• Why wax?
  • Without wax a ski/snowboard base will soak up water and slow down. Wax protects the base and adds performance and durability.
  • In dry snow friction can be produced from static charges; static charges also attract dirt in warmer snow.
  • Wax protects the base from sharp snow crystals that wear on the base and reduce speed.

• Why are there different waxes for different temperatures?
  • Cold temperature waxes must be hard to resist the friction from abrasive snow.
  • Warm temperature waxes are softer and specially formulated to be water repellent.

• What are added to waxes to counteract friction and add speed?
  • Graphite and Molybdenum reduce static in cold snow and help fight dirt buildup in high humidity snow.
  • Fluorocarbons (hydrocarbons with the hydrogen substituted by fluorine) are added to wax because they strongly repel water. This ingredient is the key to top speeds.

• Racers will want to select wax based on weather conditions. These considerations are addressed at the bottom of this page.

• FluoroMax: The manufacturing process for this wax starts with a warm or cold or universal temperature wax to which 100% fluoro powder and fiber are blended in. This results in a higher fluoro loading than others can offer. The universal wax is the hardest in this series (better for very cold temperatures).
• Graphite-Fluoro: The graphite waxes are FluoroMax wax formulations with added graphite.
• Molybdenum-Fluoro: The molybdenum waxes are FluoroMax wax formulations with added molybdenum (sometimes referred to as "Moly" on this site).
• T-Series: This wax series is also highly-loaded with fluoro but starts with a hydrocarbon wax of higher quality than the FluoroMax system described above. It is made for specific temperature ranges (see below). It has a graduated scale of fluoro loading such that the higher temperature (T5) wax is the highest (30%) and that level drops with each wax that is lower in temperature.
• Hybrid Series:This wax is a new concept developed by racewax: it is equivalent to a high-fluoro wax. It starts with a commercial low-fluoro wax to which 100% fluoro microfiber is blended in high concentrations to create a hybrid wax that incorporates the best qualities of both technologies. As above, the fluoro loading is highest for the warmer wax (MFX5), and then drops for the lower temperature waxes.
  • Molybdenum Microfiber (MFX) series adds molybdenum to the microfiber-loaded Hybrid series. The MFX series is "equivalent" to the SWIX HFBD wax; quotes are used because MFX is better (higher in fluoro and much cheaper).

Racewax Fluoro Powder and Microfiber Overlays (Do not attempt to melt these with an iron)

• F² fluoro powder -- It performs best at temperatures above freezing. At those temperatures it has the lowest static coefficient of friction of any powder overlay. This means that at a dead stop (i.e., the start gate) it will give you the biggest boost. Of course, since it is a fluoro additive, it still boosts your speed throughout the race.
• 5-micron Fluoro powder -- The 5-micron fluoro powder is the original 100% fluoro that was traditionally sold under the label Wicked Wax. It is economically priced and a very fast overlay that is used in place of the more expensive items like Cera-F.
• NanoFluoro powder -- is ten times smaller than Wicked Wax and is produced by a new technology that enables it to flow like sand. This reduces the clumping experienced by the micron-sized fluoro powder and allows a more uniform distribution of fluoro on your ski wax surface.
• Fluoro microfibers -- are a new physical form of fluoro; they are light, fluffy and fiberous. Our tests have shown incredible results, especially in very cold weather. Apparently the physical form of the fluoro is superior to the powder and overides the problems experienced by other fluoros at low temperature. The fibers are in a crystalline form (more ordered/structured)* than the amorphous (irregular particles)* form found in fluoro powder. This creates a super frictionless surface through a stronger, highly ordered macroscopic structure on the wax surface. The bottomline is that it runs fast at warm temperatures and not only holds up to harsh/cold conditions, but runs faster than other waxes!
  

Here you can find solutions advanced racers as well as a simple but fast introductory system for the new racer.
If you are not into racing but want to go fast, glide in the flats or catch more air, read on.
The FluoroMax wax series is a great introduction to the high speeds of fluoro waxes. If you're starting out and are not experienced in the science of measuring temperature/humidity and matching waxes to that, this is a versatile wax that will allow you to compete. All of these waxes contain fluoro microfibers as a speed additive. This means they are fast and durable.

