Mountain Flow Eco-Wax infrared ski waxer

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Take a look in the back of any major ski shop and you will likely find a very large and very expensive machine mounted on the wall or mounted on a ski tuning bench. It’s called a Wax Future, made by Austrian ski maintenance giant Wintersteiger, and it’s expressly designed to do one thing: negate the need to scrape the base after hot waxing your skis. Instead of the traditional iron/scraper method, it uses infrared heat lamps to melt wax into your base. That’s great for ski shops spinning hundreds of ski tunes a day and World Cup racers looking for every edge on the track, but what about those of us who wax our skis at home and just want to go powder skiing? For us ski tuning DIYers, there’s a new tool that’s basically a portable mini version of a Wax Future, and it works remarkably well. Colorado-based startup Mountain Flow Eco-Wax has gone beyond eco-friendly ski waxes and now offers the Mountain Flow IR Waxer for at-home waxing, and we got the chance to test it this fall.

When I go into the ski season, I always worry about having to prepare several pairs of skis for the coming winter. October should I get to enjoy the last few weeks of fall foliage, ride my mountain bike on perfectly sticky dirt, and dream about the powder days to come as the temperature drops and the snow begins to fall. It shouldn’t I’m maniacally waxing and scraping skis, making a huge mess in the garage, and realizing I should have just taken it all to my local ski shop to avoid the hassle. Mountain Flow’s IR Waxer promises to change that, so I eagerly got to work when it came time to prepare the quiver for the season.

Using the Mountain Flow IR waxer

Installing the Mountain Flow IR Waxer is as easy as connecting it. The device is about the size of a toaster, with a large handle on the top and rugged infrared lights inside that are protected by a metal grille. It is quite similar to a commercial infrared paint dryer. There’s a simple on/off switch on one end and a long power cord that plugs into a standard wall socket. The newly updated 2024 version features better lights and improved ergonomics, and comes with a convenient foam carrying case and storage bag.

When I used the device for the first time, I followed some instructions given to me by Mountain Flow Eco-Wax founder Peter Arlein. The procedure is a lot easier than the normal way of melting wax, letting it cool, scraping it and then brushing it. Instead, after clamping my skis to my wax bench and cleaning the bases with a basic cleaning solution, I simply rubbed a small amount of wax onto the bases. I took a piece of Mountain Flow’s Eco-Wax (any wax will work) and simply rubbed it on from head to toe, the same way I would apply rubbing wax in the spring.

Related: How to Wax Your Skis the Old Fashioned Way

Once the machine was warmed up, I held it about an inch above the base and made a few slow passes from the tip and tail. I quickly noticed that the wax I had put on melted and absorbed into the ski bases. After covering the entire length of the ski with the IR machine, I let the base cool for about five minutes before brushing them in the same way as after a iron hot wash.

I learned the hard way that the appliance gets quite hot, so it’s important to be careful not to touch it while it’s on and not to place it near things you don’t want to melt.

What’s better about the Mountain Flow IR Waxer?

Waxing skis with a hot iron and scraper isn’t that difficult, it’s just very messy and you end up wasting a lot of wax that ends up on the ground. It’s also quite easy to accidentally overheat your base and end up permanently damaging your skis. For me, the main selling point and benefit is that Mountain Flow’s IR Waxer uses significantly less wax and creates no mess – no more wax residue and dust to clean up afterwards.

Although I tested the device mostly in my garage, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it in a kitchen, on the back of a truck, or even in a hotel room on a ski trip. All you need is a flat surface to put your skis on; you don’t even need clamps or vises to secure your skis because there is no scraping involved.

I’m not a World Cup ski racer and I haven’t done extensive back-to-back testing, but on snow I couldn’t tell the difference between bases waxed with this tool and a traditional hot wax. Of course, if you’re looking for the best track, or need base and edge work, take your skis to your local shop and they’ll take care of you.

It’s important to always use the right temperature wax for the conditions you’ll be skiing in, and the IR Waxer makes quickly rewaxing your skis much less hassle than hot waxing and scraping. Do you see a sudden temperature drop in the forecast with 12 inches of cold smoke coming in? Rub some cold wax, run the machine over your base and be ready for the snowpocalypse in minutes.

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