BNS Wax Recommendation
SisuSkiFest
Saturday, Jan 14
The Sisu Ski Fest is a 42k mass start skate in Ironwood, MI. The conditions for the race are excellent; plenty of new, cold snow has fallen in the last week.
Weather –
From NOAA.gov
Friday: Snow showers likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 12. Wind chill values between -5 and zero. North wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 0. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming south.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of snow showers after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Recommendation
We recommend the following:
Base Layer: Ski*Go LF Graphite, iron, scraped and brushed
Race Paraffin: Start SG8
Fluoro Powder: Holmenkol Mid Powder
Topcoat: Holmenkol Mid Block
Kick: Swix Extra Blue was kicking and gliding fine two days out. We would recommend testing kick waxes the morning of the race.
Testing Discussion - Waxes were tested on course in Ironwood by BNS Tech Rep Eli Brown. For testing Eli used a feel test with his matched test fleet. A straight paraffin test was conducted as well as a top coat test. For the length of the race it is recommended to apply both the powder and block to ensure the best durability and speed. During testing conditions were similar to what is forecasted for race day, 12 degrees F and new snow. This was a very relevant test for the weekend. With the new snow and cold temperatures forecasted a soft flex ski with a fine grind is recommended.
Testing results:
Paraffin Test
- Start SG8
- SkiGo LF Blue
- Holmenkol Matrix Blue
- Swix Marathon HF
Flouro Test
- Holmenkol Mid
- Ski*Go C105
- Swix FC7
- Start SG8
note: BNS imports Holmenkol and SkiGo waxes, and also sells waxes from Swix, Toko, Rode, Solda, Rex, Guru, Innovax, Magnar and others. We search for the fastest waxes for our customers and our testing is professional, objective and transparent. We make our best effort to test what we think is the best from each brand. However, given that we are testing more options from Holmenkol and SkiGo, there is a bias toward those brands. With this full disclosure, you can assess the legitimacy of our testing yourself. Visit Swix and Toko for their official recommendations. If you have any questions please contact us.