How To Wax Cross Country Skis

If you have recently purchased cross country skis, you need to learn how to wax your cross country skis. Waxing your cross country skis is more than just slapping on some wax and hitting the mountain. Properly waxing your cross country skis requires some knowledge of what you are doing. Take the following steps to ensure you effectively and efficiently wax your cross country skis. In order to learn how to wax your cross country skis, you will need the following:

• Your cross country skis
• A wax kit including a brush, wax and a thermo pad
• 20 minutes

Steps

1. Buy A wax and tuning kit for your cross country skis. You can choose almost any brand such as Burton or DaKine for your waxing kit, it is just a preference of how much your want to spend. You can get a quality waxing kit from 35 to 65 dollars. Make sure your waxing kit comes with the tools you need (thermo pads are essential) and the right kind of wax for you your level of comfort (if you are a beginner, skip the hotwax and expensive tools).
2. Wipe off your cross-country skis. Before you wax your skis, you want to ensure that they are not dirty or wet. You also want them to be at room temperature before applying wax. If they are not, the wax could damage your cross country skis.
3. Apply the wax. Applying wax to your cross country skis is somewhat of an art form, and its application will depend of what kind of wax and tools you have. Beginners should stick to a pastewax, such as SlickWax. Apply the wax to the base of your skis
4. Let the wax dry. Assuming you are using pastewax, it should dry within approximately 5 minutes. If you have used too much wax, it might take longer to dry. After the wax has completely dried move on to step 5.
5. Brush the wax off of your cross country skies. You will want to use some type of "brash" brush to get rid of the excess wax on your cross country skis. Using moderate force, scrub the excess wax off of your skis in a circular motion. Use the thermopad to even out the wax.
6. Wax your Skis at the end of the season. Waxing your cross country skis at the end of the season is different than waxing your cross country skis to go to the mountain. You will want to apply wax in the same way, but this time you want to cover it with a thicker layer. This way, your cross country skis will be maintained and ready for you to use them next season.