Do You Need to Wax a New Snowboard?

Dating back to 1673, ski wax application was first recorded through recommendations made by a Johannes Scheffer, and through the decades this recommendation has evolved into what we understand and know about ski or surfing wax application today.

Maintaining your snowboard gear is of utmost importance, especially if you want a long-lasting companion that you know will withstand the snow’s moisture and allows for better traction and performance out on the slopes.

Snowboard's need to be waxed and sharpened regularly for both performance and longevity benefits, we will discuss waxing here, but you may want to read our full guide on snowboard sharpening also.

Let’s get into the reason behind why we wax snowboards and allow that to lead us into the question of “Do new snowboards need to be waxed?”

WHY DO WE WAX YOUR SNOWBOARDS?

With various advantages to waxing your snowboard, it is evident that although it might not entirely be necessary, it certainly will encourage better performance and experience out on the slopes. By waxing your snowboard you will experience:

• Faster speed and traction over the snow
• Improved movement and less “getting stuck” moments
• Easy and smooth gliding over snow and ice and flat areas
• Protect your snowboard from moisture getting into the constructed base and core

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU WAX YOUR SNOWBOARD?

There are a few standards by which to measure how often you should be waxing your snowboard and through these aspects you consider, you will also be able to grasp an understanding of what wax to use, to most suit your snowboard as well as knowing how to accurately maintain your board to the best of its lifespan.

1. How often do you use your snowboard?

   Understandably, with every time you ride out on your board, you lose wax previously applied so depending on how often you ride, will determine how often you should apply wax to your board. The recommendation stands that waxing your board every 3-4 times you go riding would suffice, but checking your base would be able to tell you more too.

2. How is your snowboard constructed?

   There are two types of bases found with snowboards mainly; Sintered and extruded bases. The sintered base has a more absorbent nature due to it being more porous therefore being able to absorb more wax to last even longer. The extruded boards, other than being somewhat cheaper to manufacture and repair, will require less waxing as extruded bases which are un-waxed, are known to glide and ride faster. Waxing will depend on the type of board and base you have decided to ride with.

3. What are the conditions you usually snowboard in?

   
   Other than riding often, whether or not you spend your days out in extreme icy conditions or perhaps have the potential to be exposed to hard exterior roots or rocks in the ground, then ensuring you have a thick and lathered up board to offer a protective layer would definitely be in your favour.If you are looking for some light fun in fluffy snow, then you wouldn’t need to add an extremely thick of layer of wax. One last thing to consider about your weather conditions is the temperature. As with many things, the warmer the temperature the more materials melt or wear out, so if you are in hotter temperatures then you might need to add wax a bit more often than one would in colder temperatures.

4. Snowboarding Skill Level and Riding Style:

   Considering your riding style and preferences are another way to determine how often you should wax your snowboard. If you enjoy fast and smooth rides where you can continuously increase momentum, then ensuring your board is nice and lathered up will definitely help in that department. The less wax, the slower the board and ride.

Now that we have covered the foundations of waxing your surfboard on a general platform, let’s answer the main question:

DO YOU NEED TO WAX A NEW SNOWBOARD?

Many have asked the same question you might be, “Do new snowboards need to be waxed?” Now, you are just about to buy a new snowboard and you are keen to get out on the slopes for a ride, but knowing how to maintain and take care of not only your board but your experience and ride too, is important. All new snowboards would typically come already waxed once you have bought them and although this is great, it is more often than not waxed with what is referred to factory wax. This is usually a cheaper wax layer used to protect the board throughout the shipment and delivery and certainly not the best out there.

However, you can definitely do some research and find that there are manufacturers and board shops which actually do support the need for quality wax and which might be able to deliver your new snowboard waxed and ready to hit the slopes. So with that said, it is evident that the wax which comes with your new snowboard is not sufficient enough to unwrap and go so we do recommend taking your new board into a ski shop to assist you with waxing or perhaps learning how to do it yourself.

HOW TO WAX A SNOWBOARD AT HOME?

Deciding on how to wax your new snowboard would depend on whether cost is important or ease because taking your board into a ski shop certainly is the quickest and easiest to get your board ready and protected for a ride. Although, many boarders would find themselves eventually learning how to wax their own snowboards at home. There is a sense of pride and care you take on as a boarder and if you want to know how, here are some of the snowboard tuning tools you will need:

• Snowboard Iron (household iron's also work - avoid irons with steam works)
• Plastic Scraper
• Preferred type of Snowboard Wax
• Scuff Pad

We do recommend watching a few informative videos on how others have waxed their new snowboards and this way you can pick up on some of the tips and tricks of the trade.

Here are the basic steps for the waxing process:

1. Remove any bindings and clean the base
2. Ensure your base is clean and heat up your iron
3. Apply a thin layer of wax to your board and with a low temperature iron, press the iron onto the wax and iron out smoothly.
4. Work with the corners of the board first and then make your way to the middle
5. After wax is cooled down, you can use your scraper to scrape away the wax in one direction to smoothen everything out.
6. Remember to scrape away most of the wax on the top layer but keeping a thin layer behind still. Your base would have absorbed much of the ironed in wax.
7. Lastly, scuff out your board and base with your scuff pad to finish off with a smoothness and guaranteed fun ride.

Well there you have it. Understanding the foundation of why we wax our boards, no matter what type of board it is (kids, mens or womens snowboards), is vitally important for maintain and promoting a good experience out on the water or slopes. Always keep in mind that your board needs nurturing and protection from environmental factors and terrain conditions and with more wax, you simply cannot go wrong. The more the wax, the merrier the board.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aleksandra Djurdjevic          

Senior Content Creator

Aleksandra Djurdjevic is a senior writer and editor, covering snowboarding, skiing and trends in outdoor winter activities. She has previously worked as ESL teacher for English Tochka. Aleksandra graduated from the Comparative Literature department at the Faculty of Philosophy in Serbia. Aleksandra’s love for the mountains, getting out in the snow on her board, season after season, seeking wild snow adventures across the globe helps her continue to be a top expert at CSG.