Ironing: What to Buy, How to Use, When to Iron

Swix Wax Tip

Sat, Nov  25, 2006 - By Phil White, SWIX Colorado Racing Service

Ironing: What to buy, how to use, when to iron

First off, buy a waxing iron made for skis. Your mom’s old clothes iron won’t cut it, since your skis bases aren’t cotton or polyester. The SWIX Consumer Iron (T75) retails for about $50, a great investment for your skis. A good wax iron can be set to a specific temperature, and then hold that temp so you can get your wax to melt without burning the wax, your skis, and your lungs.

Give your iron some love and it will last a long time. I have an early model SWIX world cup iron that’s twelve years old, and going strong. When you decide to upgrade to a new model, you can always use the old one for kick wax, or on your medal edged skis or board. Keep it clean by wiping it down with fiberlene after every use, and wrap it in an iron cover for storage and travel. Oh yeah, don’t drop it on the floor, it tends to shorten its life expectancy.

When you use the iron, go from tip to tail in one continuous motion. Don’t stop in the middle to adjust your iPod, just keep moving. Finally, use your iron as often as possible to keep your skis happy and full of wax. Then clean it and put it to bed.

Now go ski!