We’ve put together a “do it yourself” Birkie wax package for 2015. You can buy it at our online store at http://shop.caldwellsport.com/2015-birkie-race-wax-kit/. It’s a tricky thing to do considering how notoriously unreliable the long and medium term forecasting has been this year. So we’ve made this package as flexible as we can, focusing on limiting potential liability, without overloading it with lots of options on the expensive end of things.
Here’s what we know. Right now the forecast Hayward on Birkie day is calling for a high temperature of -2F. A couple of days ago it was saying +39F. This morning it was +10 or so. I expect to see variation in the forecast low and high temps start to narrow down over the coming weekend, and settle into a level of moderate reliability sometime around mid-week. Given the uncertainty that is inherent during our planning window, and your buying window, we’re planning to cover you for a range from high below 0F to highs in the low 20s.
Right about now, you should be asking “Wait, what? Why?”. What you mean to be asking is “why shouldn’t I just have one of the reputable and professional waxing services that are selling their services for $85 take care of my skis?” The simple answer is that you should. But about 20% of you won’t. You won’t because you do your own skis, you always do your own skis, and you only trust yourself to do your skis. I get that. I was that way. Before I bought a stonegrinder in 2002 I had never had anybody grind my skis. The very first time I got my skis ground was after I bought a grinder, because I’d be ****ed if I was going to let some other idiot do that to my skis. So I get it. Some of you want to have only yourselves to blame, and I’m down with that.
So let’s make sure you don’t screw up too badly. Based on Jeff Tumbleson’s daily testing at OO over the past two years, and what we currently know about the snowpack, here’s what we’re thinking:
The Birkie is always cold at the start. Somebody recently told me that something like seven out of ten years the start is in the single digits or below. You need to have a well hardened base, and probably some hardener (cold powder) in play in the underlayering. This is something we’ve been doing a lot of recently with really good luck. So, we’re recommending several coats of any super hard paraffin (from any brand). Then, we suggest a layer of the 30F hardening powder. This stuff is like most other synthetic parafin hardeners – it’s easy to work with and irons on easily at about 140C.
The race paraffin is important. Paraffin goes into solution in your base and provides the bulk properties of the wax job. When people ask whether the paraffin is important if you’re just going to put a fluoro coating on it, I explain using the “steak analogy”. The fluoro coating is like the seasoning you put on the steak, but the paraffin is like the cut of meat. If you like good steak, start with a good cut of meat. If you want good skis, start with the right paraffin. So, which paraffin should you use?
Well, the LF Green has been awesome in the cold. It made great race wax at US Nationals in Houghton, and has been outstanding for Jeff in single digit temps very consistently. The HF blue is also excellent out there, and will pick-up the slack if forecast high temps are getting to be in the teens. The presence of new and dry snow would push the line between green and blue a bit warmer, while older, more groomed, higher moisture snow (or later wave starts) might push you toward the blue a little sooner. We’ll make better recommendations based on actual testing and a more reliable forecast when the time draws near.
Fluoro Powder. We didn’t want to make this package super pricey by including multiple fluoro powders. The new LDR (Long Distance Racing) powder has been consistently impressive in Jeff’s testing, and in our experience at US Nationals and other venues. It runs well starting in the single digits and somewhat humid snow, and just keeps rocking as it gets warmer. The biggest plus to the LDR has been its very low liability – even in bitter cold conditions where hfC21.1 has been winning, the LDR has been good. On the other hand, the hfC21.1 can get bad pretty fast if things warm unexpectedly. I’m very confident that, if the “normal” race waxes like HP05, SFR75, and Mid08 are in the game, then LDR will be awesome. If the usual suspects are saying NOT to race on the normal stuff because it’s going to be too cold, then you should reevaluate the LDR.
Fluoro block. The hfC21.1 has been excellent in the cold. Cork a lot, and you’ll get good durability in cold snow. The hfC21.1 can help your cold-end speed a ton all the way to OO, and if you’ve got LDR under it you’ll be good for the warm(er) half of the race. If the starting temp is already in the upper single digits and climbing, we’d recommend hand-corking a layer of LDR as your top-coat. That has been an awesome race wax solution for us.
What’s missing from this kit? Well, if the current forecast for bitter cold high temps holds, then you might be missing hfC21.1 powder. That would add over $50 to the kit price, and introduce a level of complication that we’re not interested in pushing on you right now. If you’re game for more complication, check out our fluoro powder sample kit.
If the forecast stays bitter cold, then we may recommend that kit customers cover the LF green with another layer of 30F and race on that. We’d prefer to put you on a fluoro powder for durability. But we don’t know whether it will be faster without getting out there and getting 30K on the test skis, which we won’t be doing. In temps that cold the starting speed of the fluoro powders is unlikely to be any better than cold powders. You’ll be putting them on based on their reputation for durability. But those recommendations will be untested. That’s just an experience piece. My confidence in the efficacy of fluoro powder at temps in the single digits and climbing is 100%. My confidence in temps stagnating near 0F is more like 50%.
What about graphite? We won’t recommend graphite unless we get a couple of good test results indicating that it’s not a liability. We’ve seen graphite slow skis down on the Birkie trail, and you don’t want that. To reuse my recent analogy, graphite is like salt in your stew. If you don’t have it your stew won’t be quite as tasty, but you can still eat it and enjoy it. With too much, you’ll be dumping the whole pot. We always want to see a positive test or two indicating that graphite is desired before we recommend it. Not all graphites are created equal, and some have lower potential liability than others. Make sure you trust the recommendation of anybody who is suggesting that you use it.
This wax kit will take care of two pairs of skis easily, and up to four pairs if you’re super careful. I generally get more than 10 pairs of skis out of a vial of fluoro powder. I never object to using more than that as long as somebody else is paying. But I don’t find it necessary. Use a good hot iron – the LDR will flow easily on a well-cared for base. With 10g of powder (1/3 of a standard vial) I could probably stretch to get four pairs. Two pairs with plenty left for hand corking would be no problem.
We’ll be issuing more recommendations as we have more test results and more reliable forecasting. Stay tuned! And buy that wax package. I really want to go on a mountain biking vacation with Amy someplace warm this April. You can make that happen today!