thinking of getting

[Ed G]

let me give one recommendation....

Kidder Redline Classic.

One Awesome ski! It has completely renewed my enthusiasim in waterskiing.

The thing rides like a magic carpet. Very easy to get on edge and cut sharply thru the wake.

I hooped and hollered with glee the first time on it. It's a pretty fast ski.

I bought mine (66") with dual Wiley hi-wrap bindings for $300. I believe Wiley charges $30 shipping.

[Father of 5]

I would like to upgrade my slalom ski and start working the course next year. I recently started skiing again after 15 years. I ski on a competition O'brien that I have had for almost twenty years. It was a high dollar ski then, but does not have foils on the fin and I have a hard time staying in the water across the wake. I have looked at the new skis and really can not tell the difference between one from the other. The manufacturers don't seem to tell you what each skis characteristics and qualities are. I find it frustrating to not be able to educate myself on why one ski is $350 and another ski is $950 and the only real visual difference is the graphics scheme. Is there a way to get more detailed info on skis? How am I going to be able to find something right for me without trial & error purchasing of very expensive skis? I have also looked at putting a wake plate on my '98 Outback. I did not know if this would improve the wake any or not. There is a Bennett wake plate in Overtons. It has dual Hydraulic rams and pump with an optional dash indicator. It comes in three different sizes. Since I have never seen a factory wake plate I don't know if it is the same or not. I had seen in another string someone suggest that Bennett provides the wakeplates to SC. Would a plate help, is it worth the $600 plus my time to install? How much is a factory plate and pump? Would I want a factory kit with some of the problems I read about?
Thanks

[Ed G]

Sorry man, I know zilch about wake plates.

I bought my Outback because of the small wake and intended to use it strictly for slalom skiing. I don't have a tower on my boat, nor do I want one.

As far as waterskis, most good ski shops have a selection of demo boards you can try before making that final purchase.

I have a used, four year old KD6500 66" blank that I'm willing to sell for $50 + shipping and handling. Has laser cut fin and adjustable wing (foils).

[BensonWdby]

If you can find a shop that will demo that is best. My experience is that you buy one, and then if it does not work ou they will swap, and you pay the difference, and keep that up until you hit paydirt.

After 15 years, if you are bouncing off the wake behind an Outback, it is probably not the ski, and most certainly would not be corrected by a foil. You just need to get back into it and study some videos.

If you are looking for something affordable, look at Connelly. Their top line skis are world record capable and their next tier lower skis are very capable. I am currently on a 6 year old Connelly Concept. Before that I was on a Connelly Shortline2. I had good luck with them. I think most of us can't really tell the diff to be honest with you. If you take out a ski and have a few good sets, that suddenly becomes the best ski on the market.

If you buy a high end ski after being away for so long it could be more harm than help. They are often not very forgiving (from what I have been told).

So buy a mid-range to upper-mid-range ski and if you don't like it keep it for the loaner so people don't need to use whatever you buy to replace it.

If you are already skiing 32-35 off at 34+mph, well that may be a different story..

Good luck
Dave

[Ed G]

Having owned 5 different KD/Kidder skis and one O'brien ski, it has been my experience that there is a huge difference in ride and handling between each ski model.

Kidder Velocity was my favorite, but discontinued about 10 years ago.

Oh yea, back in 1970 I had a state of the art Kimbal slalom ski. It was hi tech in that it was one of the first slalom skis to get away from wood and was made of solid fiberglass. Adjustable bindings.

[BensonWdby]

Ed - you are of course correct. There are greate differences in skis. There is certainly a huge difference between a bad ski and a good ski and a great ski. I was aiming at the good ski tier.

I guess what I was getting at is that I am not sure that a lot of skiers at the beginner to interm. level know what a good ride feels like. I know that sounds kind of stupid. I have been skiing for 35 years but only on maybe 6 skis of my own and couple of other folks from time to time. I think at 28-30 mph the majority of good skis will handle similarly enough that the evaluation becomes as much a result of how you did on that ski the first couple times you ride it.

I think a lot of people don't know what it feels like to have a ski actually decelerate when you want it to. I think a lot of people don't even know that you are supposed to decelerate or how to go about it. For me that is probably the thing I notice the most about skis, whether I can slow it down or not.

I had my first change in the feel of a ski in a long time just this year. Skiing at 35 off at 34 mph for the first time ever I started to feel the ski decelerate significantly on demand, and the skii seemed to respond better in the turn. It was almost like I was finally putting enough pressure on the ski to take adavantage of the flex characteristics of the ski.

Last year I tried a Connelly F1 and had a lot of trouble with it. It felt sluggish. But I was skiing 15 off at 32. I am reasonably certain it was me because I know it is a good ski. But I came away with the 'not too impressed' feeling becasue it didn't make me instantly better.

I would love to be able to demo skis for a couple weeks at a time - but right now the Concept has me happy. Just wish there was another month left in the season.

