As everyone scrambles to find the best solution Post-fluorine race waxing has become complicated. Because of this, the current choices are numerous and need to be clarified. I would like to offer some thoughts on this, which readers will find helpful.

First, the recommendations and observations I will make are for domestic racers, obviously not for the World Cup. This means that the information is for just about everyone who races.

The goal is to have fast, durable skis. There are a lot of emerging forms of race wax that are being used. Options include pastes, rub or buff-on solids, hot waxes, liquids, and powders. Each brand has its competence, and I recognize there is more than one way to arrive at a good result. However, this does not mean that all solutions are equally good in all conditions.

World Cup teams still use perfluorocarbon topcoats over fluorinated hydrocarbon race waxes. The topcoats are either powders or liquids or a combination of both. Domestically, if waxing for events that do not permit fluorine, teams are hot waxing and covering the hot wax with liquid paraffin or powders. Technology is still emerging, and we can all expect an improved performance of nonfluorinated hot waxes, powders, and liquids in the future.

The TOKO approach

The Toko way of waxing is different from some other brands simply because we have different technology and know-how. Some brands work exclusively with paste, some with a rub or buff-on solid, and some focus on liquids. We at Toko have decided to focus on hot waxes, liquids, and powders with regards to nonfluorinated race waxes. These three forms have demonstrated the best performance and predictability and have the most potential. 

It would be foolish to work with all five wax forms during a race season to find the “best” race skis. It is not only impractical to try to test all five forms regularly and before events, but to try to maintain familiarity with all five reduces the expertise one could have with the main three; this is a critical point.

One crucial part of waxing well is to be able to predict what wax is going to work as conditions change. We don’t just wax for the present. Most commonly, we are waxing for a specific period in the future, and we need to predict the conditions and what wax will work then.

Gaining familiarity is crucial

Maintaining familiarity with hot waxes, liquids, and powders are challenging enough without trying to address pastes and buff-on solids. The best practice is to consistently monitor technology and continue to test periodically, but for your day-to-day, pick your go-to. In our case, this means hot waxes, liquids, and powders. 

Hot waxes have been universally suitable. As long as there are sintered bases, hot waxes will be a critical component of ski preparation. Liquids are excellent for many conditions, from very cold to very wet, with the best conditions being relatively fast, with the snow at least slightly transformed. Sometimes the liquid paraffin can be a liability, for example, in certain types of new falling or newly fallen snow, depending on your geographic location. Please be aware of this and test it, so there are no surprises.

TOKO liquid wax solution

Toko liquid paraffin is different from others in the market. The main difference is that Toko liquid paraffin has the smallest particle size and can require longer drying times in some kinds of snow. The smaller particles make the wax both faster and more durable. Toko liquid paraffin offers a lot of variables so that you can adjust your application to the snow characteristics to make your skis even faster. So, you are evaluating not just wax but also the application method.

The optimal drying time of Toko liquid paraffin depends on the type of snow. The harder and colder the snow is, the more drying time is needed, ideally overnight. The more moisture in the snow and the warmer it is, the less drying time is required, even as little as 30 minutes. You can even ski on High-Performance Liquid Paraffin Yellow in very wet snow for short events while the application is still wet and experience outstanding results.

You are not just picking your wax but fine-tuning your application to the characteristics of the snow by letting it dry for longer or shorter. The same wax, let’s say Red if left to sit overnight, will be harder, more durable, and perform better in drier snow than if let dry for only 30 minutes before brushing. In that case, it will be more hydrophobic and perform better in wetter snow. So even though we only offer three wax colors, a multitude of fine-tuning can be done depending on how long you let it dry.

Creating a speed layer

What we are trying to create when waxing fluorine free is to achieve what we used to call a speed layer on top of our hot wax work. A speed layer is a very thin uniform layer of wax that speeds up the skis. We at Toko have decided that our liquid paraffin is the best way to achieve this compared to buffing on a solid or paste. Liquids are more adjustable, and generally, they are more durable. 

Years ago, we used to apply a speed layer of JetStream Bloc over our JetStream application. This speed layer would speed up the skis in certain conditions, especially new fallen or falling snow. Then, once HelX came out, we replaced this solid rub-on and buff-out layer with HelX because it worked even better. This was not to say that the old Bloc speed layer was not good, but the HelX worked better, so despite having won many races on the Bloc speed layer, we changed our practice and experienced better skis. The situation today is similar when comparing buff-on solids to liquids (both over hot wax). 

Hot wax is the foundation

So, why do we hot wax? Race skis have sintered bases. Sintered bases allow a waxer to adjust the properties of the base and make it harder, softer, more dry friction resistant, or more hydrophobic.

How is this achieved? Because the sintered base takes in the hot wax and adopts its properties. When you hot wax a sintered base with a cold wax such as blue, the base gets hard and dry friction resistant because the wax is in the base and has hardened it. It is the same with a softer, more hydrophobic wax.

This makes skis faster for any specific condition. The other reason we hot wax is to maintain the health of our bases. Sintered ski bases are best when they have wax in their bases. Also, hot waxing can eliminate abrasion effects from skiing on abrasive snow. When you hot wax, like applying moisturizer on chapped, dry skin, you restore the base to a healthier and better performing condition.

This is not to say that bare skis with a perfluorocarbon topcoat were not used in certain conditions sometimes on the World Cup, but this was the rare exception. World Cup teams did and continue to buy a large volume of hot waxes. This is the main staple of ski care and will be as long as we work with sintered bases.

In conclusion

We will see where technology leads us, but in two years, race waxing will be pretty different from how it is now. We will have liquid and powder topcoats again that will be applied and perform much like the perfluorocarbon topcoats of the past. As things change, we must pick a top performer and focus on two or three forms of race wax rather than trying to figure out all of them simultaneously. We need to become more competent and learn our tools to know what to use, where, and when rather than testing everything available. Predictability and expertise are what we seek, not chasing everything.  

Good luck, and see you out there.