How often do I need to get my snowboard waxed?

Keeping the base of your snowboard and skis waxed not only makes riding around the mountain easier, due to less friction on the snow, it also helps prevent serious damage to your base and prolongs the life of your snowboard.

Here in Washington we usually receive a lot of wet, sticky snow, which makes it even more important to wax your board frequently and keep the base of your snowboard well saturated.  We suggest waxing your snowboard every three or four times that you go riding, and even more often if you are doing it yourself.  There are a few ways to check your snowboard's base in order to tell if you need a hot wax.

• A dry base will start on the edges of the bottom of your snowboard. You may see discoloration near your edges, if the base of your snowboard is black, it will be clearly visible when the edges are drying out as you will see a white discoloration.
• If you can't tell from just looking, you are also able to feel when your base is dry by scratching your nail on the bottom of your snowboard.  If you scratch your base and you leave a faint line on the snowboard, it is evidence that you do in fact have wax on the bottom of your snowboard.  If you scratch the base of your snowboard and you leave no marks, it is time for a hot wax.

It is also very important to get one last hot wax at the end of the season before you hang up your snowboard for summer.  Leaving your snowboard unwaxed for the summer is certain to dry out your base and leave you needing even more maintenance before the beginning of the next season.

Snowboards are expensive, and it is important to keep them well maintained in order to get your total value out them.  Having your snowboard hot waxed frequently is the best way to prolong the life of your snowboard.