How Often do You Need to Wax Your Skis or Snowboard?
When you’re riding Mammoth Mountain’s world-class snow and terrain, you don’t want anything to get in the way of you riding at your best.
Since we live and work at the base of Mammoth Mountain, we know how important consistent performance from your gear is, but you might not if you’re new to the sport or are not experienced enough to know why waxing your gear matters. To help you ride the way you dream about while at Mammoth Mountain, the ASO Mammoth team has written about how often you need to wax your gear and why below.
Check it out and stop by ASO Mammoth if you need your skis or snowboard waxed before you hit Mammoth Mountain!
Aim to Wax Your Gear for every 3-6 Days spent on the Snow
If you need raw numbers, then keep waxing once for every three to six days on the snow in mind. The exact number of days you should go between waxing depends on the conditions you ride most often. We’ll talk more about that below as well as how to recognize when your gear needs to be waxed, but the basic rule is that the more you use your gear, the sooner it needs to be waxed.
Why Wax?
Wax protects your base from drying out, but the most important thing it does is create a consistently smooth surface on the bottom of your gear so that it slides uninterrupted across the snow.
Gear that needs to be waxed will still slide on the snow, but certain parts of the surface may stick to the snow more than others or even ride differently depending on the snow. That may not sound like a big deal, but all it takes is a dry spot on the nose of your ski or board to stick while you’re riding at full speed for you to end up on the ground.
Wax According to your Season
You could probably figure out that the more you ride, the more often you need to wax your gear on your own, but a lesser-known fact is that different types of snow wear down wax at different speeds.
For example, cold powder will chip away at wax faster than warm or slushy snow. Similarly, hard ice will remove wax faster than a loose surface. Knowing which type of snow you ride the most will help you know how often you need to apply a new layer of wax.
If you’re really looking to boost your gear’s performance, then you can apply a temperature specific wax. A cold temperature wax will help your skis or snowboard slide over hard snow and ice better since it dries harder than a warm wax. On the other hand, a warm temperature wax is designed to keep your gear from sticking to wet snow. If you’re unsure of what type of snow you’ll be riding, then you can always go with an all-weather or universal wax.
If you’re still worried about getting the best performance out of your gear, then you can also carry a stick of rub-on wax to cover any dry spots you feel while riding!
Wax Protects in the Off-Season Too
Consider waxing your gear before you put it into storage for the off-season to make sure it does not dry out. You should apply the wax as normal, but leave it on at the end instead of scraping it away for extra protection since you won’t be riding it. Don’t forget to scrape off the extra wax at the beginning of next season though!