| October 4,
2007 Vol. 8/ No. 2 |
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I will be buying new classic and skate poles for my son this winter. It's difficult to know just how long a new pair of these poles should be, because he is growing. Even if we put the growth aspect of this decision aside what are the pole people out there saying for length?
Hello,
For me, the ultimate method to "feel" if a pole is the right length is the ability to "get on top of it". This highly technical term, "get on top of it", is the best way I can describe how to be efficient and powerful with poles. It means being far enough forward to push on your poles not only with your arms, but also with the weight of your upper body and the power of your core. If your poles are too long, it becomes more difficult to position yourself correctly. This makes "getting on top of them"nearly impossible, and if they are too short, you will feel that you don't have to move very far to get over the poles. When you do get over a short pole, there just isn't the power that you want.
Pole length also has a huge effect on timing. Too long, and you will get a hitch in your step as you pause to plant the pole and also as your body must take additional time to get into a position where you can actually push on the pole. If the poles are too short, timing is not affected as much, but it will feel like your poling is ahead of the rest of the motion, while with longer poles you will feel like your arms are behind and everything else is waiting on them.
This begs the question, "where should they fit?" A good starting point for skate poles is when the baskets are on and you are wearing regular running shoes the top of the pole is at your mouth. Much higher than that and you will run into them being too tall, and the good news is that as your son grows you still have a few inches before they feel 'off.'
Classic poles may be a bit trickier, because it is easy to ski on a pole that is too long without knowing it. A point to start from in classic is right between the top of your son's shoulder and his armpit. This doesn't offer as much wiggle room for growing, but if he is growing quickly enough you can simply cut the skate poles down to classic length.
In reality there will be at least one good season out of these poles, and maybe even a full summer of rollerskiing.
Good luck and choose SWIX poles!
Andrew Gerlach
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| Are Your Skis As Ready As You Are? |
By: Kevin Johnson
Factory Team Wax and Equipment Technician
This time of year brings cooler days, which reminds us that winter is just around the corner. Many of you have been training hard for several months now and others are just beginning their preparations for the ski season. Your body may be getting ready for skiing, but are your skis?
If you have new skis, it is of utmost importance that you properly prepare them from the beginning for optimal performance. If you have older skis, especially if you forgot to put a layer of wax on them last spring, following the same steps can give your skis the renewal that they need to make them fast throughout the year.
To prep your skis for the upcoming season you will need several key items:
- Swix Wax Iron (T72, T73, T74); there are several different options to choose depending on your budget, but make sure to use a ski waxing iron to avoid burning your delicate ski bases
- Swix Steel Brush (or Coarse Bronze Brush)
- Swix Medium Bronze Brush
- Swix BP99 Nordic Base Prep Wax (CH10 will work as well)
- Swix LF6
- Swix Fiberlene Cleaning Towel
- Swix Plexi Scraper
- Swix Groove Scraper
A new ski requires a fair amount of work right out of the box. Below is the typical protocall for a new ski or a ski that has just come back from the stonegrinder. Remember, that the process that makes skis fast also includes skiing. Make sure you always have a well-waxed ski, but skiing on them will make them faster!
The Protocall:
Begin by brushing the ski base from tip to tail with the Swix Steel Brush 4-5 times with medium pressure. This will open the base up to accept the wax and will help remove dirt and debris that may have built up on the base between the factory and your wax room. Wipe the ski with Swix Fiberlene several times from tip to tail to further remove dirt and debris.
Now that the bases are clean of surface contamination it is time to begin waxing the skis. Set the Swix Iron to the appropriate setting for BP99 Base Prep (110 degrees Celsius). Begin by rubbing the Swix BP99 Base Prep wax on the ski making a thin layer of wax over the whole base of the ski. This thin layer will help to make sure that no base material is in direct contact with the hot wax iron. Next, drip a bead of wax on each side of the groove down the whole length of the ski base. If you have ever used caulk material around the house, think of a bead about this size (apx. ¼ inch diameter). Next, move the iron over the wax from tip to tail with minimal pressure fairly quickly. It should take roughly 10 seconds to go from tip to tail. Don’t be worried if all of the wax doesn’t become molten on the first pass. Repeat ironing from tip to tail about 5 times. Let the ski cool until the wax is no longer molten (when it no longer appears “liquidy”) but still warm. Use your Swix Groove Scraper with light pressure to scrape out the groove. Follow with the Swix Plexi Scraper by scraping from tip to tail with light pressure 4-5 passes. This is called “hot-scraping” and is a great technique to use throughout the season to clean your ski base, and clear it of dirt and other small particles.
Again rub the BP99 on the base. Drip on and iron the wax as in the previous step. This time, let the ski cool fully to room temperature (apx. 15-20 minutes). Without scraping, iron the ski again 4-5 passes. Repeat this one more time. Let cool and scrape. After scraping, brush thoroughly using the Swix Medium Bronze Brush about 10 passes from tip to tail. Repeat this process 4 times.
Following this, wax the skis using Swix LF6 wax following the same procedure that allows the ski to cool completely. LF6 is used because it will provide a great base wax for the wax of the day as well as hardening the base material to help “cut” micro-hairs that are common in new or freshly stoneground ski bases. Factory Team athletes and ski technicians are using Swix LF6 as a base prep and travel wax for almost all occasions. To further reduce the micro hairs on the ski base, you can use Swix Fibertex followed by “hot-scraping” and an additional layer of LF6.
Completion of this entire process will take a fair amount of time, but you can take breaks as needed throughout the waxing process. Following this simple procedure will give your skis the preparation needed to help them perform optimally throughout the season.
If you have further questions, feel free to contact us. Over the course of the year, we offer waxing clinics all over the country. Try to make it to one to get some hands-on experience as well as learning the latest waxing techniques. |
e-RUDY.com is your one-stop spot for everything Rudy Project. You will be able to find a Authorized Retailer near you, look at all the new products Rudy Project has available, and get yourself set for the coming winter.
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| Events/Clinics/Announcements |
West Yellowstone Ski Festival
West Yellowstone, Montana
November 20-24, 2007
www.yellowstoneskifestival.com
Optimism is always good to have when you are organizing a big ski festival that will include a large fraction of the racing community during November. Jamie Greene sent an email to us the other day saying that if things stayed the same as they were on Tuesday, there would be skiable snow on the Plateau in West Yellowstone. Below is a photo of what makes Jamie optomistic, and gets the rest of us just exctied!
The best way to contact Jamie Greene is via email at info@yellowstoneskifestival.com. He work on Ski Festival for an hour or so almost every morning and will respond to your email as quickly as possible. If you need to talk about something, you can leave a message at (406) 646-7097 and someone will return your call as soon as possible. See you in November!
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CXC/RAINBOW RESORT Fall XC SKI Camp
Friday, October 26, 2007 -through- Sunday, October 28, 2007
At Rainbow Resort in Waubun, Minnesota
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Steamboat Springs Nordic Challenge – Race #1
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
December 9, 2007
www.steamboatxcski.org
NOTE: If you have an event you would like to have in SkiPost please send emails to weanswer@skipost.com
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