The Best Grip Around
Mrs Palmers has made surf wax in Australia for decades and sells it under one promise printed on every box: ultra sticky. It is the wax surfers switch to when they want something softer and easier to spread than the usual names, and it has a loyal following for a reason.
This review covers the Cool, Warm, Tropical and Base Coat bars. Each one has its temperature range, feel and rating below.
Quick pick:
- Spring and fall water: Cool (blue)
- Summer water: Warm (red)
- Hot water: Tropical (yellow)
- A hard foundation under any of them: Base Coat (black)
How the Mrs Palmers Range Works
Every bar is a 70 gram block in a blue box, and the color on the ends tells you the grade. The range runs Cold, Cool, Warm and Tropical, softest to hardest, plus a Base Coat. The brand says the wax contains a traction additive that adds stick and does not wear out in the water.
Mrs Palmers does not publish a clear chart, so the ranges below come from the boxes and listings. Treat them as a rough guide and pick by feel in the gaps.
Cool (Blue)
- Water temperature: 58 to 68 F (14 to 20 C)
- Hardness: Medium soft
- Scent: Faint, sweet wax
- Rating: 9/10
- Check the price on Amazon
This is the best bar in the range. It spreads without a fight and has a low enough melt point to lay down a mark in cool morning air. Rubbed on, it builds nubs, not smear. Over a base coat it makes a tall, tacky layer with springy bumps: press a foot into them and they compress and bounce back instead of flattening.
In the right water it grips hard, sticky enough that you feel the deck on a sluggish drop without being annoying. After several hours the bumps stay distinct, where softer waxes migrate and go bald. In a mild climate it may be the only bar you need for most of the year. Use it in warm water and it turns to paste.
Pro tip: Cross-hatch, then circle over the grid to round the bumps. On a cold morning, keep the bar warm in a pocket first.
Warm (Red)
- Water temperature: Warm water (the listing quotes 58 to 75 F, wider than most brands)
- Hardness: Medium firm
- Scent: Faint, sweet wax
- Rating: 7.3/10
- Check the price on Amazon
Warm-water surfers like this bar for one reason: it grips without being abrasive. Owners say it is plenty grippy but not so rough that it leaves a rash when you go bare-chested, which matters if you surf in boardshorts all summer. Some contrast it with a rival warm bar that tears at chest hair by the end of a session.
It also applies easily, with a softer, less chalky feel than some warm bars, so you can lay a base quickly and build bumps on top. Some owners say it goes slick over time, and like any warm bar it will not feel sticky in cold water. It often comes in six-packs, which is a lot of wax for one board.
Tropical (Yellow)
- Water temperature: 24 C (75 F) and warmer
- Hardness: Hardest top coat in the range
- Scent: Faint, sweet wax
- Rating: 7.5/10
- Check the price on Amazon
A hard bar needs a firm hand. Warm it in your hands, work diagonal lines, then cross them, in a cool spot out of the sun. A small patch takes several minutes. Once it catches, the bumps feel grabby and slightly rubbery rather than oily.
Owners rate it highly in warm water, and some call it their best grip for noseriding and turning. A few are cooler on it: they find it soft and nice but short-lived, especially in water colder than it is made for. Some surfers also use Tropical as a base and add a light coat one grade softer before each session, which gets a lot of mileage from a bar.
Base Coat (Black)
- Water temperature: All temperatures, under a top coat
- Hardness: Hard
- Scent: Faint, sweet wax
- Rating: 7.8/10
- Check the price on Amazon
The Base Coat is the quiet partner that makes the sticky top coats last. It is dense, pale and firm in the hand. It does not swipe on: you have to work diagonal lines and cross them until tight, hard bumps form. Those bumps do not go mushy when the board warms up.
Owners who get good results lay a full, even coat across the deck rather than a patch, then build the top coat lightly on top. Some pair a Mrs Palmers top coat with another brand's base and call it a great combo. On its own it gives little stick, and in cool water it feels slick.
Is Basecoat Worth It?
Skeptics call basecoat marketing and say one temperature bar is enough. Others say a hard base means fewer re-waxes, and some who tested both ways found the top coat lasted about twice as long between strips. A few point out that basecoat is close to a tropical bar, so if you already own Tropical you do not need both.
My read: if you strip and re-wax rarely, a base pays off. If you wax every session, you may not notice.
Waxing and Care
Start with a clean, cool deck in the shade. Cross-hatch, then small circles to raise the bumps. Comb the deck at the start of each session to stand the bumps back up, and add a thin top-up when the surface turns smooth.
When the wax gets grimy or slick, scrape the deck and start fresh. A fully set Base Coat is hard to strip, so put it on boards you plan to keep. Keep bars out of a hot car.
Several owners suggest Mrs Palmers dropped one temperature grade as a cheaper alternative to the very expensive sticky waxes.
On a Snowboard Topsheet
Surf wax on a topsheet is an old park trick, and both the Cool and Warm bars work. I rub a small grid between the bindings as a temporary stomp pad. Unlike an adhesive pad, it does not need a perfectly degreased board, and a quick cross-hatch refreshes it.
Cool gives the more aggressive grip. Warm is firmer and more stable: it does not go gooey when you walk into the lodge and rubs off on less of your gear. In real winter cold, around -10 F, the Warm bar goes brittle and grips through texture, not tack. Either way, wax is a sacrificial layer. Clear fresh powder or drag a boot across it and you lose bumps, so top it up every morning.
Where Mrs Palmers Falls Short
Each bar is strict about temperature. Cool smears on a hot beach, and the harder bars go slick in cool water. The Tropical and Base Coat bars take real effort to apply. Some owners say the Warm bar goes slick over time. It is also harder to find in small local shops than the big names, and some listings label it with another wax company's name, which is a distribution quirk, not a different wax.
Verdict
Mrs Palmers makes friction. It goes on easily, builds proper peaks and holds them, and it is kind to bare skin. My picks: Cool for most of the year, the best bar in the range, Warm for summer, and Base Coat under either if you re-wax rarely.
