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SkiMD Pro-Glide waxing

tch

What do I know; I'm just some guy on the internet.
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...OK, went to a link for this product from another thread. Purposely not including the link here, b/c I'm interested in folks who have actually used this. Whattya think? Equal to hot waxing? Better? Easy to use?
If you look at the video and instructions, it seems to depend on a lot of elbow grease, and now that I'm past 60, I'm not interested in an anaerobic workout every morning before I go skiing.

So...reviews?
 

bbinder

Making fresh tracks
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I both hot wax and use the Proglide (formerly Rays Way). I generally hot wax before a trip and then use the Proglide while traveling. I don’t think that it takes any more effort to rub in wax with the Proglide as it does to hot wax —in fact it may be easier. I can put wax on my skis with the Proglide in 5-10 minutes max, and I can do it pretty much anywhere, eg in a hotel room, without leaving a mess. I can’t really give you an opinion on performance, because I use Hertels wax, which is a general, all temperature wax. I can tell you that the “appearance” of wax on the skis lasts for a couple of days, and that when I reapply that I can notice a slight difference in glide. I can recommend it for the recreational skier who wants to maintain his/her skis inbetween hot waxing.
 

Jacques

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...OK, went to a link for this product from another thread. Purposely not including the link here, b/c I'm interested in folks who have actually used this. Whattya think? Equal to hot waxing? Better? Easy to use?
If you look at the video and instructions, it seems to depend on a lot of elbow grease, and now that I'm past 60, I'm not interested in an anaerobic workout every morning before I go skiing.

So...reviews?

A great way to apply rub-on waxes.
Other than that, the article uses a lot of scare tactics. Some might be true for one that runs an iron way too hot and or is not an experienced hot waxer.
The part about deep saturation being a waste of wax.........I'm just not going for that at all.
It does take about 20 grams of wax for a fat pair of skis, but that would be for hydrocarbon base prep. waxes. Those waxes are fine for most to ski on and not too costly.
Nobody that knows what they are doing would use that much fluorocarbon wax for a final coat of day wax.
I could go on and on, but the bottom line for me is, if one knows how to hot wax and or has a hotbox for base prep., that is the best.
Below the bottom line is, if you are using a rub-on wax ( any wax can be rubbed-on, but some are listed as such.) the tool would be an excellent way to do that.
 

KevinF

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SkiMD knows me well, or at least I used to go there a lot for ski tune-ups, etc. I've since taken over doing my own work for the most part.

Mike (the SkiMD guy) has a ton of experience and has probably seen his share of customer wrecked skis from hot waxing attempts. I tried using the ProGlide tool , but to me it seemed to be a lot of effort. I ski primarily in Northern Vermont where colder temp waxes get some heavy use and I couldn't get any appreciable rub-on or penetration with the ProGlide tool.

I was scared off for a bit about the "dangers" of hot waxing (burning your bases primarily), but I had some friends show me the basics (i.e., keep the iron moving) and the dangers seem to be overstated to me... My skis seem to absorb wax just fine, they glide fine, so apparently I haven't messed up and I've only been tuning skis for a few seasons now (i.e., I know nothing compared to the more experienced posters here).
 

Steve

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I hot wax every 2-3 days of skiing and use the Ray's Way (pro-glide) with Momentium paste wax when I feel a need for some wax but don't have the time to hot wax. I also use it as bbinder said, when I go on trips. Much faster and less work than hot wax, wait, scrape, brush.
 

Jacques

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I hot wax every 2-3 days of skiing and use the Ray's Way (pro-glide) with Momentium paste wax when I feel a need for some wax but don't have the time to hot wax. I also use it as bbinder said, when I go on trips. Much faster and less work than hot wax, wait, scrape, brush.

Are you letting the Dominator paste set up, then buffing with the Ray's Way?
 

Steve

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Are you letting the Dominator paste set up, then buffing with the Ray's Way?

