The guys from Butta made a visit out to Tignes last week so we thought we'd give you the lowdown on their signature wax products, available at Tignes Spirit!
Here at Tignes Spirit we frequently use Butta wax in the workshop. We also sell Butta in the shop including Butta waxing sets, which include all the kit you need to service your skis or snowboards at home.
Having been heavily involved in the UK ski and snowboard industry the boys at Butta decided to start making their own wax after being frustrated with how un-friendly ski wax can be both to human health and the environment. Studies have shown that “fluoro” waxes contain perfluorocarbons or PFCs. And some have Teflon mixed in. Some of the chemicals in the PFC family, such as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), which is used to manufacture Teflon and Gore-Tex. PFOA does not biodegrade. Instead, it endures in the environment and has been found in fish, birds, wildlife and people around the world, even in crctic polar bears.
When a ski resort is saturated with millions of skiers and snowboarders each year, and every skier uses as little as three quarters of an ounce of wax, the result is 46,875 pounds of toxic chemicals deposited in the soil and water systems as the snow melts. It has also been suggested that PFCs have serious health risks to the ski technicians themselves, due to their exposure to these chemicals. Researchers have found that changes occur in the lung and kidney, and that the PFC particles are retained in vital organs.
Butta therefore, pride themselves on promoting a more eco-friendly approach than most other wax companies. Head honcho Jim Stewart is proud of their attitude towards our winter playground. "Here at Butta we have big love for the mountains, with or without that amazing stuff we call snow! We believe that it is of utmost importance that we preserve the mountains all year round. We've been perfecting our recipes for two years, in real conditions, in various resorts around the world, but not forgetting our all important, dry, wet, indoor and outdoors slopes in the UK." As well as their eco-friendly, fluro-carbon free biodegradable wax, they also run their workshop on solar power!
The guys at Butta have also just released a brand new graphite wax that they used here in Tignes at their free waxing session at the Loop bar, and recently at the Air and Style, and Frostgun Invitational events. They were even endorsed by the one and only Shaun White who loved the wax so much he invited the boys to the Air and Style event in LA!
They have also been arranging their very own tour bus, and have been looking into taking their riders on a magical mystery tour around the mountains, creating a web series at the same time!
You can pick up your own set of Butta wax here at the Tignes Spirit shop in Tigne le lavachet, or get your skis serviced in our workshop with a hot wax for just €10… just pop into the shop and chat to one of our technicians!!!
