Solda Wax Recommendations

It looks like the conditions for the Craftsbury Marathon will be excellent. The last time I did this race I seem to remember a start temp of -9F.

My best call right now, not being there is as follows:

Overnight low temp of 9F
Start time temp of 12F rising only to about 15F
Humidity 80% declining very little
Cloudy to partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers.

I would start with a pair of skis, not too stiff, with a cold base and a fine grind. A very fine linear rill could help.

Glide wax:
Start with clean bases and wax a base of SOLDA F15 Blue. If your bases are old or had been dirty, clean with a hot scrape and then crayon on a layer of SOLDA HC28. Cover this with a layer of F15 Blue ironed, scraped and brushed. Two layers is better (says the wax salesman;-). Now it gets trickier because we seem to be on the edge of temperature boundaries.

If the snow is colder than -10C (14F) go with a layer of SOLDA F40 Green and cover with SOLDA HPO6.
If the snow is warmer than -10C (14F) go with a layer of SOLDA F40 Violet and cover with SOLDA HPO5.

In new, natural snow conditions HPO6 actually runs warmer than the label says. Snow temps warmer than 14F I would go with HPO5.

Budget alternative would be base of SOLDA HC28 covered with F15 Blue and finished with F15Violet.

One of the advantages of using fluoro waxes is that they are more durable in a long race.

Kick wax should not be a problem. I would start with a thin binder ironed and corked. In the Rode line I would start with Rode Green -4 to -10C. If more kick is needed, go with Rode FAST Blue Special -3 to -7C under the binding. Swix VR30 could be good too. Test and adjust.

Have a good one,

Bert

I wish I was in Michigan. Bet you don't hear that one too often for a guy who lives in Bend, Oregon. The Michigan Cup Marathon sounds like a great race.

Here is what I can determine from the local and national sources.
Overnight low 2F.
Race start temp 12F rising to 21F at 12:00
Humidity 95% descending to 75%
New, cold, slow, lake-effect snow with 30% chance of snow showers during the day.

My best recommendation is as follows:
Pick a pair of cold base skis with a fine grind that are not too stiff. Start by crayoning on a layer of SOLDA HC28. Cover this with SOLDA F15 Blue ironed and scraped. You could apply a second layer of F15 Blue or a layer of SOLDA F40 Green. Finish with the SOLDA HPO5/S30 50/50 mix. The humidity, snow temp and crystal structure all lead me to use the HPO5 mix. The S30 hardens the bases and helps maintain the glide for the long races.

A thrifty alternative would be a base of SOLDA HC28 and SOLDA F15 Blue. Add a cover of SOLDA S30 if you have it.

I hope you have a good race.

Bert

Weather forecasts may be accurate some day, but not yet. That makes predicting the wax when not on the race site a bit tricky.  So, since I have two pairs of classic skis, I waxed one pair with SOLDA F31 Pink and SOLDA HP04.  I waxed the other pair with the SOLDA F40 Violet and HP05 that I had put up on this site prior to the race.  

Looks like a classic UP weather day for a classic UP race. The forecast that I can get here in Bend looks like this:
Friday overnight low of -5F. I could be pretty windy. Race time temp in Ishpeming at around 0F, blowing snow. Humidity around 80%. High for the day about 6F, maybe a balmy 9 in Marquette. You at the race should monitor conditions. I will give two reccommendations. Adjust to conditions.

1. For new natural snow in these cold conditions crayon on a layer of HC28; apply a couple layers of SOLDA F15 Blue scraped and brushed. Apply a layer of SOLDA F40 Green then a layer of SOLDA S32 scraped and brushed. Finish with SOLDA HP06.

2. If it is drier and the course has a lot of wind blown natural snow, start with SOLDA HC28 crayoned on and covered with a couple layers of SOLDA F15 Blue. Cover this with SOLDA S20. This works well in East slope of Rockies on dry snow. Could be too humid in MI for this, Check humidity today and tonight and forecast.

Kick wax: You all can probably guess. I am not there. I would try some Rode Alaska or Green Special; maybe Swix VR30.

This coming Sunday, January 25, is the rescheduled Nancy P's classic race. While the weather is changing back to be more winter-like, the current forecast does not indicate a lot of new snow. The current jet stream is ushering in a colder Canadian air mass that is not carrying much moisture.

I skied yesterday, Thursday, and found air and snow temp to be about the same, -1 C (30 to 28 F). I had waxed for klister conditions with a binder and Rode Multigrade. There was a trace of new snow so I covered the klister with Rode Fast Blue Special, -3 to -7C. Had really good kick. Should have had a bit shorter kick zone with all those variables.

Forecast as follows: Saturday overnight low is 15 F (-10C); chance of snow after midnight; Sunday temp at 10:o0 17F (-8C); chance of snow showers, total of 2-4 inches forecast; humidity near 90%.

Glide wax: I am thinking the following. For the full treatment, base of UF7, followed by F31 Violet, followed by F40 Violet. If it is on the colder/drier side of the forecast, final layer of HP05/S30 mix 70/30. If it is on the warmer side and humid, HP05 as last layer. The S30 hardens the wax for drier abrassive conditions.