Yup I wait until it dries. Buff with Ray's Way and then Horsehair brush. Quick and easy. I do put some real effort into the buffing, I'm not young either but like the UBWO.
 

Jacques

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Yup I wait until it dries. Buff with Ray's Way and then Horsehair brush. Quick and easy. I do put some real effort into the buffing, I'm not young either but like the UBWO.

Thanks for the clarification on that. Seems that would work well to buff out the Dominator past waxes. My wife just used some old nylon's to buff it out and that worked, but I could see getting into the structure a bit better would have been beneficial.
 

Steve

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The theory is that since it's a cylinder, not a flat face, all the pressure is directed to a narrow band and thus is greater. So as you rub the wax in it's getting a lot of pressure.
 

L&AirC

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...OK, went to a link for this product from another thread. Purposely not including the link here, b/c I'm interested in folks who have actually used this. Whattya think? Equal to hot waxing? Better? Easy to use?
If you look at the video and instructions, it seems to depend on a lot of elbow grease, and now that I'm past 60, I'm not interested in an anaerobic workout every morning before I go skiing.

So...reviews?

I use it. It is second best to hot wax.

The elbow grease isn't that bad. At 60, if you're concerned about it, this is the way to go (embrace elbow grease).

It isn't equal to hot waxing but it will get you through a day of skiing and only takes about 5 minutes to re-apply and you're good for another day. Hot waxing takes much longer but you're good for a couple more days.

What does the world cup do. Hot wax right.
 

ScottB

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I use it as well and agree with everything being said. I never put more than one, or two at most, coats of wax on. I really like it for putting rub on waxes on the ski (such as Dominator Butter spring wax). With my 1 coat, I find it will last a day at most. I usually get 3 days out of a hot wax. Its much easier (more rubbing, though) to do than a hot wax and uses less wax. Essentially no waste. Maybe if you put 3-5 coats on it would last longer, but it seems to me the penetration is not as good as what you get from hot waxing, so it doesn't last as long. It is perfect for a racer, who only needs a few races from their wax job. Very popular item on my race team. Its definitely worth the price, but I use it to supplement my hot waxes.

I know Mike and give him a lot of business. His grinds are usually perfect, best looking bases I have ever seen. He told me that heating skis with iron's can only deform his perfect grinds and eventually degrade the skis. He takes serious pride in his work. I think there is some truth to that if you overheat your skis while waxing, and hot boxing I avoid because it does heat the entire ski. If the temp of the iron is kept as low as possible, it should be OK. Again, for race skis you are looking for 1 season so do what makes them the fastest.

To answer your questions: the glide is equal to hot waxing from my point of view, but it doesn't last as long, just as everyone says. It is quicker to do and easier because it is less messy. The rubbing is about equal to the scraping, I give it a tie on that. I have used it without brushing and it works fine, like he says in the video. A little slicker if you brush. the product is indestructible and will last. I havae used it for 5-6 years and still have the original cloth on it. It does mix some of the old wax on the cloth with the new wax on the first couple of rubs. I never clean it.

I have a cork block with rounded edges. It is pretty much the same thing except the cloth on the wax wizard holds a little wax and spreads it a little better. I forget how much I paid for the cork block, but it works pretty similar.
 
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David

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I just learned about this product on another thread and did a search. How does the SkiMD Pro Glide compare to a cork in the real world when used in a hotel room while traveling?
 

L&AirC

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I just learned about this product on another thread and did a search. How does the SkiMD Pro Glide compare to a cork in the real world when used in a hotel room while traveling?

I’m not positive but from what I understand, they have two different jobs. I remember a few years back talking to Mike (SkiMD) about using a roto cork instead of the pro glide, and how it didn’t work well. He stated something about them having different roles.
 

David

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Curiouser and curiouser!
 

L&AirC

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I don't think of it as a replacement for hot waxing. I think of it as a supplement to the process. It doesn't do a better job than hot waxing. Even SkiMD hot waxes the skis before returning them to customers.

