What Is Ski Wax Used For?

Waxing your skis is an important step in ongoing maintenance of your skiing equipment. Skis that have been properly waxed for the snow conditions will perform better than those that have not.

  1. Types

    • The two major types of wax are kick wax, which is used on cross-country skis, and glide wax, which is used on downhill skis, snowboards and parts of cross-country skis.

    Glide Wax

    • The purpose of glide wax is to make skis and snowboards go faster. A fresh coat of wax assists the equipment in gliding smoothly over snow.

    Kick Wax

    • The primary use of kick wax is in adding traction to the center portion of cross-country skis. That way, when going uphill, cross-country skiers can "kick" or grip the snow with their skis.

    Cross-Country Skiing

    • Both glide and kick wax are used on cross-country skis. A layer of glide wax is applied to the whole ski and then kick wax is applied to only the center portion of the ski.

    Snow Condition

    • There are different varieties of kick and glide wax to be used for different snow conditions. The wax that is ideal for cold and dry snow has a slightly different composition than the ideal wax for warmer, wet snow.