Which Waxing Iron?

[PowTrees]

Looking for a waxing iron for $80 or less. Want to start waxing my own skis. Have used a sucky little travel iron in the past to wax in the kitchen on newspapers. I have a concrete floor and a little space to use a vice now. Would like to buy something that holds much more heat. The travel iron had to heat up multiple times for each board, would prefer to get something that will do 1 or 2 skis without having to wait.

Thinking about one of the 3 Swix at REI:
http://www.rei.com/search?query=waxi...x=0&button.y=0
Or
Toko T8:
http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorge.../TOK0061M.html
Dakine
http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorge.../DAK0676M.html

Any other suggestions? Basic question is it worth paying more than the $40 for an iron to tune boards maybe 10 or 20 times this year?

Happy Turns

[farmer]

I've got the dakine. works great. from the pictures, I would say that its the exact same iron as the $40 swix.

btw, reading some of the questions on the BC.com page for that iron is kinda funny.

"will this iron work with other waxes like one ball jay or swix"

[Caucasian Asian]

Really?

I bought all of my irons at garage sales. Less than $10. And when they shit the bed, you air mail 'em, and pull out the next one.

[ill-advised strategy]

I know other people will disagree, but any iron that gets hot and adequately melts wax is getting the job done. If you can control it to between good melting and not smoking a whole lot you're good to go.

I would get a few cheap ass irons from good will and some beer and call it a day. In fact that's what I've been doing since before I had ball hair and it still works now that I have gray ball hair.

[cooks]

An $11 iron from walmart works just fine for me. I can control the temperature well enough with it.

[wrinkledpants]

I know other people will disagree, but any iron that gets hot and adequately melts wax is getting the job done. If you can control it to between good melting and not smoking a whole lot you're good to go.

I would get a few cheap ass irons from good will and some beer and call it a day. In fact that's what I've been doing since before I had ball hair and it still works now that I have gray ball hair.

Agreed. I think the only people that benefit from a waxing iron are racers.

[m01766]

+1 for irons from good will

$4 iron from your local thrift store will work fine on the cheap

[AlpiNord]

Any other suggestions? Basic question is it worth paying more than the $40 for an iron to tune boards maybe 10 or 20 times this year?

From our weblog regarding irons:



Arc Shaped Irons or the Toko T-8 and other denser plated irons are quicker to work with and you won't regret having one.

There is a difference in plate density of similar looking irons and many are the same but branded differently. The Compact/Dakine/Swix/'put brand-name here' iron is an OK grade iron and fine for rec skiers.

[skiing-in-jackson]

The Doug Coombs Q&P

What is he using?

At first it looks like a Toko, but it looks like a plain 'ole iron. Key words: "...Think cotton..."

[LightRanger]

I have a Bakoda (came with their tuning kit) that doesn't have a temp setting. It's just one setting. Works well.

If you want a ski-specific iron, I'd look for the cheapest one you can find. Like Alpinord said... you're not racing.

[jondrums]

I highly recomend the "chugger" here:
http://www.tognar.com/wax_tools_hot_...snowboard.html
$40
I have it, and have found it to work great. Also it is fairly small and lightweight, which is great for my mobile ski tools bag.

[tahoermk]

love my toko t8, yeah a crap iron melts wax, but a good iron at a cheap price is better. watch SAC, tramdock, they've had a decent swix iron for cheap lately.

[Nick_C_123]

The thrift store/walmart/whatever irons have worked fine for me as well. Find the smoke point then back it off a little.

[Ole703]

I have the Swix t75 iron that is a good iron. I have had it for two seasons now and its holding up great. I wax after every outing. Here is a good deal for yah. http://www.artechski.com/SwixWaxIronT75.aspx

I use it on all my skis.I wax at least 45 plus days a year which includes multiple pairs of skis.

[Scottish_Skier]

+1 for the charity shop iron.

ski specific wax irons are for people who ski in lycra, drink diet coke and fold their undies before putting them in the cupboard.

you wont notice the difference!

[AlpiNord]

Quoting myself from the above cited blog post:

The clothes iron has always been used as a low cost method for melting and applying wax to ski & snowboard bases. An amusing irony regarding tools versus gear, is that many skiers will go to great lengths and expense to purchase performance ‘tools’ for their feet, and great lengths to spend very little for 2nd and 3rd rate tools for their hands to take care of their expensive gear, trashed day in and day out. I’ve been no different, but once you use a nice tool, irons a case in point, and realize it’ll do a better job, in less time, it’s hard to go back.

Saying there is no difference between a cheap tool to a better tool, is like saying there is no difference between a straight ski and a shaped ski....or a boot that fits well (eh, SIJ?), IMO. Protect your expensive gear and lifestyle choice more efficiently and effectively with better tools and learn how to use them. One of PowTrees criteria is saving time which wax irons definitely do.

