The number of days until the mountain opens are melting away, and here at ASO Mammoth we are so excited for the 2019/20 season that we don’t know what to do with our hands. We’ve done everything we can think of to get the shop ready for winter, but even now we still can’t stop thinking about skiing and snowboarding.
If you’re like us but you don’t have an outdoors shop full of the best ski and snowboard gear on the market to satisfy your need for snow, now is a great time to make your own tuning station and turn your excitement for winter into something awesome! We’ve listed a few basic items and some nice-to-have’s below. Check them out and stop by the shop if you have any questions!
The Basics
When it comes to tuning skis and snowboards, there are tools that are good to have and tools that you can’t do the job without. These are the must haves.
You’ll need a ski or snowboard vise to attach to a bench or table for starters. Once you have your board or ski set tightly into the vises, you’ll want to do a quick wipe down with rubbing alcohol to get all the excess dirt, dust, and debris off the surface. After the surface is dry, apply a wax of your choice with a waxing iron. Next you’ll want to scrape off excess waste with a plastic scraper until there is little wax still visible followed by a go-over with a stiff brush to finish up. In case you weren’t keeping track that was a snowboard vice, rubbing alcohol, wax, a waxing iron, and a plastic scraper for the basics.
We’re just listing the basic materials in this post, but if you’d like more information on how to actually perform the tune up you can refer to articles like this until you’re confident in your abilities.
A Warm Room
Now that we’ve covered the must-haves, we can talk about the nice-to-haves.
If you’re in a pinch you can tune up your board or skis in the parking lot of the ski resort thanks to rub-on wax, but in most cases tune ups are most effective, and the easiest to perform, when done in a warm room. There’s no need to turn your basement into a sauna, but if you have the choice between your drafty garage and your basement then you should choose whichever has the warmest temperature. Doing so will require mean less time spent waiting for your wax to warm and easier application as it spreads and dries on the surface of your gear.
Please note that you should always tune your gear in a well-ventilated room!
A Nonslip Pad
No matter how carefully you apply your wax, some of it is going to end up on the floor of wherever you’re set up is once you start brushing off the excess. Unless you lay down a nonslip pad ahead of time all that wax will make your floor as slick as ice as it builds up. While on this subject, we should also point out that tuning ski and snowboard gear is messy, so choose room and clothes that you don’t mind having covered in wax before you begin.
A Bright Light
The more light you have, the easier it is to see bumps and blemishes in your gear as you tune it. While a bright light hanging overhead of your tuning station will do wonders for you tune-up, you can get by with using the lights you have around your home as long as you remember to use them!