radiomir wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:03 pm
Anyway, I'm going to get the 190s unless someone changes my mind in the next hour or so
I think, if it were me, considering your weight, that might be a good decision. I suspect that on the flats the 200s will be fine for you, but on the hills might be frustrating. But again, the consensus here is the best way to arrive at a solution, the hive mind here is the best. And there's nothing stopping you from buying more skis. It's what jobs were invented for.
radiomir wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:03 pm
Again, I am new to waxing, but trying to apply what I've read in the LilCliffy's waxing tips thread, my current understanding is that a good starting point for the Gamme would be to apply swix polar grip wax to the entire ski base and then either 1) apply additional grip wax from heel forward with grip wax of the day (green for cold, blue extra for average, and red/sliver for warmer) or 2) use a skin (when near freezing or wet).
Everyone has their own take on grip waxing, and Swix Polar and whatnot.
I use Polar, among other things. But I like tinkering. My wife's not a Polar believer. I often go out with just grip wax in the middle third where it's 'supposed' to be and nothing else because I am a lazy savage. Or I use spray glide wax on tips and tails sometimes when I'm feeling fancy. Last season I just kept my skins on a lot. We have a number of skis in our house now and conditions change. For the conditions you're describing, I wouldn't worry too much about any of this. I'd probably concentrate on learning basic grip wax first and 'complicate' it with Polar when you've got standard grip wax down (which will be fast.)
radiomir wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:03 pm
And from you, it sounds like 30mm mohair on relatively flat ground would be a good substitute for additional grip wax when it is warmer (are there other conditions where the skin would work well as a kick zone grip wax substitute?). Purple race x-skin would be good for up and down laps / terrain (not sure if this applies to a variety of temps or primarily around or above freezing?), and a wider skin would be good for longer climbs (not many of those around here).
Skins work at all temperatures. The issue is width and what the snow's like on the ground.
On very hard snow and ice, the drag can be, well, a drag.
The 30mm XSkins are really great in fresh snow if it's not too steep. And they're OK on some hills and for less wild exploring. They really shine on hardpack after a fall of fluffy snow. In conditions that are hard to put grip wax on for, wet snow around freezing, they're just awesome. I use them for when I want to sneak in a cheeky two-hour mini-tur when I should be working and don't have time for anything other than bombing around the trails and little hills around on our doorstep. I use wider skins more often because of our terrain and because you can get into wilder places with them.
A propos temperatures, I love Red Special Swix too! There's no beating the feeling of grip wax. It's also true that there is nothing more annoying than when your skis turn into stilts with ice, which is the wax hazard in warm and wet conditions no one likes. You can have a perfectly clean base on your skis and stick the 30mm skins on, or indeed wider skins, and simply not worry about that.
You can't put skins on Red Swix. It'll kill the adhesive. Skins are fine on Blue Swix.
I've used my Race skins to get up some really steep places, but it wasn't, like, a barrel of laughs. They're probably my favourite for where I like to go most often. I put wider ones on when it's really steep and take them off coming down when I practice The Turns for Which this Forum is Named.
