Do you Know of a Tunnel Concave Slalom Ski?

[popof]

Hello everyone,

 

Does anyone amongst you fine ladies and gentlemen know of recent slalom skis that are not concave but "Tunnel Concave"?

 

A friend of mine in his 50's skis with an ooooooold tunnel ski and will not even consider going to anything close to concave carbon skis.

 

Nevertheless his ski is getting worn out and he is looking for something new out there.

 

I want to help him out, and by searching Google I have found skis as the O'Brien Siege or HO Mach1 but I was wondering if anyone knew of other skis like that?

 

Let me stress out that this friend is actually a formerly very decent skier (35off...) and still runs the course though out of shape and overweight.

 

He is just not into the new craze of carbon concave skis. His style is very muscular VERY VERY VEEEEEERY HARD PULLS, shoulders facing the next buoy, a little old school I must say, but i can foresee how he would be ejected into outer space coming out of his pull if he tried a Goode for instance ;)

 

Any advice or info greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

 

Romain

[skier2788]

I rode an old conelly that was a tunnel design. I liked the ski but there isn't anything like the new ones. That being said I know a guy that tried a new HO Mach 1 and said it wasnt a bad ski. My dad just made the switch from an early 80's HO Turbo and went to a Radar Senate. Instant better form and he feels that it is a whole lot less effort. That ski isnt carbon either if thats the worry. The Obrien Siege is a big ski I think very wide ment for beginners.

[Horton]

@popof So your friend wants an outdated ski that will perform badly? I assume when you say tunnel you mean there is a flat area (know as a rail) between the side of the ski and the concave.

 

Many highend skis have a small rail but nothing like the 1" rail on an old MasterCraft Pulse (late 80s).

 

I am sorry if I sound like a smart ass on this but it is like you are looking for a new car but it must have drum brakes and a carburetor.

 

 

[ForrestGump]

The Radar Senate is a tunnel concave type ski.

[popof]

@Horton, well you do not sound like a smart ass, I just haven't had the time to read all the reviews for all the skis selling out there. So I was just wondering if such skis existed and if people knew about such skis.

 

For instance @skier2788 's post was pretty helpfull, I'll suggest my friend to try these Radars.

 

I'm pretty sure in deed there are no more skis with that 1" flat spot between the side and the concave, but if anything vaguely ressembles the touch&feel I might just suggest it to my fellow skier!

[Horton]

@ShaneH lets be honest. Senate only has .1" more rail on each side than Strada. If you really want a mostly non-carbon ski with a tunnel I guess the Radar Theory (.25"ish rail) is the ski.

 

I am being a little difficult about this because I think it is always a mistake to look at a ski and say "I do not ski on that type of ski". There is so much more that goes into how a ski feels and it is a combination of things.

 

Hell I am skiing on a 65.25" ski right now. How does that make any sense?

[XR6Hurricane]

Nothing wrong with drum brakes and a carburetor :).

 

I just looked at a Connelly HP yesterday and the design looks like it's along the lines of what he is used to. I've never tried one and don't know anyone who has, but the underside is a lot more like my old EP Superformer than a lot of the newer stuff.

[Horton]

Please Please Please try the new stuff. It is bazaar how far ski design has come.

 

Are you connecting to BallOfSpray on a Mac Plus or a 486 PC? Does your cell phone come with a briefcase? Do you use a pager? Do you have an AOL account? Maybe MySpace?

[popof]

In deed carburators seem to exist still in Waterskiing! lol

http://www.connellyskis.com/uploads/images/connelly/products/Connelly_2012_HP.png

Now seriously, @Horton, I understand your point of view and believe me I've tried to talk him into at least trying my old KD7000 and progressive skis, but he never felt good on them, just wants a "tunnel concave ski".

To tell you the truth I'm CONVINCED it's only his mind playing games with him but hey, if the fact of knowing he is standing on some sort of 2012 tunnel helps him out then so be it! ;)

I'll defintively recommend him the connelly HP and the Theory! Thanks guys!

[popof]

http://www.connellyskis.com/uploads/images/connelly/products/Connelly_2012_HP.png

[Horton]

@popof Ok

 

I understand. For the record I do not think I could run my opening pass on an HP.

 

At 30 mph the Theory is huge fun and is great for chasing balls.

[andjules]

@popof, it seems to me the original premise is flawed. Your friend's style is old school, closed shoulders, dig deep and pull like hell. Fine (mine's not far off when I'm scrambling). So why is a tunnel going to make such a huge difference and 'eject him into outer space'?

