Snowboard Club UK (SCUK) :: View topic - Preventing snow from sticking to the board

Snowboard Club UK (SCUK)

Equipment and Media - Preventing snow from sticking to the board

GrahamS - Nov 29, 2009 - 12:49 PM
Post subject: Preventing snow from sticking to the board

Has anyone ever come up with a substance that prevents snow from sticking to the top sheet of the board?

Just did a bit of googling and Teflon (present in some furniture polish), spray-on cooking oil, and car wax were all suggested for similar applications (like shovelling snow).

Anyone tried these on a board or got better ideas?

TomR - Nov 29, 2009 - 01:08 PM
Post subject: RE: Preventing snow from sticking to the board

Not used it on my board but after i've waxed my car I have water just sheeting off my car roof and down the windscreen after it's rained so i'd imagine that works well. www.cleanyourcar.co.uk is good for wax etc. Personally wouldn't want greasy oil on my board and furniture polish and other teflon sprays wouldnt last long I don't think.

If I didn't have a matt finish on my hatchet i'd test my poorboys wax on my board and let you know.

ROBster - Nov 29, 2009 - 02:25 PM
Post subject: RE: Preventing snow from sticking to the board

does it really matter if there is snow on the top of your board?

i usually find that the snow stick to the top sheet in the first few minutes but after i;ve wiped it off and the board has cooled down then cause the board is the same temperature as the snow this it doesnt stick any more.

GrahamS - Nov 29, 2009 - 03:11 PM
Post subject: Re: RE: Preventing snow from sticking to the board

ROBster wrote:

does it really matter if there is snow on the top of your board?

Not really, no.

But there is a definite trend towards lighter boards and bindings. So it might be interesting if a few grams could be cheaply saved by preventing snow sticking, rather than paying a premium for carbon fibre and titanium bits.

Besides, what's the point in having a nice top sheet if no one can see it? Wink

MattR - Nov 29, 2009 - 03:57 PM
Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Preventing snow from sticking to the board

anything without a nasty propellant should be fine (so avoid gt85/wd40).

Tho we spray the (aluminium) snow shovels with aerosol oil as it makes it way easier to clear the snow off the shovel.

I'd probably try something like natural furniture wax.

Haydn - Nov 29, 2009 - 05:39 PM
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I reckon good car wax as mentioned would do the trick even speed detailer or similar. Only thing is if you dont use a stomp pad youll be dancing off the lifts with all that wax under your foot.

ace_mcgraw - Nov 29, 2009 - 06:33 PM
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erm, ride dryslope?

HOJO - Nov 29, 2009 - 07:21 PM
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WD40, be careful that you don't apply stickers to a topsheet that has been recently sprayed.

If you feel you feel that you need to buy some special wonder product Shayboarder has done a review of Pom Pom's Wacky Tacky

http://www.shayboarder.com/2009/11/revi ... n-wax.html

Tomahawk - Dec 01, 2009 - 05:16 AM
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hahaha

nickmotture - Dec 02, 2009 - 09:37 AM
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This thread is brilliant, telling me there are actually products made to stop snow sticking to your board?! Ace, maybe i can use some to stop the water sticking to my face while i swim

MattR - Dec 02, 2009 - 10:16 AM
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10 kilos of ice and compacted snow stuck to the top of your board isn't fun.

GrahamS - Dec 02, 2009 - 10:23 AM
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nickmotture wrote:

This thread is brilliant

Thanks.

nickmotture wrote:

telling me there are actually products made to stop snow sticking to your board?!

Doesn't look like it, no.

(that "Pom Pom's Wacky Tacky" stuff is for making the board sticky, presumably for folk with very slippy boards that don't want a stomp pad. Though he does say in his review: "snow doesn’t stick to the wax, it stays off and doesn’t get in the way." )

nickmotture wrote:

Ace, maybe i can use some to stop the water sticking to my face while i swim

Jeeesh.. always naysaying..

All I'm saying is that folk are apparently paying over a thousand quid for a Method or a Vapour, which are maybe 500 grams lighter than a conventional board.

If you can save maybe 200 grams for free, then that sounds like a bargain to me.

I wonder what you would have said when some bright spark came up with the idea of putting wax on the bottom of skis? Rolling Eyes

Oh, and by the way, sport swimmers do wear special suits and rubber swim caps precisely because it reduces water sticking to them (i.e. drag). Razz

nickmotture - Dec 02, 2009 - 10:28 AM
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but there isn't any snow on your board when you ride it all falls off, the only time its on there is when you stand still, and then you just bang it off? If it bothers you then fair enough but i think you're trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist.....

GrahamS - Dec 02, 2009 - 11:09 AM
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nickmotture wrote:

but there isn't any snow on your board when you ride it all falls off

Some boards do seem worse than others.

