Ski and Snowboard

Sporthill Original Sauna Set-up and Operating Instructions

Follow directions for use. For indoor use only. Use only in a dry place. Do not let heating pad come into contact with water or liquid other then melted ski wax.

The silver side of the heat pad should be facing up to protect the heating element. Melted ski wax should be gently wiped off of heating pad after each use. Maximum temperature should not exceed 121 F (49.4C). Do not place anything other than skis or snowboards in the Ski Sauna.

Do not leave unattended. Not intended for use by minors. Do not place any part of the ski or snowboard directly on heating pad as this may cause damage. Snowboards should be only placed on the top shelf. Placement of snowboard on bottom shelf may cause excessive heat buildup directly over the heat pad. Do not sit, stand or place anything on top of the Ski Sauna.

Parts list

• 1 Heating pad
• 1 Industrial grade thermometer
• 1 Steel Frame which includes: two steel square ends, four support beams, two ski racks, and three ceiling supports
• Screws and nuts
• 1 Hex wrench
• 1 Insulated fabric shell
• Electrical ties
• Instructions for set up and use

The photo above does not show the three ceiling supports which are added after the insulated bag is on the frame.

Attach the square steel plates to each long steel support beam. Make sure that the two support beams with holes drilled (2 per beam) are opposite each other, one that will form the back top of the rack and the other that will form the bottom back of the rack. The ski and snowboard support rack will attach to these beams at these holes. Use the flat head screws and nuts to attach the steel plates to the long support beams.

The photo above shows the end piece attached to the long cross bars with a flat head screw and nut (inside frame.)

Slide the ski and snowboard support rack into place between the two steel beams and attach with the button head screws and nuts.

Once the frame is completed, slide the insulated bag over the frame making sure the opening of the bag is positioned so that you can access the ski rack.

Now slide the three roof supports between the long steel beams and the ceiling of the bag. These are to keep the ceiling of the bag off of the base of the skis and snowboard.

Slide the thermostat into the side pocket of the bag. An opening in the pocket is provided to allow the wires from the thermostat to protrude from underneath the pocket. Position the thermometer to hang in the center of the Ski Sauna. Use the electrical ties to secure the thermometer wiring to the frame and out of harms way while loading and unloading the Ski Sauna.

Place the head pad on the floor of the insulated bag (silver side up to protect the heating element) and plug into the thermostat.

DO NOT PLACE THE HEAT PAD UNDERNEATH ANYPART OF THE FRAME. To flatten the heat pad out gently roll it in the reverse direction.

Use only in a dry place. Do not place wet skis or snowboard into the Ski Sauna.

DO NOT PLACE THE HEAT PAD UNDER ANY PART OF THE FRAME, EVER, AS IT MAY DAMAGE THE HEAT PAD AND CAUSE IT TO SHORT OUT.

Operating Instructions

1. Iron an ample coating of soft wax onto the ski base. Follow the wax manufacturers guidelines for iron heat settings. Do not scrape off wax.
2. Place ski, base side up, onto the rack system. Leave at least one inch (2 cm) between each ski for heat circulation. Snowboards should only be placed on the top two racks. If placed on the bottom rack they will impede proper heat circulation which could cause overheating near the heat source.
3. Set thermostat to 121 F (49.4 C.) Thermostat instructions are included. Do not set thermostat above 121 F (49.4 C.)*
4. Position the wired thermometer to hang near the center of the Ski Sauna. Plastic ties are provided.
5. Zip Ski Sauna closed and plug it into a standard AC outlet.
6. Check skis each hour. Do not let any part of the base of the ski become dry, apply more wax if needed.
7. Skis should remain in the Ski Sauna for 2 to 4 hours. A standard on/off timer can also be used by simply plugging the Ski Sauna into the timer, and the timer into the AC outlet. Follow the timer manufacturer’s instructions for timer use.

After the desired time has elapsed, remove and let skis cool; then follow the wax manufacturer’s guideline for scraping, brushing, and other final preparatory steps.

The appropriate race day wax can be used with traditional ironing procedures or in conjunction with the Ski Sauna treatment.

* Temperatures above recommended level may result in damage to equipment. Ski Sauna, LLC and SportHill, Inc are not responsible for damages caused by improper use.

Ski Sauna is a trademark of Ski Sauna, LLC and is distributed by SportHill, Inc.

Designed and produced in the USA by SportHill 725 McKinley Street, Eugene, Oregon 97402 800-622-8444 For information call: 1-800-622-8444 www.skisauna.com

SkiVisions also makes their specialty stones for those other guy’s edge tuning tools:

The stone on the left is our green stone, it is the most aggressive of the three and is designed to cut very hard metal, including edge metal that has been hardened from hitting rocks or misuse of stone grinding equipment.

The middle stone is our 180 grit which is used for general sharpening purposes.

The last stone is our Ruby Ceramic Stone, used for final burr removal and metal edge polish.

There is a great deal of information about these stones in other instructions on this website so we aren’t going to repeat it here, take a look.

Also, take a look at the tuning stick discussions under “Ski Sharp Edge Tuning Tool” and how it is used to analyze your edges.  You won’t be able to really appreciate the job these stones do unless you also get the tuning stick.  We also make packages of these stones and include the tuning stick for free.

These stones can be used in the various file guide tools, multi-tuners, or can be used freehand.

These stones are better than diamond stones for a multiple of reasons, including:

1.  They last much longer; diamond stones only last until the backing plate they are mounted on is reached; our stones are solid grain throughout so they last a very long time.

