by Mr.
Klister
Finding the Grip Wax Zone
If you have waxable skis, the first thing you need to
do is to locate the grip wax zone (a.k.a., the wax pocket).
This is the area on the bottom of the ski in which you
apply your grip wax. The rest of the ski (tip and tail)
is covered with glide wax. Although the grip wax zone
may appear to be located in the middle of a ski, it is
actually located in the center of the skiís camber
curve. To find out where the center of the camber curve
is located, you must do a little test.
To perform this test, begin by holding your skis vertically,
bases together, placing your hands on the bindings just
behind where your boots attach to them. Next, look at
the gap created between the ski bases, and as you squeeze
the skis together, watch as the gap closes down until
it is about 1/3 the length of the ski (usually between
2 and 2 1/2 ft.). When the gap closes down this far, mark
it's front and rear points on the sidewalls of the skis.
The base of the ski between the two marks is the grip
wax zone. You can use a C-clamp to squeeze the skis together
if they are very stiff.
An alternative method of performing this test involves
locating and using a very flat surface. In this case,
you lay your skis down on the surface and stand up straight
on them, weight equally distributed between both feet.
Then, have a friend slide a piece of paper under the skis.
The points at which the paper sticks define the ends of
the grip wax zone.
A more precise way of finding the true kick zone for
a specific set of skis is to wax the entire bottom of
the skis with grip wax and then go out and ski at least
3 miles on very abrasive, icy snow. The crust will wear
away the wax in the glide zones, leaving grip wax in the
kick zone. The wax in the kick zone wears less because
the camber of the ski is great enough in this area to
reduce the amount of time it is contact with the abrasive
snow.
On most skis the rear point of the grip wax zone will
be located somewhere in the vicinity of your heel, while
the front end of the grip wax zone will be about a foot
in front of your binding. Once you have located these
points, mark them on the sidewalls of your skis using
an indelible (i.e., waterproof) laundry marker. That way
you will always know where they are located.
Lastly, the length of the grip wax zone differs, depending
on whether you are using hard wax or klister. You need
less klister to get the same grip, so shorten your grip
wax zone by about four inches in each direction when using
klister.
