Here are some thoughts on Rode classic waxes from Zach Caldwell-

RODE KLISTERS

Rossa - really excellent red klister. I very often use this as a base
in mixing klisters on the ski. This stuff is generally quite fast and
avoids icing well. Can be used fairly cold and in somewhat fine
crystals. Not the most aggressive red klister out there. The Multigrade
universal is a "must have" wax when you need something for coarser
snow. Just ask Ruff Patterson. I think it might be the only wax he ever
uses.

Rossa Special - rain falling on new powder. Or even just new powder
that falls above freezing with the sun poking throug the clouds and
temps climbing through the upper 30s into the low 40s. Keep it thin. It
can be unfair. Add a couple of dots of Rex OI for just a hair more
kick. Sometimes you can even let this ice a bit in powdery stuff and
have awesome skis. That's a pretty nervy thing to do though, and I
can't recommend it.

Silver Extra - I don't know what conditions I use this for until I see
them. Usually I end up with this as a stand-alone wax on a day when
there isn't a clear solution. Powdery stuff mixing with coarse
saturated snow, etc. I put this into a hardwax mix once and the result
was interesting, but not versatile enough to be among the viable race
choices any time I've tested it

Silver - Maybe the best silver klister out there for broadening ranges,
keeping things relatively fast and dirt free. If you start thin you can
make a great cocktail of multigrade universal and silver. A little
Rossa will make it a bit faster, while a little more Multigrade will
make it kickier. This is all good, but usually I start out with Rex OV
with some rode Silver on these days, and modify from there. Knowing
what to add in limited quantities to make subtle changes gives you the
ability to individualize the wax job on many different pairs of skis
quickly and easily So this cocktail approach can actually be EASIER
when you're working with a team than an approach involving a more
simple application of one wax.

Nera - runs much colder than the upper range published. Don't bother
testing it above freezing. I've had it running well a couple of times,
but have never raced on it.

Multigrade Universal - don't leave this off any list. I've already
mentioned it.

Violet- yeah, I know, it's not a warm klister. But it's got an amazing
range. Eric Evans - my coach at Putney School - can be heard to say on
most days skiing around the trails in Putney: "you know, violet klister
is not too bad". He's talking about Rode violet. He was also my english
teacher and I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate that really awkward
sentence structure. Was that even a sentence?

ZC

PS - Don't forget Skare and Skare special - and ALWAYS have an extra
tube of Chola because somebody's going to come sniffing around looking
for some. You don't need the universal plus. It's slow.

RODE HARD WAX

P36 BLUE MULTIGRADE [-3c to -7c] -

As with most of these waxes this stuff will run quite a lot colder. I end up on this quite often in the teens F, and even in single digits when the snow is greasy. This stuff is quite fast, and works really well to speed-up a warmer blue when crystals are sharp.

P34 BLUE -2 -8 [-2c to -7c]

This is the somewhat rarely see "Blue 2". It's rarely seen because it's
fairly specialized and only seems useful in very dry sharp crystals.
Not much of a wax for the East. I've never used this as race wax, even
at high altitude in cold snow. The multigrade blue always seems to be
much more secure and at least as fast.

> P30 BLUE [-2c to -6c]

Straight up Blue. Fine wax, but overshadowed by Multigrade and Super
blue which seem to have ranges which overlap pretty well.

> P38 BLUE SUPER EXTRA [-1c to -5c]

Really great stuff in falling snow at high humidity. I typically don't
run this as cold as Super blue.

> P28 BLUE SUPER WEISS [-1c to -4c]

This stuff acts like it has a little bit of fluoro something or other
in it. Fantastic in "greasy" transformed but not refrozen powder. Stuff
that's been around for ages and skied a ton without going through a
thaw.

> P32 SUPER BLUE [-1c to -3c]

Maybe the world's most versatile wax. Swix Extra Blue gets more
attention. Super blue is faster most of the time. Resists icing like
nothing else. When I was at Middlebury we had a Finnish girl on the
team who would always go out and test her skis, and then come back in a
put a layer of super blue on. She called it "nerve wax". She did fine,
as I recall. If it's just a little draggy with temps in the 20s try it
with a layer of the Multigrade blue corked lightly on top. USST was on
this wax at the Fairbanks NorAm pursuit - temp -20C.

Back to the malfunctioning grinder...

ZC