How does ski wax affect the speed of skis?

Answer 1

i think that waxing them provides a support on the snow and then creates i guess a ballast upon the snow

• I think the wax hardens to a ultra-smooth finish filling in the pores of the skis and reducing friction. In a manner of speaking, it is supporting the skis.

• Waxing skis makes the running surface smoother and reduces friction. This will result in increased speed and smoother running.

It does not create a ballast on the snow. A ballast is a tank of something, commonly water or sand, or it is left empty, to alter the buoyancy of a submarine, hot air balloon, dirigible, ship etc in a fluid. Snow is not a fluid. All it does is smooth the bases of the skis and make them slipperier. It makes you go a lot faster. That's it.

Answer 2

You wax your skis so that you don't stumble on the snow and you just glide over it for a smooth ride! Also, waxing your skis enables you to ski faster and it protects the bases of your skis, which if damaged can cause a rougher ride and can make the skis harder to control (trust me, I had skis with damaged bases and once they were repaired they were SO much easier to control).

Answer 3

Wax to make it simple is slippery, this when placed on the skis reduces the friction between the snow and the skis, (yes there is some friction between skis and snow).

The less friction, the faster your skis can glide across the snow, and the faster you go.

Answer 4

Ski Wax basically helps the ski Glide better on snow.

There are some different types of wax, but your basic wax (for skiing/ Snowboarding) creates a layer on the base of your ski (or board) that helps maximize the the film of water that is created between your ski and the snow, helping it to go faster, in combination with the small grooves on the bottom of your ski.

You can tell if you need wax or not, when the base of your skis starts going white, at the edges at first. There are different waxes for different snow temperatures, but you can mix these or buy 'all-round' wax.

Answer 5

Ski wax helps you move more smoothly. The fibreglass surface of the ski sometimes sticks to snow if not waxed.