Why I buy a ski......

[Boody]

This is just my opinion but I am sure others are with me.  When it comes to buying a ski, I am interested in how the "normal" skier likes it.  What is "normal" to me.  Well, everyone but pro I guess.  Pros can ski well on anything, so why would I care if a pro could run 41 on brand x? 

When I see a non-pro kick ass on a particular ski, or I see a skier who's scores dramatically improve, I get interested.  When I see a lot of class C tournament skiers loving a particular ski, I get interested. 

No knock on the pros what-so-ever, I enjoy watching them ski because of their technique and style, but I could pretty much care less about what ski they are on.  But if Richard Doane, John Horton, Scott Chipman, or whomever starts kicking ass, it gets my attention.

I understand sponsorships and all that, but I think ski companies are sometimes missing the boat.

[boarditup]

Pros get noticed.  M4, M5 podium finishes grants legitimacy. However, most skiers don't really pay attention to tournaments because they don't ski in them.  Most do not have access to the course.  They either buy what is on sale or the latest pro model, depending on their budget.

[Horton]

The one thing that I keep trying and failing to express is that there will never be a best ski of any level. There are bad skis or there are skis that are bad for most of us. That said the best ski for you depends on the strengths and weaknesses in your skiing. Every ski has a personality and the trick is to match your skiing personality to the personality of a ski.

My favorite example is the Connelly’s. The Prophecy is a wicked bitch’n ski but really only works of a limited segment of skiers. If my fitness had been better this spring I might have ridden it for at least ½ of this year. The Prophecy rides super deep in the water so it requires a lot of rope tension (handle control). If you have good handle control it is super forgiving to other kinds of skier inconsistencies.

At the another end of the spectrum are the D3s. These are among the so called Honeymoon skis. No one rides a D3 for the first time and does not love it. The Z7 is fast and cranks the heck out of off side turns. On side (Heel Side) turns are also crisp. The question with this ski is can you find the fin settings you like and can you moderate the Toe Side turn.

Then you have skis that exude balance like the O’Brien Elite. These skis are harder to describe but are arguably no better or worse then skis with more of an edge. Personally I have did very well on an Elite this year and recommend the ski.

If you look at the Big Dawg top skiers you will see a strange mix of skis. A lot of those guys are on X5s. This totally flies in the face of my claim that skis get better every few years. The X5 design is  . . . I do not know how many years old. There are also a lot of Big Dawgs on the latest Goodes. These two skis could not be more different.  The Goodes get wide easy without handle control and crank, the D3 X5 requires huge handle control like the Prophecy and delivers smooth turns.

I commend HO of developing two skis with very different personalities to blanket the market. The A1 (the ultimate Honeymoon ski) has an amazing toe side but round house heel side turns unless you really ride your front foot. This ski requires handle control to get very wide. The S1 is much more symmetrical and is fast with out the need of extra rope tension. Both skis are cutting edge but it depends on your personal strength which out will work best for you. (I like the S1 better)

[lakeaustinskier]

What does "handle control" really mean?  (I've gotten about a million answers)

And speaking of the Prophecy why doesn't anyone talk about that ski?  Do we only hear about the other top end skis because Connelly doesn't spend money on a huge marketing budget like the other ski manufactors?   

The cynic in me thinks that maybe we're all suspicious about a ski that doesn't cost an arm and a leg  - therefore it can't be any good (so we're not very smart). 

Or is Jamie such a a unique skier that the Prophecy only works for him? (but that sounds like a bunch of crap).

Coincidentally I used to ski a F-1 now I ski a X5.   But then I'd ski an old O'Brien World Tour Comp if I dramatically improved /vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif   

[RichardDoane]

My favorite ski from the 80's was an O"Brien W.T. Comp.  I wish I'd kept that thing - it had the cool aluminum top.....

[ForrestGump]

"Personally I have did very well on an Elite this year "

Horton, your English teacher rolled over in her grave as you typed this. LMAO

[Horton]

Yea I know, My wife laughs her ass off everytime I make her edit. Even worse if I have had a glass of wine. Whatever you know what I mean.

