Vallaboden - hand structuring and base structure
Rilling is the final fine-tuning when glide waxing, scraping, and brushing are already right. Here you will learn to distinguish stone grind from hand structure, choose patterns according to the snow, and use pressure and coverage without making ski prep unnecessarily complicated.
Fine-tuning - not the first step
Rilling is most useful when the ski is already clean, correctly waxed and well brushed. Start with a simple linear structure and gain experience before combining patterns.
For recreational skiers wanting good glide without turning every outing into a test project.
For adapting one pair from colder, fine-grained conditions to wet, transformed snow.
For skiers and wax technicians testing several pairs, combining structures and recording results.
Understand the whole picture
Rilling works on top of the existing grind. It can fine-tune drainage and feel, but cannot compensate for unsuitable skis, clogged structure or poor brushing.
The stone grind is the ski's permanent base pattern. Fine, medium and coarse grinds give different starting points for snow type, discipline and moisture.
A good universal or medium grind can be adapted to many conditions with hand structure.A rolling tool presses a temporary pattern into the base. Roller choice, pressure and placement make the pattern finer or coarser.
Most rolled hand structures disappear when the ski is reheated with glide wax.Glide wax affects friction, while brushing clears both grind and hand structure. Paraffin left in the pattern prevents rilling from working as intended.
Finish scraping and brushing before using a rolling rilling tool.Contact length, pressure zones, snow crystals and water content determine how the structure works on snow.
The right structure on the wrong ski is still wrong. Test the whole setup, not just the tool.Temperature is only the beginning
No universal table suits every grind and pair. Use the cards as a starting point and follow the roller manufacturer's recommendation for the final combination.
Coarse, sharp structure is more likely to add unnecessary friction here. Start without extra rilling or with a very fine pattern and low pressure.
When unsure in cold new snow, go finer and lighter.A fine linear or fine broken-V structure can improve release without opening the base too much. Keep pressure controlled.
A subtle pattern is often better than a pronounced coarse structure.Snow is often coarser and more abrasive. Straight 1 mm, fine V or diagonal patterns are common starting points, depending on temperature and grind.
The combination of pattern and pressure matters especially here.The structure now needs to break suction and drain more water. Coarser linear patterns, larger V structures or combinations may work better.
Increase pressure gradually, without putting your full body weight on the tool.Linear, V, diagonal and herringbone
Two rollers with the same pattern name can behave very differently. Groove spacing, depth, pressure and the base grind must be considered together.
The simplest, most versatile pattern. Longitudinal grooves can improve drainage and release.
The V pattern breaks the water film in several directions. A fine 0,5 mm V and coarse 1 mm V serve different conditions.
Diagonal patterns can be used alone or in right-and-left combinations to break suction and change the feel.
A more complex pattern combining drainage and stability, often used in coarse, transformed or wet snow.
Special tools can create a distinct central groove or work on only part of the base to solve a specific problem.
Patterns are schematic, with the ski running from top to bottom. Appearance and spacing vary between tools.
Rilling step by step
Rolling rillers are easy to use, but work best with a stable ski, clean roller and pressure chosen in advance. The first pass should be a test, not a test of strength.
Finish waxing, scraping and brushing first.
Follow the tool's arrow and the skiing direction.
Light in cold snow, more in wet and transformed snow.
Glide surfaces only - never the kick zone or skin.
Rilling fine-tunes a suitable pair. Do not start by trying to rescue a coarse warm-weather grind in cold new snow.
Scrape and brush until the structure is clear. Rolled hand structure normally follows glide waxing and brushing.
The ski should sit straight in the profile. A tilted or bouncing tool leaves an uneven imprint.
Clean the roller, check the model and pattern, and follow the arrow showing the working direction.
Move the tool from tip to tail in one continuous pass. Do not add pressure midway.
On classic skis, rill the glide zones ahead of and behind the kick zone. On skate skis, work over the entire glide surface. On skin skis, keep the tool completely away from the skin strip.
The structure should be even and follow the ski. Do not add a pass just because the pattern looks faint; faint can be right in cold snow.
Try one pattern before adding a second roller. For racing, always compare with another structure.
The right zone on the right ski
Use the tool where the ski glides. On waxable classic skis and skin skis, leave the middle zone untouched.
Rill the glide zones ahead of and behind the kick zone. Avoid hard grip wax, klister and the roughened middle zone.
Rill the glide surfaces ahead of and behind the skin. Never roll over skin fibres or the adhesive zone.
The entire base is a glide surface. A common advanced approach uses a lighter imprint at the front and a stronger one from binding to tail.
Schematic diagrams, not to scale. Use the actual glide and kick zones of your own skis.
Pressure, coverage and combinations
The same roller can give different results depending on pressure, placement and combination with another pattern.
Light pressure gives a subtle imprint for colder, finer snow. More may be needed in water-rich, transformed, coarse snow.
Increase in small steps. An overly deep pattern is harder to reverse during on-snow testing.Apply hand structure to the entire glide surface, only the rear or with varying pressure along the ski.
Starting on the rear half is a cautious way to learn the effect.Linear structure can be combined with V, diagonal or herringbone. Each extra layer makes test results harder to interpret.
Never add two patterns just because you own both.Six common mistakes
Rilling is fine-tuning. The biggest mistakes are overly coarse patterns, excessive pressure or changing several variables at once.
Sharp snow crystals and a pronounced coarse pattern can create more resistance than drainage benefit.
Fix: start finer, lighter or without extra rilling.Depth becomes uneven and you lose the chance to compare a light imprint with a stronger one.
Fix: start lightly and increase only after testing.Paraffin remains in the base structure and the tool imprints over an unfinished waxing job.
