O’Brien Elite Review - first draft

[skidawg]

"so what do I have to do to get my wife to let me sleep?"--------Have some rug rats.

[ForrestGump]

Two more sets today on mine with Jodie Fisher. This thing is the real deal. It feels so nice and soft when you're about to pull out and then you turn in and it's a rocket. I also noticed that it will hold every bit of angle you set, all the way through the wake centerline. It's the first ski I've been on that I felt comfortable jumping on the front if I needed to. It just drives right through it and doesn't stall.

 The big thing is the effort it takes to ski on it. I'm usually a 6 pass a set person. Maybe 8 if I'm feeling froggy. I did 2 10 pass sets. And truth be told, I probably could have gone 12 passes on the first set. Nice!

[Old MS Accout]

Shane,

#s?

[ForrestGump]

6.845, .786, 2.512, front binding at 29 5/8. Two more sets today, again able to do 10-12 passes. In addition to just being easier on you in the course, I think the deepwater pullups are less taxing on the body on the Elite compared to other skis.

[Horton]

Not sure whose ski this is but I like the sticker . . .

[ForrestGump]

My ski partner picked up a 65.5 Elite at the SCR regionals yesterday. He's been struggling at 2 and 3 at 38 on his Goode 9900SL for a year. First set on the elite at the stock settings he ran 5 at 38 off and I think had he not gotten lazy at 5 he could have run the pass.  What's everyone running for wing angle?  The book that comes with the ski said 7 so that's what I'm running and what we started him on.  He complained that the ski felt loose, like it was running high on the water and rolled too easily. So we debated on either adding depth or adding wing angle. Ended up going with 9 degrees on the wing and he said that completely changed the ski for the better.

[thager]

I'm running 9 degrees on my 67" Elite. Might try 8 degrees when I get my numbers finalized since that's what worked on my Sixam 1.0.

[MrJones]

A few of thoughts.

The ski carries speed at all times. It takes a little time to get used to if you are used to stop/start turns.

I have run 8 deg on both the 65.5 and the 67.

When I was on the 65.5 I found it very responsive and moved the fin back and deeper to slow it down. That calmed down the toe side which had given me some lean-lock turns at first when the fin was shallower and more forward.

0.765 and 2.512.

sj 

[ForrestGump]

That it was too responsive was his comment too. He said the 9900 felt like it rode really deep in the water in the turns and the elite felt like it was very high and light. I wanted to add a deg and add depth. He went with wing only. 

[AdamCord]

Scot-

Length measurement is with TIPS and DFT is measured with the head flat on the ski. Blems are usually skis that have very small areas of porosity under the very tip of the ski or some other small cosmetic blemish. Structurally and performance-wise these skis are in perfect condition.

-Adam

[scoke]

 

 

Any measurements that Glen C is running at 36mph?

 

 

[MAD11]

Just tried an Elite 67" yesterday. Only my 3rd set back from major ankle surgery. I am a little back and short from stock on the fin trying to make sure it doesn't get too rad on me yet since I'm not ready to shorten up. The ski ripped through 6 32 off's wide early and easy. Was really pumped that it felt like it wanted to keep moving through the back side really well. Was worried about back siding the buoy so much and hitting my front foot. Think this thing will do whatever I need once I'm strong again, which will hopefully be soon.(6-8 more weeks of heavy PT planned) Felt similiar to my Warp through the turn, but carried out to the ball better and had much less load. 

Marc

[ForrestGump]

Glad to hear you're back on the water, Marc!  Have you guys got any rain? We're gonna be pumping to have our memorial weekend tournament I think.

I changed from 7 deg to 8 deg on the wing last night. What a difference. I bet I ended up with an additional 10 feet of distance prior to the buoys at 28. Maybe more. It felt faster, but I think that's because with the increased distance to the buoy, the preturn got longer and it bled off some more speed. So the sensation of speed got greater. At 32, I goofed and stepped on the front at 2 ball as hard as I ever have on another ski and it drove right through rather than stalling.

[MAD11]

No rain here yet. If we don't get any in another 2-3 weeks (probably not going to happen) we will loose all our fish. Thankful to Sonny and Eileen Berry for giving us a place to go this year. Couldn't ask for better people.

Pumped to be skiing a bit even tough I won't be pushing it until spring. Can learn a lot this fall running a few 100 32 offs I hope.  Be back in black soon enough come spring time! Also pumped about this ski so far. The Warp ain't for sale yet, but it may be feeling a little insecure right now. Moved it out of the bedroom and into the garage.

 Marc A.

[aguylikeshark]

just got the elite today. sort of looks like the hollow-tip ski we built a few years ago, same idea anyway.

 

sharp top edge, thin sidewall. the warp is lighter and with its autoclave construction we are talking apples & oranges. the elite is more practical however with inserts and probably not as fragile to impact since there is a core there.

 

might be able to ski it once before I fly to worlds.

[MrJones]

ShaneH,

Aren't you from the Houston area? Where is the tourney Memorial Weekend? Things get a little sparse after nats and we were looking for another one in Sept.

thanks,

sj

[ForrestGump]

Scott, Yes I ski with Mike Arora out at the Stevenson's lake in Conroe.  We're having our last tournament on 8/29(I said memorial day but meant labor day weekend). Then Lakes at Cypress Hill has their fall tournament on 9/12 and Lakes at Katy has theirs on 9/26.

[lkb]

I'm having 6 rounds on the 22nd and 23rd of August if you can get to North Alabama.

[MrJones]

Thanks lkb, but my forearm feels like it is about to fall off right now. After Nats I have to give it at least a week or two off for some healing. Hope you guys have a good tournament!

sj

[lkb]

Not many entries yet. Guess people heard MS is going to be there :-0

[Old MS Accout]

If you guys can swing it, Area 41 Rocks.

[ForrestGump]

I had Mike email Andy as Adam's out. His complaint on the 65.5 elite is that although he can run buoys, it never feels like he's breaking free of the boat once he gets to 35 and 38. Andy responded this morning with some interesting numbers. He said to run the normal 6.845 tip and about .760 on DFT, but told him to use 2.460 depth. He also said to stay at 8 deg on the wing and move the fin before adding wing angle. We'll try it this evening.