What is Involved in Ski Tuning

Skiers Guide to Ski Tuning: Why do we tune skis? What’s the process?

Ski tuning is an essential part of skiing. Just like any precision instrument, for example your car engine, your skis need to be tuned periodically to ensure optimal performance. And behind every great skier is a proper tune delivered by an experienced tuning technician & ideally precision machinery. Properly tuned skis are fundamental to your success on the slopes. They turn easier and stop easier.

How does ski tuning work?

Tuning your skis throughout the season is important. They’re YOUR gear, chosen carefully by you to be your ride down the slopes, and you want them to perform at their best, and last several years. Check out the steps involved with ski tuning at The Boot Pro.

Inspection and base repairs

Before any tuning is done, our technicians will assess the skis for damage. They look for broken edges and inspect base and sidewall for damage. If there's any damage, it needs to be fixed prior to entering the tuning machine. Base damage is generally easy to fix using a technique called welding. Welding = hot melted PTEX plastic pressed into the base to replace material from any scrapes or gouges created from skiing over rocks or hitting a solid object.

Edge Sharpening

Having well sharpened skis is essential, especially here in the North East. A well tuned edge will hold on even the hardest of surfaces and give you confidence as you lay your skis over to engage in a turn. With a sharp edge and the right amount of pressure your skis will hold firmly underneath you as you carve down the slope.

One of the coolest features of our new Wintersteiger Jupiter is that our technicians can sharpen your skis with amazing precision using Wintersteiger’s V-Edge technology. We can determine how much and where the variable edge bevel starts and ends, which allows the ski to enter into a turn smoothly, hold rock steady under pressure and finish the turn with power and control.

Base Grinding

The bottom of your skis (the base) needs to be flat to achieve the best glide and predicability. Without a flat base, it’s impossible to achieve a specific base bevel (angle) on the edges of the skis.

Once the base has been flattened, the skis go into the Jupiter and a custom structure (pattern) is ground into the base material. Structure in a base will prevent your skis from feeling sticky or gliding inconsistently by breaking suction and displacing water in the snow. We can change our structure to accommodate specific snow and temperature conditions.

Ski Waxing

The last bit of ski tuning magic is proper wax and the waxing technique. Having the right wax is going to help you glide through your day and stay ahead of your buddies on the hill. Waxing also helps to keep your bases hydrated and fresh. Here at The Boot Pro we use the Wintersteiger Wax Future, an infrared hot waxer, for the ultimate in base preparation. The beauty of this machine is that it evenly distributes the wax using heat which passes over the skis multiple times. This ensures the wax will have maximum penetration into the ski base. After this procedure is done and cooled, the wax will be buffed out using a finish brush. This is important to remove extra wax that could clog the base grind and prevent it from working as designed.

How often should I tune?

For those of you that ski several times a week all winter, you probably already know the benefits of regular ski tuning and bring your skis in as soon as you notice less control or grip, or you’re on a regular schedule).

But if you are someone who’s getting to the mountain randomly throughout the winter, you should think about tuning your skis every 6 or so times on the slopes. At the very least, get them waxed.

We recommend bringing your skis every 2-3 weeks and the Boot Pro technicians will inspect your skis and do what it takes to ensure your skis will be at their finest all season long. With frequent tuning, there’s less base material removed when a ski is maintained regularly versus waiting until the ski is in need of a heavy base grind and repair. Therefore, another benefit of frequent tuning is that it will extend the life of your skis.

Discounts are available for frequent tuning with our Season Tune Punch Card Program. Available in 10, 15 and 20 tune punch cards. Plus there is no expiration date and they are transferable. You can bring your skis whenever you want - and even gift a tune to your buddy or family member.

We recommend starting your season off with a Premium Full Tune which will establish a flat, structured base and proper base and side edges. You may be surprised how a quality, precision tune can take your confidence and skiing to the next level. We also offer overnight ski tuning every day of the week.

For the racers, we offer race specific tuning packages. Stay tuned for a Blog on the world of race tuning!

For ski tuning pricing and package information, see our Ski/Board Tuning Services Page.