Black graphite wax glides well and leaves your bases clean.
Thats because sand is made of static and impurities, which graphite wax is specifically designed to repel.
It is the key that unlocks the magic of the dunes.
Graphite wax makes soft sand p-tex friendly.
Go on and pamper your gear with a gently exfoliating sandy spa treatment.
Many competition-level sandboard waxes are made with graphite.
Because graphite is the key, both black sandboard wax and black ski wax work well on sand.
For sciences sake, I ran a controlled experiment and crayoned through a spectrum of waxes.
Graphite waxes are the only ones that work well.
The others will bog you down, grime you up, and maybe even damage your bases a little.
Multipurpose soft wax makes sandskating nearly impossible.
It just kind of smears dirt into your skis.
Your gear gets disgusting after one run and immobilized after three or four.
Soap will ruin your bases by drying them out until they turn white.
WD-40 will ruin your bases by sucking up dirt until they turn black.
Neither glide well, and the chemicals are bad for the environment.
You have to re-wax every 200 feet or so.
Use a horsehair brush, cork, or even just a rag to smooth it in.
It may seem like a lot of waxing, but you quickly learn to love it!
Be sure to start the day with a decently tuned ski.
The night before, I hot waxed with a combo drip of warm weather and graphite.
With proper waxing, sandboarding does extraordinarily little harm to your p-tex bases and metal edges.
If anything, it pampers them with a nice little facial.
Choose big dunes with steep pitches.
Just like riding super deep powder, the steepest runs are the sickest.
If your choice dune seems intimidatingly big, its probably about the right size.
You need momentum to get gliding, and little sledding hill sized dunes dont really do it.
Speed will sustain that nice glide over the surface tension of the sand.
Much like waterskiing or wakeboarding, there is a take-off period of acceleration.
My advice for choosing terrain is to find the largest dune in the park.
The steep drop-ins and heavyweight slashes are the most exhilarating part of sandskating.
You go pretty slow on sand, so its not that scary.
it’s possible for you to cut horizontally across it and surf it like a wave.
Be strategic about hiking up the sand dunes.
When hiking the dunes, there is a two steps forwards, one step back feeling.
Switchbacks help relieve that.
Also, read the dunes for paths that traverse over ridges and saddles.
If you want to trek a distance, start by taking a bearing.
It is easy to get lost or disoriented in the dunes.
It is often easier to scramble up nearby rocks or foliage.
Watch out for poisonous snakes.
Stay on the path and be careful not to disturb animal nests or fragile plants.
Sand dune ecosystems tend to be delicate, so use your best leave no trace judgement.
Stay out of the way of the motorists.
If the park is open to ATVs and other recreational vehicles, DONT GET HIT.
In my opinion, getting struck by a vehicle is the biggest risk of sandboarding.
Listen for the sound of the engines and avoid collisions by keeping your guard up.
Why hoof it when it’s possible for you to hitchhike?
Rubbing black wax on existing gear is cheap and convenient, but there are other methods to sandboarding.
Sandboards, made specifically by sandboard companies, have bindings and look like miniature snowboards.
At the time of writing, there does not appear to be any commercially available sand blades.
Although I havent tried it (yet), if youre feeling crafty, give the formica a shot.
you’ve got the option to find the stuff at a big box hardware store.
Youtube link for video:
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1005723/How-to-Sandskate-and-Sandski