One of my old boards was like a snow magnet and was always covered in snow and ice (while riding).

My current board seems better, but there is still some snow to scrape off it when leaving the dome.

MattR - Dec 02, 2009 - 11:14 AM
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nickmotture wrote:

but there isn't any snow on your board when you ride it all falls off,

no it doesn't, depending on conditions the snow can (and does) freeze into a bloody great lump, between bindings.

nickmotture wrote:

the only time its on there is when you stand still, and then you just bang it off?

why not just make the banging off massively easier?

I mean, they are using non-stick treatments on cars so the dirt doesn't stick so well (but you could just go to a car wash), swimmers wear skull caps and body suits to "stop water sticking to them" (massive simplification, but basically true), mountain bikers treat frames with teflon sprays to stop the mud sticking (but they could just knock it off).........

ace_mcgraw - Dec 02, 2009 - 11:16 AM
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Generally if i can't see my board because of snow on top of it, it normally means its been a good day Very Happy

I reckon just stop riding snow. That's the solution. Dryslope only. Then you won't have any of that pesky snow getting in the way of when you're SNOWboarding.

kieren24 - Dec 02, 2009 - 11:16 AM
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Quote:

(that "Pom Pom's Wacky Tacky" stuff is for making the board sticky, presumably for folk with very slippy boards that don't want a stomp pad. Though he does say in his review: "snow doesn’t stick to the wax, it stays off and doesn’t get in the way." )

He's a she... just sayin...

GrahamS - Dec 02, 2009 - 12:03 PM
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ace_mcgraw wrote:

Then you won't have any of that pesky snow getting in the way of when you're SNOWboarding.

See I thought the fun bit of snowboarding was the gliding through snow on a board part? That's the bit I like anyway.

If you get your enjoyment from having a heavy board and the thrill of scraping ice off it then maybe you should think about ways to make your board heavier and stickier?

nickmotture - Dec 02, 2009 - 12:24 PM
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if it bothers certain people then fair enough but i personally think its not worth worrying about. I cant say i've ever got to the end of an epic day and though damn that was sh1t, if only my board hadn't had so much snow on it i would have enjoyed myself so much more

ace_mcgraw - Dec 02, 2009 - 12:49 PM
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Quote:

Firstly, I'm roundabouts 18stone, so a bit of snow isn't going to affect the board weight too much!

Secondly, on a good day, I'll look down and my board will buried by a foot of fresh, and I can't say I'm too worried about that!

Thirdly, I can't say I ever bother scraping ice off it. If I'm on holiday i'll put it in the board store, pick it up next morning and the problem will be solved. If I'm riding indoors, I may scrape it off, but seeing as that takes about two minutes, and can be done whilst chatting to mates you've been riding with I can't see it's a big deal.

Although, one piece of advice could be getting hold of a Venue board. Don't think they're still going, but I had one a few years back, and it had to be the shiniest and slippiest topsheet ever!

Yosh - Dec 02, 2009 - 12:54 PM
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Having snow pile up used to bother me but I guess it doesnt really matter. I just used to scribble on the top with some wax which stoped it clumping up.

The downside was you could see the wax trace. So if your anal enough to worry about the snow you may not want the wax trace either Smile

TomR - Dec 02, 2009 - 01:16 PM
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MattR wrote:

mountain bikers treat frames with teflon sprays to stop the mud sticking (but they could just knock it off).........

And good old Moto Foam to fill up gaps etc to stop mud sticking. Mud can weigh a hell of a lot, and you can't exactly stop mid race run to clear it off. However snow doesnt weigh as much as mud so doesn't bother me personally, and in fridges i usually just flick any snow off while i'm strapping in.

woody2shooz - Dec 02, 2009 - 01:41 PM
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ace_mcgraw wrote:

Firstly, I'm roundabouts 18stone, so a bit of snow isn't going to affect the board weight too much!

I laughed coffee out my nose at this! Thanks, Ace!

skinnedelbows - Dec 02, 2009 - 02:03 PM
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Made me laugh to. But seriously the idea that ultra light board/boots/bindings is going to improve your days riding/enjoyment massivley not really the case. What happens if say you are a bit overweight, wouldn't it be better to do something about that instead of trying to save a few hundred gram on equipment. Also what happen if you take a backpack/camera/extra water/extra layer etc etc etc .In the grand scheme of thing the little extra weight that a bit of snow adds is not worth worrying about compared to the weight I put on my board when I strap in.

Yosh - Dec 02, 2009 - 02:37 PM
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Just remember the other reason I used to do this. We used to drive back from the slopes and took the boards back inside the car. The wax meant less time wiping down at the end of the day.

ace_mcgraw - Dec 02, 2009 - 03:06 PM
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The whole mud thing is fair enough - if mud sticks, it'll stay there. The magic thing with snow is that it melts!

