Research, Research, Research
Fast Wax constantly researches and evaluates waxes and additives to make a better, faster, longer-lasting ski wax. Our mature development and testing process allows us to gather and evaluate hundreds of data points before a wax ever touches the snow. Our experiments constantly remind us of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Some experiments end in failure due to not enough of this; some fail because of too much of that. You find what makes it right only through perseverance and a little luck.
We are sharing some of our thoughts or beliefs on what factors make a great ski wax. At the end of the day, a ski wax's job is to help fight off the effects of the various types of friction—wet, Dry, Electrostatic, and Environmental.
We believe the following is when it comes to reducing the effects of wet friction.
Contact angles are a solid quantitative data point but do not tell the entire story. We can make a wax that has angles in the 120s but is so brittle it flakes off as soon as the stress is placed on the ski base. Thus, we jump into the deep end of our journey with the three bears. As a designer for a wax formula, you must be constantly open to making compromises to find the blend that makes it right.
When it comes to reducing dry friction, we believe the following.
The ski wax needs to have the right level of hardness while providing excellent adhesion to the ski base and still be easy to apply. Both adhesion and hardness will play huge parts in the durability or distance you will get out of your wax for the snow conditions. If a ski wax is a challenge to apply, you will not want to wax as often as you should, or do you know if you have applied it correctly.
When it comes to reducing electrostatic friction, we believe the following.
In conditions conducive to the build-up of electrostatic energy on the ski base. Wax should provide a conductive path for that energy to dissipate efficiently into the snow. This conductive path should have any negative effects on the other properties in the wax.
When it comes to reducing environmental friction.
We believe that this problem combines all sources of friction. If you engineer your wax right you, addressing the other three sources of friction then you should have all you need to fight environmental friction.
Let's put this into real-world terms.
For very cold snow,-5F and colder, Fast Wax wants a hard, durable wax that provides the ultimate defense against dry, abrasive friction. In these conditions, the wax will need little to no hydrophobic properties. If an additive that fights electrostatic friction is present, it cannot detract from the dry friction properties. This wax cannot be brittle or challenging to apply; it must have properties that bind it to the ski base and scrape out with little effort.
For cold snow, 0-15F, Fast Wax wants a medium hard, durable wax that provides defense against dry, abrasive friction but also has an increasing amount of hydrophobic properties. If an additive that fights electrostatic friction is present, it cannot detract from the dry friction properties. This wax cannot be brittle or difficult to apply; it must have properties that bind it to the ski base and scrape out with little effort. For snow just below freezing (16-30F), Fast Wax wants a softer, durable wax that provides wet friction due to its hydrophobic properties. This wax will be hard enough to do a good job against dry friction but will be ideal for higher wetness conditions. The amount of electrostatic friction in these conditions could be high or low, so we need to provide some amount of electrical conductance. This wax cannot be brittle or difficult to apply; it must have properties that bind it to the ski base and scrape out with little effort.
For snow above the freezing mark (32F+), Fast Wax wants a durable, soft wax that protects against wet friction due to its hydrophobic properties. This wax will be hard enough to do a good job against dry friction but will be ideal for higher wetness conditions. The amount of electrostatic friction in these conditions would be low, so we need to provide a small amount of electrical conductance. This wax cannot be brittle or difficult to apply; it must have properties that bind it to the ski base and scrape out with little effort.
Snow Properties Considered
-35F to 12F: There is a zero chance for the water boundary layer to form below the ski.
- Dry snow will come in contact with the dry bottom of the ski; this could lead to the build-up of electrostatic friction.
- A water-repellent wax additive could increase the amount of dry friction.
- Dry friction will be the first to overcome; the snow will have lots of physical resistive force. The arms of the snow crystal are as hard as they can get.
- Environmental friction, dirt, and sap would be frozen and provide less of an influence on friction.
- The surface 1" of the snow will be the coldest.
- The snow below the surface could be slightly warmer as you go deeper in the snowpack.
- There is no need for a hydrophobic additive at these temps; it will never see water.
- Fresh snow could provide a loose substrate that could allow for the build-up of electrostatic energy.
- Falling snow might have an electrical charge from bumping into other snow crystals during formation.
- A hard wax will resist the abrasive resistance from the cold snow.
- A hard wax will have almost zero oil present in it, causing it to be harder and less hydrophobic.
- A sealed and smooth ski base will not provide any cavities for snow crystals to dig into and will provide additional resistance.
- The ski base can push snow out of the way or sheer off any snow arms that have found an anchor on the ski base.
- Wind-blown snow means an inventory of loose snow can collect in pockets of very loose snow. It also means as the snow is blowing around, it is dulling its sharp edges.
- Old snow, the edges of the snow start to bond to the flake next to it, and the snowpack comes together as a single unit, a vast difference from the uniqueness and individuality the flake started under.
10-32F: start of transition from fighting dry to wet friction
- An increasing amount of water will be available to the ski as the temperatures increase to freezing.
- The amount of dry friction decreases rapidly.
- The ski rides this boundary layer of water, making the surface below the ski smooth and flat, creating a smooth and flat surface of the ski critical for efficiency.
- At 28 F is the point at which the curves of the friction factors meet, and some of the fastest speeds are attained.
- Compaction into the snowpack, our energy vector is wrong.
- The compaction of snow under the ski creates the water boundary layer - freeze-thaw cycle.
- The age of snow, the older the snow, the more chance of the snow becoming rounded, the sharp angles of the snow melting, and the shape changes.
33-50F: transition from exploiting the boundary layer to total war against the wet snow.
- Moisture is readily extracted from the snowpack.
- Too much moisture is created, causing wet friction to increase dramatically.
- Think of wet friction as suction, causing your ski to stick to the snow below it, and the water is the glue.
- A softer wax is used because of the higher oil content, which in turn makes wax soft and repels water.
- The soft wax is always riding on a layer of water at these temps.
- A soft wax is pliable; it can move around on the ski.
- The compaction of snow robs you of energy as you sink instead of propelling forward.
- The moisture layer will be more established in the snowpack. Moisture will be anchored deeper into the snow so the moisture at the top of the pack will have reverse suction pulling or anchoring it into the snow. Increasing the force to pull the ski base up off the snow, the easy way is to go forward and not fight that force.
What does a world without Fluorocarbons look like? A world without Fluorocarbons is one that should be embraced. Yes, over the years, lots of information has been released on how Fluorocarbons reduce friction and increase speed, and you can only win a race with it. I will not dispute these facts, but I will say that we can do better. Winning should not come at the expense of our environment.