[Ed G]

No Dave, that doesn't sound stupid at all.

I consider myself an advance beginner. I still can't get thru a slalom course.

When I have obtained an adequate level of beer courage, I often ski with 34 off at 36MPH and have no idea what the hell I'm doing. Just floppin' around from side to side.... perhaps that's stupid!

I enjoy your replies. Your a good writer.

e

[Catdog1]

That F1 works better at higher speeds and when always on edge. I'm not strong enough for it. Hard to ski straight with it or slow. My 21 year old son loves it. But also loves an old Jobe somebody gave him.

F3 works pretty well as an alternative. Allows me some between-cut straight skiing to recover between cuts. Runs slower. (Am cutting down the lake).

Have noticed that a 1/2 shift in binding location can make a huge difference in feel.

If you borrow, try some adjustments.

You guys are all great writers. But Dave has the VIDEO over all of us. Heeeeees DOWWWWWWWWWWWWWN!

[Catdog1]

thats 1/2 inch shift...

[BensonWdby]

The first 'real' ski I owned was a Jobe Professional, 65 inch.

It was pre-foil, just the year before foils came out I think - maybe 1979-80? At that time they recognized the importance of drag in decelerating the ski so they had this variable-texture bottom. The tail third was smooth, the middle third was slightly rough and the tip third was rougher yet. The difference was visibly and tactily obvious.

This one was a face breaker. If you got forward too much on it and were not ready, it just stopped (well probably not totally). The results are on my video. I skied on that until about 1989. My wife ski's on it to this day. Even at the slower speeds and with less agression that she skis it seems to get her once in a while.

It would be great to be able to replace a ski every couple of years, but just not in the cards. However, if my body holds up for next year and the college bills for 2 kids and 2 mortgage payments haven't buried me, I may be in the market for a new ski. Something that can really do justice to 35 off.

Boy I wish there was another month left of skiing...
Dave

[Father of 5]

Dave,
It is entirely possible my problem crossing the wake is technique. Everthing I have learned has been on my own. I hope to get some videos & books for xmas. I will have to check your videos out from a machine with a faster internet connection. One thing that makes me wonder about skis is when you look at pictures of professionals in overtons or even in the boat brochures, they ride so deep in the water. The water is almost up to theirs knees and the rear of the ski and their rear foot is below the surface of the water. From what I can tell and from what I ve been told I never ride that deep in the water, no matter how hard I cut or lean back. I do not know how long my current ski is but I am only about 185#s. I tend to ski above 32mph because the wake is smaller with my whole family in the boat. I hope to get some more technical info and some videos and start studying for next year. We have a small lake close by with a course.
Thanks for the input

[BensonWdby]

Ski length, weight, speed/rope length all play important parts. You would need to consult mfg guidleines for each ski to get best results.

As far as how much ski in the water - this is more a function of proper weight distribution than the ski. You could put the pros on any ski, even from your combo set, and you would probably see the same thing from them. Transfering weight to the front foot in the preturn for deceleration results in this type of turn.

Your reference to 'leaning back' is also a clue. Neither the pre-turn nor the turn relies on leaning back. In fact if you lean back going into the turn or during the turn you will most likely get more ski out of the water. This is what some call a 'wheelie' turn, I call it tail dragging. This normally results in quite a bit of slack and you get popped coming out of the turn and end up flat at the wake, which causes you to be signifcantly more effected by the wake than if you were on edge cutting through the wake. You may also find your hands are up by your chest a lot.

I have close personal knowledge of tail dragging as I did it for several years. I used to lean soo far back I would hit the rope with the ski as I brought it around.

Keep in mind that I am not a competition skier, nor a coach. But I have researched a lot, watched the videos, read the mags. They all say pretty much the same thing.

Don't look at how deep their back foot is in the water. Look at where their front foot is from the time they cross the second wake until they let go with their outside hand. My goal was always to turn with both feet in the water.

As far as video go, I have the most recent Andy Mapple video. Very good, but geared toward the 35off and up skier. Techniques are still applicable to everyone, but no drills for the recreationla skier. I have heard that Gordon Rathbun has a good 'drill' type video but have not seen it.

My videos are more for fun - if you do get a chance to see them you will understand why I do not compete (anymore).

Good luck at Christmas.
Dave

[BoatmanCan]

Father of 5
Best advice I can give you is to go to a ski school and try a few then ask for their advice. Seeing you ski and talking with you about your intentions they will be able to recommend the best ski suited for you.

I did just that last summer and ended up getting an HO Triumph 69 (I am 6ft1 and 195 pds). Man, I am in love with that ski and made so much progress its incredible.

Good luck !

[BensonWdby]

Not a bad idea, but before you go to the school call them first to see if they have decent skis to demo. The couple of ski schools I hit in Florida had a limited selection. I am talking like 4-5 different skis, some of which would not work due to length.

But these schools did not sell skis, just lessons and course time ....