2.  Our stones can be refreshed to like new condition over and over since it is grain throughout (see Stone/Steel Inserts Maintenance).  They are designed to last many years.

3.  The grits cut as effectively as any diamond grit.

But understanding how the grains of stones and diamonds work is most important.

The cheapest diamond stones use the lowest quality grains, which when they fracture break into new DULL points, meaning they wear out very quickly, they actually loose their effectiveness before the backing plate is reached.  They are relatively inexpensive.

Good quality diamond stones use a good quality grain, which when they fracture break into new sharp points, so they can remain effective until the backing plate is reached.  They are generally more expensive.

All our stones use grains that are, in fact, the highest quality grain available, and they break into new sharp points when they fracture.  That means they are effective as cutting stones throughout the stone, and remains as effective as new even after the stone has been re-dressed numerous times.  The grit on the surface of the stone is prepared so that it isn’t too aggressive when new, and maintains its consistency as it is re-dressed.

BUT DON’T DROP THEM, THEY ARE STONE, THEY CAN BREAK!

(reprinted from SkiVisions with permission.)

CAIC, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center is funded by donations and is an important avalanche forecasting resource for backcountry skiers and snowboarders, along with other snow season backcountry users.

The purpose of the CAIC is to minimize the economic and human impact of snow avalanches on recreation, tourism, commerce, industry and the citizens of Colorado. Since 1950 avalanches have killed more people in Colorado than any other natural hazard, and in the United States, Colorado accounts for one-third of all avalanche deaths.

The 4th Annual Friends of CAIC Benefit Bash is Saturday, November 12th, 2011 from 5 to 10pm at the Breckenridge Riverwalk Center and SlideWright is among a long list of sponsors. We have provided $700 worth of waxing, base repair, edge tuning and binding insert tools and supplies that are available for bidding during the silent auction. If you cannot make it to the Benefit Bash, you can donate directly to help support this valuable resource for all of our sakes.

So be safe out there and do not travel in the backcountry without good avalanche and snow information, combined with snow safety skills, avalanche safety gear and good decision making.

The more things change, the more things remain the same…..but get more complicated and expensive.

For training USA mountain troops in 1941. In this segment, we learn how to choose the proper ski length, how to choose and take care of boots, how to adjust bindings, how to care for ski edges and ski bottoms. Alan Ladd is one of the recruits.

This clip from the Classic Film: The Basic Principles of Skiing

Since many males have short attention spans and don’t quite grasp basic waxing, scraping and brushing concepts and techniques, we decided to show a video from Eye Handy. Hopefully, by focusing on the waxing techniques and listening to the narration, you will soon master how to keep your snowboards and skis gliding smooth and fast.

There are three different methods you can use to maintain the SkiVisions inserts:

1.  Coarse emery (silicon carbide) paper, available at your local hardware store, in 100 grit or so.  Emery paper is good for maintaining all the stones EXCEPT the green stones.

2.  The SkiVisions high speed steel dressing stone, which is used to dress the Base Flattener steel blade and can also be used on all the SkiVisons stones EXCEPT the green stone.

3.  Diamond stones, 100 grit, Moonflex is the best one we know of currently (SkiVisions is not longer making a 100 grit diamond stone).  This is the ONLY method for maintaining the green stones and can be used on all the SkiVisions stones.

IT IS INCREDIBLY EASY TO MAINTAIN THE SKIVISIONS INSERTS.  ANYONE CAN DO IT WITH EASE!  HERE IS HOW.

This is a ruby ceramic stone showing multiple cut paths and metal embedded.  This stone has done a lot of work and needs to be re-lapped so that the face is returned to a new, flat condition, and all the cut paths removed.

It is  literally as simple as lapping any of our stones (other than the green, see below) on a sheet of emery paper.  This stone was returned to like new condition in a few swirls on the emery paper, you can see the stone grit on the paper that was removed in bringing it back to clean and flat.

The Base Flattener stone blades are dressed the same way as the edge tuning tool stones.

Lay the emery paper on a flat table and lap the stone blade on it until it is returned to a new, clean, sharp condition.  This not only refreshes the cutting edge sharpness, but also maintains the flatness of the blade.  MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT LAP THE GRIT SIDE.  Lap the sides that has the lines shown next to the M or C, those are the non-grit sides.  If you lap the grit sides the stone blade will no longer impart structure into your base.

The steel blade is re-sharpened with the SkiVisions steel dressing stone.  This is a very aggressive silicon carbide stone which will eat very hard metal.  The stone is used in a back and forth rubbing motion while it is kept VERY flat on the steel blade.  We tried in this picture to show how deep this stone can cut into the metal, if you look closely you can see deep scratches in the steel blade.  THIS STONE IS NOT TO BE USED ON SKI OR BOARD EDGES, IT IS TOO AGGRESSIVE.  If you use this stone on your steel blade very regularly and keep it very sharp, it should never need replacing.

The green stones MUST be re-dressed only with a diamond stone, 100 grit or so, we currently recommend Moonflex.  (This picture shows the DISCONTINUED SkiVisions diamond stone)  Just lap the green stone on the diamond stone and it will quickly return to a clean and flat condition.

You can do any of these dressing procedures wet or dry, but if you do them dry you should wash the stones afterwards to remove the dust.

Don’t breath the dust, not good for the lungs!

The dressing instructions for the carbide skiver are shown with the skiver in the Ski Sharp instructions.

(Reproduced from SkiVisions with permission.)