The 10 Best Snowboard Waxes
This wiki has been updated 24 times since it was first published in January of 2018. There's no reason to fall behind the pack when you're out on the slopes. With quality snowboard and ski waxes, you can increase your speed and protect your gear at the same time. These selections are crafted so that you can enjoy a smooth ride in both cold and warmer conditions. Plus, many of them are budget-friendly and have biodegradable formulas that won't harm the environment. When users buy our independently chosen editorial recommendations, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Hertel Super Hotsauce
2. Toko All-in-One
3. Deys Don't Eat Yellow Snow
Editor's Notes
October 19, 2020:
In the past several years, many athletes and enthusiasts have come to realize the harmful effect certain snowboard waxes can have on the environment and the workers who make them, thanks to the chemicals they contain that leach into the snow and its resulting runoff. With that in mind, manufacturers have put a considerable effort into retooling their formulas to be biodegradable. For our list, we wanted to ensure a bevy of our selections were eco-friendly while still keeping a few traditional formulations around so you can make the best choice for your needs.
If you're looking to go the eco-friendly route, the newly-added MountainFlow Eco is a solid choice. Made entirely from plant-based ingredients, this option performs just as well as its fluorinated brethren without any need for petroleum or toxic additives. There are options for various temperature ranges that are all made in the United States and hand-poured. Swix and Toko also offer biodegradable formulas, so consider Swix Cold, Swix Average Temperature, or Toko All-in-One if you're concerned about chemicals.
We also brought on Dakine Afterburner for those who like to bring their wax to the slopes instead of polishing the night or morning before. It comes with an applicator and is packed into a handy resealable tub that you can easily stash in a pocket or snowboard bag. Another selection that's good for this is Hertel Super Hotsauce, since it can be applied out in the cold mountain air or hot with an iron, depending on your preference.
We were able to bring on our new choices today at the expense of Choad Cheese Dirty Hippie, Kaeps Sports WinkWax U-Series, and One Ball Jay Viper, which became unavailable.
Special Honors
Juice Permanent Created by former ski instructors, Juice offers a more permanent solution to waxing and is eco-friendly. This patented micro-molecular treatment uses nano-sized particles to enhance the hydrophobic properties of materials used to make the bases of skis and snowboards. That means it changes the board itself instead of leaving a residue on top of it. It's easy to apply, doesn't contain fluorocarbons, and performs as well or better than many waxes. looknowax.com
4. Demon Hyper X
5. Swix Average Temperature
6. ZumWax Rub On
7. MountainFlow Eco
8. ZumWax Racing
9. Dakine Afterburner
10. Swix Cold
Born in Arizona, Gia is a writer and autodidact who fled the heat of the desert for California, where she enjoys drinking beer, overanalyzing the minutiae of life, and channeling Rick Steves. After arriving in Los Angeles a decade ago, she quickly nabbed a copywriting job at a major clothing company and derived years of editing and proofreading experience from her tenure there, all while sharpening her skills further with myriad freelance projects. In her spare time, she teaches herself French and Italian, has earned an ESL teaching certificate, traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, and unashamedly devours television shows and books. The result of these pursuits is expertise in fashion, travel, beauty, literature, textbooks, and pop culture, in addition to whatever obsession consumes her next.