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Interview with the Ski Haus Repair Shop Guys
or Why should I care about my skis and snowboards? |
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What is involved in a ski or snowboard tune? What is an edge and wax? What's up with structuring the base? Why the heck should I care about the condition of my skis anyway? The short answer is if you're spending big bucks to pay for the privilege of riding the lifts uphill or breaking trail in the backcountry or puttin' out lots of valuable energy skating at the track, the last thing you want is your equipment holding you back. To get the most of every ski day your gear should be in prime condition. The Ski Haus caught up with the tuners at the 'Haus for a little Q & A. These guys have more than 52 combined seasons of tuning, fixing, and waxing all kinds of winter sliding tools. They have worked on the narrowest of Nordic skis to ripin' steel edged downhill skis and snowboards to the widest of wide boards (jumping skis used by the Nordic Combine team members). If the Ski Haus techs don't have the answer, the question isn't worth asking. Q. Let's start with the basics. Why wax? A. First, there are different waxes for different snow conditions and temperatures. Your skis will initiate a turn easier and glide smoother with the right wax on your boards. Choose the best wax for the day, iron it in and be careful not to burn the wax or let the iron smoke. After the wax cools, scrape with a plastic scraper from tip to tail. Once you have scraped the wax, then use a brush to lift more wax out of the bases's structure. The wax that penetrates the base will allow your skis to glide through the snow with less friction. The wax also helps you maintain a healthy base. Q. How often should I wax? A. You can never wax too much. Wax your skis yourself or have us do it for you as often as you have time for it. You want to avoid letting the base turn white or appear dried out looking. A ski with no wax is unprotected and the snow can burn the base and actually seal it. Wax is simple preventative maintenance. Q. Ok, let's get a bit more technical. What is edge beveling all about? A. Now you're opening a can of worms. Manufacturers producing different ski and snowboard models will factory tune those models with different bevels depending on how they want the skis to behave. Generally, the more side edge bevel the quicker the ski bites in turn initiation. The more base bevel the longer it takes for the ski to initiate a turn. Q. Huh.... ok, give us a generalization. What is easy to ski yet quick edge to edge? A. 1 degree side and 1 degree base is a bevel that works well for recreational skiers. It works because the contact to the snow is still 90 degrees making it a friendly ride. 2 degrees side and 1 degree base is for more aggressive riders. The 89 degree contact to snow allows for a non-hooky feel. 3 degree side and 1/2 degree base for the racer or very, very aggressive skier skiing hard snow or ice. Not recommended for the average skier. Q. Ok, moving right along! I just put a deep gouge in my base. Why should I fix it? I can't feel it under my ski.... A. Two reasons. The gouge will definitely make the ski track differently and you won't have the same control. Second, if the gouge is deep enough and you don't repair the damage, moisture will get into the ski's core and potentially rot the ski. Q. What about my bases? What is structure? A. We can adjust structure according to snow conditions. A course or more open structure is used in spring when there is more moisture in the snowpack and this open structure allows the ski to glide better with more control. Think of it like rain tires for your skis. A tight structure is better in colder drier snow. There's not so much moisture, close it down. This structure is the road tires for you skis. Also you need to grind your skis flat on occasion and restructure. Your bases will accept wax better and ski like new again. Good advice. The Ski Haus Repair Shop has the experience and equipment to make your boards, no matter what condition they are in, look like new and ride like new. Stop in and let Gary, Michael, Corwin, Jim, and Tom give your boards a little Tender Loving Care. |
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The New Montana SR Ski Tuning Machine exclusively at Ski Haus.
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The Montana SR is a very cool ski and snowboard machine. We can vary the:
- stone speed - feed speed - dressing speed - pneumatic pressure system. This means we can produce an infinte number of vario structures for our customers. Not only can we send out superior "generic" overnight tunes for customers (skiers and riders without specific thoughts or concerns with their tunes) but we can produce race tunes for specific conditions and temperatures. What are your skiing and riding goals? Let the technicians at the 'Haus help you attain them with our Montana SR tuning machine. Plus for the ultimate wax check out our hot box. Deep, penetrating, and very effective wax for your skis and boards. Ski Haus Tunes. Second to none! |
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Ski Haus |
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