It is a very good way to extend the duration between hot cycling but I don't see it ever doing as good as of job as hot waxing. When you compare the time it takes to the results you get from each, Proglide would come out on top provide you aren't racing, especially when cold waxes are needed.

If you don't want to hot wax, you can do this every time you go skiing. If you aren't looking for a tenth of a second, it shouldn't matter. Your skis will be fine and you'll get a 10 minute cardio for each pair of skis you do. Just remember to switch arms now and again so you don't look funny.

I also feel there is a better chance at slicing a finger using the proglide. You're aggressively rubbing back and forth next to very sharp edges.

Maybe one of the Industry Insiders will take this as a hint to create a Roto version of the Proglide.
 
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Mike C

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I just started using the Pro Glide. LIke it a lot. I found it gives as good a result as hot wax, but probably doesn’t last as long as hot wax. For racing purposes- I like it a lot. Also I don’t like ironing in the colder waxes because I don’t like getting the skis that hot and fear burning the bases. I’ve done it! The other reason I like it for racing is I can use the expensive HF waxes and use a fraction of the wax I’d use if ironing it in. It absolutely applies enough wax for a day of skiing.

I think if you iron in cold wax like CH5 the only way to get it out is to grind or use an aggressive wax cleaner..
I had a chance to meet Mike Desantis and speak to him about tuning skis. He is by far and away the most passionate guy I’ve ever met about ski tuning. After a few minutes you can tell he truely believes in the Pro Glide. His resume speaks for itself. He was a tech on World Cup and tunes skis for a number of US Ski team racers- check out his website and the tesitmonials or even call him up and you will be a believer.
 

rc4

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I just started using the Pro Glide. LIke it a lot. I found it gives as good a result as hot wax, but probably doesn’t last as long as hot wax. For racing purposes- I like it a lot. Also I don’t like ironing in the colder waxes because I don’t like getting the skis that hot and fear burning the bases. I’ve done it! The other reason I like it for racing is I can use the expensive HF waxes and use a fraction of the wax I’d use if ironing it in. It absolutely applies enough wax for a day of skiing.

I think if you iron in cold wax like CH5 the only way to get it out is to grind or use an aggressive wax cleaner..
I had a chance to meet Mike Desantis and speak to him about tuning skis. He is by far and away the most passionate guy I’ve ever met about ski tuning. After a few minutes you can tell he truely believes in the Pro Glide. His resume speaks for itself. He was a tech on World Cup and tunes skis for a number of US Ski team racers- check out his website and the tesitmonials or even call him up and you will be a believer.

I've been using Pro Glide method by Mike for the past 3 years on my racer daughter, and I have never looked back. She is currently U19 and has been going to all kinds of post season events on the Eastern USSA circuit that she had to qualify. She gets on the podium, top 5, etc. enough that I know it's not the waxing that's not holding her back. There is always room for improvement from result-standpoint, but given that she's not in an academy, just trains and races with a weekend club, next improvement for her is in better techniques and tactics, not on waxing. Maybe at the next (next next) higher level waxing will make a difference.

I asked Mike about what type of wax - he says it's fine to use just regular wax as if it's a rub-on wax (as opposed to getting a separate rub-on wax). I had a bunch of HC, LF, HF waxes that are meant to be ironed on, and now I use that LF almost exclusively. I add HF in high humidity. So, all the 120g wax bars I bought years ago for my older son will last me probably a lifetime. Often I'll do more than one layer, btw, and Mike emphasizes on putting on high pressure when you glide. The only time I ever turned on the iron is when it is very cold and I need to warm the cold wax (Toko blue LF) to rub on, just enough to soften it. I believe this winter was the first time I turned on the iron in 3 years. I used to just rub the cold wax harder in previous years, but this year I felt lazy.

Time saving is tremendous. A lot less mess. Easier to show my daughter and have her do. Cheaper. I do put on mask when I brush to protect from all the flying wax particles. She wins occasionally - that's when the credit as the ski tech. :)
 

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