Stop the Fuzz – Prevent Edge Burn

What is that white line running down your edges? Oh cripes, its edge burn. It doesn’t look nice, nor is it fast, and did we mention that it’s eating away your base? Here is how to prevent that horrible thing called edge burn.

There are several factors that cause the ill looking white trim on an edge. Dry conditions are the number one factor. If you live in places with high elevation which means dry conditions, you are at high risk. Anywhere that has “champagne” powder, yea that’s a dry condition, or a place like Colorado where you’re riding at high elevation will give the burn. Another big factor is how often you wax your snowboard. A few and far between waxer is asking for it. Anytime your base is looking white or hairy, well that’s a danger zone. Everything above contributes to the horrible condition called edge burn.

Obviously, waxing is your best defense, however even the most avid waxers can get the burn. So, what to do? Take your board to get a hot box. Ok…what is a hot box. This is when an application of wax on a board is heated in a contained unit for a significant amount of time, so the wax is absorbed into the base slowly. This results in the maximum amount of moisture that can be absorbed into your base material.

Most high-performance shops will have a hot box, and this may be your telltale sign on if this shop is a high performance shop or not. Professional riders will use several cycles of hot boxing for each board. They will also have a several boards hot boxed for various conditions. Possibly one for extremely cold and moist which is different than warm and moist, and it goes on, not including back-ups. That’s why pros like Senna Leith travel with so many boards.

If you are taking one board to a shop then easy, but if you have a lot of boards to do, like if you are a big family or a team it may be worth building a box of your own. It is simple. four walls with a small vent and a heater, some have even used just a light bulb, that will get to about 32 degrees Celsius, yes get a thermometer to check it. Use a non-fluorinated base prep wax for the treatment. You can even so may cycles to push the most wax into the base as possible. The moister the base is the more it will repel water, therefore making it fast.

If you are wanting to build your own unit then YouTube it. There are many videos on how to do this.

Whatever your means are make sure you do your best to prevent edge burn. Because like fire, once it’s burned, there’s not going back.