As is the case with most things the answer to the question “how often should I wax my snowboard” is that it depends.
It will depend on a number of things including:
- The construction method for the base of your snowboard;
- How often your board is in use;
- The conditions you usually ride in; and
- How fast you want your snowboard to be
The base of your board
There are two main types of snowboard bases used in the market today:
- Sintered bases
- Extruded bases
Again which of those you go with will depend on a few things. Check out the link below to see which base is best for you.
Waxing Sintered & Extruded Bases
Sintered bases require more waxing. The way they are made means that the material is more porous (lot’s of tiny holes in it). This means a couple of things:
- That it will absorb more wax
- That extra wax that it absorbs means a properly waxed sintered base will ride much faster than an extruded base
But if you neglect waxing a sintered base it will be slower than an unwaxed extruded base.
- A waxed sintered base is faster than a waxed extruded base
- And unwaxed sintered base is slower than an unwaxed extruded base
So, in order to maintain the benefits of having a sintered base it needs waxing more often. How often that is will depend on some other factors as outlined below.
How often your board is in use
Naturally if your board is used more often then you will need to wax more often – if it used less often it will need waxing less often. You lose wax as you ride so this is logical.
The Conditions you usually Ride in
It’s also true that you will need to wax more often if you ride in, or have been riding in, hard or icy conditions.
Your waxing job will last a lot longer if you have only been surfing on nice soft pow!
The wax also acts a layer of protection for the base of the board – so if you are riding in hard or icy conditions or there is a low snow level, and you have the potential to hit exposed rocks, roots etc, then you will want to wax more often to maintain a protective layer.
The temperature will also play a part in how quickly you lose wax. On hotter days the wax will wear down quicker.
How Fast You Want your Snowboard to be
It’s not necessarily a given that you want your snowboard to be super fast.
Yeah it’s frustrating if you get stuck on the flats – but if you are a beginner, or a freestyle rider who may want to approach jumps, jibs etc a little slower you may not want to accelerate at hundred miles an hour!
If you do have that need for speed then wax more often but if you prefer a slightly slower board for whatever reason then you could hold back on the waxing.
Ideally those not wanting too much speed would have an extruded base but you may already have a sintered base (fortunately most beginner and freestyle boards do have extruded bases).
How you can tell if your Snowboard needs Waxing
Check out this video for a quick overview of how you can tell if your board needs waxing. Another way to check is to if you run your fingernail over the board and it does not collect wax then you may need to wax.
So How Often Should You Wax Your Board?
Some people wax after every time they ride – but that’s a bit over kill in my opinion and most people won’t need to do that.
At the other extreme some people never wax their board – or never wax particular boards.
Sintered Bases
For maximum performance on a sintered base you probably want to wax every 2-3 full days of riding. But if you don’t want to have to wax that often you don’t have to – you just may not get maximum speed and performance out of your board every time you ride.
If you can make that sacrifice you can wax less often. But you still probably want to wax at least every 6-10 days of riding depending on the factors above (conditions you ride in, how fast you want it).
Extruded Bases
You have a little bit more leeway with extruded bases. Why? Because the difference between an un-waxed extruded base and a waxed extruded base isn’t as pronounced as the difference between a waxed and un-waxed sintered base.
So you’re not going to notice the difference as much after you wax your extruded base. So you can get away with doing it less often.
If you want to get the most out of your extruded base then again every 2-3 days of riding will maximize performance.
You just won’t notice the difference as much if you neglect your waxing duties – so every 10 days of riding is probably fine.
Thanks for Reading
Thanks for checking out this page and I hope it has helped you to decide how often you will wax. Remember that it depends on your own personal circumstances.
If you have any comments, opinions or questions please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
>>Click here for more on Extruded and Sintered bases
Photo Credits
Photo by Lance Fisher [CC BY 2.0], via Flikr
