Ski Tuning 101 Presents: Summer Storage
Summer Storage:
(Mt. Wachusett, Ma., ca. 2008)
Sometimes a hot topic for debate, this final post of the 2009-2010 season will address the issue of properly storing your skis for the summer.
Cleaning:
When it comes to summer storage, the name of the game is WAX! Lots and lots of wax. First though, you’ve got to make sure your skis are clean. This is especially true if you have been doing a lot of spring skiing on dirty or salted snow. It might seem strange, but once you are ready to hang up your skis for the season, throw them in the shower first. Rinse off the bases, topsheets and bindings, then hand dry the skis as best as you can. The bindings will still have water in them, so let the skis air dry overnight. Alternatively, use wet paper towels to remove dirt from the ski.
The Edges:
By no means essential, but it’s not a bad idea to give your edges a full tune before the summer. This will ensure that dings and dents don’t develop into havens for rust. Think of it like brushing your teeth to prevent cavities. At the very least, give them a once over with a soapy paper towel to get all the grime off before you throw them in the shower. See my posts for photo instructions for sharpening the Base Edge and the Side Edge.
The Bases:
These next few steps are essential to preventing the edges from rusting/corroding, and the bases from drying out. If you have seen a ski base turn white, it is dried out. I used to call this circumstance oxidation, but apparently ski base oxidation is now a debated topic, so lets just call it dry base syndrome.
First, (or second if you tune the edges), lay the ski flat and brush the bare base a few times with a bronze, brass, or copper brush. This will kick up any dirt that is still lodged in the pores of the ski. Next, perform a hot wax. This is the process where you lay down a layer of wax, and immediately scrape it off before the wax has had a chance to cool. Do this a few times, brushing in between each waxing. The point of this is to lift off dirt from the base. See my post here for photo instructions: Waxing
After hot waxing, lay down a THICK layer of warm wax, like Swix CH10. Put down at least twice as much wax as you normally would, making sure that the molten wax drips over the edge of the ski. Then just let the ski cool. No scraping or brushing this time. The purpose of this is to seal off the base and edges from the air, which contains moisture. Moisture leads to rust, and exposure to air can dry out the bases. This thick layer of wax, also known as storage or traveling wax, will also protect the skis from becoming damaged if they get moved around over the summer. The whole idea here is to seal off the base and edges from the elements. Warm wax works well for this because it has a low melting temperature, so it is easy to melt large quantities of it, ensuring it covers the edges.
Where to store:
If you live in a humid part of the world, try not to store your skis in a basement or garage where there is a high moisture content. If possible, keep your skis in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight. Use a ski strap or tape to keeps the skis base-to-base and secure, so that next season all you have to do is scrape off the storage wax, and you will be ready to go!
Bindings:
Summer storage for ski bindings is another hotly debated topic. Some people say that the DIN on ski bindings should be turned down for the summer, easing the tension on the springs, others say it doesn’t matter. I’ve never heard a definitive answer from any manufacturer that is able to site empirical evidence one way or the other. So my advice is: don’t worry about it! If this is something you are concerned about, call the manufacturer of your ski binding and ask them.
Ski Tuning 101 Presents: Sidewall Planer Review
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Tools reviewed:
Sidewall planers, here we go! This was a tough review because to be honest, I was not really thrilled by any of these tools. The thing with sidewall planers is that you only need them once or twice a year, so if I am going to spend money on something I use twice a year, it better be damn good at its job.
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This is actually not a bad tool. It has adjustable pins on the left and right sides so that you can adjust how much of the blade is coming into contact with the sidewall.
If you only want to take a bit of sidewall off, you can adjust the pins so that the blade only cuts into a small portion of the sidewall. Or you can pull the pins up, and take off huge chunks of sidewall. The choice is yours.
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This is my favorite tool of the group. It’s long, so it sits on the edge of the ski well, allowing you to use considerable pressure when removing sidewall.
Shorter tools tend to skip off the ski when you apply any sort of force to them. It also had the same sort of adjustable pins that the previous planer has – these are the pins that determines how deep the blade cuts into the sidewall.
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The concept behind these two tools is the same: mount a pansar file to a 7-degree file guide. The idea is that using a file guide with such a severe angle will cause the file to move up over the edge, and dig into the sidewall. Pansar files have wide teeth, which are ideal for cutting and removing material.
