Making ski bases as fast as possible?

what the fuuuuuuuu

You can get them stoneground. Ski shops have a machine that consists primarily of a circular stone that puts an identity (think small little lengthwise cuts) into the bottom of skis in order to create a little air barrier between the base and the snow and therefore reduce suction drag. You'll notice on race skis that the bottoms aren't flat, they have this identity cut into them for this reason.

As I understand it, this isn't done to twins, kids skis or snowboards because it makes the ski want to track more straight, reducing the ability to pivot and slide around.

Also wax like mad.

yorickYou can get them stoneground. Ski shops have a machine that consists primarily of a circular stone that puts an identity (think small little lengthwise cuts) into the bottom of skis in order to create a little air barrier between the base and the snow and therefore reduce suction drag. You'll notice on race skis that the bottoms aren't flat, they have this identity cut into them for this reason.

As I understand it, this isn't done to twins, kids skis or snowboards because it makes the ski want to track more straight, reducing the ability to pivot and slide around.

Also wax like mad.

This is it. It's called a structure and it's done to all skis and boards. The structure can be altered depending on the snow conditions. Like wax there are differnt structures which will suit different snow types. But you don't need to worry to much about getting the correct structure all the time, so long as there is still somthing on the base they will run better. From there it's base treatment. Waxing every couple of days with the correct wax for the conditions will help too. Never use any solvent cleaners in the base. You actually want to build up the wax in the base not remove it every time you rewax.

So go chat to a good shop about getting a base grind and then a stone grind to restructure your bases.

I haven't done any of this but last week while tuning up some skis I did look into how to make my skis slide faster, so I've got a little cursory knowledge. Stone grinds are 50$ a pair in vancouver. Generally wetter conditions prefer coarser grinds to help channel out the water being formed by friction between your ski base and snow. Other than straight parallel structuring I've seen a couple base grinds on the internets that are diagonal, with the intention to push water out towards the edges or something like that. Structuring is mostly confined to ski racing.

given a decent structure you can obviously choose the right temp wax and brush your bases to retain the characteristics of the structure post-wax.

To want to make it clear structuring is not somthin reserved for racers I is used on all skis an boards other then maybe super cheap kids skis. Your skis will come with a structure from the factory. If tey didn't they woul not slide. Most park skiers don't really maintain there skis but any free rider or groomer guy will generally have better maintained ski and havin. The correct structure is key to speed. Yes it can seem expensive but the speed gain I so worth it in my opinion even if you only get it done once a season.

Structure is key, even on twin tips. Keep your skis going faster for longer, everyone who's skied park enough knows how difficult it is when you get slower with each lap.