There are still many die-hard wooden ski aficionados on the ski trails… what are they thinking?
Modern cross-country skis are generally lighter, narrower, shorter and more responsive than older wooden skis – obviously there are serious limitations to constructing skis only of wood. Still some skiers just prefer the performance of their classic wooden skis over modern skis in many situations – but not all situations. Much of this preference arises from years of experience skiing on wooden skis and knowing precisely how they will react in most situations. Another advantage is waxing. Humans have been waxing wooden skis for thousands of years and we’ve gotten pretty good at it. Again, years of personal experience waxing wooden skis provides the confidence that we know how to wax for most conditions and the conviction that wooden skis will perform adequately.
Wooden skis are always grip waxable (there are no wax-less wooden skis) – and not much has changed for grip waxing over the past decades. Wooden skis use pine tar for base preparation. Liquid pine tar is rubbed (or painted) onto the entire base – from tip to tail – and force dried with a hand-held blow torch fitted with a flame diffuser… there is a bit of artistry in knowing how much pine tar to use and how long to torch the pine tar to get it dried properly without burning the pine tar or the underlying wood. The pine tar serves two essential purposes: (1) it binds and seals the natural wood grain, and (2) it repels water very effectively. Pine tar is exceptionally messy to work with – wear rubber gloves and have lots of disposable rags available plus lots of wax solvent – don’t wear your good clothes. Alternatively, it may just be better to have someone else to pine tar your wooden skis for you.
Grip waxes adhere exceptionally well to wood that has been pine tarred – this is probably one of the features that wooden ski afficionados appreciate most. Personal experience has demonstrated that it is easier to grip wax & cork wooden skis – and that the wax will last much longer than on modern skis. Historically the colder grip waxes (e.g. SWIX Polar or Green) were used for the glide sections of wooden skis but with the modern liquid glide waxes this approach has really fallen out of favour. Today wooden skis are glide waxed with the same block waxes & a waxing iron or any of the easier (and less messy) liquid glide waxes. When waxing wooden skis, you will often see a small amount of pine tar coming out of the base mixing into the wax layer – this is fine… it will actually help the wax to perform better. Interestingly, Vauhti has created a series of tar grip waxes for better performance. If nothing else… they smell amazing – as close as you can come to capturing the essential scent of winter fun!
Now the bad news… it is nearly impossible to purchase new wooden skis – your best bet is check your grandfather’s garage to see if he’s got a pair stashed away in the rafters. Unfortunately, it is highly likely that the camber will have gone flat from years of improper storage… but they will still look great on the wall above the fireplace. We don’t think of ourselves as old – we are classic!