Thursday, February 25, 2010
Solda Birkie Wax Recommendation
The NOAA forecast is:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around -9. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 33. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -2. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
There are other forecasts that have the overnight lows at 10F. All seem to agree that high will be in low 30s.
I believe that the snow will remain cold. The groomers will be working the course at night when the temps are low. The snow is transformed old snow with a little new this week mixed in . The course is hard. It should be a great race.
Skis: pick a pair of medium to medium stiff skate skis with a fine to medium grind. For classic, your favorite cold base skis. Remember if you are using klister that the ski must have a wax pocket high enough to carry the klister and not have it abraded off. See our friends at Swix or Toko for kick wax recommendations.
Base wax: On clean bases rub on a layer of Solda FC27. Drip on Solda Performance Green over the FC27, iron twice and scrape. If you are going in one of the later waves apply a layer of Solda F31 or F40 Violet. Cover this with two layers of Solda F15 Blue. scrape and brush between layers. You want to get lots of hard wax into the bases. For the early waves start with the F15 Blue over the Performance Green. Again, two layers.
Top Coat: My guess is that the best top coat will be the HP05-S30 70/30 mix. If you don't have the pre-made mix, sprinkle the S30 on the skis first, then sprinkle the HP05. Use a cork brush to tamp the two powders to an even layer. Iron with a hot iron. (265 F or 130 C). Cork the mix on the ski and set it aside to cool. Have a cup of tea, be patient. Watch the Olympics. Hooray USA Nordic Combined. Brush the skis when they have cooled. I use a horse hair brush and finish with a Swix blue bristle polishing brush.
Some folks have had luck with using S30 over the F15 Blue and finishing with HP05 S30 mix. The HP05 mixes have a good history at the Birkie. HP06 is a colder Fluor Powder that could run well, but I have not heard any testing. If my resources on the ground find something different, I will post tomorrow evening.
Have a great race.
Bert
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around -9. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 33. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -2. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
There are other forecasts that have the overnight lows at 10F. All seem to agree that high will be in low 30s.
I believe that the snow will remain cold. The groomers will be working the course at night when the temps are low. The snow is transformed old snow with a little new this week mixed in . The course is hard. It should be a great race.
Skis: pick a pair of medium to medium stiff skate skis with a fine to medium grind. For classic, your favorite cold base skis. Remember if you are using klister that the ski must have a wax pocket high enough to carry the klister and not have it abraded off. See our friends at Swix or Toko for kick wax recommendations.
Base wax: On clean bases rub on a layer of Solda FC27. Drip on Solda Performance Green over the FC27, iron twice and scrape. If you are going in one of the later waves apply a layer of Solda F31 or F40 Violet. Cover this with two layers of Solda F15 Blue. scrape and brush between layers. You want to get lots of hard wax into the bases. For the early waves start with the F15 Blue over the Performance Green. Again, two layers.
Top Coat: My guess is that the best top coat will be the HP05-S30 70/30 mix. If you don't have the pre-made mix, sprinkle the S30 on the skis first, then sprinkle the HP05. Use a cork brush to tamp the two powders to an even layer. Iron with a hot iron. (265 F or 130 C). Cork the mix on the ski and set it aside to cool. Have a cup of tea, be patient. Watch the Olympics. Hooray USA Nordic Combined. Brush the skis when they have cooled. I use a horse hair brush and finish with a Swix blue bristle polishing brush.
Some folks have had luck with using S30 over the F15 Blue and finishing with HP05 S30 mix. The HP05 mixes have a good history at the Birkie. HP06 is a colder Fluor Powder that could run well, but I have not heard any testing. If my resources on the ground find something different, I will post tomorrow evening.
Have a great race.
Bert
# posted by Bert Hinkley : 5:20 PM
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