Fix: fully scrape and brush the structure clear first.Rilling belongs on glide zones. The middle zone can be damaged or lose performance.
Fix: mark the boundaries and lift the tool before the middle zone.Multiple passes at different angles and pressures create a hard-to-interpret pattern.
Fix: stabilise the ski and make one planned, continuous pass.You remember the ski was good, but not the roller, coverage or pressure.
Fix: change one thing at a time and record the full structure.Test like a wax technician
Grind, camber, base, body weight and home trails mean the same roller feels different to different skiers. Systematic notes are therefore worth more than a long temperature list.
Use the same glide wax, iron temperature, scraping and brushing sequence on the skis being compared.
Compare straight 1 mm with no rilling, or the same roller with light and medium pressure.
Compare in the same snow, gradient and direction. Repeat and swap order to reduce wind and changing-track effects.
Note acceleration, release, high-speed glide and whether the ski feels hard to keep moving.
Finish with a concrete sentence: next time I will try the same roller with lighter pressure on the front half.
From guide to waxing bench
Start with a rolling tool and an all-round linear pattern. Check that new rollers fit your tool and expand for the conditions you ski most.
Tools and complete sets
Swix
Rolling hand tool with a straight 1 mm roller for classic and skate.
Vallaboden's advice: Start with light pressure and get to know the same roller in several conditions before buying more patterns.
Swix
Rolling set with several basic patterns for a wider temperature and snow range.
Vallaboden's advice: A good choice if you want to cover colder, transformed, and wet conditions without going straight to a professional system.
Swix
Classic Super Riller tool with replaceable structure steels.
Vallaboden's advice: Choose this only once you understand the difference between a temporary imprint and a more permanent cut pattern.
Swix
Advanced rolling tool with even, adjustable pressure and multiple rollers.
Vallaboden's advice: For racing, clubs, and ski technicians who want to reproduce the same pressure across multiple pairs of skis.
Red Creek
Straight 1 mm structure for fine-tuning water drainage and glide.
Vallaboden's advice: A simple and clear first choice when you want to start with a separate Red Creek riller.
Rollers and special patterns
Swix
Interchangeable rollers for expanding the T424 system with straight or V-shaped structure.
Vallaboden's advice: Check the exact roller designation and range. A 0.5 mm V and a 2 mm straight roller solve completely different tasks.
Swix
Wide selection of linear, V-shaped, and angled rollers for the adjustable system.
Vallaboden's advice: Build a small, tested setup instead of buying every available roller at once.
Swix
Replaceable straight structure steels for the Swix Super Riller.
Vallaboden's advice: Cutting inserts require more experience and should not be used with the same procedure as rolling rollers.
Red Creek
Ultra-fine linear structure for colder and finer conditions where the imprint should be gentle.
Vallaboden's advice: Use very light pressure and preferably compare against a completely unrilled ski.
Red Creek
Coarse straight structure for clearer water drainage in damp and wet snow.
Vallaboden's advice: Start on a pair of skis with a medium or warm base grind and increase the pressure gradually.
Red Creek
Angled coarse pattern for wet, coarse-grained, and suctioning snow.
Vallaboden's advice: Test against a straight warm structure. The difference can lie as much in release as in top speed.
Red Creek
Riller that lays a distinct centre groove to affect contact area and feel.
Vallaboden's advice: Buy this only when you can explain why a centre groove is missing in your current structure system.
Frequently asked questions
Rilling is easy to start but hard to turn into an exact formula. Begin with a dependable rolling tool, light pressure and clear notes.
No. For regular training, a clean, correctly waxed, and well-brushed ski is more important. Rilling is primarily a fine adjustment when you want to adapt the glide to moisture, transformed snow, or racing. In cold and dry fresh snow, extra rilling may be completely unnecessary.
Stone grinding creates the ski’s permanent base structure in the workshop. A rolling rill tool presses a temporary pattern on top of the grind and is used to adapt the same pair of skis to today’s conditions. Cutting hand tools are closer to a permanent change and require more experience.
A rolling tool with a straight 1 mm structure is the safest first choice for most skiers. It covers many conditions and makes it possible to learn how light, medium, and slightly more pronounced pressure affect the same pair of skis.
Start light. Cold, fresh, and fine-grained snow normally requires less imprint, while wet and transformed snow may require a more distinct structure. Pressure is a key part of the result, so change it in small steps and write down what you did.
Rolling hand structure is normally applied after the glide wax has been scraped and brushed out completely. Cutting tools may have a different work sequence and can affect the wax layer, so always follow the instructions for the specific system.
No. On classic waxable skis, the glide zones in front of and behind the kick zone are rilled. On skin skis, the same principle applies, but the skin strip must be left completely untouched. On skate skis, the entire base is glide surface.
Most rolled hand structures become significantly weaker or disappear when the ski is reheated with glide wax and prepped again. Cutting structures work differently and may require a new workshop stone grind to be fully restored.
Yes, but start with one pattern and test it first. When two structures are combined, direction, sequence and pressure become more important. Note down exactly what you do, otherwise it becomes difficult to understand which part improved or worsened the glide.
It is not possible to state a general time gain. On the right ski in the right conditions, the difference can be clear, especially in release and water-rich snow. With the wrong pattern or too much pressure, the ski can instead become slower. Therefore, comparative testing is more important than a general percentage figure.
The road to the top starts in the basement
Start with a clean, well-brushed base, a simple straight structure, and light pressure. Once you know how that combination feels, you can build further with V, diagonal, or coarser rill.
What makes the biggest difference over time is testing systematically and keeping notes on ski, grind, snow, roller, pressure, and coverage.
