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razie

Sir Shiftsalot
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I was a Hertek fan for a while. Their better stuff is the Fluoro mix, FC739 or something like that. Lasts longer and very good glide down to -15 C after which it kind's stops working.

There is some truth to the claim. Hertel uses surfactants instead of heavy Fluoros and I have noticed some issues laying regular wax after Hertel. It kind of bubbles up on the base, but I would not suspect it does anything actually negative to the ski or the atmosphere... although you could get a heart attack first time you see that and think that you melted the base!!

I still have some Hertel left and I use it occasionally and mix it freely with others... I dodtend to favor smaller manufacturers, but they have a crappy website as you noted and it's a pita to order without insane shipping costs and I found other decently priced waxes.

Their 100$ speed stick works well though... just saying! Large speed increase from psychological boost :rolleyes:
 
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cantunamunch

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I still have some Hertel left and I use it occasionally and mix it freely with others... I dodtend to favor smaller manufacturers, but they have a crappy website as you noted and it's a pita to order without insane shipping costs and I found other decently priced waxes.

For some reason I associate you with Javelin. Dunno why.


@Jacques When we switch, I do need my poles!

And I hope I never experience hydroflouric acid.

Eric

Pick your car wash carefully.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...ric_acid_and_its_use_in_the_car_wash_industry
 

razie

Sir Shiftsalot
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For some reason I associate you with Javelin. Dunno why.
Nice website... ;)

Didnt use Javelin, but I did like the Nanox stuff - hard as hell to melt and scrape, but it lasted a while and the race wax was pretty consistent on anything.

Now for racing I tend to use Dr D's stuff from racewax.com - it's temperature based so it takes more fussing so you feel it's more like a science and it takes more wine...
 
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Thread Starter
TS
David

David

"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati"
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... I dodtend to favor smaller manufacturers, but they have a crappy website as you noted and it's a pita to order without insane shipping costs and I found other decently priced waxes.

Anyone in particular you'd recommend? Especially a good all purpose wax for most of our conditions here?
 

oldschoolskier

Making fresh tracks
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I’ve been using Hertel FC739 and love it as a great do all wax. There may be better more specific waxes, but as a pick it and forget it wax you can’t beat it.

As a back up I carry beeswax (my rub in fix) works at any temp and soap (hotel), this for those at or above freezing days using it as a rub in. Works for about 30 seconds to a minute tops. While short in duration really helps in those wet sticky conditions.

A few years back we played with several wax formulations to come up with a new high performance wax. I still have about $10k+ of FC micro ground in stock (could be used as powder overlay), among other things.
 

Primoz

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I admit I have absolutely zero experience with all these exotic ski waxes developed by companies making soap or surf board waxes or god knows what else, so for that I can't comment. But if we stick to proper ski waxes, then yes, companies always advice against mixing waxes with waxes from different companies. But it's pretty much normal thing, they don't want you to buy competitive company wax, but just stick with their waxes. Reality is, that sometimes mixing different waxes from different companies gives way better result then sticking with one company only. So at least with "normal" ski waxes, mixing waxes (or fluoro overlays) from different companies is perfectly fine, even though producers of waxes will never admit this works ;)
 

Steve

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I just watched the video instructions for the SkiMD Pro Glide and he uses a vise. Has anyone used it in a hotel room without a vise?

Yes I've used it many times on a kitchen counter in a timeshare. You can't get all the pressure you can as you have to hold the ski with the other hand, but it's fine.
 

oldschoolskier

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I admit I have absolutely zero experience with all these exotic ski waxes developed by companies making soap or surf board waxes or god knows what else, so for that I can't comment. But if we stick to proper ski waxes, then yes, companies always advice against mixing waxes with waxes from different companies. But it's pretty much normal thing, they don't want you to buy competitive company wax, but just stick with their waxes. Reality is, that sometimes mixing different waxes from different companies gives way better result then sticking with one company only. So at least with "normal" ski waxes, mixing waxes (or fluoro overlays) from different companies is perfectly fine, even though producers of waxes will never admit this works ;)
I recall a similar thread elsewhere that discussed what some of the tune masters used for the top skiers. While they maybe sponsored or employees by Brand “X”, they will use whatever is required to get the skiers in their charge to the podium even if that means using and mixing opposing brands (though de-Branded).

Good waxing is an art form as the right selection (combination) makes for fantastic results. What makes it the art is that course changes during the day and differently in sections making a single choose very difficult. Sometimes setting up for different sections with a artists (educated/experienced) guess as to the conditions at run time it what makes it or breaks it. This is the “black magic” of waxing.
 

Dakine

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"Aren't bases made from polyethylene? Hydroflouric acid, one of the strongest acids, is stored in polyethylene containers. How do waxes penetrate such an inert material? Or is this another myth?"
Sintered polyethylene bases are made with porosity so wax can penetrate.
Extruded bases don't have porosity but are cheap.
 

Primoz

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I recall a similar thread elsewhere that discussed what some of the tune masters used for the top skiers. While they maybe sponsored or employees by Brand “X”, they will use whatever is required to get the skiers in their charge to the podium even if that means using and mixing opposing brands (though de-Branded).
In top level of waxing business (read: World cup racing, either nordic or alpine), noone is employed or sponsored by wax producers (their race service and R&D are of course exception), and everyone pay for waxes. You wouldn't believe it, but there's no free waxes in WC. Even for example Norwegians, where Swix was official partner of team, were paying for every single box of Cera. Ok they didn't pay, but it was charged as normal (by race service prices, which are of course lower then store prices but still) and was part of sponsorship deal, meaning Swix paid that much less for complete contract. Waxes in custom/nonamed/taped over boxes are not used because of some sponsorship deals or something (as they don't exist) but to make it harder to know what you are putting to skis. Nowadays when every team/company has it's own wax rooms (or in nordic wax trucks) there's much less of this, as it was before, when different teams were under same roof, and you really didn't want to have guys from different team knowing what you were waxing.
 

Dwight

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RobSo

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I have been using Hertel FC739 (7 bricks of 3/4 lb since 2015) with good results. I like it as base layer because it has good durability. Although I always give full tunes after each day on snow, Hertel gives me the peace of mind that I can go 3-4 days without waxing. I leave my tuning gear at home on the annual ski trip. As Razie says it does bubble up on the base but I don't see it as an issue. I use mainly racewax.com Hybrid wax for middle layer + overlay on race day. On non-race days FC739 with a little bit of Moly is sufficient.
 

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