Transcript of Live Chat with Eli Brown

If you missed it: The transcript from the live chat with Eli Brown on waxing:

11:54 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Hello everyone Im here live to talk about ski waxing from 12-1. Send me your questions!
11:56 Sarah:	Why is it important to wax your skiis?
11:56 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Hi Sarah, thanks for logging on! Waxing your skis is important if you want to take care of your investment and enjoy fast skis!
11:57 Sarah:	How much does it cost? Is it done while I wait?
11:58 Eli Brickhead Brown:	well thats a hard one to answer it can be very economical, or more expensive if you want to make it more complicated.
12:00 Tony:	Eli:
12:00 Guest:	this is about waxing a snowboard. what is the best brush to use for the base to create the grooves and are you supposed to use it before waxing or after scrapping?
12:01 Eli Brickhead Brown:	HI Tony. there are two basic brushes and times to use them
12:01 Eli Brickhead Brown:	a prewaxing brush is usually fine steel or bronze. it helps open up the pourous base so its ready to accept wax
12:02 Eli Brickhead Brown:	after pre brushing and waxing, you can use a nylon brush to polish and shine up the base for speed
12:03 curt:	We are skiing in the Noquemanon Ski Marathon race this Sat. in Marquette. (50Km classic) Do you have a suggestion for glide wax and classic kick wax. Temperature is predicted to be about 20 deg. F. with high humidity and chance of light snow. How many thin coats of kick wax? What about top coats for the glide wax? Should we put some warmer wax on underneath to help out near the end when we are tired? Thanks and glad that you relocated to Traverse City. Your enthusiasm for skiing is really great. curt
12:04 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Curt thats a lot of questions all at once. did you drink too much coffee today?
12:04 Mark:	With the winter season changing (snow conditions with temperatures etc.) should you change the type of wax you use?
12:05 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Curt, glide will be good to have something in the swix range LF6 could run well, but for sure any long race and you need to have flouro! from swix proabbly FC7, from skigo C105, from Toko Blue jetstream
12:06 curt:	just one cup of espresso.
12:06 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Mark, yes waxing needs to changed based on the weather what was fast last week, is not fast this week basically colder glide waxes are harder and warmer waxes are softer and contain flouro carbons which repel water
12:06 Eli Brickhead Brown
12:06 Tony:	Hi Eli: My current skating skis seem to perform well in warm or firm conditions, but were very slow last Saturday in cold soft snow even though I used good cold weather wax (blue jetstream). What is your recommendation to avoid mis-wxing on race day? Also, should I dedicate a pair of skis to a specific brand of wax or is it okay to mix manufacturers?
12:07 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Curt, for kick, yes, a solid binder like Toko Green binder is important heat that in thin and cork it smooth let your ski cool then apply race kick wax for appropriate temp.
12:07 Steven:	Is there a particular way to wax a board for storage? some one recently told me you should leave wax on the edges.
12:08 Eli Brickhead Brown:	for a 50km classic its real important to nail the kick wax. depending on the flex of your ski, its hard to recommend the right number of layers. better to start with 3-4 thin layers, test it and add more as you need more kick. then think about how much the snow is going to change during the race
12:09 Eli Brickhead Brown:	for the Noque, you can get a way with a bit less kick later on in the race because its down hill and flat at the end. but you DEFINATELY need monster kick early on as you climb out of the Dead River Basin
12:10 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Tony, last week was real cold and abrasive. the wax wasnt as big a factor in speed as the structure. good to have a fine structure or stone grind on your cold skis, and a more aggressive structure on your warmer skis.
12:10 Eli Brickhead Brown:	mixing brands of wax is fine. i dont know if the wax companies would tell you that. but thats how Ive always done it.
12:10 Jim:	What are your thoughts on rubbing or corking in flouros versus ironing in.
12:12 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Steve, hi. yes wax your snowboard, heat in a soft glide wax and dont scrape it off. this is the best way to store skis or snowboards. now the focus here seems to be a little bit towards my experience of xc ski racing, and the Noque coming up this weekend. if anyone wants to come, I got a basic waxing clinic here at BrickWheels this friday at 6pm
12:12 Stan:	Hi Eli! Im going to the Birkie this year for the first time. I'm thinking I could be on the trail for 5+ hours. What is the ideal long distance glide wax for me?
12:13 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Jim, ironing in flouros can be dangerous to the ski base if iron is too hot, and not good fumes to breathe either. But it is waaaay more durable to have ironed flouro rather than hand corked. for top end speed I like to iron in a good layer of the chosen flouro, and brush that out, then top it off with a rub on flouro for added speed
12:13 Elton:	Eli, it's your Dad and it's my birthday. So will you give me waxing help when I come from MN to ski the half-Vasa?