For saving money go with UF7 and F15 Violet. Remember to scrape and brush between layers.

Kick wax: Iron in a binder. It could be a Rode Green, a Toko Green or Swix G34. After ironing, cork the binder smooth. I will probably go with Rode Fast Blue Special -3 to -7C. Swix VR 40 could be good choice. I will test wax Saturday and if I have time, post an update here. Always carry some kick wax selections that are a bit warmer and a bit colder to adjust.

For those of you local to Bend, Oregon, the next race is the Nancy P's classic race. It is either a 10 km or a 20 km. You may chose. 

Here is a quick wax recommendation for the NENSA Eastern Cup
this weekend.  NE got some snow earlier in the week and it is cold right
now!

Saturday: Rumford JOQ/Eastern Cup
1km Sprint Race

Friday night low of -10F
Saturday at race time: 2 to 12F

Glide Wax: Solda HC 28 covered with SOLDA S30
Use fine structure and brush out well with brass brush or Red Creek roto brush. 
Can cover with SOLDA PowerJet 3 as temperature warms.

Rumford, ME JOQ/Eastern Cup 5-15km CL

Sunday at race time temps should be about 5 - 16 F.
       
Glide wax: SOLDA HC 28 covered with SOLDA S30.
Use skis with fine structure and brush out well with brass
brush or Red Creek roto brush.  Can cover with SOLDA PowerJet 3 as temperature warms.

Kick wax: Swix VR30 or Toko mint.  Recommend ironing in a
thin layer then cork.  Cover with several thin layers.

Submitted by

Peter Hall

Sorry this is so late. Hope there are not too many of you out there holding your breath waiting for the word.

I have been watching the weather forecast change. It has gone from rain, switching to snow. Sunday was once to be sunny, now chance of rain. I have also just now finished waxing.

It has snowed about 2-3 inches since noon Saturday. It is 29F at 8:30 pm . I have the luxury of having a couple pairs of skis to choose from. I have prepared two with different wax combinations. It looks as though it will 30F at start time with 90% humidity. New snow mixed with old snow and possibility of rain.

On a pair of warm base skis with a grind for warm, wet snow I waxed with SODLA F40 Yellow and SOLDA Fluor 100. On a pair of skis with a plus base and a more universal grind I waxed with SOLDA F31 Orange and HP04. I will test skis in the morning and pick the ones that are running the best at the start.

If you have one pair of skis I would probably go for SOLDA F31 Orange and SOLDA Fluor 100. You could use SOLDA Powerjet 1 instead of Fluor 100. For this long race it would be good to iron it in, light scrape, cork and brush.

The skis for the classic race were great. Rode Multigrade Klister over a Klister binder was great for kick. SOLDA F40 Red with HP04 was out gliding most other skis on the trials. I cannot complain at all about my skis. Other Webskis/Solda skiers also had great skis. Per Johnson, Dave Knoop, Dan Packman all were there with super glide. Cynthia Engel learned how to apply klister and it worked really well gaining compliments from her coach. Aaron Tarnow may have had kick zones a bit long, but had descent skis.

Time to sleep.

Have a good one.

Weather forecast is for a low of 21F tonight. It is cloudy now at 5:00 pm. Snow has been rained on and frozen. High today was about 38F. Snow is dirty. Start time temp is forecast to be 23F.

Glide wax recommendation: Start with clean bases on warm base skis. Layer the following: SoldaUF 7 followed by Solda F31 Orange, followed by Solda F40 Red. The fluor I am using is HP04. The course is of dirty, abrasive snow. I want a hard, durable top coat. I will use a coarse linear rill when I am finished waxing and brushing. Brush again after the rill.

Kick Wax: Today I ran Rode Multi Grade Klister, -6 to +6 C. It was really good. I will run the same tomorrow, unless there is a major change in conditions.

It is Tuesday evening as I sit to write this mundane tome. The weather in Bend is unseasonably warm and it is wet. Many of us are getting ready to leave our regular everyday worlds and go to the Methow Valley of North Central Washington to become athletes.  The Methow Pursuit is scheduled for this weekend with a 15 km classic race on Saturday and a 32 km skate race on Sunday.  NOAA forecast for Winthrop, Wa is:

Hello fellow ski waxers.

While I did not race at the Mount Bachelor New Years Relay, I was there and had fast skis. It was around 30-32 F, cloudy, windy, snow pellets falling mixing with rain and snow, humidity 80-90%. Snow had been groomed, but some was this dense new stuff on top. I was running Fischer RCS Plus base skis with a universal type grind. Had a base of UF7 + FC27 covered with F40 Red and topped with Fluor 100. Skis were great for 30 minutes of race watching and cheering and two hours of skiing. If I had been more well prepared I would have added a little more aggressive structure using eihter a Jensen Finite Finish Structure tool or the Toko Structurerite tool. If you find yourself wanting to add more structure just before a race, generally do this after waxing. Brush out the skis well and then add structure. Brush again before you ski and then test the whole system.

Comment if you have anthing to add or have questions.

Have one,

Bert