Nobody likes to wax their skis. Because of this, we see a lot of thirsty skis. The bases might be dry and oxidized because the skier applied nothing to them for a long time, or glazed and clogged with the residue of many applications of smear-on products.
Smear-on products are great for extruded or high-density bases that you find on most basic touring skis. Keep using them. But on a sintered base, like you would find on any skating ski, surface treatments like that don't protect the base against abrasion and the intrusion of dirt. Also, residues from those products can get into the base material and inhibit the absorption of melted wax, while at the same time not excluding dirt. What used to be slippery on the outermost surface becomes a liability once it is ground into that porous base material.
So here's the dilemma: if a ski comes in totally parched, it should have a mid-temperature or warm wax applied to soak into the base. But a softer, easier melting wax that soaks in easily will not protect against abrasion if the skier is about to go out in colder conditions. The appropriate wax for colder conditions takes a higher temperature to melt. It is designed to cool more on the surface of the ski, hardening it against sharp snow crystals and shards of snow crunched up by the grooming machine. The customer paid for a single wax.
The quick and easy short answer is to put on the right wax for the conditions, and let the owner of the skis worry about their future. However, I always think about the life of the gear as separate from the life of the owner. Also, if the owner seems like they could learn better habits, I want to help them on their way. And I have less sympathy for downhill skis. I'm not hostile, just not that interested. Among our downhill waxing clients, most of them don't seem to care either. They'll get the skis waxed at the beginning of the season and shove off until next winter.
I'm not your wax lackey. In the past couple of years, particularly this one, I've welcomed a few wax jobs as a way to pass a tedious afternoon in the absence of other business or more pleasurable pursuits, but I definitely don't live to serve. But I've also had to acknowledge that the investment in a good waxing station at home is beyond most consumers. Putting on an extra coat of wax under the radar is better than drifting around with a clipboard, hoping that I look like I'm working on some technical innovation. And it helps out a pair of skis in need.
