When Gooey is Good

A review of new (and some old) hard waxes for tricky conditions, and some suggestions about waxing for glazed tracks.

Thanks to Doug Corkran for the topic suggestion.

Grip waxing for glazed tracks, or very hard tracks (such as found with man-made snow) is a challenge. There are many time-honored application methods that are still successful, but of greater importance is the increasing availability of “hard” waxes to address these concerns.

Here are some old but still valid methods. When the tracks are very hard or heavily glazed, and what should be an appropriate hard wax isn’t providing enough grip, a layer of blue klister under the hard wax can provide support. If the conditions have wet and glazed tracks, mixing a klister and a hard wax could deliver. And there is always the idea that a grip wax that worked but was prone to icing could be modified with a harder or faster cover or “shell” layer. All of these methods could also be combined, for example a klister and hard wax mix then being covered with something to provide speed or anti-icing properties.

The klister/hard wax mixes were usually done on the ski base, but some ski techs found enough success with some mixes to make their own – decades ago there was what we called “Blellow”, a mix of Swix Blue Extra and Rode Gialla (yellow).

No surprise that some wax companies took notice and developed formulations to excel in the stated challenging conditions.

Quickly adopted were the Start Oslo stick waxes, which were factory pre-mixes of klister and hard wax (most likely Start Universal Wide klister, which is more tolerant of fine-grained snow than most uni klisters). The Green/Blue/Purple Oslo sticks quickly became a trusted mainstay for use in old and hard conditions and even new very wet glazing tracks. These always provide a solid grip but could also be slow and prone to icing.

Now we have a multitude of choices of stick waxes that are intended for heavy glaze or old and very hard tracks. While some are mixes of klister and hardwax others rely on creating a wax with a lot of elasticity. An interesting note is the number of (mostly Finnish) waxes that use pine tar as an ingredient; the claimed value is increased range and resistance to icing. Not claimed as a value is that they smell like good barbecue sauce.

Start Oslo. Start Oslo waxes come as Green, Blue, and Violet versions and are highly valued. Known for reliable and secure grip, in top level racing they are often considered to be on the slow side and are usually employed with a speed cover. The wide range, simplicity, and reliability make these an attractive choice for many skiers. The Green is a bit of an outlier, as it can be very fast when old and very cold snow grooms up hard. Worth watching is the new Racing Series, R-Red, R-Purple, and R- Blue. I’m hoping these are like my old favorite RF sticks from the fluoro days; these were hardwaxes with a lot of elasticity and worked in a wide range of conditions. Application note – the usual crayon application almost always leaves a gloppy mess like bubblegum on hot asphalt. Push a stick directly on to the base and pull off with a twisting motion and repeat as necessary. Much easier to smooth out! Also, in addition to just using a bulk layer, Oslo waxes can also be good as a very thin final layer over thicker supporting layers – this can be faster and less prone to icing.

Rex. Rex Powergrip sticks are an elastic design best used in situations where the tracks are very hard and/or abrasive, as they are very tough, but they’re not so elastic to provide best performance in new glazed tracks - don’t use them in falling or recently fallen snow as they will be slow and ice up. An odd creation that can work is to smear a Powergrip into a layer of Rex Universal klister for weird mixed snow conditions. Rex stick with some klister are 1814 and N41. Rex 1814 is targeted for very hard tracks, especially man-made snow, and can have a lot of grip in a wide temperature range but despite the use of pine tar it isn’t tolerant of new snow crystals. Use by itself or as a thin final layer. N41 Pink also works in a wide temperature range but unlike 1814 it can work very well in soft and wet conditions as well as hard tracks.

Star. A more recent player, the Star Beta “M” series are very clearly a klister/hardwax type, although worth noting is that they are not mixes but are made from raw material; the number on the tin (16, 21, 26) reflects the degree of the klister component. The temperature ranges on them are not as strict as one should assume, choose them based more on the snow crystal age and/or track characteristics. The developer notes that they should be applied in very thin layers and often combined with each other. We have found that they do indeed work best in very thin layers; sometimes rollerski-like kicks come from one layer! A lot of success has also come from applying a final very thin layer on top of a main bulk layer from grip waxes that don’t have klister in them. If there’s a thin wet glaze in the tracks in red or violet grip wax conditions, it is amazing how much boost can happen with just a final film layer of a Star M. Application note – the 16 can easily be crayoned on but the 21 and certainly the 26 will leave bubblegum glop. Push and twist method is ok but even that can leave more wax than needed (a reminder that these are best in very thin layers). Better is to let them get cold – keep them in the snow for a while, at home I put them in the freezer first.

Vauhti Pure Old Snow. These don’t seem to have any klister in them but are very soft and elastic at room temperature. Best in old, rounded grain snow with hard tracks but not yet ready for klister, these often have a lot of grip! The Blue and the LDR have been proving to be useful in new snow conditions where glazing or high moisture content are present, but as a support layer to provide a cushion under the main grip wax. That said, we have found some stunning results where the Star M waxes would provide great kick and speed but be prone to icing, and when a thin layer of Star M is over an Vauhti LDR or Blue bulk layer we got magic! The Pure Old Snow Silver seems to be an outlier in the series, it feels more like it has some klister in it – outrageous grip but be careful! All are easy to apply with the crayon method.

Rode Vario. New this season (available January ’25), we at LCN got some early delivery and went right into testing, because…Rode! Of course they would be good. And they are. Rode says that these are not made from new materials but are mixes from existing products, and it feels like the klister content is the least aggressive of the category. Highly resistant to icing, very fast, and in addition to the old or glazed track application they can provide a tremendous boost in grip even in new snow, if buried under a final hardwax layer. Green, Blue, and Violet have all been testing extremely well. Another example where the temperature recommendations on the tin shouldn’t be taken rigidly. Possibly the easiest of the bunch to apply, they feel similar to some of the creamy TopLine sticks.