GrahamS - Dec 02, 2009 - 03:54 PM
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skinnedelbows wrote:

..seriously the idea that ultra light board/boots/bindings is going to improve your days riding/enjoyment massivley not really the case.

I'm not convinced by that argument.

Boarding gear these days is much lighter than it was fifteen years ago for a good reason. If your gear is lighter then it's less tiring to use all day so you can keep riding longer.

I agree that the difference isn't "massive", but if I offered you two pairs of EXACTLY the same boots, but one was twice the weight of the other, then I'd bet you'd prefer riding in the light ones.

skinnedelbows wrote:

In the grand scheme of thing the little extra weight that a bit of snow adds is not worth worrying about compared to the weight I put on my board when I strap in.

Well in mountain biking they talk about sprung-versus-unsprung weight (e.g. the weight above the suspension point versus the weight below it).

I guess arguably in boarding the suspension is your legs so the unsprung weight of boards and boots may be more important then the sprung weight of your belly. (tho less belly is still good Smile

)

Also from mountain biking is rotational inertia. It's harder to start a heavy wheel spinning and harder to stop it once it starts - so a saving 20 grams at the tyre can be more noticeable than 60 grams at the hub.

The same should apply to boards. In theory it should be less effort to spin a 1080 on a lighter board.

Yosh wrote:

We used to drive back from the slopes and took the boards back inside the car. The wax meant less time wiping down at the end of the day.

That's why I scrape it all off at the domes. I don't want the back of my car soaked. And they don't usually have that much snow to spare Smile

MattR - Dec 02, 2009 - 09:07 PM
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ace_mcgraw wrote:

The whole mud thing is fair enough - if mud sticks, it'll stay there.

Until next time you hit a bump, then it might fall off, or might not, it might fall off when it dries out too....

ace_mcgraw wrote:

The magic thing with snow is that it melts!

last place i stopped, the board storage never got above about -15.

Sidget - Dec 02, 2009 - 09:23 PM
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I think the only problem is snow staying/collecting around the binding area, like Matt mentioned, sometimes the board will be stored somewhere where it won't thaw out, then when you come to it the next day your bindings are clogged up with snow

SCUK minitool is perfect for it though, just whack on a screwdriver bit and scrape it out Smile

TomR - Dec 02, 2009 - 10:05 PM
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MattR wrote:

ace_mcgraw wrote:

The whole mud thing is fair enough - if mud sticks, it'll stay there.

Until next time you hit a bump, then it might fall off, or might not, it might fall off when it dries out too....

If only that was the case! Springs, linkages, chain guides, mechs, fork crowns, brakes mounts, tyre tread, seat rails, pedals etc don't lend themselves to shedding mud, much to my dismay!

moo - Dec 02, 2009 - 10:15 PM
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Probably not the best thing for the environment to spray your top sheet with something just to clear the snow off.

Try going a bit faster.

ChasKi - Dec 02, 2009 - 11:36 PM
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Develop incredibly strong lungs and blow it all off as you go.

GrahamS - Dec 02, 2009 - 11:47 PM
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Good point moo.

I take it you walk to the hills.
Hike up the mountain, then board on an unwaxed plank from a sustainable forest? Wink

Yosh - Dec 03, 2009 - 09:19 AM
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Never fear, I am developing a windscreen wiper for the topsheet. See you on dragons den.

eldi - Dec 03, 2009 - 06:07 PM
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I personally just dump any excess snow from my board onto people who happen to be under the chair lift i am using - simples

Branny - Dec 03, 2009 - 07:02 PM
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i'm actually not that concerned about the top sheet.... i spend most of my time stacking and on my arse... is there a product to stop snow sticking to my base so people can see my sick base graphic??

charlie - Dec 03, 2009 - 07:09 PM
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I have some of that Branny. £25 for 15ml, it's amazing stuff. PM me.

You'll go faster when you actually do manage to slide somewhere too!

I call it Waks Very Happy

philw - Dec 03, 2009 - 09:31 PM
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I just use silicone spray. Costs bog all and lasts forever. It depends what type of snow you're riding on, sure, sometimes you don't need it. I don't put it on the board, but I spray my bindings and boots. Often they'll have it in a rental shop if you don't have any: it's standard stuff.

You're most likely to get ice build-up if you've temperature differences, like riding in a heated heli for example.

As far as the board itself is concerned, the bottom's more of an issue than the top. Even with a good wax you'll get ice. You just have to scrape this stuff off - that's why you brought a credit card sized scraper with you.

Well, you did ask.