Nordic Stone Grinding Update 2024-2025

This season, we’re enhancing our approach to quality with a few exciting updates for 2024-2025. We’ve added a new grind to our menu, reorganized our skate grind options, introduced new hot box treatments, and adjusted our pricing. With the addition of Tin Shed to the Boulder Sports Family, we are also tuning Alpine & Alpine Touring skis. All Alpine and Nordic skis can be dropped off and picked up at any of our three Colorado locations (South Boulder, North Boulder and Tin Shed in Nederland).

At BNS, stone grinding is one of our core services because we know how valuable it is in making a ski fast. Last year gave us the chance to refocus on perfecting our process. Our grinding technicians kicked off the fall season with a commitment to producing the best possible results at each stage of grinding. We’ve also improved our methods to minimize the amount of material removed from ski bases, helping extend their lifespan and allowing for more grinds over time. The effort has paid off, and we’re thrilled with the quality of each pair of skis coming out of the shop.

In February, we hosted Lars Svensson, the Swedish stone-grinding expert, who serviced our Tazzari RP-23 machine. He replaced our nearly 10-year-old diamond drive system, restoring it to its original precision (down to 0.001mm!). The new system is achieving perfect cuts on the first attempt, and every grind now comes out flawlessly.

Lars also introduced us to some new grind patterns he was eager for us to test. Alongside these grinds from Lars, we experimented with three series of grind variations for cold, mid, and wet conditions. After extensive testing, we found that our existing grinds performed exceptionally well. However, the results and feedback pointed us toward some adjustments in our menu. We added one new grind to our lineup (S3.3) and renamed several skate grinds to better reflect their temperature ranges. (S3.2->S4.2, S4.3->S5.3).

Our hot box wax treatments got an upgrade, too. After some experimentation,, we discovered a one-stage wax treatment with special waxes that outperforms our previous two-stage method. This new approach saturates and hardens skis more effectively. We’re now offering two hot box options: a simple HB treatment for soft saturation ($39) and a new HB+H (hot box + hardening, $49) for added durability. Scraping and brushing is now $10.

The classic grind menu remains the same as last season, but we’ve reorganized our skate menu by shuffling two grinds and adding the new S3.3. Additionally, we’re implementing a price adjustment, with all grinds now set at $89—a $4 increase over our previous pricing which had been in effect for almost 10 years.

Grind Menu Updates

• The former S4.3 grind, ideal for warmer conditions, is now renamed S5.3.
• S3.2 is now called S4.2, performing well in a range of conditions, especially in wet snow and new, warm snow that has fallen in the last two days. Temp Range roughly -3°C to +5°C (27°F-41°F)
• The new S3.3 grind is an excellent universal plus choice, designed to handle various snow types across a broad temperature range around freezing, ideally +/-4°C, 25-39°F.

We’re excited to bring these refinements to our customers. Get your skis in to us today so you can experience the surprising difference our grinds make out on the trails!