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Waxless
Skis
Probably the biggest misconception about cross country skis is
that there is a "waxless" cross country ski. This misconception has
left many people frustrated with their equipment and not wanting to continue on.
The idea of the "waxless ski" refers to not needing to apply kick wax
to classical skis. The classical ski can be divided into 3 distinct parts; tip,
kick area and the tail. The tip and tail of the ski is primarily used for gliding.
Where as the kick area is used for propelling you forward. Previously, the kick
are was a smooth surface and different types of waxes were applied to this area
to grab onto the snow. With the introduction of fish scales, it eliminated the
need to apply kick wax.
Even though you do not need to apply kick wax anymore,
you still need to apply a wax to the base of the ski to
prevent snow from sticking. The base of the ski is made
from a porous plastic, Ptex; without having wax applied
snow will melt and freeze to the base of the ski. Wax acts
as a lubricant and filling agent to allow you to glide effortlessly
over the snow. At the Bikeway Source, we reccomend that
you use Swix Easy Glide or Swix F4 on the base of your waxless
skis for day to day use. If you have never applied wax to
your skis before, we would reccomend that they get a cleaning
to removed all the dirt that has accumulated in your base
from previous ski outtings. After the clean, we do an iron
on wax treatment to the tips and tail of your skis. For
more information on getting your skis serviced, click on
our Service Section.
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