help with Wax brands

[surfingwithsmile]

I'm thinking about switching out my surf wax
i've always been using sticky bumps
but lately im kinda sick of how when its got a fresh coat of wax where my knees go im getting stuck on my pop up
and i know its not my pop up cause i do well after the wax has broken down a bit
but im tired of wasting one session just because my wax is holding me too long for the late drop

now the wax works perfect for longboards but when i make that late take off on the shortboard it stalls me enough that i cant pop up correctly in time

SHORTCUT: so the question is what are the differences between wax brands and which would you say gives good bumps to your board but doesnt have alot of "stickyness"

and what i mean by that is that when you slide your hand across
itll slip but itll still give bumps for your foot to grip to when your standing

[surfitch]

wax goes brittle over time, i fully change my coat at least once a week, and apply wax every session. i think it's a matter of preference. i prefer bumpy but not so much "sticky" grip. also within wax brands are differing amounts of stiffness- i.e. cold water vs warm water waxes. i live in hawaii so i generally use the stiffer waxes and prefer it stiff, although it can be harder to apply in water. i guess my suggestion to you is to try a bunch of waxes and find what your personal preference is. i think the reason i go with the stiffer/less tacky waxes are because my feet are already kind of grippy, when i use softer waxes it sticks more to my feet than the board. i blame it on growing up in hawaii running barefoot everywhere.

[billie_morini]

surfingwithsmile,
What are your water temperatures? More of us may be able to assist if you tell us what your water temperatures are.
billie

[naniekso]

i hate sticky bumps cause i love sticky bumps lol. I play with teh wax on teh board and pick at it to kill time between waves. BEcause of that i often loose alot of grip lol. I perfer and often recomend "Sex Wax" it smells nice, and it lasts a while too. Don't waste ur time on a base coat and all that blah blah. Just put on a nice circular coat and add to it every session u surf. dont' leave it out in the sun or else the very first wax you applied moves around and comes off.

[surfingwithsmile]

the water is somewhere around 60 degrees farenheit during winter and 70 degrees farenheit during summer its around 63 farenheit right now

i use cold sticky bumps which is perfect for the upper part of the board where my front foot goes but i put warm on the bottom part of my board since i cant even pull my legs out of there when i put cold down there.
ive tried putting warmer wax like tropical and basecoat but neither work
the problem is that when the wax is fresh
the new sticky bumps just leaves too much stickyness(i dont mean the bumps i mean the actuall stickyness like fly paper sticky) on the board that it makes me slip on my pop up cause it holds my knees when i try to pop up causing me to have to do it in two motions, rather than one smooth one
:1 lift my knees (cause the stickyness doesnt allow for them to get moved foward unless i take them off the board first)
:2 then pop up
and anyone knows that on late take offs garbage pop ups just dont work =(

[isaluteyou]

^^^ i must admit never heard of this issue before. Why are your knees part of the pop-up? unless they are sticking to the board prior to even popping up in which case maybe use less wax??? Also are you using a tail pad on your short board? if so leave a space between the tail pad front and wax line say a 5/6 inches or so. If im on short board and use a tail pad, the on ly place wax is for my chest area and where my front foot is likely to land taking into account any additional movement. This method also helps to ensure your back foot lands on the tail pad as if it doesnt it will slide to it

[surfingwithsmile]

see its not like im going on my knees
on a good wax day i dont even remember popping up
what i mean is that
i do the pop up really fast !!
and no tail pad for my board

for now ill just get my hands on any different wax's i can get my hands on
i dont want a slippery wax
i just want one thats
BUMPS
not
sticky bumps

OH on that note ive been using sticky bumps for so long when i was using longboard and its always worked for me
and i hate switching crap that works so i just used it for the shortboard too
it took me a while to figure out the problem because ... who the hell blames wax
so i just kept surfing until i noticed that when the wax was old i would rip
and when the wax was new i would kook out
its like dr jekyl / mr hyde

[Aloha]

Gee I hardly ever wax my boards. I apply some wax once and then hack it up with a comb every time I go out. I reckon I can go 6 months to a year without applying any more by just using a comb. The only time I change it is when I'm going to fly somewhere or it just starts looking too dirty.

I surf at the very least 2 times a week so it's not like I don't use my boards

[Jimi]

I get the feeling that changing wax brands won't help you. Maybe use a different, warmer, temperature of wax, but aside from that, every wax is designed from the outset to be sticky... that's the whole point.

as Aloha suggests, just try combing your existing wax coat if you don't like the feel of fresh wax during your pop up.

I usually go for weeks between wax coats, with an occasional comb just to keep it textured.

[surfingwithsmile]

well i surf almost everyday
but i guess using a comb wont hurt
ill try that
thanks for the responses

[isaluteyou]

^^^ i surf pretty much everyday too. wax combing is essential. I generally apply a very slight coat on top every 14days or so by slight i mean just a few lines here or there. Probably change my wax every 3 months or so.