Got my Elite, what a piece of

[scoke]

 

 Well my Elite came today. Holy heck, what a piece of art this thing is, gorgeous! I wouldn't mind buying another one just to hang on the wall....

 I fondled it for a few minutes and put it back in its velvet case and closed it up. Resisting the temptation for a bit.

 It's not as light as I thought it was going to be, just a tad heavier. A bit heavier than the goode but it feels solid, streamlined and obviously well made. I did read the manual (i am engineer, i have to!) and something was interesting in there regarding efficiency. I'll pull the exact line out tonight but it talked about the design was setup for "efficient skiing".

What's funny about that is a senior driver, with a bit of experience running shortline, who has pulled CP and Mapple through 41, both riding this ski, said that he rarely felt them and they are able to ski efficiently with that ski. Something to it...

[MrJones]

They are sweet looking skis. The box and general impression when you unwrap it is definitely something different. Kind of reminded me of opening up the Fischer at the ski test. Just a more refined product.

Those extra few ounces you feel is the insurace policy inside the ski. Insurance your ski won't explode, break down in 2 months, etc, etc.

sj

[ForrestGump]

Yep, a "more refined product" is a good way to put it, Scot.

 Scoke, are you comparing the Goode with the plate to the Elite or just the ski to ski? Because with the plate, the Goode is quite a bit heavier I think. I could see what you're talking about as far as efficiency goes, though. Have you seen the video of CP running 41?  That's the cleanest 41 I've ever seen. He makes it look like 35 it's so smooth. You hear the ZO revving the hell out of the boat, but CP is just so smooth side to side and at the finish of the turns. I'm thinking the WR is going down before too much longer.

[Gloersen]

It is awesome in its construction. Concur with other posts; fin box stinks, especially in light of what appears will require much tuning to skier preference. First two sets on a 67" yesterday, too soon to comment on the preferred setup, but can tell this ski, once tuned, will perform better than prior rides.

[Horton]

As for the Fin Box - the slot is tight enough that if you are carefull .... it is not really that bad.

By the way I can get more blems.....

[ForrestGump]

scotchipman, no I'm on a 67 with RS1s. My friend Mike is on a 65.5 with animals, though. 6.84, 2.496, .765 had him run 5 at 38 off the first set on it. We've tried different numbers since then, but that was the best performance. I think tomorrow he'll try 6.84, 2.512 or so, .765 and see what that feels like. I said that about the plate because with Mike, he had to run Goode's plate on his 9900 to run his animals. On the Elite, the animals bolt straight down without a plate. The net difference is about 8 ounces lighter. 

The fin box is a non issue to me. Although I didn't like the looks of it at first, it's really not bad at all. I can adjust the fin in short order. Like Horton said, there is drag in the slot so the fin doesn't move around while you're adjusting it. A couple of taps will move it in one direction without moving it much in other directions.

John, that blem I got from you is hard to tell it's a blem.  There's not any of the porosity in the tip that Adam talks about. About the only thing I find "off" is that Obrien sticker on the tail is crooked.  Best deal on a blem I ever got! I wished I could afford a spare right now!

[ForrestGump]

Oh, and after 5 sets on the Elite, Mike got back on the 9900 as a sanity check yesterday and said the Elite took far less effort behind the boat. Now, granted....he's been on the standard width 9900 and not the WR.

[MAD11]

Agree with Jones big time on the little weight maybe being some insurance. Believe me, it's a good thing. My Elite feels great. Snuck in a 35 the other night when momma wasn't looking and was super easy. Back to 32's for now until spring. Darn!

[Horton]

Weight? The Lightest Skis is best thing is marketing crap.
Build a ski with the most precision and highest quality materials and it will be pretty light. Build a ski with the most precision and highest quality materials and it will be more consistent.
Build a ski with the most precision and highest quality materials and it will ski very well.
Build a ski as light as possible just to make it light is backwards thinking but great marketing.

(Yes Eric I know you disagree…. Everyone, Eric thinks I am wrong… now Eric does not have to tell us how wrong I am).

[skibug]

You can make a really really light ski the more hollow you make it.....does that make it better; i think not.  I agree with Horton Logic 101

[Thomas Wayne]

I currently weigh 220, and was a svelte 210 at my absolute peak fitness stage two years ago (right before I broke my arm).  In overall weight, a few ounces... hell, a few pounds in a ski cannot make any difference under those circumstances.  However, perhaps where that extra ski weight does make a difference is its location within the ski.  I would think that less weight in the tip and tail - resulting in a lower "swing weight" (a snow-ski term) - is probably a good thing.  For that reason I think a slightly heavier binding plate - which is in the center of a ski - is not so likely to have a negative affect on a ski's performance.

