When Dave picked up his planks a couple of days ago he asked what he should do to keep them in good condition. It turned into a bit of a list but there may be some value in recreating it here to save me some breath next time. So here it is, not necessarily in order:
- Once you get to the end of your trip dry your gear off. Properly. Remember that your bindings will have some packed snow in them. You’d be horrified at how much steel you have to remove from your edges to sort out rust damage.
- Use velcro & foam straps to keep your skis together without scraping the bases. I have a supply of unbranded ones at £1.50 each or you can spend £5 at well-known outdoor stores.
- Ski don’t slide. If you’re on hard snow/ice/stones skiing means you should only get longitudinal grazes which aren’t too damaging. Those 60 degree gouges in your base edges are a nightmare.
- If the surface is bad consider getting in the gondola to go down. For some reason this seems to have negative connotations but there’s nothing big or clever about gubbing your skis in the last 10 minutes of the day’s sport just so you can boast that your chalet is ski in/ski out.
- Carry a 200 grit diamond file in your pocket to tidy up any dings on the slope. Remember to wet the file surface before using.
- I’ve never done this myself but apparently some people stick old bits of hose pipe on their edges before they stick them in the bag to prevent transit damage and to stop the edges cutting the ski bag. Worth a try I suppose.
- Finally lots of people ask how often skis should be serviced. Obviously the answer is “when they need it”. Certainly after a week in the Alps you’ll probably need fresh wax and might need edges tidied up. If it’s been lovely soft snow all week the edges won’t need any attention. Conversely 15 minutes at Glenshee can reduce the best prepared kit to a shocking state. If you feel a little burr when you slide the flats of your fingers down the side edge from the top of the ski it’s probably time to do the edges. If you’re actually skiing (see 3) the burr should build up in the same plane as the base. Don’t mistake a burr (which feels sharper one way than the opposite way) with a nice sharp edge (which should be equally fine in both directions). Remember always check sharpness with the flats of your fingers and perpendicular to the edge to avoid slicing fingers.
Hope that was helpful.