Waxing Nordic Skis
| Field | Cross Country Skiing |
| Went Obsolete | 1990 |
| Made Obsolete By | Waxless skis and Skating |
| Knowledge Assumed | Understanding of snow conditions. Properties of various waxes. Use of “cork”, scraper, and iron. |
| When useful | There are still snow conditions that favor waxed skis when the diagonal stride is used. |
Choosing the right wax or waxes was a complex decision that involved a good understanding of the temperature, age, and other qualities of the snow you would encounter. Properly applying the wax required several unique tools and skills.
Nowadays, you just clip into waxless skis and off you go. It's hard to even find waxable touring or back country skis.
When skating on skis, glide wax is still used, but this is far simpler a concoction and less critical to skiing efficiency.
- This is patently false: waxless nordic skis are fairly ineffective. At least glide wax is required to make them useful at all. I'm not sure where this person shops for skis, but if you check REI.com you'll find wax skis outnumber waxless 10-1.
