Here are some responses from the DPS CEO about Phantom from the Blister site:
Question:
You compare the performance of Phantom to an all temp wax. I assume you do that to say the “glide” is a similar level and stays the same over a wide temp range. Alll temp. waxes have a negative side, they get sticky in really warm temps (greater than 40F) and really cold temps (less than 15F) roughly. Does Phantom do the same thing, or does the glide stay the same at each extreme? It looks like you have information out that says its still good in warm temps, how about very cold temps?
Answer:
We benchmarked Phantom against brandname HC all-temp waxes. We have enjoyed and verified consistent performance from 10 degrees F all the way up to the warmest spring snow, and through a variety of humidities, grain types, etc. We are confident with HC wax performance equivalency in these temperatures ranges. As noted in the Kickstarter, we have not yet been able to test Phantom in conditions below 10F (hope to get some days later this month), simply because we have not had any such days in Utah from last March onward, nor this past season in either New Zealand or Chile. That said, typically nothing runs too quickly below 10F, and the days we have tested Phantom at 10F, including fresh pow have been great and successful, so there is nothing to indicate that going a bit below 10F will generate surprises. On the other extreme, Phantom has consistently exceeded HC all-temp wax in warm snow/spring conditions. Phantom is not as fast as LF/HF wax or a good temp specific wax that is running right in its designed operating range. That’s not the point of Phantom though; the goal is consistent, non-deteriorating glide everyday, every run for skiers and snowboarders who don’t want to wax every 1-3 days. Unless you are waxing that consistently, Phantom’s performance will exceed wax in reality simply because it’s always there and present; it’s not constantly sloughing off. In respect to race waxes, Phantom does NOT have any impact on the base’s ability to take on, or perform with any type of wax. Feel free to wax over Phantom for racing or specific conditions if you so chose. When the wax wears off, you will be happy to be on a Phantomed base versus a dry/slow base, which is a pretty great thing.
Question:
Is there any situation, any snow condition, any temperature, any crystal structure, etc, when a Phantom treated ski will glide WORSE than an unwaxed ski?
You describe a Phantom treated ski as: Not as slippery as a freshly waxed ski at “very slow speed” but “after gaining just a little bit of speed, Phantom delivers significant acceleration and achieves strong top-end glide”.
Please clarify:
a) How fast do you need to be moving before improved glide is first noticed?
b) At that initial “very slow speed” described does the Phantom treated ski glide worse (drag more) than an untreated unwaxed ski base? For example, when skating slowly up an incline does the Phantom treated ski drag more than an untreated unwaxed ski?
Answer:
+ There is no condition (grain type or temperature) we have found where Phantom performs worse than an unwaxed base. It is faster than an unwaxed base across the board, and the gap widens the warmer the snow temperature gets.
+ Phantom is not wax. It doesn’t have the same slippery lift line feel of fresh wax. It feels more akin to an unwaxed base under what I would say is about 2-3 mph, and that’s why we haven’t endorsed it for Nordic at this time. Once you cross that low speed threshold though, you feel it quickly come up to speed and the performance turns on.
+ Phantom increases the shore hardness of the base material (we will publish the lab data on this shortly); so the base will develop less hair, and be more resilient to impact. But over time, any base will roughen beyond the smoothness inherent in a freshly stone ground base. After season long testing in two zones, there wasn’t an appreciable drop in Phantom’s glide performance despite no stone-grinding, which is great, and something people will be super happy with. Stone grinding will refresh the abrasion/aesthetic element, but again is totally optional (but why not…fresh edges are a nice thing to have too). I can’t quantify how much additional glide performance is gained from refreshing the abrasion aspect of things as it’s relative to the condition and damage to the base prior to treatment.
We have seen a comment on forums touting how wax seals the base and protects it from abrasion. Sure, if you are waxing religiously every couple of days, then OK. That’s great, all the power to you. However, I’ll bet that the constant wax routine applies to the smallest tiny minuscule minority of core/everyday skiers and snowboarders as well as vacationers. I personally don’t, and don’t know anyone who does –– again, not to say those folks aren’t out there. Phantom is designed for all of us who don’t have the time and energy to deal with it constantly, but still ride seriously and frequently. Once and done; It’s not going to win a World Cup race on its own, but again, we aren’t trying to. With Phantom I can hit a long trip, or a long season, and know that I have a consistent, good level of glide all the way through; it’s going to charge through sun/shadow spots in the spring, avoid me kissing my tips in the mank, let me pass people on catwalks, and plane in deep pow. If I want to race, I can just wax over the Phantomed base with toxic LF/HF, but personally, knowing the chemical reality of wax, I just wouldn’t, and I am not a racer anyway