Best Storage Wax For Snowboards
When waxing for storage, glide speed no longer matters. What matters is how well the wax protects the board over a long period of time. In this guide, we break down what makes a great storage wax and help you pick the best storage wax for your board.
5 Key Features of a Good Storage Wax
A good storage wax is generally soft, spreads evenly, and has deeper base penetration. This comes down to five key features:
1. Low Melting Point. A lower melting point makes the wax thinner and more fluid when melted, allowing it to seep deeper into the P-Tex pores and keep the base from drying out.
2. High Hydrocarbon Content. Hydrocarbon wax creates a hydrophobic (water-repelling) barrier that blocks humidity from oxidizing the base and rusting the edges, while trapping the factory oils inside the P-Tex so they don’t evaporate.
3. Thick, Unscraped Layer. After applying the wax, the thicker the layer the better the protection. Some waxes can be applied thicker than others.
4. Edge Protection. Storage wax needs to be ironed directly over the metal edges, fully coating the steel and sealing out the moisture that causes rust over the summer.
5. Easy Removal. When winter comes back, you want a wax that comes off quickly and cleanly, so you can move on to applying the right wax for your conditions.
The Best Storage Wax for You
All-temp, warm, and base prep wax are all solid options, each with their own strengths and trade-offs.
All-Temp Wax
For the average rider, all-temp wax, also known as universal wax, is the most popular storage wax simply because of its convenience.
It checks all five boxes for a good storage wax, it’s affordable, and most riders already have it on hand for regular season maintenance.
The best part is, when the next season comes, you can just scrape it off and start riding without the need to re-wax right away.
Base Prep Wax
For riders who want the best possible protection, base prep wax is the superior choice. It is designed to penetrate deeper into the P-Tex pores, made of pure hydrocarbons, and spreads into a thick, even layer — hitting every storage wax feature more effectively.
Base prep wax is also the ideal choice for a hot scrape cleaning. When the next season comes, hot scrape it off, apply your temp-specific wax, and you’re set. And since base prep wax conditions the base so thoroughly, the new wax bonds more effectively and lasts longer.
The downside is, base prep wax is more pricy than the other type of waxes.
Warm Wax
Warm wax is a more affordable alternative to base prep wax and outperforms all-temp wax for storage. Its lower melting point allows it to penetrate the base deeper than all-temp wax, but its penetration and overall protection still fall short of base prep wax.
Other Wax types
Other wax types like cold wax, rub on wax, and spray wax exist, but I don’t recommend them for storage. They don’t penetrate the base as deeply, and it’s hard to apply an even, thick spread with them. Furthermore, spray and rub on waxes don’t last as long through the off-season. If you have to pick between the 3, a cold wax is better according to Swix.
The Best Storage Wax for You
To summarize, if you want:
– the best protection, go for the base prep wax.
– the best value alternative, go for the warm wax.
– the most convenient, go for all temp wax.
Picking the right wax is just one part of storing your snowboard for the off-season. For the full breakdown, check out this guide.
I’d love to hear from you: Got questions? Spotted something unclear or want to share feedback? Please reach out to me in my contact page!