12:15 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Stan, funny you mention the durability question since we just got a new special wax in for that purpose. Swix is coming out with a new HF wax made for long term durability, its call Swix Marathon. Although this product is not for sale everywhere yet, we have a few here at the shop...come by quick! it is supposed to be equal in speed to an HF or BD wax, at first, but way faster over time. One universal wax. Hard, and high flouro, the Swix Marathon. cant wait to try it!
12:16 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Hi Dad. I got you covered as usual. looking forward to it!
12:17 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Happy Birthday Elton!
12:18 Eli Brickhead Brown:	here is a short video from yesterday on ski waxing; http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=572470
12:20 Tony:	In terms of the grinds on cold and warm skis, is that something I can do myself or do I have to send my skis to a pro to have it done?
12:20 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Stone Grinding is done on an expensive machine. We have one here at the shop...even more important, we have good technicians who know how to use the machine to make your ski base flat and fast (or snowboard). we are currently testing our grinds extensively on the local snow in an effort to find the fastest structure for all the various conditions that we encounter
12:21 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Stan, you shouldnt stop in a race
12:21 Stan:	Sounds great! Another question...Do you have any experiece with the Ski Go flouro powder? Does it pay to stop 1/2 way through the Birkie and apply more flouro and cork it in?
12:21 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Ski Go makes some really really good waxes
12:21 Eli Brickhead Brown:	dont race a marathon without having flouros heated in to your ski base. if you are unsure how to do this we can do if for you at the shop.
12:22 Mike:	I get asked all the time by new xc racers: "What waxes should I buy"? What would you recommend for a beginning wax kit?
12:22 Eli Brickhead Brown:	good question Mike.
12:22 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Im doing a beginner clinic for a ladies group tonight then one here at Brickwheels on friday. I tell people the first wax you need is Swix CH7. this tends to run well here and its cheap and easy to use.
12:23 Eli Brickhead Brown:	so other that that for glide wax, it is SUPER DUPER important to have a waxing specific iron to make sure you dont burn your ski bases. and a well ventilated well lit place to work on your skis. also a scraper and two brushes.
12:26 Mike:	What brushes?
12:28 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Mike, basically there are three families of brushes; Prebrush - soft steel or bronze. used for opening up the base and making it ready to accept wax Post brush - after scraping use a horsehair or boar hair brush to clean off excess wax Polish - white nylon is my preference to get the base shiney and fast
12:28 Mike:	And what are the next waxes are next on the buying list?
12:29 Eli Brickhead Brown:	after buying CH7, customers usually want to expand the range so buying next colder basic wax - (CH6) is good for conditions like last week, and CH8 on the warmer side is probably good for right now for example.
12:29 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Sten?
12:29 Sten:	Tell us about your training Eli!
12:30 Eli Brickhead Brown:	i havent trained in a while
12:30 Eli Brickhead Brown:	but i have been out doing a bunch of lessons
12:30 Eli Brickhead Brown:	I signed up for the Birkie so I better get in shape quick!
12:31 Eli Brickhead Brown:	the bottom line with waxing....
12:31 Eli Brickhead Brown:	you can make a big impact on your performance with proper ski care and good wax decisions...
12:32 Eli Brickhead Brown:	but whats on top of the ski is WAAAAAAY more important than whats underneath them...
12:33 Sten:	Classic Birkie?
12:33 Eli Brickhead Brown:	I gonna go for the 50km skate Birkie.
12:33 Judy:	How do I know what size skate pole to purchase?
12:33 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Hi Judy, our staff here at Brick can help size you for poles. but basic starting point is 90% of your height for skate pole and 85% of your height for classic
2:34 John:	Can the same waxes be used for downhill and cross-country skis? Is the waxing process the same?
12:35 Eli Brickhead Brown:	the main difference is that in Alpine the speeds are higher so waxing is not as great of a factor. in xc it is more about break away speed. waxing can have a bigger impact because the speeds are lower.
12:35 Judy:	Starting Point? What determines variation in sizing poles?
12:36 Eli Brickhead Brown:	alpine always seems to wax a touch colder than xc. in alpine there is so much more friction that a colder wax is better since a colder wax is harder and therefore more durable
12:36 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Judy, those are the basic recommendations for pole height, someone might go a bit longer or shorter depending on their style, the terrain they are skiing on, etc.
12:37 Eli Brickhead Brown:	I like to have a little longer skating pole since the Vasa trail is fairly gradual terrain
12:37 Dell:	how much waxing should preteens be able to do themselves?
12:37 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Dell, those kids of your should be waxing your skis!
