Ski Tuning Guide
Edge bevels by discipline, wax by snow temperature, and base structure — with a cross-section of what the angles mean.
Edges
Wax and structure
Bevel by discipline
| Setup | Base | Side | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race — slalom and GS | 0.5° | 3° / 87° | The sharpest, grabbiest setup there is. Superb hold on hard snow and ice, and genuinely unpleasant anywhere else — it hooks the moment you are not deliberately on edge. |
| Carving and hard snow | 0.5° | 2° / 88° | Strong edge hold with a little more forgiveness than a full race tune. The usual choice for someone who mostly skis groomers in the east or on firm mornings. |
| All-mountain | 1° | 2° / 88° | The default, and what most skis leave the factory with. The extra half degree of base bevel makes the ski release from a turn far more willingly, which matters everywhere except a race course. |
| Freeride and soft snow | 1.5° | 1° / 89° | Deliberately less edge. In soft snow you want the ski to pivot and smear rather than track, and a sharp edge just catches on breakable crust. |
| Park and rails | 2° | 1° / 89° | The least edge of any setup, because a sharp edge on a metal rail is how you catch and go down hard. Many park skiers detune the edges underfoot entirely. |
Side bevel is quoted both ways and both appear on shop tickets: degrees from vertical, then the included angle. Two degrees and eighty-eight degrees are the same edge.
Wax by snow temperature
| Wax | Snow temp | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Warm Yellow / red | -4–+5°C 25–41°F | Soft wax for wet spring snow and slush. Water suction is the enemy here rather than friction, which is why warm waxes are formulated to shed water. |
| Mid Violet / purple | -10–-4°C 14–25°F | The workhorse. If you wax once and ski a normal winter, this is the band to pick. |
| Cold Blue | -18–-10°C 0–14°F | Harder wax for genuinely cold days. Snow crystals are sharper down here and a soft wax gets scraped straight off the base. |
| Very cold Green / black | -60–-18°C -76–0°F | Very hard wax for deep cold, often with additives. Below about −20°C most bases run slowly whatever you do, and the wax is protecting the base as much as adding glide. |
Base structure
Fine, linear — Cold dry snow, below about −10°C. Shallow straight grooves. Cold snow holds little free water, so the base needs only a small channel to break suction.
Medium, linear — Typical winter snow, −10 to −4°C. The general-purpose structure that most factory and shop grinds produce.
Coarse, broken or cross — Warm wet snow and slush, above −4°C. Deep, broad channels to move a lot of water out from under the ski. Without them a ski suctions to wet snow and feels like it is dragging.
Things worth knowing
- Base bevel is almost never changed after the first tune. Taking material off the base is irreversible, and going from 1 degree to 0.5 means grinding the whole base flat again — decide it once and keep it.
- Side edges are what you actually maintain. A diamond stone and a guide, run down the edge every few days, keeps a ski sharp indefinitely; a file is for repairing damage rather than routine sharpening.
- Detune the tip and tail if the ski feels hooky. The contact points outside the running surface do not help you turn and do catch — a few passes with a gummi stone there is the standard fix for a ski that darts.
- Wax lasts a handful of days at most and less on abrasive man-made snow. A base that looks chalky and white at the edges is dry, and a dry base is both slow and getting damaged.
- Hot wax and scrape beats rub-on every time, but rub-on the morning of a trip beats nothing at all — which is most people's real choice.
How to use
- Pick what you ski for a base and side bevel, with the edge drawn in cross-section.
- Set the snow temperature — or estimate it from the air — for a wax and base structure.
- Read the edge-hold bar to see the trade you are making.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between base and side bevel?
Base bevel is how far the edge is lifted off the snow, measured from flat. More of it makes the ski less grabby and easier to release from a turn. Side bevel is the angle on the sidewall — more of it means a sharper edge that holds better and hooks more.
Is 2 degrees the same as 88 degrees?
Yes. Side bevel is quoted both ways and both appear on shop tickets: degrees from vertical, or the included angle. Two and eighty-eight describe the same edge, and confusing them puts you two degrees out.
Which wax do I need?
It depends on snow temperature, not air temperature. Colder snow has sharper, more angular crystals that cut into the base, so it needs a harder wax to resist them. Violet or purple covers a normal winter; yellow is for spring slush and blue for genuinely cold days.
Can I change my base bevel later?
Not easily, and this is worth knowing before the first tune. Taking material off the base is irreversible — going from 1 degree back to 0.5 means grinding the whole base flat again. Decide it once. Side edges, by contrast, are what you maintain routinely with a diamond stone.
Why does my ski feel hooky?
Often the contact points at the tip and tail, which do not help you turn and do catch. A few passes with a gummi stone there is the standard fix. Failing that, too much side bevel or too little base bevel for the snow you are actually skiing.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.