As I recall, I believe you can use regular wax over this for special snow conditions. Don’t quote me in this though...


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone
 

BenedictGomez

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Messages
12,127
Points
113
Location
Wasatch Back
This intrigues me, but what about removing dirt & grime, would a hot wax still remove that stuff?

More importantly, what if I get a core shot, is it still an easy fix or would Phantom render my skis useless?
 

RISkier

Active member
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Messages
1,062
Points
38
Location
Rhode Island
The thread on Pugski is over 30 pages. I've read a fair bit, though not even half. I was interested in the product. My take away points from reading that: 1) It seems to work about as well as a normal, not temperature specific, wax. 2) Works best if used on a new ski or after a fresh grind. The base has to be really clean. Most of the negative posts seemed to be from folks not following this recommendation or not seeming to follow the application procedures fully. If user applied, it takes a lot of direct sun to get it to cure properly. If applied professionally on new skis or after a fresh grind, most posts were pretty positive. 3) You can apply wax over it. Some posts suggest the wax doesn't last as long, but there seems to be not problem using wax. 4) It is supposed to penetrate the base and will even last through a grind. I didn't see posts that endorsed or refuted that claim. 5) Skis seem to feel a little sticky when going very slowly, standing in lift lines, etc. This seems to be more true shortly after it's been applied. 6) If you like waxing your skis, use temperature specific waxes, etc., it's probably not for you. 7) If you're like me and don't wax your skies nearly as often they should be waxed, it would seem to have considerably more merit. If I bought new skis I'd probably give it a try. Not cheap, but I don't wax often enough and professional wax jobs are not that cheap. Anyone interested should go read the thread on Pugski.
 

BenedictGomez

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Messages
12,127
Points
113
Location
Wasatch Back
I'm most interested in seeing posts from people who've used it on the same pair for skis for 3 seasons and after a ton of days on snow. Most of the, "it really works!" posts I've seen have come from short-term or one-season users, whereas I want to see long-term data.

I think I'll thousands of other people be guinea pigs first, but frankly if this stuff really works it's likely going to become industry standard for recreational skis within a decade anyway.
 

abc

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
5,808
Points
113
Location
Lower Hudson Valley
My skis tend to get their wax job randomly: when I ski over some "stuff", (i.e. rocks!) which is surprisingly frequent :oops:

In between rock encounters, my skis glide reasonably well. So I may not have gotten them waxed as often as I "should", I could barely tell the difference.

So a longer lasting wax is kind of low on the priority for how I use my skis.
 
Last edited:

BenedictGomez

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Messages
12,127
Points
113
Location
Wasatch Back
Not very often. With modern skis you really don’t need to.

I dont have anything but modern skis, and I definitely need to wax my skis or I feel a definite drop-off in performance.

You may not technically "need to" while still participating in the sport of alpine skiing, but if you want your skis to handle the best, they need occasional waxing.
 

VTKilarney

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,552
Points
63
Location
VT NEK
I keep up with m buddies just fine. We’ve tested it numerous times. Modern ski bases are hydrophobic just like wax, so wax isn’t needed.
 

skiur

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
1,573
Points
113
I rarely wax my skis, only time I may is in late spring when it gets real slow on the flats.
 

drjeff

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
19,183
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn, CT
3 snow surface conditions where wax 100% helps.

1) Fresh, ungroomed, base building type man made snow
2) REALLY cold, dry snow (like air temps below 0 cold)
3) Wet spring type snow

General mid winter day to day groomed snow, or mid winter soft pack/powder, the average skier won't notice a difference

Now since for many, when wax gets applied to their skis, there's very often a concurrent tune, that's going to have a benefit for the vast majority of folks over a large range of snow/weather conditions. Not too many folks sharpen edges without waxing, and not too many folks wax without sharpening in my experience.

From someone who's been tuning skis for 30+ years, the tuning equipment that's available today at a reasonable cost makes the process of putting a fresh edge and a fresh coat of wax on for all but the highest level racers, a quick, simple task. Honestly these days, if I'm only doing 1 pair of skis, the "longest" part of the tuning process for me is waiting the 5 minutes or so it takes for the wax to adequately cool enough before scraping and brushing
 

abc

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
5,808
Points
113
Location
Lower Hudson Valley
What about the "protective" aspect of the wax?

I understand the base is much harder than the wax. But like motorcyclists wearing leather and cyclist wearing lycra, the fragile layer still help absorb a fair amount of the abrasion when/if they end up sliding on the ground. Without wax, wouldn't the base got a lot more wear and tear on day-to-day use?
 

tekweezle

New member
Joined
Feb 8, 2005
Messages
700
Points
0
You should wax your skis periodically. Foolishly, I skied on dry bases on hard granular spring "sugar" snow. Just too lazy to wax, try going to go an extra day. By the end of the day, noticed wet plex hairs getting raised up off the bases.
 
Top