Whether it is pre-season or end-of-season, practicing proper ski gear maintenance will improve your equipment’s lifespan, performance, and safety. Our Seasonal Ski Maintenance Checklist covers all the steps you should take so your gear is ready to go.
It is critical to making sure you get the most out of your investment. Taking time at the end of season is important season because it sets you up for success at the start of next season. For that reason, we’ll start with our end-of-season checklist before moving on to our start-of-season checklist.
The goal of storage wax is to limit contact between your ski bases and oxygen. Polyethylene—what your bases are made of—is susceptible to oxidation over long periods of oxygen exposure. And so while one summer without storage wax isn’t going to ruin your skis, it will start a slow process of base-degradation.
Your bindings use heavy-duty internal springs to secure your ski boot, while still releasing in the event of a fall. These springs are set, or compressed, based on Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN) standards.
It is a good idea to lower your DIN to the lowest setting before storage. This ensures the springs in your bindings stay true to the numerical indicators on your DIN windows. First, find the DIN screws on both toe and heel pieces—located on the front of the toe piece, and the rear of the heel piece. Then, turn them counterclockwise. (Some bindings, especially Marker bindings from the Royal line, the toe piece DIN screw will be located on the side).
To make sure you don’t start next season with an unexpected and ill-timed pre-release, cover your DIN indicators with pieces of tape reminding yourself to turn them back up to their original settings.
Plastics have a “memory,” or in other words, a desire to return to their pre-shaped state. As such, ski boots that are left un-buckled at the end of a ski season will begin to “unwrap” in the upper cuff. This means they will lose the curved shape that wraps your lower leg shaft, thus compromising the fit. To avoid this, always store your boots buckled with light tension on each arm.
Storing your skis and boots in extreme temperatures, or in areas prone to large temperature fluctuations, can degrade your equipment in a number of ways. Necessary greases in your bindings can dry out, plastic can warp or become brittle, ski edges can rust, and ski bases can oxidize and pull away from edges or core materials. Always store your skis and boots in a room that maintains a consistent (mild) temperature.
Dirty ski outerwear means compromised waterproofing and breathability. Dirt lodged within the fabric’s fibers, or the pores of the waterproof membrane, acts as a conduit for water to penetrate the protective layers. Removing this dirt will prevent water that lingers on the surface from entering underlying layers. Drying your outerwear (on low heat) also helps restore waterproofing and breathability.
No matter how fresh your frustration feels at the end of a ski season, summer has a sneaky way of making you forget about faulty ski gear. To avoid starting next season with a slew of unpleasant reminders, leave yourself a detailed note about any gear that needs to be adjusted, fixed, or replaced. Whether it’s a hot-spot in your ski boots, a scratch on your goggle lenses, or a small rip in your ski pants, it’s nice to know what you’re dealing with before (re)discovering the issue on your first day back on the snow.
Assuming you properly storage waxed your skis at the end of last season, you’ll need to scrape them. While it’s tempting to just “ski off” what little wax appears to be left, doing so can actually damage your bases. Best practice is always to scrape, brush, and re-wax at the start of each season.
If you didn’t storage wax your skis at the end of ski season, now is the time to thoroughly investigate any possible damage caused to your bases over the summer. Areas of the base that appear white or chalky are a telltale sign of excessive oxidation, and you’ll need a fresh base grind to reopen those pores before they’ll accept wax again.
Carefully inspect around the edges of both skis, looking for areas where the base material, sidewall, or topsheet is separating. It is important to look for these delaminating (“delam”) areas, otherwise water has a tendency to work its way inside and rapidly exacerbate the problem.
Tuning your skis for the current conditions can go a long way to ease the stress early-season conditions have on your (still strengthening) legs. If conditions at your local hill are especially bare to start the season, it’s probably best to wait for more snow coverage before paying for base work.
If you turned down your DIN springs last season, it’s critical that you turn them back up! Save yourself from a delay at the resort by taking care of DIN adjustments before you get to the mountain.
Test your ski bindings at the start of the season, especially if you forgot to turn down your DINs. Ensuring that your bindings are releasing properly helps avoid unnecessary injury out on the snow. Any binding-certified tune shop will have a machine dedicated to ensuring proper release force.
You already do this before every day of skiing, right? Or at the very least, you did it at the end of last season. Regardless, start every ski season with a thorough review of your most important piece of safety equipment. Carefully inspect both the outer shell and inner foam (after removing any cloth liner) for cracks or dents. Make sure the inner foam is solidly attached to the outer shell, and that all straps function properly. Basically, inspect it like your life depends on it.
By Jans Experts