Primarily I am interested in a well-designed and well-constructed ski that doesn't have a reputation for breaking too easily.  That leaves out Goode, no matter how much they weigh.

 

TW

[MAD11]

My comment should have said a little "MORE" weight was good insurance. That's what I meant. Just build it right so it won't break and I'm cool.

[ForrestGump]

I had a pretty good handle strike to mine today.  Barely a scuff. 

[scoke]

 

We measured three skis today side by side by side.

You wouldn't believe which is the widest between:

 Z7, 66" i think or 66.25"?

9800, 66.5" chord method,~67.5 arc measured

Obrien Elite, 67" factory call outout, ~67.75 arc measured.

[Gloersen]

Elite is substantially wider than the A1 throughout, except the last 4" at the tail, in part explaining the less effort feeling.

Today it ran through 35off, .760. 2.508, 6.835, W7 with Wiley's, unfortunatley my feet weren"t in them.

Wouldn't surprise me if it is also wider than the 9800, Z7 not sure.

 

[ForrestGump]

The Elite is wider than a 67 Z7 and the same width almost exactly of a 67 Senate C(except for one spot right under the heal of the back boot).

A friend who rides a Z7 took my elite for a spin yesterday.  Hi comment after the first pass was "Holy $hit! This thing kills my Z7 on the offside!" I'm actually gonna try and tame down the offside a bit. Moved the front binding from 29.5 to 29.25 for today.

[Gloersen]

Does CP have a Sixam fin clamp on his Elite? Easier/Faster DFT adjustments?

[Horton]

could also be home made. I have one...

[Dirt]

I just got my 68.5 Elite from Horton. Thanks JT. I had a little trouble adjusting the fin at first but once I figured it out it was not that bad. It did not come with screws for the bindings. Did any of you have to get shorter ones like the manual says?

[ForrestGump]

Yesterday, someone saw me ski for the first time since I got on the elite and told me he couldn't believe how different I skied. He noticed something I'd been feeling......that before if I got into trouble I had to wait til my next on side to get my self out. But on the elite, I can drive my mass into the front of the ski on my offside and it just cranks around and puts me back on the handle in good position. Looking back at my logs, I've picked up 4 buoys on average in the 3 weeks I've been on it.

[Horton]

Dave I always thought you had a screw loose.... I just use the donuts that come with D3 bindings to shorten the amount of screw in the ski. Your a cop, you should know all about donuts.

[scoke]

 

snug as a bug in a rug. the Elite sitting in it's velvet shoe box and only comes out to be fondled at night.

 I skied on the too short for me 9800 at Scot Jones's on Saturday.

Rode the 9800 again at Ski Ranch with the gun toter. Water felt quick too.

Elite is vastly wider and heavier than the 9800.

[bhs]

What is the weight range for the 68.5? Does it measure closer to a 69?

[Thomas Wayne]

Four of us in my group have ridden the 68.5 Elite, and we range from 190 lbs to 220 lbs.  No one thought it was too small for that weight range.

I have a brand new, NON-BLEM, never skied on 68.5 for sale - it's never even been out of the plastic bag or the black box it comes in.  $1600 including shipping.

TW

[Dirt]

Just skied the elite. Feels different from anything I have skied on before. It holds angle nicely off the second wake. I have only had two short sets on it and have not had a chance to move the fin around. I noticed what others have posted about it being less effort to ski on and I had the wing angle at 9 for 34mph.

[Horton]

Ok I have like 4 whisper messages about the same thing.... Yes I can get more blems and they come with full warrantee

[Horton]

$1500

[Dirt]

I was very uncomfortable my first pass 36 mph 22 off. Missed it. I shortened and ran 28. I realized the numbers I got from a couple sources were for 34 mph and ran 32 and 35. Amazing angle but still a little uncomfortable. The next set I went out at 34 mph and ran 28, 32, 35 and 38. A bad start at 39 ended it quickly. I should not be going up the rope on a ski I just got on. It stays down very nicely, no wheelie. You never know. Sometimes you love a ski the first two weeks and then can't run a pass. We will see. I am very optimistic at this point.

[Thomas Wayne]

All right... screw it.

I have a brand new, NON-BLEM, never skied on 68.5 for sale - it's nevereven been out of the plastic bag or the black box it comes in.  Also full warranty.  $1400including shipping.  Beat that, JH.

