Hertel Ski Wax vs Briko-Maplus — American All-Temperature Engineering vs Italian Race Wax
Hertel Ski Wax vs Briko-Maplus — American All-Temperature engineering vs Italian race wax precision. Two very different approaches to ski wax performance — and one very clear winner for the recreational skier.
Briko-Maplus is an Italian ski wax brand with a strong presence in the European race wax market. It produces a comprehensive range of professional race waxes used by competitive alpine skiers and race technicians who need precise temperature-matched formulas for controlled race environments.
In the professional race room, Briko-Maplus is a serious product. In the recreational skiing world, its complexity and price point create barriers that most skiers do not need.
The Race Wax Specialist Problem
Briko-Maplus is built for the race technician — a professional who knows snow temperature to the degree, carries a full wax kit, and applies different formulas for different sections of a race course. That level of precision is appropriate for World Cup racing.
It is completely unnecessary for recreational skiing — and it comes at a significant cost premium.
A complete Briko-Maplus race wax kit covering the temperature range that one bar of Hertel Super HotSauce™ handles can cost $100 to $200 or more. You are paying for Italian race room engineering designed for professionals, not for a day on the mountain with your family.
What Hertel Delivers Instead
Hertel's All Temperature® system was built on a different philosophy: one formula, engineered to perform across all conditions, available to every skier regardless of expertise level.
Super HotSauce™ delivers:
- All-temperature performance from 6°F to 52°F — no selection required
- #1 Amazon bestseller — 20,000+ units sold in 2025
- Five-star ratings in every independent wax performance study
- Featured in Ski Magazine
- Made in USA since 1972
- A fraction of the cost of a professional race wax kit
When Race Wax Heritage Matters
If you are a serious racer looking for the most documented race wax performance history in the industry, Hertel has that too — in Racing 739™, the wax banned from Olympic and World Cup competition for winning by margins of up to 4 full seconds.
Briko-Maplus has race room credibility. Racing 739 has an Olympic ban. Those are not the same thing.
A Note From Terry Hertel
What is interesting is that Skinner Labs states that Swix, Dominator, Rex,Maplus, North, zum, One and Toko are all based on formula concepts dating back to the 1940s.
— Terry Hertel, Founder, Hertel Ski Wax
Professional performance. Recreational simplicity. Shop Super HotSauce™ — #1 Amazon Bestseller, Made in USA since 1972 →
For race performance: Shop Racing 739™ — Banned from the Olympics for Being Too Fast →