Let鈥檚 be honest: waxing skis is important maintenance,听but also a total pain in the ass, so most of us don鈥檛 do it. That might change, however, thanks to a new technology just announced by DPS.听
DPS defines the tech, called Phantom, as a 鈥減ermanent base glide treatment.鈥 It's a one-time treatment you apply to your skis that supposedly forever eliminates the need for wax. There鈥檚 a patent pending, so DPS wouldn鈥檛 tell us听exactly what's in Phantom, but they did say it was developed in collaboration with a team of chemists and engineers from the University of Utah.
The trick is in the application: instead of just coating the skis' bases, Phantom actually听gets absorbed into听the Ptex.听It's a multi-step process where you clean the ski,听then apply two different liquids to the base, allowing each liquid to cure in the sun听(UV rays activate the compound),听and voil脿鈥擠PS says your skis will be slippery for life.听
It sounds like hocus pocus听and we'll have to see how the claim stands up over time (stay tuned for a real review).听But my听first impressions were positive. Last month, I听flew up to Loveland Ski Area and strapped on Phantom-cured skis to shred the area鈥檚 one open run. Lap after lap, over early-morning ice and through late-afternoon slush, the skis were ultra-smooth and consistent. Granted, it was just one day of skiing, but I left feeling impressed with the suff鈥攅ven just as a great wax. Whether it will last the lifetime of the skis, well, we'll see.听
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