How to Prepare Skis for Storing (Helpful Guide)


Store Skis

When temperatures rise and closing day at the resort has come, this means that it’s time to store away your gear until the next season. But your skis may still be covered with a thin layer of mud, pine needles, and some other grime. To be able to use them for a few more seasons, you have to know how to take good care of them and how to properly store them.

To store your skis, you should first clean them, check for any damages, and repair them if possible. Wax the bases and find a place to store them. You can also use a strap to tie them together and prevent the edges from rubbing against each other.

Storing skis may seem an easy task, but there are several things to do if you want them to be ready for the next season. So, read along and let us show you how.

 

Preparing Skies for Storing

1. Clean the skis before you store them

After your last run of the season, wipe down any water from your skis, using a cloth or towel. This will prevent rust from building up along the edges.
Get rid of all the dirt by spraying everything down with water. Although, do not force water into the bindings and avoid the use of detergents or any degreasers. For tough dirt buildup, you can use a cloth, dip it into a small amount of citrus solvent, and wipe it off.

2. Sharpen the edges

Check the edges and remove debris to prevent the chances of rust. It is also best if you bring your skis to the shop and let the staff do a base grind and repair any damages on the base and edges. Visit the ski shops at the end of the season to avoid long waits at the beginning of the next season.

3. Wax the bases

After removing old wax, you have to apply a new thick coat to prevent rust from forming on the edges and to be able to protect the base. You will need a ski wax iron and an all-temperature wax or a softer warm-weather wax. Put the iron on low heat, so that the wax does not smoke when it touches the heat plate. Press the wax against the iron base and about 3 inches away from the base of the ski, and put drops of wax over a third of the base – that should be two or three inches apart. Carefully push the iron along the surface of the ski base, and keep the iron moving along the base to prevent burning the ski. Make sure that you spread the wax over the edges of the base. Repeat this for all the parts of the base, and let it rest for five minutes. You can be generous with the wax and cover the edges to help to keep rust away.

4. Top sheet and small sidewall repairs

This step will prevent water from seeping through little cracks and chips and rotting the wood core of the ski, which will affect its all-around performance and may slow you down. For these kinds of repairs, you will need an epoxy resin and a metal scraper. You first have to dry the skis out in your house for a few days to get rid of water, then mix up the epoxy-resin on a piece of scrap card and apply the paste on any cracks or chips on the ski. You can be liberal when applying the glue, but be careful and try to avoid the edges.

Let the glue set, and now it’s ready for the next season again!

If you ever get any glue on the edges and it has dried, get a sharp knife or a metal scraper to gently scrape the glue off from the edges.

For any large cracks or damages, it is best to bring your board to ski technicians so that they can fix it up using some professional equipment and techniques for a longer-lasting repair.

5. Storage

It is best to store your skis in a cool, dry place inside the house and preferably not in the garage. Keep them away from places with high temperatures and from direct sunlight. They should be in a neutral position with no pressure placed on either the camber or rocker. The back of a wardrobe or even under the bed are examples of good places to store your skis and to prevent rust buildup on the edges and damp getting into their wood core.

 

Owning your own ski gear will save you money in the long run and will make your time on the mountain worthwhile and all the more delightful. There are plenty of them out on the market, and our list of the best all-mountain skis of 2022 will help you narrow down your options.

 

Other helpful tips

When waxing your skis, it is best to apply a medium to thick layer of wax. Cover the edges to prevent rust buildup.

Purchase a ski strap or tie or a couple of elastic bands and put them over your skis. This is particularly convenient for moving them around and to prevent the bases from rubbing and scratching against each other.

Note to strap the skis carefully, do not compress the camber or rocker because this can cause warping. Therefore, wrap the strap around the area where the skis meet naturally.

You can also loosen the ski binding springs so that they don’t get compressed during the summer months. Loosen them to the lower available DIN range.

To lessen the load of the springs, you can move the alpine binding heel pieces to ski mode and the tech toe pieces into a closed position.

Skiers usually unscrew or remove the bindings before storing them away to help maintain the camber, reduce stress on the inserts, and prevent dimpling the base.

Store your skis indoors but it’s recommended not to use a ski bag because there might be moisture that can cause rust on the skis’ edges.

When the only option is storing them in the garage, make sure that it is away from any moisture or any space that is warmer than normal room temperature.

 

Final thoughts

Taking good care of your skis will maximize their lifetime and performance. If you have invested a large amount of money into your gear, then it is best to carefully preserve them. Some may not need much attention but you have to be able to check everything so that you can fully maximize your time on the slopes.

When it is time for the new skiing season, do not forget to reset your DIN range to the correct settings of the toe and heel pieces before using them again. Then, scrape the wax off. Brush them if you used an all-temperature wax or scrape them off if you used a warm-weather wax, and re-wax them for the current temperature.

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