#maverick#
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Ski wax Testing
Hey guys long time no see, i been bussy setting up a corporation and working and alll that stuff, but now im back in the lab!!
im working on developing some ski waxes, i already have a composition developed but the thing is i have no effective way of testing it, i was
wondering if u guys had any ideas
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fledarmus
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Get four identical pairs of skis, two good skiers, and an assistant. Put your wax on two pairs of skis and the other wax on the other two, and have
your assistant give one pair completely at random to each skier. Time their runs. Neither the assistant nor the skiers should know which wax is on
which pair of skis. The times, coupled with the skiers' impressions of each pair of skis immediately after the run, should give you what you need.
Several runs over each of several days should give you a reasonable amount of data to rank order the two waxes.
If you want more controlled tests, you can put a 150# weight onto each pair of skis and time it down a measured slope and distance - say, 100' or so.
Several side-by-side tests, changing lanes between runs and preferably again with an assistant changing the skis out who doesn't know which pair is
which should be able to give you straight speed data. That would not necessarily give you the ease-of-use data you want, however.
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smaerd
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Perhaps if you got a force meter you could build a box fill it with snow. get two pairs of ski's and do comparative testing for friction. If that is
the only purpose the wax serves.
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Wizzard
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Do a freebie user test! Give out blind samples, apply them for free on the condition they provide feedback at the end of the day! But you will need to
hand out both yours (experiment), the competition (base), and regular/nothing-special wax (control). This will likely be most effective, and only
really take one man, one day at a busy slope.
Have a nice scale, say with 3-4 different items-
Condition of the snow today? 1-10, 5 being it was good, 10 being fantastic, 1 being "this is dirt I'm skiing on".
Did the wax make you go faster or slower? 1-10, 5 being no change, 10 being it was like I wasn't using skis before.
Was the wax better or worse than what you had been using? (BEST question for you!) 1-10, 5 being the same, 10 being "I'll take 10,000 units for my
resort, today"
For you to answer:
How did the wax hold up on the skis?
What was the average temp today?
What was the condition of the snow? Icey, flakey, artificial, heavy, wet?
From there, and with a hundred samples, you can make a nice graph! I'd do an equal number of your experiments, control, and base to give a nice
comparison. Or, just run your experiments with control (normal wax).
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#maverick#
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yea wizzard thats what i was thinking of doing, i will have some people test it the next time im on the slopes.
smaerd thats interesting i might do that to just test friction.
thanks for your input guys
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SmashGlass
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Most people I know, unless those downhill racing, don't really care what brand of wax they put on their skis or boards. If they leave it in the shop
to get waxed, then even less. I wax my own board (a recreational carver) and have just taken what is available at the local sports store when I need a
new block. I'm not so fussy. I've even tried mixing some old surfboard and candle wax on an old snowboard as a joke, which turned out to be rather
good... As long as I can go down the hills and carve I'm happy.
As far as I have seen, there is much more wax technology in classic cross-country skiing than all the other types of skiing. As there are glide and
grip zones to be taken into account for propulsion and glide, and due to the demands of the wax in the variable and prevailing conditions different
waxes are needed. For cross country skiing I have many waxes. Probably too many... Each tested for their respective conditions and compared and
blended with other waxes to give a better feel, for my own preference.
If you want to get your stuff into the market then find an edge. Eco-friendly, low-fluor, improved glide, blah, blah, blah etc...
Get a good logo and marketing name. Give freebies to ski professionals which wax skis and boards and get feedback from them. And get them to help
recommend your product to customers locally. Don't bother with giving out freebies to the general public as most really wont care and wont come back.
Do give out freebies to younger enthusiasts (teens-early 20's). They are the market that buys stuff, and use their parents cash.
As for the scientific testing and surveys, You could do it and end up wasting a lot of time and effort for little results. Most people can't tell the
difference between waxed skis and unwaxed, let alone if the wax they have used is different from another. Again leave that to the pros to tell people.
Good luck.
If it ain't broke don't fix it....
Now where are my screwdrivers?  |
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