Should I stonegrind my new skis?

The debate about stonegrinding your skis, especially brand new skis from the manufacturer, continues to be debated. After all, aren’t the skis factory prepped? Meaning they’re stoneground by the manufacturer, and therefore ready for use after a few layers of wax? Right? The quick and simple answer to the above is yes to the first part and, more often than not, NO to the second.  The detailed response will have you running, with skis under arm, to the nearest shop to have your skis stoneground.

So, why is stonegrinding so important?

Many new skis have been exposed to air for a prolonged period of time and have a degree of oxidation on their bases. Even 24 hours of exposure allows oxidation to occur. Some ski manufacturers protect their skis with wax after grinding.

All ski bases (at least high quality sintered P-tex bases) contain undamaged open amorphous zones, but the amorphous zones in the top layer of the base become damaged during use. Stonegrinding removes the damaged top layer and thus exposes base containing undamaged open amorphous zones. This translates to better wax adherence which means that it lasts longer. Wax that lasts longer not only improves performance but also helps protect the bases.

Why stonegrind my old skis?

Used skis may become damaged, (certainly hardened and oxidized), overheated, concave or convex with use and therefore will not perform optimally. It’s a fact: a ski with a perfectly flat base is a faster ski. A flat base has more square centimetres in contact with the snow which means less pressure on each square centimetre. This translates to less friction, resulting in a faster ski; simple physics!

Know your skis. 

You need to know the pressure areas of the glide zones; how long they are, and how they are shaped. Only then can you derive the most benefit from the structure you create in your bases. A good stonegrinder can test and mark these areas of your skis and then grind the skis accordingly.

Structure is snow-type, humidity and temperature specific.

No one will argue that base structure will improve performance but not all structure works equally well under all conditions. Structure is snow-type, humidity and temperature specific. The colder the temperature and newer the snow, the finer the structure needs to be. Warmer temperatures, old transformed, or manmade snow requires larger structure.  Ideally you would adjust the structure on a gradient scale from fine to coarse as the temperature rises and the snow ages. Skiers on the World Cup circuit have the luxury and resources to do this but it would be very costly, labour intensive and simply not practical for the average skier. Therefore choose a general/generic/all-round structure that will be suited for most conditions that you will be skiing in.

What kind of structure should i choose for my skis?

Where you live in the world will dictate what initial or generic structure you should seek. In Canada we tend to have colder temperatures with low to normal humidity levels (65% and lower) and a reasonable amount of fine, new and often wind blown snow (of course seasons and where you live will vary). In most areas, as a rule, you should choose a fine structure with a universal straight pattern. It’s better to have structure that is too fine than too coarse. You can make fine-tune adjustments with a riller. For more information about rilling click here.