Swix has waxed correctly

We ski faster, safer, more stylish - and with better grip. We can thank some Swedish chemists in the 1940s for that. The result of their research became the company Swix, today a world-leading manufacturer of ski waxes.

When wax mixtures meet hexagonal prisms of frozen water molecules, a strange phenomenon occurs. Some would call it love. Or yes, friction. Others simply call it glide. Regardless, the process that occurs on a molecular level when ski wax meets cold snow is the result of Swedish engineering. And a significant part of the Norwegian wax giant Swix's success story.

Now, ski wax is not a modern invention. Humanity's desire to ski faster has been there since the beginning of skiing - whether the purpose was to ski after prey, escape Danes in the Moraskogarna, or push oneself first over the finish line in a sprint race. The underside of the ski has therefore been treated with everything from pitch and resin to vaseline. Or as Fridtjof Nansen preferred, with reindeer skins. But it wasn't until a group of chemists at Astra in the mid-1940s managed to concoct a successful recipe that the development really took off.

It may seem strange that a pharmaceutical company would take on this task, but the company's then CEO Börje Gabrielsson was an avid skier and likely just wanted better glide and grip on the tracks. In any case, the researchers were tasked with working with elite skier Martin Matsbo to develop a wax using more scientific methods. The researchers calculated and mixed - and Matsbo test-ran. In 1946, the wax was launched under the name Swix.

Initially, Swix was available in three different colors for different temperatures: red, blue, and green grip wax, as well as blue and red klister. The big breakthrough came at the Winter Olympics in 1948 when all gold medalists in cross-country skiing had waxed with Swix. The same year, they complemented with waxes for ski jumping, and in 1950, the range was expanded with waxes for alpine disciplines.

Not far from the Olympic ski jump in Lillehammer, Norway, lies the Swix factory since 1986. The research department with its laboratories is, however, co-located with Sintef in Oslo, one of the leading technical research institutes in the Nordic region. There, all research and development within Swix's three business areas of textiles, poles, and waxes is conducted.

- We are responsible for research and development in all our areas, says research manager Lars Karlöf. We spend a lot of time on wax where we have total control. Through chemical synthesis, we create a base that we combine with other raw materials we purchase, and it eventually becomes a wax that we manufacture in Lillehammer.

The core of all ski wax consists of wax of various origins. Then, various additives are added to achieve the specific properties desired.

- When we start a new project, it begins with an idea that we or someone else has. This means that we set up a recipe, a list of ingredients similar to when you're baking a cake. Then we make samples and conduct tests in different temperature and snow conditions. The wax is tested by the Swix Racing Service team in cross-country skiing, biathlon, and alpine skiing, who report back to the research department, which in turn analyzes the results.

The development of a new wax is a long process that can take up to four years.

- The major revolutions take a long time and require a lot of resources. Of course, we set criteria for the product through all stages. This ensures that when we finally release a product on the market, we know it works.

The recipes are naturally secret. It's the "Coca-Cola principle" that applies. To the delight of all nostalgics, the three original colors red, green, and blue are still in the range today, now complemented by more colors.

- That color system is the foundation of everything and is in fact the industry standard today. All our competitors have copied it. Blue Extra is now a classic. It has even become a definition of a certain type of skiing condition. When you have "Blue Extra conditions," you have good glide, good grip, the sun is shining, and the chocolate is just the right temperature.

The question is just how much more wax can really be developed.

- A lot is the answer, we have a lot left to do, states Lars Karlöf. The reason we wax a ski is to optimize the ski's base in relation to the surface. And snow is the world's most difficult material, we haven't fully understood it yet. What makes snow so difficult is that it is under constant transformation. We work a lot with materials that can adapt and change based on the conditions.

At Swix's research center, scientists carefully analyze, among other things, the coefficient of friction. What is it then, and above all, what does it mean for waxing? The answer is given to us by the waxing guru Lasse Jonsson at Swix's Swedish general agent Sportmarket.

- The ski has a certain design, just like the surface of the snow. In between, you have a base that you wax, and then you get a certain friction against the snow. When talking about glide, you want as little friction or as low a coefficient of friction as possible.

Simply put, waxing is really only about two things: glide and grip. If the snow is moist, the ski sticks and the glide becomes poor, which requires a different type of wax than if the snow were cold and dry. Grip wax is an extremely complicated product because at one moment it should provide good glide (low coefficient of friction) and in the next good grip (static friction).

- For a competitive skier in classic cross-country skiing, both parts are very important, says Lasse Jonsson. That's why we test and try to the utmost to find the optimal combination. As an amateur skier, you might think you have great skis when you have good grip, but if you're competing and it's hundredths of a second that decide, then you also need super glide.

Waxing has often had a decisive significance in ski races. It is easy to wax incorrectly, and it requires a fine touch to make the skis glide best. Lasse Jonsson goes as far as to claim that waxing is not a science but an art form.

At the same time, he points out that waxing, not just for elite skiers but also for all of us "amateurs," is a prerequisite for getting the most out of skiing.

- With a perfectly waxed ski, you get an incredible experience whether it's a competition or a regular round in the forest. You should have the right products for the type of skier you are, and there is a large selection today. Those who have tested and compared an optimally waxed ski against an unwaxed one never need to think twice. But we see that people are very careless with this, and therefore we work a lot on this aspect together with our retailers and with our own clinics.

Of course, there has also been criticism of the use of ski wax. When Swix was first launched, the products were met with skepticism. Recently, some have claimed that ski wax is an overrated product. In 2005, Leonid Kuzmin, the former cross-country skier Antonina Ordina's husband and at the time a doctoral student at Mid Sweden University in Östersund, wrote a thesis claiming that ski wax causes more trouble than joy for most skiers. Instead, he argued that it was much better to utilize the ski base's own positive properties.

The claim was, to say the least, controversial. However, his research results were dismissed both by Swix and others in the industry.

- He was not right, and he had not conducted the study in a scientific way but drew preconceived conclusions without any basis, says Lars Karlöf. Another important thing to consider is that what he wrote was more about the ski's structure in the base than waxing or not waxing, but that has been lost in the debate.

Even though a small number of competitive skiers tried to ski unwaxed according to Kuzmin's recommendations - some with success, it should be said - the majority, according to Lars Karlöf, have gone back to waxing again. Today, most people share the opinion of what a difference the right wax can make for skiing.

In the past decade, Swix has had good conditions. Wax sells well. Nearly forty tons leave the production lines in Lillehammer every year, and Swix is today the world's largest manufacturer. Competitors exist, among others, Swiss Toko, German Holmenkoll, Italian Rode, and Swedish Skigo, but these mainly operate in local markets. Swix, with its nearly 40 percent of the world market, both in terms of recreational skiers and at a competitive level, is dominant.

- We want to believe that it is because we have such high quality in our products and such control in every step of development. And also that we have the most complete range. If you wax with Swix, you will never wax completely wrong, says Lars Karlöf.

By: Jenny Olsson