For races, LNST provides wax and Coaches will provide wax recommendation (and application technique as needed). The Wax Barn will be scheduled for HS and MS teams to wax race skis.  Coaches will teach HS skiers and MS families how to wax so that skis can be prepped at home for practices. If a skier would like to use wax and equipment at the Wax Barn for a practice, contact the Coaches.

SKIS AND WAXES
Which waxes do you need?  Classic skis need two types of wax (glide & kick).  Skate skis only need glide wax.  See where wax is applied to a ski in the table below.

       Location to apply wax on ski:          

First year in the sport?.......Get the basic wax kit for home PLUS use the Team Wax Barn for Race Prep

• Get the basic kick wax kit with synthetic cork and scraper from Toko (or similar products elsewhere): https://tokous.com/grip-wax-kit/  . 
  
• And, base binder that can be applied with a cork, such as Rex Base Wax, https://pioneermidwest.com/products/rex-base-wax-45g or https://pioneermidwest.com/products/vauhti-gs-green-45g)

• And, get the basic kit for liquid wax kit with brush from Toko (or similar package elsewhere): https://tokous.com/base-performance-liquid-paraffin-kit/  . 

In the sport more than one year?.......Add wax station and hard wax stock at home PLUS use Team Wax Barn for Race Prep

Hot waxing skis is important!  So, if you're in the sport more than one year, a home hot wax station is important to prolonging the life of the skis!  It's worth the investment!

1. Hard glide wax.  Get 3+ hard kick waxes (representing three+ temperature ranges).  https://tokous.com/basic-hot-wax-kit-120/ (or similar elsewhere)
2. Wax Iron (needed for hard glide wax application)
3. Scrapers (2): plexi (rectangle) and groove scrapers
4. Brushes (3): copper, stiff nylon, and soft nylon (polish)
5. Wax Bench

NOTE 1: The team is largely using Toko waxes and will use Toko waxes to announce wax recommendations for practice.  For WNSL conference and state races, all skiers must use Swix HS products - see WNSL website for details.


WAX APPLICATION  (2-3 minute videos), or see the wax manufacturer websites like Swix School
-Downloadable How to Wax 101 from Salomon
-Short Demo Vidos:
 Hard glide wax
Liquid glide wax

Kick wax
Wax removal
(Applying base binder with an iron)

Pro Tips

It can get more complicated than this, but these would be the basics:

• Re-apply glide wax when the ski bases start to show white (=oxidation). 
  • This protects the ski base and maintains glide.  Oxidation indicates dryness and prolonged dryness causes ski base damage and base will not absorb wax.
• Glide wax will need to be re-applied more often on skate skis than classic tips/tails, so check the skate bases every week.
• Re-apply kick wax for every classic practice day. You can put warm temperature wax over cold wax (but not the opposite).  You can use a putty scraper to remove a previous kick wax and then re-apply the kick wax of the day.
  
• Local ski shops offer waxing services.  See Homepage\Helpful Links.
• To wax for storage and the off-season, see Resources\Equipment .

EXAMPLES
                                      
Liquid glide waxes and nylon brush.   Hard glide waxes, scrapers, brush, iron.   Putty knife, synthetic cork, kick waxes.   Wax remover.

           
Wax bench. Wax notes from the Wax Barn.