Tired of your friends dusting you down the trails? Want that extra bite and hold when the snowpack gets tough? Of course you do! There is no replacement for good technique, but having your equipment properly tuned can help improve any skiing or snowboarding experience.
There are a couple of key elements to a quality tune. Edges, Bases and Structure. Since all skis and snowboards will have edges made of metal, and a base made of a high performance plastic material, keeping them well-maintained is key to maximize your equipments performance on hill.
Edges
Over time edges can become dull, accumulate rust, or develop burs which will greatly affect your ability to hold a strong turn. A freshly tuned ski or snowboard will have edges that shine. The edges will also be sharp, and will be filed to restore factory recommended angles specific to the ski or snowboard being tuned. A lot of time and research goes into designing those edges by all your favorite manufacturers. Keeping them that way will keep you turning like a pro, especially on east coast hardpack.
Bases
The base of your skis or snowboard can become worn, scratched, damaged or dry, any of which will affect performance over time. These imperfections to the base of your skis or snowboard will create drag and slow you down as well as make your slide less predictable. A good tune will make sure your base is well repaired, and restore the base to an initial smooth surface, before base structure is added. We do this with the use of P-Tex and base welds to fill in any scratches/gouges, etc.
Structure
The structure put into any skis or snowboard helps it glide more efficienty by reducing any suction that would occur between the snow and the base of your skis or snowboard. The structure is restored by multiple passes through a specialized stone grinding machine. This stone leaves a consistent texture of grooves in the base which allows it to slide with the least resistance over snow, also giving you great control. This consistent structure along with a good wax treatment will keep you skiing or riding as fast as you are brave enough to go!
