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Base Prep Wax

Base prep is the least glamorous step and the one that decides how fast everything after it will be. A new ski leaves the factory with a dry base, and a well-used one dries out through the season; in both cases the structure needs filling with soft wax before a hard race wax can do anything.

The Swix BP waxes are made for this. They are soft, cheap per gram and meant to be used in repeated cycles (iron in, let cool, scrape, repeat) three or four times on a new pair rather than once.

Do this when the skis arrive and again a few times a season, not the night before a race.

Then move to Swix race wax for competition, or training wax for everyday use. See also base cleaner and conditioner.

Guides: Swix wax and temperature guide and Race ski wax guide

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