Teacup Classic Wax Recommendations

A Teacup Classic without klister, what is the world coming to…

Heavy snowfall the day before, overnight low of 15F and temperature at race start time of 24F. There’s a small chance of light snowfall during the race, and with humidity moderate but not very high, the probability of glazing in the tracks isn’t as high as usual for Mt Hood.

Let’s address grip wax first - getting it optimal is far more important than the glide wax.

A binder layer should be kept thin and not aggressive. LCN advises using Vauhti Base AT, ironed in.

For grip there will be a lot of good choices. For users of Toko, their Blue runs cold and it may be better to apply a thin layer of Red covered with Blue.

For Rex, N21 should work. N21G should be considered a speed cover, it is very fast but not quite as much grip as N21. Their Blue Special from the regular line might be the best call, especially with the N21G speed cover. Temperature and humidity rules out using 30G.

Swix. V40 Blue Extra, of course. VP40 is worth testing, although it may not offer any advantage (the VP version so far seems better in old snow). Keep V45 Violet Special handy as a thin layer on top could boost grip.

Vauhti. Carrot from the Synthetic line will almost certainly work, but the Pure New Snow Violet as a top layer will add significant speed (the Pure New Snow sticks often lack a lot of grip but can be super fast as a final layer).

Rode. While the most tempting (and sure to work well) choice is TopLine B17, of all the grip waxes listed the first one I will be testing tomorrow will be Rode Super Extra Blue. For those who want a lot of grip, put down a layer or two of Violet Multigrade first. It won’t ice up and it will provide a lot of grip, but don’t plan on a podium finish.

Glide.

As an overgeneralization, a hot wax application tends to be faster than liquids in new and falling snow. But liquids will be competitive and if using a hand structure, can be important to use as a final touch.

Vauhti - Up Cold is the choice.

Star. NEXT Cold Powder will be top choice in new snow of moderate humidity. If using a liquid, while NEXT Cold will certainly be very good, NEXT Medium liquid does run much colder than the listed temperature, and for starting farther back in the pack it might be the better choice. Or, put down Med liquid first (roto-fleeced and brushed) followed by a thin layer of NEXT Cold (roto-fleeced and brushed).

Rex. G21 is a good choice for good performance on a budget, but G21G will be better. For top results, NF21G will be one of the very best glide waxes for the day, hot wax or liquid. Do take the time to iron in Sisu White Base, it has been providing great speed boost nearly every time we have tested it. NF21 will be the second best choice.

Rode. This is where their Graphite R100G base layer will be a better choice than their Endurance, but if you don’t have the Graphite then Endurance is a worthwhile base layer. That said, a 2:1 mix of Endurance and R30 Medium could be the bomb. For a liquid, the regular RL Medium usually equals or outperforms the RXL in new snow, but RXL Medium will certainly be competitive. Sad to say, but LCN doesn’t have enough test results of the new World Cup waxes to offer assured advice.

Hand Structure.

Careful, here.

Too aggressive structure in newly fallen snow will only slow down skis. Best to be conservative.

Stay with linear types, or cross linear (CP-17 type). If unsure or unable to test, choose a colder type and apply only on the tail.

Red Creek. 0/-6 is often a top choice but the -5/-10 might test better.

Toko. Their new tool only offers a cross pattern, not always a good choice on classic skis. I haven’t tried it yet, but it should be possible to use only one bit in the device to apply a cross linear. Go with the Red.

Speedy. I will be testing the the Line 2 vs the Line 17 in combination with the U100 linear.