My first experience with wax skis was only 3 yrs ago. I prefer wax over scales. scales only make sense for:
1) multiday trip of significance. traverses, big climbs, etc
2) late spring or summer when the snow is refrozen and abrasive and then becomes wet/heavy as temps rise dramatically. in this instance, scales only help you on the way down. i usually leave kick skins on to aid climbing and decending. the additional length of the scales produce enough resistance to grip the snow and slows me down.
3) when snow conditions have high chance of skin failure
4) if you are lazy
I have found that applying some wax on scale skis can improve it in some conditions. I have to agree that the scales are a big drag in many conditions. Also, scales dont help you when its really icy. many times, a combo of wax and skins are way better than scales.
overall, for my day trips in the winter months, I use only wax skis now as they just glide and perform better. If they dont grip, I add kick skins or full length skins.
learning to properly wax takes some time, but its time well spent.
there is also the white version of the Ultravector BC to consider
https://www.wildsnow.com/29589/the-mu-o ... ki-review/