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How to tell your equipment needs tuning and why! Good sharp edges are essential for control and waxed bases allow your equipment to turn easier! So how do you know when it's time to tune your gear? |
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How often does your equipment need tuning?
Advanced to experts
usually tune their
equipment every 3-5 times out on the slopes. They want the edges to be sharp for control and the bottoms to be waxed
for speed and ease of turning. Intermediate to advance should tune their
equipment every 5-8
days on the slopes. They want control too but are not as demanding as advanced
skiers and snowboarders. They will
benefit from smooth bottoms that turn easier. Beginners
should tune their
equipment about every 10 days on the slopes. (Though
they should be waxing more often.) They're looking for ease of turning more than
anything else.
Of course slope conditions play a BIG part in this. Fresh fluffy snow
will not wear down your edges or bases as fast. So your tune could last longer.
But when you're on hard pack, old snow and ice, your edges dull quicker
and the wax will scrape faster from the bottoms. This means you'll have
to have them tuned more often.
How to tell if your equipment needs tuning!
There are ways to tell when your equipment needs a tune. First look at your
bottoms.
Are there gouges? Do the bottoms have a
shine or does it look dried out? If the look is dull, this means the wax is gone and your bases are more prone to
damage and wear. Now check the edges. Are your edges burred? Slowly and lightly slide
a finger down the
metal edges. Are your edges
smooth or rough? A rough edge will make your equipment difficult to use and hard
to control. Is your base flat and edges beveled? You can
hold a true bar from edge to edge to see if they have
become concave. If you see light under the bar in the middle, this means you are
only on your edges making your equipment hooky and hard to control. You should
be on the base.
When the best
time to tune your equipment?
The end of
season is probably the best time to have your equipment tuned. Here's why. Your
equipment has just been through a season.
The edges are probably burred, the bottoms have some gouges and the bases have lost
the wax. This isn't the best way to store your gear. A tune can be best taken advantage of in the spring for
very good
reasons. The best reason being that after your equipment is tuned, a coating of wax is
applied to your base. During the summer, this wax will protect your
edges from rust and the excess wax will be absorbed into your base over
the summer giving it a more durable and longer lasting base.
Most shops won’t tell you to tune your equipment in the spring. First, they are winding down from the busy season and starting to get ready for their summer business. The back room might even be closed for the season. But think of this, they also want your equipment to wear out faster! Why? So you can buy new ones. Either way, if you can't tune your equipment at the end of season, at least get them tuned.
How about tuning yourself?
Why not? Just about anyone can do it. For the price of one tune, you could purchase
a basic tuning kit. About the only thing you can't do is stone ground the bases. A
shop with a stone grinder must do that. This should be done once
every 20-30 days on the slopes.
Want to see
what's involved in tuning?
How
to tune. Click on the link to go to our
tuning instructions.
Tuning
supplies!
Here you'll find the supplies you need for tuning yourself.