 

I can see why he might not like (on first attempt) a full carbon ski, if he overturns and then hopes to hang on to that angle (on the other hand, if he's getting older, he might prefer it after backing off a little). But tunnel vs. edge-to-edge concave... what's going to happen?

 

His new ski will be different, but new skis always are. I don't recall wanting to give up skiing when I switched between tunnel and full concave, as I did a few times during the 80s.

 

What might make a bigger difference is sticking to a narrow-tailed or tight-turning/'hook-able' ski if he likes being a hook-and-dig kind of skier.

[popof]

Hey @andjules, thanks for the comment. I didn't say the tunnel ski would eject him into outer space, I said the edge-to-edge concave would. It's just, you should see this guy ski, I have never EVER seen anyone put so much energy into his pulls. I swear I sincerely believe he could end up on the shore if he were to pull like that with a newer kind of ski.

 

The point is, I agree with aaalll of those who will hopelessly try to get me to convince him that full concave is not bad, but guys, he just will not settle for that. He has tried and he is sure he doesn't like, so why not look for something similar to what he has if it makes him feel better? ;)

[Horton]

@popof As long as he is not skiing 34 mph or greater just get the Radar Theory and have fun. You do not have to tell him that is is a really good modern design :-)

 

[GAJ0004]

The last one I had was a 2000 O'Brien Mapple. It was a tunnel concave, except the tail was and edge to edge concave. It made skiing 36 MPH feel like 34 MPH. It was fast and rode nice and deep in the water.

[ejj]

Get the Theory. Go 28-30 and have fun and less physical effort. The Mach 1 is the same shape as the old ones, but not the same stuff inside. If he is dead set on an old ski, buy an old ski on ebay or call Wiley's. But really--1, Buy Theory. 2, Spec comfy easy-on bindings. 3, Pull at 30 mph. Repeat as necessary.

[gregy]

Back in the 80s I could run 28 off 36 on my HP. One of my old ski buddies was the M1 south central record holder on a HP. I think it was different than the picture above. Seems like it had an edge to edge tunnel with a flat down the center. My friend was getting his from Connelly with a stiffer than stock layup. Pretty fast ski and very forgiving for skies back then.

[skier2788]

@popof Wiley's has a HO Mach 1 blem for $150 right now. only available in a 70in. 2009 old tunnel design. Might look at that.

[Phil2360]

@popof Curiosity bites!

What is his old ski?

[popof]

@Phil2360 I don't remember!!! I'll post pictures next time I see him and/or his ski ;)

 

[ejj]

@popof Wiley's has a HO Mach 1 blem for $150 right now. only available in a 70in. 2009 old tunnel design. Might look at that.

 

Just a minor warning--lookis like the ski from back in the day, but not the same stiff inside.

[estrom]

Heck, if he's stuck on a tunnel ski, I have a fiberglass Maha Stiff slalom that I'll sell him. High quality craftsmenship and the desing he's looking for. Would fit right in with that 'old school' thinking.

[estrom]

desing...design

 

[BraceMaker]

My pops still uses his world team, and one of my earlier skis was a siege, which has the partial tunnel till behind the foot.

 

Demo could be worth the cost.

[popof]

Hey guys, thank you all for your advice, I gave him all the info and he will most certainly be trying the Conn' HP.

 

For those of you who wanted to know which ski he was (is) skiing, (I'm thinking of you @Phil2360, haha), the ski is an "EP Comp, High Definition Series".

 

Real piece of Waterski History!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[XR6Hurricane]

That one's relatively new. I wish you could buy a brand new honeycomb EP Comp 1. I'd buy one today. Tiring to ski on but really good for throwing a solid wall.

[Horton]

There is a reason that ski is $40

[XR6Hurricane]

I wonder if that's the identical design to the older orange and blue ones?

[Phil2360]

@popof, Got 2 similar to that in the shed. Yellow & Orange CompX2 from 1979 & Red & Blue Comp1 from 1980.

@skibrain, I got mine when I was at the pinnacle for my "Legend in My Own Mind" phase (16), so that is where my idolising would come from.

[JamesW]

My wife skis (cruises around) on a Williams social class with radar rs1 boot and another group of skiing mates have purchased new Williams skis. I keep offering my radar senate C for them to have a go on, but they refuse saying that this type of ski causes lots of injuries. They do have the straight tunnel concave though!

 

http://www.fredwilliams.com.au/game/skis.nsf/vw_ProductsCat/FW%20WOOD

[estrom]

I still have a Maha Stiff for sale!