12:38 Eli Brickhead Brown:	but seriously, good to teach them to take care of their gear at a young age. my 7 year old loves to wax her skis. of course I dont let her loose with a hot iron yet
12:40 Stan:	Stan here! Hey what is the basic procedure of ironing a shirt? No no, just kidding! I mean flouro powder? Is it too dangerous to do by myself?
12:41 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Stan. you are a funny man
12:41 Eli Brickhead Brown:	you should come to my wax clinic friday and I will demo how to wax flouros
12:42 Todd:	I hear fo folks covering klister with hard wax. When do you do this and how?
12:42 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Klister Covered is popular combo
12:42 Eli Brickhead Brown:	kick waxing can get tough when it gets warmer
12:43 Judy:	I am 6 foot tall and have been using a 167cm Leki, does swix make a 167cm pole?
12:43 Eli Brickhead Brown:	covering your klister with a hard wax is a good technique with it is a glazed or icy track with a touch of powder on top. straight kick wax would be too slippery, and straight klister would be too sticky
12:44 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Hi Judy, yeah Swix makes poles of all lengths. hard to find the longer poles this time of year, but I know they have some availibility. stop by the shop and we can get you some. by the way you are tall for a Judy!
12:45 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Spray kilsters from Toko and Swix work well. I like to use them for a binder since you can put it on real realy thin and nice. might be nice to have in your pack on a long tour as well if you need more kick
12:45 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Judy, all poles are cut to size in the factory. cutting a pole shouldnt affect the strength or performance of the shaft
12:46 Dell:	how much have you played around with the new spray klister from Toko?
12:47 Eli Brickhead Brown:	favorite kick waxes Swix Xtra Blue Swix Special Violet this is almost all you need around here to get by
12:48 Eli Brickhead Brown:	for klister its a good place to start buy staying with one brand and getting the line from cold klisters up through warm ones. its ok to mix them as well, but keep it basic, dont put on too thick.
12:48 Eli Brickhead Brown:	there is a lot of hype out there about wax and all the different choices and brands.
12:48 Judy:	I don't think a cut pole is as strong as a factory pole.
12:49 Eli Brickhead Brown:	best to start simple. Ive always use Swix as a starting point. this is an easy and simple way to start. they have a full line of good products. build it out from there by trying new things, but dont try new things on race day unless you know they are gonna work!
12:49 Dell:	I am going to spray some on Todds skis at the Noquey this weekend so he can tell me how well it works!
12:50 Eli Brickhead Brown:	a popular cold wax job is LF3/CH4, or LF3/LF4. I havent used LF3 powder alone. but I suppose you could, you would just want to make sure you have really good coverage so hot iron doesnt touch bare base
12:50 Eli Brickhead Brown:	hallsey, you are a gem
12:50 Eli Brickhead Brown:	155 for you
12:51 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Judy Gerwegian
12:52 Eli Brickhead Brown:	favorite wax of all time? Ski Go 105
12:52 hallsey:	What is your top-4 favorite kick waxes?
12:52 Eli Brickhead Brown:	flex is more important than wax, and the skier is more important than anything
12:53 Eli Brickhead Brown:	best result, winning the 1km coaches race at Soldier Hollow a few years back.
12:53 hallsey:	What are your top-4 favorite klisters?
12:54 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Hi Barry, there are plenty of times were new skis have been raced on with great success right out of the box.
12:54 hallsey:	If you could only use one wax line, which one would it be?
12:54 Eli Brickhead Brown:	skis are always faster with more wax and more km but the stonegrinding process; both from the factory and from ski shops gives a good finish so that multiple layers of base prep isnt necessary...but like I said, it helps!
12:54 Eli Brickhead Brown:	http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=572470
12:54 Todd:	Can you apply LF3 straight on or should it be applied on top of another layer like warm CH4 or LF4?
12:56 Eli Brickhead Brown:	favorite trails; 1. Valley Spur. Munising, Michigan. Roller coaster single track classic! 2. Vasa Trail. When its groomed perfectly you can maintain almost 15 miles per hour over rolling terrain through the forest. exhilarating. 3. anywhere downtown
12:56 Tony:	White Pine temps on accuweather at about 35 degrees. What should I wax skating skis with? HF8BW?
12:57 Eli Brickhead Brown:	old White Pine. nice trail! BD8 could be good, I like HF8 better though as its usually clean newer snow up there.
12:58 Eli Brickhead Brown:	Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to the live wax chat. Tune in next week same time? stop by Timber Ridge at 7pm tonight for a basic wax clinic with SheSkis or friday 6pm at Brick Wheels thanks! and see you on the trails! Eli

Transcript of Live Chat with Eli Brown

Wed, Jan 26, 2011 - By Eli Brown