[HO 410]

When you find out you're a D3 guy, or generally prefer Goodes, it's hard to get you to try something else first. If you've been on an X5 for years, you'd be much more likely to order in a Z7 to test before a Prophecy or an S1. I tend to think that ads and endorsements have more to do with moving combos and recreational slaloms than with selling top-flight skis. The most effective advertising for slalom skis has been and will continue to be word of mouth. 

[MattP]

I still have an aluminum top O'Brien W.T. Comp in the boat. My dad skies on it every week. He loves that ski and will not part with it. He bought a new O'Brien seige and hates it. (for sale if anyone wants one 67').

[Thomas Wayne]

"My favorite ski from the 80's was an O"Brien W.T. Comp.  I wish I'd kept that thing - it had the cool aluminum top"

The first year that ski was introduced it had a different name: the "Competition 6-38".  The name suggested, of course,  that you could run all 6 buoys at -38' - a feat that had never been done.  Then BLP went out and did it (1980), and overnight the Competition 6-38 bore a name that suggested a limit to its capability - thus the World Team Comp was born.  Same mold, same ski... but with Bold New Graphics!

 

TW<---- owned a Competition 6-38 and a World Team Comp... but not at the same time

[h2odawg79]

Hey T.W. -maybe you can shed some light on why my Very, very old (alluminum top) Jobe Honey comb is way, Waaaaay faster then my Annex? 

Just for the Heck of it, I took my old "dusty" Jobe out for a free-ride this past Labor day and Man that thing is wicked fast! It has the orig. rubbers, so I did not try to push the turns. But, I can say without hesitation that this ski from the very early 80's is hands down as fast or faster then a lot of today's ski's... WHY???

It also wgh's 1 lb less then the Annex w/rs-1's!

I'm sure it's not as reliable/predictable through the turns... 

[RichardDoane]

h2odawg - you ought to bolt your RS-1 plate on that thing and see what it can do in the slalom course !

[h2odawg79]

Hey, now thats an idea! If I get bored this winter (like every other stinkin' winter!!!) I'll do that! and I'll probably fit the fin with a wing. Used to have some pretty wild blow outs waaaay back in the day with that ski. So, I'm sure I could never handle all that speed into/out of the turns now a days without a wing.

Oh Boy, My 1st winter project!

[Horton]

Hey lakeaustinskier

This should make you head spin http://ballofspray.com/tech-articles/87-what-the-heck-is-handle-control

Enjoy

[ForrestGump]

Butterfield's article, along with Rossi's power triangle article, might be the two best and most applicable How To's written on our sport.

[lakeaustinskier]

You're right - it does make my head spin.  I've realized (finally!) that I can only process 2-3 "nuggets" of info at one time.  

So maybe focus on keeping speed outbound, tight line and awareness of where the handle is on my hips?  Rossi did have a good article!

I could not pull up the pictures that came with the link.  Maybe the picture links are expired?

[aguylikeshark]

the annex i had was pretty soft, heavier & more pliable core material. So it sat a bit deeper and skied nice in our water. I had a bent fin and a wicked crash on the thing. 

Most everything else out there is lighter, and the A1 skied great so been using that.

You can make a ski fast just like you can make a boat fast but it has to have full contact at the shortest lines otherwise she won't turn or you can't get the power down in the pull. So to me it's more about power - e.g. like kilowatts, torque*rpm, workin' it - the ability to smoothly take  energy from the boat, then dissapate that energy down in the turn. the cool thing about 38,39 41 is more energy is blown off in the turn and the energy of the pull is taken quickly.

..the boat controls the handle. not much you can do except raise it in the turn and lower it in the pull (with straight arms) try that. 

  

[Horton]

Austin Skier,

Thanks for the heads up on the photos. I will fix that this weekend!

[Thomas Wayne]

.....

[Horton]

The Photos are fixed on the Butterfield article