Advice on buying a full board waxing kit, please?

[The Jake]

I've grown tired of shelling out $25 a pop to get my board waxed (yeah, that's what it costs in Manhattan), and based on the information I've read and the tutorials I've watched, it seems like it's easy enough to DIY.

Can anyone recommend a full board waxing kit (scraper, iron, wax, vices, etc.)? I see some online for $130 - $200, but I really have no clue which are the best and whether they're missing any tools that I would need.

Thanks in advance.

[tocsin]

If you are just waxing, all you need is a base cleaner, iron, wax, scraper, and scotch brite pad for final polish.

i just picked up an swix iron for $40 at REI, base cleaner would be like $10 at most, wax is pretty cheap too. The triangle shaped dakine scraper with the edge notch is $7. This is my favorite scraper. Scotch brite pads are super cheap too.

I think the vise is kind of unessacary for waxing. Just rig something up, i usually put a small box between my bindings and bungee the box to the table so it doesnt move. It works fine.

[Andi]

First off, good decision, it's pretty easy with the right tools and it will pay itself off after a few tunes. I don't have a suggestion on vices since I don't have the resources at the crib for a pair but the Dakine: Super Tune Kit should have all you'll need to get started tuning your own board. I think you can get it for like $60 - $70 online you just have to search around a bit.

Have to agree with the previous post on the vices, you're probably better off rigging something up at home unless you have the space and.or already have a utility type table to work on. It will save you a few bucks, they are nice to have but not necessary (i.e. I wax before every time out and I use an old office chair with arms, just offset the board so that one of the bindings is used as a stopper ).

The kit comes with Dakine's generic all temp wax so once you blow through that you can get wax at your local shop pretty cheap (compared to paying someone to do it) whether it's all temp or temp specific. Base cleaner is also nice to have but not necessary imo, its good for thorough cleaning of the base when you need it but honestly for in-season a brass brush works just fine to get the old wax off. I usually only clean the base that thoroughly before to the final wax, when the board gets put away for the off-season.

[drunkinmonk]

I got the dakine kit it was on sale last week on backcountry.com for 40 I paid 85 at a local shop for mine. Its paid for itself.

i also picked up the dakine set last year for about $80 and since i do all my work on a long table i'm also using the burton vises. All in all everything cost me just below $200

[tschamp20]

i paid $10 for an iron from walmart,$7 for the dakine scraper and probably $5 for a 4 pack of scotch brite pads.
Toko Bulk Ski and Snowboard Wax Stick (250g approx) - eBay (item 380195365119 end time Jan-12-10 00:14:06 PST) heres some wax
so thats $35 for about 7+ waxings. $200 is a f'n rip.suckers!!

[DC5R]

Originally Posted by tschamp20

i paid $10 for an iron from walmart,$7 for the dakine scraper and probably $5 for a 4 pack of scotch brite pads.
Toko Bulk Ski and Snowboard Wax Stick (250g approx) - eBay (item 380195365119 end time Jan-12-10 00:14:06 PST) heres some wax
so thats $35 for about 7+ waxings. $200 is a f'n rip.suckers!!

This is pretty much what I did. No real need to spend any more $ than this.

[The Jake]

everybody, i went with the Dakine super tune kit and a pair of Burton vises. wish me luck!

[extra0]

problem with the full kits is you get a few really small introductory products. A few years back, I got a kit and the base brush was tiny and the stone was really small, too. Fortunately, it had a decent adjustable edge tool and 2 bars of wax.

Most kits now only come with a non-adjustable edge tool (0/90 deg), a tiny stone, one bar of wax...and you don't even get any base brush.

If I knew then what I know now, I'd buy separately (probably in this order):

1. a good snowboard wax iron (they heat almost instantly, have presets, an indicator light, etc)
2. good wax in bulk (all temp is softer/faster to scrape and colorless)
3. plastic scraper
4. a common wetstone (for edge de-burring), medium size
5. a pack of common scotchbrite pads
6. edge tool (adjustable, only if you're gonna need anything other than 0/90 deg bevel)
7. brass brush (for pre-cleaning), medium size
8. corse nylon brush (for final brushing), med size
9. p-tex candles
10. metal scraper

If you shop right, all this will cost about the same as the basic kits. You'll probably get higher quality, but no luggage (bfd).

As far as the vises are concerned, I dont use any. Instead, I constructed a waxing stand out stuff I already had. For deburring and sharpening the edges, I just hold the board perpendicular on the stand with one hand and use the tool with the other...works fine.

[Triple8Sol]

Keep it simple and just get the Dakine Super Tune kit. Includes an iron and all the tools you need in a nice padded carrying case. Just upgrade down the line as you figure out what other specialized tools you need, or as things wear out. It's only like $80 too.