Snowboard Wax at Behind The Pines Amsterdam
Wax does two things. It makes the base slide, and it stops the base drying out. The first is why your board feels quick on a flat traverse; the second is why a board that has not been waxed for two seasons looks chalky white along the edges and never quite comes back.
We stock Swix and Oneball, all of it fluorocarbon-free. Below is how to pick one, and how often you actually need to do this — which is less often than a tuning shop will tell you and more often than most people manage.
Choosing a wax
All-temperature wax
One wax, whole season, no thinking. It is a compromise by design — slightly slower than a matched wax in very cold or very warm snow — but for anyone riding a week or two a year in European resorts, the difference is smaller than the difference between waxed and unwaxed. If you own one wax, own this one.
Temperature-specific wax
Cold waxes are harder and stand up to sharp, dry crystals; warm waxes are softer and shed water in slush. Worth having if you ride a lot, or if you are travelling somewhere reliably cold. Swix's North Glide range splits this way.
Performance and race wax
Finer-grained, faster, and it wears off sooner. Meaningful if you are racing or riding hard on firm snow; invisible if you are cruising. Note that fluorinated waxes have been phased out of competition and largely out of retail on environmental grounds — everything we stock is fluoro-free, and modern bio waxes have closed most of the performance gap.
Storage wax
Not a separate product for most people — use an all-temp wax, put it on thick, and do not scrape it. It seals the base over summer. You scrape it off on your first day back.
How often
Every four or five riding days is a sensible rhythm. Two signs it is overdue: the base looks dull and chalky rather than dark and glossy, and the board feels like it is dragging on flats where it used to run.
Spring slush strips wax much faster than cold powder does. A week in April can take more out of a base than three weekends in January.
What to expect
- Hot waxing needs a proper waxing iron — a household iron runs too hot and will burn the base.
- All-temp wax covers most European riding. Temperature-specific is a refinement, not a requirement.
- Everything here is fluorocarbon-free.
- A bar lasts a long time. One 180 g block is many boards' worth of waxing.
Why buy from Behind The Pines
We wax boards in the shop in Amsterdam, so we are not going to oversell you a five-wax system you will never use. If you want to learn to do it yourself, the kit is on the tuning tools page and we will happily talk you through it. If you would rather not, bring the board in.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I wax my snowboard?
Every four or five riding days as a rule. Sooner if the base looks chalky, or if you have been riding spring slush, which strips wax quickly.
All-temp or temperature-specific?
All-temp for almost everyone. The gain from matching wax to snow temperature is real but small next to the gain from simply having wax on the base at all.
Can I use a normal iron?
No. Household irons run far hotter than a waxing iron and will scorch the base, which is permanent damage. Use a waxing iron set around 120–130°C.
Do I need to scrape and brush?
Scrape yes, always — wax left on the surface is slow. Brushing afterwards helps and is worth doing, but scraping properly matters more.
What is storage wax?
An ordinary wax applied thickly and left unscraped over the summer to keep the base from drying out. Scrape it off before your first day of the new season.
Shop snowboard wax at Behind The Pines Amsterdam
Get the tools to apply it in Snowboard Tuning Tools, or see the full range in Snowboard Maintenance & Accessories.