In my testing, this was not the case. Both tools caused the file to bite into the upper part of the ski edge just as much as the sidewall itself.
This is not what you want to happen, so overall I am not too happy with either of these setups. I appreciate the simplicity of the concept, but I just do not think it is a great setup.
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I can’t figure out why this tool costs $30 more than the other Swix model reviewed here. I guess it has to do with the second carbide blade that is used, but it loses some of the features of the Swix economy model. (Circular blade, top - square blade, bottom)
First, it has a shorter wheelbase, for lack of a better word, so it is a less stable tool. Second, there are no adjustable pins, so you are cutting deep into the sidewall every time you run the planer down the ski.
This is a big issue for me, and combined with the lack of stability compared to the Economy model, I can’t recommend that you buy this tool over the Economy version.
Sidewall Planers - a review
Tools reviewed:
Mountain Tek Sidewall Planer - $32
Swix Economy Sidewall Cutter - $35
BEAST Plane Beast Sidewall Cutter - $40
ARTECH Sidewall Planer Kit - $45
Swix Racing Sidewall Cutter: Dual Blade Design - $65
Though you only need a planer a few times per year, it is an incredibly important piece of equipment. Simply put, if you are going to sharpen and file your edges with any regularity, you will need to plane the sidewall; if not, your sharpening and filing efforts will be ineffective. As you file down the edges over time, the file or diamond stone will begin to cut into the sidewall of the ski rather than the edge; sidewall planers resolve this by removing material and exposing more of the edge.
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1. To begin, we look at the cheapest option: Mountain Tek Sidewall Planer - $32
This is actually not a bad tool. It has adjustable pins on the left and right sides so that you can adjust how much of the blade is coming into contact with the sidewall.
If you only want to take a bit of sidewall off, you can adjust the pins so that the blade only cuts into a small portion of the sidewall. Or you can pull the pins up, and take off huge chunks of sidewall. The choice is yours.
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2. The second cheapest option is the Swix Economy Sidewall Cutter, which goes for $35.
This is my favorite tool of the group. It’s long, so it sits on the edge of the ski well, allowing you to use considerable pressure when removing sidewall.
Shorter tools tend to skip off the ski when you apply any sort of force to them. It also had the same sort of adjustable pins that the previous planer has – these are the pins that determines how deep the blade cuts into the sidewall.
Also, there is a screw on the backside of the tool that allows the blade to be rotated 180 degrees so that you can always work from tip to tail.
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3. and 4. I am going to combine the review for the follow two tools, because they are so similar: BEAST Plane Beast Sidewall Cutter ($40), and the ARTECH Sidewall Planer Kit ($45).
The concept behind these two tools is the same: mount a pansar file to a 7-degree file guide. The idea is that using a file guide with such a severe angle will cause the file to move up over the edge, and dig into the sidewall. Pansar files have wide teeth, which are ideal for cutting and removing material.
In my testing, this was not the case. Both tools caused the file to bite into the upper part of the ski edge just as much as the sidewall itself.
This is not what you want to happen, so overall I am not too happy with either of these setups. I appreciate the simplicity of the concept, but I just do not think it is a great setup.
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5. Lastly, we have the Swix Racing Sidewall Cutter: Dual Blade Design, which sells for $65.
I can’t figure out why this tool costs $30 more than the other Swix model reviewed here. I guess it has to do with the second carbide blade that is used, but it loses some of the features of the Swix economy model. (Circular blade, top - square blade, bottom)
First, it has a shorter wheelbase, for lack of a better word, so it is a less stable tool. Second, there are no adjustable pins, so you are cutting deep into the sidewall every time you run the planer down the ski.
This is a big issue for me, and combined with the lack of stability compared to the Economy model, I can’t recommend that you buy this tool over the Economy version.
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Conclusion:
Conclusion:
In the end, the Swix Economy Sidewall Cutter is the clear winner. The Mountain Tek tool is also good, but for the extra $3, I would recommend the Swix. It has a simple design, it’s very easy to use and is made of a strong and durable plastic. Considering that it will see rare use, it should last a lifetime.
For those of you with a bigger budget, take a look at the SVST W.C. Sidewall Planer, which goes for $140. I did not have this tool in hand for a photo review, but I have used it extensively in the past. It is one of the nicest ski tuning tools, in any category, that you can own.
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