PHANTOM GLIDE – DPS’ NEW TAKE ON THE TRADITIONAL WAX

Back in 2017, ski company DPS came up with a new “wax” system for skis and snowboards but in fact, it is not wax at all.  DPS’ Phantom Glide systems popularity has been growing exponentially over the last two years but is it worth it? Who is it for? How does it work?  We are here to answer all of your questions. Diving a little deeper than just taking a brick of wax and an iron to your base, let’s talk about how Phantom Glide actually works.  Traditionally there are two types of bases on snowboards and skis, Extruded(Plain P-Tex) and Sintered(Porous P-Tex). Lower cost boards tend to use extruded base material but since it is just a straight sheet of plastic, it does not have anything to hold onto the wax, where as Sintered bases are made by pressing small pellets into a sheet which causes the material to be porous which allows the wax to hold on longer rather than just slip off in a few days.  

There are many different types of wax with different properties that allow them to keep the P-Tex as hydrophobic as possible which keeps the board or skis fast, the Phantom process consists of applying a paste to the P-Tex Base and is essentially cooked in.  The paste is similar to wax in the way that it has the same properties that allows it to glide on the snow with the least amount of resistance but rather than the wax molecules sitting on top of the P-Tex molecules, when Phantom is cooked in, the molecules are smaller so it allows the chemical to sink all the way through the P-Tex.

Questions:

• How long does it last?
  • Phantom Glide is a one and done process.  Once the process is complete it never needs a second application.

• How much does it cost?
  • The whole process is $150.  $50 for the paste, and $100 for the process.  It may seem steep but if you take your board in to get it waxed at $20-25 bucks every time or have it done once and only once for $150 it ends up saving you quite a bit.

• How is the performance in varying conditions?
  • It has been tested in many snow conditions and held up to it all.  From Frozen hardpack, to soft slushy snow, Phantom Glide does it all.

• Do I still need to wax my board?
  • Because Phantom is fused into the base rather than a layer on top of the base, it is permanently in the board or ski.  After a while your base may start to dry out but the only time you would notice a slowdown is in the park on metal rails and boxes.  Phantom keeps the base Hydrophobic so its less resistance on water and snow but it does not reduce resistance on metal so Phantom might not be the best option for riders who are only in the park.

 “If you’re primarily skiing the resort, it’s a no brainer”

Erme Catino, POWDER Mag

“Imagine if you only had to change the oil in your car once”

Alex Hunt, DPS Marketing

Work Cited:

DPS, Team. “PHANTOM 2.0.” DPS Skis, 2018, www.dpsskis.com/phantom-glide.

Catino, Erme. “Is It Possible to Never Wax Your Skis Again?” POWDER Magazine, POWDER Magazine, 23 Jan. 2019, www.powder.com/stories/dps-phantom-glide/.

Blevins, Jason. “Wax on, Never Wax off: This Utah Company Thinks It’s Changed Ski Tuning Forever.” The Know, The Know, 2 Nov. 2017, theknow.denverpost.com/2017/11/01/ski-wax-maintenance-dps-skis-utah/165018/.