Base material

hey man, basically there are two different kinds of bases, sintered and extruded. an extruded base is what you find on a lot of cheap skis and park skis because its easy to repair, softer (so you can get a more buttery ski), and requires less maintenance because there are fewer pores in the plastic to absorb wax, so you "dont have to wax it" per some reps. the downside is that because its softer it can be damaged easier and isnt as fast because it doesnt absorb as much wax.
sintered bases are a different plastic, and without getting into specifications, a different process to produce. it is a lot harder, more porous, and therefore more durable and faster, but harder to repair. a lot of companies will list all their bases in their brochures, and the higher-end the sintered base is, the more pores it has for better wax absorbtion. thats really the only diff.

as far as i know.

word, i've heard that
but whats the difference in numbers? i think i've seen like 4001, 2001, 4400, all this other stuff. what is the difference?

i *think* (and i hope i dont get lit up for this) that the higher the number, the more porous it is...
i think.
i feel like i walked into a pop quiz, havent had to think of this stuff since last season at the shop.

however it is a myth that race bases damage easier, which is what people claim about skis like the pipe cleaner. if you dont wax they do get brittle, but as long as you wax a lot, they are just as durable

I thought the cheaper/park bases were more durable and race bases were softer because they have more pores and you have to maintain more otherwise they damage easier if they are not waxed enough

no they are actually harder. the reason people have problems is because they get brittle if you dont wax em. they dry out very easily

thank you for saying something intelligent about the pipecleaner bases...

Yeah thats what i was trying to say is that they are tougher and more durable because they are less porous and are slower because they hold less wax but need less maintenance. Were thinking the same thing. Another thing to consider is that if your skis get tuned a lot (Belt & stone ground), there's is less pores to hold less wax and therefore need to wax more often.

No.. race bases are harder, more porous, more durable, and faster. They are harder to maintain and repair.

Regular extruded bases are less porous, slower, and easier to fix.

yep. this