Ski tour: care tips for your equipment
Ruedi Thomi, Jonas Jäggy, Raphael Zeller
Do you regularly go on ski tours and want to keep your equipment in good nick for as long as possible? Transa’s Franziska has some useful tips for you.
No doubt fatigue will hit you after a ski tour and you’ll probably be too tired to look after your equipment. However, you should try to muster a little bit of energy because it’s always a good idea to stow away your touring skis, skins and shoes properly. You should also check your avalanche equipment on a regular basis. Not just for your own safety, but for the safety of those around you. Transa’s Franziska explains here how she looks after her ski touring equipment.
Regular skiing means waxing
In addition to quick and dry waxing, we recommend that you wax your skis regularly while hot. You can swing by a Transa store and have this done, or with the right equipment, you can do it yourself from the comfort of your own home. Do not use fluorine wax, as this prevents the skins from sticking and can cause damage.
Major service
We recommend that you treat your skis to a major service at least once a year. The base and edges of your skis will thank you for it. Over the summer months, it’s also a good idea to wax your skis after the last tour to prevent the base from drying out. You can release the spring in the toe component of the pin binding via run mode.
Checking bindings regularly
You should check your bindings at least once a year. Are all the screws still tight? Have you noticed some cracks? If necessary, you should apply some lubricant to the movable parts.
Drying and waterproofing skins
Important information for skins: always leave to dry at room temperature. Do not place in direct sunlight. Do not remove from the skis. Otherwise you run the risk of allowing the glue to stick to the ski instead of the skin. You can redo the adhesive layer if the skin no longer sticks properly. For spring tours in particular, we recommend waterproofing regularly.
Checking avalanche transceivers and the right batteries
At the start of every season, we recommend that you check the search and transmission mode of your avalanche transceiver. It’s also vital that you use the right batteries. For example, you should only use the batteries specified by the manufacturer and not rechargeable batteries, as these can drain quickly in cold weather. Furthermore, each year at the start of every season, you should check whether the manufacturer has released an update and perform a general inspection of the device every three to four years. The best way to do this is by contacting Transa’s customer service or by visiting the manufacturer’s website directly. Important: always remove the batteries over the summer to prevent them from leaking and insert new batteries at the start of the season.
Checking search equipment
Before you embark on your first tour of the season, we recommend carrying out a quick inspection of your search equipment, e.g. shovel and probe. Are all the parts still intact? Here you might consider taking the equipment apart briefly and putting it back together.
Properly drying and storing shoes
The inner shoe and the insole, if one has been fitted, should be removed from the shell and dried after each use. You should never dry these components directly over a heat source, as this can cause the inner shoe to deform. Drying prevents bacteria from developing, which can lead to strong odours. Special shoe dryers are available for drying out shoes. These are temperature-regulated to prevent damage to the inner shoe. Feel free to contact us for advice. The outer shoe’s buckles should be closed loosely after inserting the dried inner shoe. This prevents the outer boot from deforming.
Drying poles
As banal as it might sound, you really should dry your poles before pushing them together. Otherwise you run the risk of allowing nasty limescale to build up between the individual elements. This will make it difficult to separate the poles the next time you want to use them.
Equipment for ski touring
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