DPS Phantom Glide....no more waxing!

 PHANTOM Glide At Home Application Instructions - YouTube

The back story for me?  Some time ago (years) I purchased and didn't use the original 2-part application of Phantom.   I was skiing a lot more this winter and some new skis to mount, so I finally added the older 2-part Phantom (one package) which allowed me to cover three pair of new skis.

The results were pretty impressive.  No more hot waxing my ski once a week.

This Spring there were more new skis in my shop.  And enough skiing that waxing was getting tiresome.  So, I bought the newest version of Phantom for the newest skis.  It is a much easier one-part application than the older stuff.   One of my big concerns was just how well my skins would stick to the surface for touring.  If you have ever had a glue failure on your skins, mid trip, you know the concern and how you can so easily have a really bad day.  But that was bad skin glue.  Not a bad base job.

Keeping the bases clean is a huge help to keep skins on as well as keeping the glue in good shape.

It took a couple of longer days skinning and in different conditions to make me comfortable with Phantom while using skins.  Once that was done the worry was gone.

But at $50 to $100 a packet, Phantom is not cheap.  The older 2-part application can be found on Ebay right now for $50.  I was able to easily coat 3 pair of 100+mm width x 180cm skis with that version.  The newer 2.0 version I get one pair of 100+ mm skis per package.  That is $95 per package and one pair of skis currently.  So, Phantom isn't cheap.

DPS says the Phantom coating will last the lifetime of the ski.  No reason to not believe that with the product now almost 10 years old.  But I can't verify that life cycle from my own use.

What I can tell you is I'll no longer be waxing my own skis.   I'm already planning on the skis I'll ditch at next Fall's swap.   Those would be the ski without Phantom that I am not willing to clean the wax from the old bases.   If I was still making a living on skis for half the year, Phantom would be a Godsend.  And worth every penny in my book.

I could "wax on" about how great the Phantom is on snow.  But I won't.  You wouldn't believe me if I did.  I wouldn't believe the experiences I have had with Phanton if I hadn't actually been on the skis with Phantom applied.  Midwinter blower to early Spring slush?   Phantom simply works.  It works better than any wax job I have ever used.  The one caveat so far is 45F+ air temps and lots of sun.  Phantom gets a little sucky there.  Wax might be better at the extreme of where you'll be in slush.   DPS says additional, traditional waxing won't hurt the Phantom.  And they claim the Phantom will make your hot wax adhere better and last longer.   Seems adding a warm weather wax (via a hot wax) as needed is a common technique to get the most out of the skis in really warm weather.  More when I get some better feedback off my own skis to offer up over the next couple of months.

And no more hot waxing messes to clean up in the shop.  If you can get a little sunshine, the new one-part application for the current Phantom is easy and quick.

This is simply a PSA.  This stuff was worth the initial buy in for me despite my original skepticism.  It just took a while to really appreciate the advantages Phantom offered to my own skiing.

Good luck!