For those appreciating better, the arc-shaped irons, T-8 and others are the next level above the Compact/Chugger type irons. Then there are the digital and the super dense plate irons beyond them.

For those in the clothes iron camp, you might consider 'de-tuning' the corner edge of the iron plate so it scrapes the wax less.

Here's some Efficient Waxing Tips to help you save time, effort, mess and material costs.

Isn't this all about getting out the door easier, quicker and more often to slide and carve better on and in snow?

[PowTrees]

I appreciate all those trying to save me some cash, but not interested in thrift store irons... Want an iron shaped for skis and will get at least the cheapy Dakine, but can't stop lusting after that Toko T8. From the specs the Swix stuff looks like you pay more for the name to me?

[PowTrees]

Curious what you thoughts are on the Toko T8 compared with the Maplus with the "arc" shape, do you have a preference?

From our weblog regarding irons:



Arc Shaped Irons or the Toko T-8 and other denser plated irons are quicker to work with and you won't regret having one.

There is a difference in plate density of similar looking irons and many are the same but branded differently. The Compact/Dakine/Swix/'put brand-name here' iron is an OK grade iron and fine for rec skiers.

[AlpiNord]

Curious what you thoughts are on the Toko T8 compared with the Maplus with the "arc" shape, do you have a preference?

Here are a couple shots of the arc-shaped, 1/2" thick plate next to the T-8 with 3/8" plate:





The Toko T-8 weighs 837gr/1 lb 14 oz and the Maplus arc-shape, 560 gr/1 lb 4 oz. The compactness and lighter weight and ease of use of the Maplus is nice and does work very well (see it on blog video), but the T-8 seems a skootch nicer overall and has a larger plate, better for wider skis. I guess, at the moment, I'd lean towards the T-8, but am fine with the arc-shaped, more compact Maplus.

[cooltsi]

+1 for the swix double thick plate one. I've used the travel iron for years and had good luck. It's not rocket science, heat the wax up and melt. That is until I started letting my kids wax their own skis. Son burned the bases on his skis one day. Base grind never really took out the mark. Once you've used a good iron it would be tough to go back to using the travel iron although I still have one I keep as a backup. The nice irons stay hot longer and the rounded base does a better job of waxing the bases smoothly with less effort. Kind of like the snow tire debate, all season will get you there but I'm sure alot more comfortable getting there on snow tires.

You can pick up a waxing iron for $30-80, that will last years, small price to pay based on the amount of money people pay for skis around here. I've had the swix for about 8 years, From mid November till the end of May I wax on average 10 pairs of skis per week. Still running strong.

[El Chupacabra]

I've used old clothes irons and cheap wax irons, and now have a somewhat-more-expensive wax iron.

The biggest difference seems to be the thickness of the base plate. The pricier wax irons have thicker plates, and hold a more consistent temperature.

They all work OK. The pricier wax irons work better. Whether it's worth it to you...

[PowTrees]

You can pick up a waxing iron for $30-80, that will last years, small price to pay based on the amount of money people pay for skis around here. I've had the swix for about 8 years, From mid November till the end of May I wax on average 10 pairs of skis per week. Still running strong.

Everyone will be sad to know that I spent much more than $30-80 having my boards tuned at the shop last season and every year before that. Even if I buy the $80 iron, I'll be saving quite a bit of cash, and be able to do a much better wax job instead of some quick mediocre shop tune.

It's funny I should have guessed that waxing iron vs cheap iron was a typical debate... Was already set on buying at least an iron designed for waxing skis like the Dakine iron. I searched and looked around, but there really aren't very many threads comparing the $40 irons with the more expensive ones. No debate on the likelyhood that all $40 irons come from the same factory in China.

Most importantly, I didn't even think about the fact that next season (when my wife isn't pregnant) I'll probably need to wax my wives boards and with any luck in a few years will have a son's boards to care for also. Great excuse for buying a nicer iron since it's likely I'll just be doing more tuning in the future.

[skifishbum]

I've used a lot of those shop irons they work great but it always seemed one drop to the floor and they're toast. I'd buy a cheap garge sale /DI iron and spend the rest of the $$$ on a roto brush or hand brushes.

[Treepinner]

+1 for getting a good ski iron. A one time expense that lasts a lifetime and is definitely more pleasurable to use. If you are maintaining a quiver, a rotobrush is also worth the money.

[XXX-er]

I used a smoking 5$ piece of shit for many years,the knob would move, the temp would vary even if the knob didnt move, not alot of fun but it got the job done

finally I realized I wasn't having fun and pulled the trigger on the toko T12 which is generaly regarded as the best performing least expensive digital ,when you turn it on it registers shop temp and goes to whatever exact temp you set it to

I like using it ,is it worth it for me yes , but maybe I'm crazy ... I like using good snow tires too