What are the differences between ski waxes?

Answer 1

ski waxes ar specificly designed for certain ski conditions. some ski waxes (swix ch4 for instance) are alot harder than others (like swix ch10) this means the harder wax is for tougher conditions so ch4 could be for icey conditions and ch10 for powder however there are many other waxes in between. when choosing your wax you need to take into consideration the snow is wet (slushy) or fresh or old or fine or coarse etc. there are also differences in the preformance of the wax for example the more expensive swix hf4 will havegreater lubricating properties than lf4 or ch4 however the cheaper ch4 will last the longest but will not glide as well. you can eaisily find a chart on the internet of what wax to use in what conditions.

Answer 2

Household wax is paraffin wax. Ski wax used to all be made out of paraffin wax, and for recreational skiing household wax is just fine. Skiing wax sold today has chemicals like Teflon in it, and modifiers to make it work better at specific temp ranges. If you have a pair of $700 skis or you race, then go ahead and get the fancy wax for the exact kind of snow you're going to be on. (Lindsay Vonn probably has fifty different waxes in her suitcase.) If you want to just go out and ski, an all-temp ski wax or a good brand of household wax will work.