Shocking first ride on new slalom

[Skihack]

A bunch of skiers were sitting around talking after a skier tried a Goode after skiing on an intermediate ski. She was having some trouble getting adjusted to it. And , it started the conversation about shocking first rides on new skis. For me, it has to be the EP Pro Stock. First time cut through the gates and basically just did a "second base slide" to one ball and all the rest of them. Once I got used to it, it was an awesome ski. It was a popular ski in it's time. Many tournament skiers rode the ski from John Mac to Eddie Detelder. What was your first ride shocker?

[bogboy]

Aluminum top & green bottom world team comp, after skiing on a wooden rtp combo, and homemade slalom from junior high shop class.

[SkiJay]

Does getting up to speed with the fin guard still on count? What came next was definitely a shocker!

[rfa]

What @SkiJay said...LOL

[skihacker]

Obrien elite, hard to describe, the offside had this really evil snap-turn that could be hard to hang on to, once i got use to it it ripped though.

[jwr]

Obrien elite, first offside turn I had so much speed and the ski just hooked and stopped. Big yardsail.

[ral]

I first tried the course in 2004 on my HO Mach 1. Could not get past 4 ball. A friend lent me a Goode 8000 he had. First pass, tried to turn 1 and the ski did not turn. Was so used to how easy the tunnel Mach 1 rolled... But, on the second pass, I ran the course, and ran it the other 4 passes.

 

Then, that same day, I bought @JD's 9300...

[sunvalleylaw]

Old school 80's Mastercraft LaPointe. I was used to a Kidder Redline secure roll into edge angle. That Mastercraft put me on my ear, but if I could hold on, was fast as snot over the wake. I opted for the more steady eddy ride of the Kidder.

[Ed_Johnson]

First Jump on a new pair of Composite Jumpers after being on the wooden ones for years...Jump Skis headed for ORBIT, body headed for ER.

[ozski]

Concept. Yeah I know they were popular back in the day but to me it felt like pig compared to my HO. I've had a hard time forgiving Conelly, I'm still not quite there.

[BraceMaker]

I had the spring pin out of my hardshells one time. Made it about half way to the first wake when that came full off the ski.

 

As much as I like almost everything about shells - you have to be accurate always in your assembly - particularly when you install fresh on a new ski.

[XR6Hurricane]

@ozski My first ride on my Concept I dumped myself about 4 or 5 times in the first lap around our 300 acre lake. But after that I got the hang of it and fell very seldom on it. e once or twice a year.

[swc5150]

I had an Obrien Siege for 3 months. It had more adjustments than a chiropractor, and nothing I did made it worth skiing - it was an absolute nightmare. Ordered a 9100 mid summer, and my skiing came back to life.

[skier2788]

Mine was a HO Truth. Thats all im saying. Still mad at that ski.

[Skoot1123]

Mine was in a borrowed HO Monza, 2006 version. I believe it was the first year that they had come out, a buddy of mine had it - let me use it as I was skiing on an HO Extreme circa 1993!! I ran three straight passes and never looked back. That led to me getting a new ski!

[KcSwerver]

Not quite first ride but the first time I ran the course on my newly properly set up fin on my 9900 was like a magic carpet

[Wayne]

Not on a new ski but in 2009 I had to find out what a 1962 Cypress Garden ski felt like. No concave, flat bottom ski with its original bindings, er, foot stirrups. Felt like I was on ice and made me appreciate the current technology.

 

Also tried a pair of 1965 Cypress trick skis that summer, should have taken video of that adventure.

[MISkier]

Goode 9100 in 2005. I had been skiing on an EP Super 2 since about 1980. The EP had no wing, no edge-to-edge concave like the Goode, and was as heavy as an engine block. The speed of the Goode, the turn, and the angle just blew my mind. I was accustomed to sliding the tail of that EP around the ball, but the Goode rode like it was on rails. I also noticed it took a lot less effort to get more speed and more responsiveness. I had to re-learn how to ski. But, all of those changes were absolutely for the better.

[John Brooks]

My biggest surprise was skiing during the winter, in dry suit and unknown to me the zipper came open. Talk about surprise and getting your attention, 45 degree water on the inside of my drysuit. :-)

[gator1]

My brother, my uncle and I all shared a pair of jumpers. We got our first pair of stinger graphites and each of us went right on our ass first ride. Those things were FAST compared to the glass versions.

[Jordan]

Went from a Maherajah woody to. Taperflex Apex.

 

It was like moving from a Chevette to a Ferari- instant love.

[A_B]

My biggest change was when I went from a flat bottom wood slalom from a pair of combos to an EP CompX2. Don't ask why I thought I was good enough to buy EP's top of the line, but if you want to talk about an eye-opening experience! Would also agree that the Goode 9100 was a huge step up from my HO TRX, but getting off a woodie onto the honeycomb X2 was pretty drastic.

[GAJ0004]

I have tried the HO CDX, Syndicate A1, and the Monza. I could not do anything on any of them. With the CDX it would always slide out from under me going around the ball, and the Syndicate A1 would slip out from under me like a banana peel when I would finish the turn and load up on the rope. The Animal Bindings were very uncomfortable for me. Tried the D3 Nomad RCX which I am still on 5 years later, worked perfect out of the box. The Leverage Bindings are very comfortable and work very well. I learned to ski the course on the slalom from a pair of combos. Skiing on a 75' rope I was able to get through the course up to 32 MPH. I started kicking the fin out at 34 MPH. I bought a 1986 O'Brien TRC and was able to run the course at 34 MPH easily after that. It took me a while to master 36MPH. The funny thing is the guys I ski with were scared to death to ski on the O'Briens I skied on over the years. They were all on HO skis. Favorite ski was the 2000 O'Brien Mapple Signature model slalom. Nothing was better for rough water and 36 MPH.