kick wax for touring?

Question to MD2020 and Swooz: Did you wax the whole ski, or just underfoot?

Thanks for the tip and report. I'm going to try the ironed-in method. The kick wax seems pretty durable. At the end of my 5+ mile glide to the car on the snowmobile trail yesterday, my skis still had some of my hand-applied wax on the base.

I waxed the whole ski. On the way out down the road, my companions crayoned on some under the kick zone. While we didn't really have any significant slope to climb as a test, the glide rate of all of us was similar on the downhill.

wax the whole ski. Crayon a ton and then crayon some more. I find that ironing it on really helps retention to the ski. Brenda and I have been out about 10 times now with same wax on our skis and it's still working. TodayI did a little experiment with these new Karhu XCD Guides that I just mounted up yesterday. They're a relatively fat (78 mm waist) waxless ski and it was the first time out on them. Brenda had her kick waxed Jills and hands down the kick wax wins in cold snow. Not only did the Jills climb steeper on the groomed tracks but they also glided way better on the slight downhill parts of the tracks. Off the tracks and in the powder the waxless skis are a joke - no better than wax base with only glide wax. I'll be saving the XCD's for spring and go back to my kick waxed Work Stinx for the powder.

Hey MD2020,

If you remember, let us know what you think of the Guides after trying them in other conditions. I have been curious to hear about those from a more decent oriented skier, rather than someone who just tours, both the uphill ability and how much the pattern affects downhill performance.

Kicker skins are also a good option...

www.backcountry.com/store/BLD0795/Black-...on-Kicker-Skins.html

Kicker skins are also a good option...

Somebody should do a side-by-side comparison between kicker skins (which are short and fat) and skinny skins (which are long and thin). I'm a real fan of skinny skins, but I've never tried kicker skins. Has anybody used both?

Now, if some manufacturer wanted to sponsor a testing junket, maybe I could help out ...