• Use FluoroMax wax as a racing system for young racers (J4/5) or beginning racers at all levels. Keep it simple and cheap as while being introduced to speed.
• Use FluoroMax All Temperature Universal Wax in training. Why train on slow wax all week then wax for speed for the race? Learn how to handle your speed for the big race. When you run gates on slow wax all week, you may find yourself hitting the gates too fast on race day & miss one. Its cheap enough to train fast all the time.
• Use FluoroMax wax as a first coat of wax before you add a T or Hybrid wax. This will transition your ski to the top-layer fluoro racing wax. See the wax charts for more info.

Additives for dirty or dry snow...
The FluoroMax warm/cold waxes with graphite and molybdenum have the same amounts of fluoro with the added bonus of graphite or molybdenum that is used to counteract electrostatic effects experienced with new, dry man-made snow or also dirty snow. Which one is best, graphite or molybdenum? There are factions that swear by either, and is more a matter of personal preference, so I offer both. What do I suggest? Molybdenum. All other factors being equal, molybdenum has a much lower coefficient of friction (a physical measure of how slick something is), and molybdenum is very similar to fluoro in this respect. By the way, molybdenum is the "secret" ingredient in Swix Black Devil wax (at almost $70 for 40 grams!). All of these waxes contain fluoro microfibers as a speed additive.

• Use FluoroMax Graphite/Molybdenum Warm on warm dirty snow days
• Use FluoroMax Graphite/Molybdenum Cold on cold dry snow days (low humidity)
• Use FluoroMax Graphite/Molybdenum warm or cold as a first coat on either of these types of days (instead of regular FluoroMax) before you add a T-series or (regular) Hybrid wax.

Ready for waxes in different temperature ranges? Try T-series waxes.
The FluoroMax temperature (T-series) system waxes offer a broad range of uses. It has a hard wax for those cold mid-winter days and an array of waxes leading up to a soft wax for those warmer race days at the end of the season. The fluoro for these waxes is adjusted for its temperature range when it is made. They would be considered by most comparisons to be high fluoro (See FAQs for an elaboration on this subject). The more experienced racers will find better performance from this wax over using the warm/cold FluoroMax versions alone. All of these waxes contain fluoro microfibers as a speed additive.

• More experienced racers use the T-series or the Hybrid wax (below) as their racing wax (with FluoroMax as a first coat).
• There is no better wax at low temperatures than the T1 wax. It is a hard wax (like a Swix CH4), so it is also hard to work with, but it is worth it! It contains fluoromicrofibers and this kind of fluoro is the only fluoro that flys at low temperatures.
• The T2 through T5 waxes work at progressively higher temperatures. The fluoro content increases in each wax; T5 has the highest fluoro.
• Quick advice on temperature selection: If there is a choice (air temperature is at the high end of one wax range and the low end of the other), choose the colder wax if the snow conditions are harsh, if the temperature may change, or if the race course has sections exposed to strong cold wind or shade. Even if it got warmer by chance, there will be enough fluoro to handle the elevated temperature conditions.

The Hybrid series... the top-of-the-line for racing...
The Hybrid wax is a unique concept developed by DrD. It contains two kinds of fluoro, what DrD calls "commercial fluoro", a chemical additive that is used in most fluoro waxes (SWIX, for example) and fluoro powders or fibers (DrD's unique additive) blended in. So you get what Swix & others give you, plus DrD's special additive. The system has two versions of the microfiber Hybrid: one with and without Molybdenum. All of these waxes contain fluoro microfibers as a speed additive.

• Molybdenum Microfiber (MFX) series adds molybdenum to the microfiber-loaded Hybrid series. The MFX series is "equivalent" to the SWIX HFBD wax; quotes are used around equivalent because MFX is better (higher in fluoro and much cheaper).
• The MFX series runs faster in high humidity snow than the regular Hybrid (MFH).
• In low humidity snow, use a Moly FluoroMax as a first coat then MFH.