TW

[Horton]

No  - TW you go right ahead. Guys that is a killer deal. Someone get it.

[Ed_Obermeier]

Just curious why you're selling TW.  Especially at such a loss.  Just doesn't work for you?  Wrong size for me anyway (I think) and I'm nowhere near ready to give up my beloved MPD yet, just curious and nosy.

Ed

[Thomas Wayne]

We brought two new-in-box Elites up for our core group to try, thinking at least two guys would want one (everyone in this group skis in the -35' to -38' range).  We only put bindings on one, leaving this one in the box.  Ultimately only one guy opted to keep skiing on it, so we never even opened the other box.

For the record, we ALL thought the ski has huge potential, and if you're skiing is technically perfect (or near-perfect) it would definitely be a superior choice.  Unfortunately, I don't ski good enough for this ski, and my buddies mostly felt the same way.  I think time will prove the Elite to be a love-it-or hate-it ski, but I know a lot of skiers - undoubtedly better skiers than I'll ever be - absolutely worship the thing.

So rather than open the second black box we're cutting our losses.

TW

[skidawg]

I doubt very seriously that you are not good enought to ride it.  It is a very set up critical ski to ride, a few minor adjustments and I bet money you would love it.

[skidawg]

I am riding a 67, 2.511, 6.837, .786 dft (most critical- i would like to move back to .782, forward from here not good)  should be about the same for 68.5

[skidawg]

8deg wing( water warming up-may go back to 7)

[Dirt]

Thanks skidawg, I'll try those numbers. Is 6.837 tips? If so, what do you get jaws? I have a really old dial caliper. I am not sure if it matters. I started at .801, 6.849 tips (which seemed to translate to 6.725 jaws with my caliper), 2.510, binding 30" and 9 degrees wing at 34 mph. I had someone watch me and he said I had a lot of ski in the water on my offside turn. I tried someone elses numbers (.800, 6.737 jaws, 2.515, 30" binding and 8 degrees) and it felt better. I appreciate your help.

[RichardDoane]

Can you have too much ski in the water on an offside turn ?

[aguylikeshark]

i rode this ski for 2-3 miles including up and down the course a couple of times 32 off in rollers. somethin's funky with the stick in how it's bent.

 

zips through the wakes though once I got it back down again and turning. i don't think it's the right rocker for me.

[skidawg]

check your dft shark, if it is not right it has lots of tip rise.  best range i have found so far is .786-.782 (forward or back is a bit funky). 

smart,

my length measure is tips, i could check jaws for you tonight. 

[Horton]

Ward,

Where is your front boot?

[skidawg]

29.5 on the 67"  (powershell, normal tape-lowes' touching the plate)

 

tried back 1/8 (tip high), forward, tip down in edge change.

[aguylikeshark]

I had my front boot sittin' at 29 7/8" fin at 0.81 ish (67" ski). riding behind the boat or in the pull out, the water is pretty much where I like it (under the front boot). I thought ok this ski is going to work.... but with speed the ski almost levitates as if to put the tip into a no-mans land as coined it.

me thinks that a) a flat spot concentrates pressure and b) if you move it back you move the pressure or lift point rear ward propping up the nose.  just a guess.  i took video and that supports what i felt on the ski.

it's really cool side to side.

[Dirt]

Thanks skidawg. Horton, did you get the world famous Crow (Carlos Fidalgo) on an Elite?

[skidawg]

shark,

if you have access to the elite try the front at 29.5 and dft around .784-.782, it will feel totally different.

[Horton]

Dave,

I am the Supreme Omniscient Intergalactic Ruler.

[skidawg]

I thought u were the Supreme Impotent Intergalactic Ruler!!!!

[skidawg]

has nothin to do w marriage,

[ForrestGump]

I played around with front boot at 29.25, rear at 17, 6.850, 2.50, .785 for a week or so. It was just too aggressive at the finish of the offside turn. So my second set today I put it at 29.5, 16 3/4, 6.837, 2.512, .785 and that really balanced out the onside and offside again.  This thing is STRONG from the hookup to the centerline.  It's giving me stupid space ahead of the ball that I didn't have on the Senate C.

[Kelvin]

Shane, what is the weight range for your 67?  I can't find a chart on the O'brien website.   I'd like to give it a test ride.

[ForrestGump]

I'm not sure, Kelvin. Aren't you around 195-200? Maybe Horton knows what Obrien recommends. You're more than welcome to try it.  I'm in Atlanta this week but maybe I could swing over to Katy next weekend or week sometime.