Fin Whispering

[Deep11]

@skijay just a quick public announcement to say how much I've enjoyed reading your book (which I received for Christmas from my wife, who intercepted my order a few weeks ago and hid it!).

Very well written and a quality production.

I particularly like that it is so much more than a book for "fin fiddling" and addresses technique as well.

I'm probably paraphrasing excessively but the idea that : " you set the fin for the offside turn and tweak technique for the onside turn" is exactly what I have found. Only it's taken me a full season and 3 top end skis to work it out!

Could have saved a lot of £££ if I'd read this last year.

Happy new year and Thanks for the read.

 

Kevin

[NorthIdahoLPO]

I concur!!! And well put Deep11. I just started reading it... some pages twice, carful to not miss a thing, so I can absorb as much as possible by spring. My friend and I had a fin debate the other night as he is a set-it-and-forget-it guy. I have sent him the link to buy the book.

It is a must read to satisfy the curiosity and unknowns of the fin but also, as Deep11 pointed out, to connect form and function, history and purpose, and further our obbssesion with this ever challenging sport.

[Rob]

I also agree. I'm very happy I purchased this book. Information like this is about 20 years overdue!

[Nando]

I haven't ordered my copy yet, but checked out a friend's copy and have to have it. What I'd say from what I've read so far is that the title is misleading- Skijay has written the comprehensive manual for total ski set up- to ignore his insights on the rest of ski performance short-changes the full value of it.

[sunvalleylaw]

I got a short little card for it with my new ski. Will need to get a whatchamajigger measuring thing (oh yeah, calipers) and maybe get the full book to peruse as well to get the new board set up right.

[aupatking]

@sunvalleylaw buy the book. It's well worth it

[SkiJay]

@Deep11 @NorthIdahoLPO @Rob @Nando @sunvalleylaw @aupatking

Thank you guys very much for sharing these thoughts. I love hearing that this text has been helpful on any level, and it keeps me testing for future insights.

[CaleBurdick]

My dad bought it for me for Christmas (maybe he was trying to tell me something), it was a great read! The only downside about the book is that it filled me with regret for not buying it sooner! As a fan of open wheel racing, it was that much more fascinating.

[6balls]

Got one for me, one for a good friend for Christmas...hardly time to scratch the surface yet, though.

[Chris Rossi]

This book should be in possession of all ballers regardless of ability level.

[Cam]

Have had my book for over a year now, read it and put it away as Andy had set my ski up for me and I was very happy with it as I don't have sound consistent technique.

I changed my ski mid season and have had a lot of help from the makers getting it set up but am getting fed up feeling like a duffus asking them about my setup so I have brought the book out again and with it's help along with the settings I have used and videos of me I am hoping to get a better understanding of what happened with the fin changes.

Don't know if I will be brave enough to put it into practice and experiment though :(

 

[Than_Bogan]

@Cam What could possibly go wrong? :wink:

[Dirt]

The book just arrived. Thanks @SkiJay for the fast shipping.

[SkiJay]

Definitely go for it @Cam! There's really nothing to lose. As long as you can measure and adjust accurately, you can always go back to the devil you knew. And measuring, adjusting, and interpreting the results are like all learned skills; they get better with practice.

[Bill22]

Got it! Thanks @SkiJay

[6balls]

This book is GOOD. Hard to believe a jock-o like myself has spent his entire skiing life really not knowing what's up with fin/wing/binding. Been reading while on the recumbent bike time goes by quickly. Hoping some ski buds read so we at least talk a common language.

[Obrienslalom]

Halfway through reading it myself. So far learning a bunch. Thanks.

[sgregg]

Just spent a week with SkiJay and my buddy's at Ski Paradise - wow! I was pretty much a "set-it and forget-it" kind of guy - quickly learned I had no idea what I was doing - Jay improved the set-up on all of our skis. If you want to get the most out of your ski investment, either get the book or take advantage of his tuning services (or both) - highly recommend!!

[Lovell]

Oxaigs,pyYcf

[SkiJay]

It was SO fun setting up skis for such a great group of skiers, @sgregg! I miss you guys!

Here's a nice shot Helen got of you in your new role as "ski tester." With Ski Paradise as your office, ski testing is pretty great work when you can get it, right!

 

 

[jjackkrash]

I got this book a few weeks ago and I can't believe it took me this long to order. The whole book is awesome, but for me, just the section on how to measure like "industry standard," the different, alternative techniques that exist to measure, and how to get consistent measurements, was more than worth the price of admission. Its the only clear explanation on how to measure that I have found, and it explains how and why you can't necessarily rely on others to take accurate measurements.

 

As a short (ok maybe not so short) aside, I took last year off due to bicep-tendon surgery and this year as some motivation I bought all new gear. New boots, new ski, new boat, pretty much everything. My first ride on my new Connelly GT was awful; the ski would not turn at all and I was terrified that I had just lost the ability to ski or that I bought a lemon ski.

 

I never really learned to measure. I would just buy skis from Wiley's and let Darren "set it to factory." If I felt like it moved for some reason, I would take it back to Wiley's and let Darren re-measure.

 

This time I ordered from elsewhere because I got a smoking deal on a blem and rode the ski out of the box, thinking this would be factory or close. When I got home I discovered the fin was loose, so I tried to put a basic measurement on it and reset it. After googling for hours, about the only thing I was certain of was that I still had no idea how to get a consistent, accurate measurement and that I was not likely to learn how in the near future. Guessing is no good when guys are saying you need to get it to within a thousandth of an inch. So I took a flyer on Fin Whisperer.

 

After about an hour of tinkering and using the book, and a new set of calipers, I am pretty confident my GT is set to the factory-advanced 1 settings and that my measurements are very very close to what the factory intended when it provided these measurements. And my second set this year went awesome. Now I am really looking forward to skiing again and I fully intend to study the book and have a better understanding of what the fin is doing and maybe even tweaking down the road when I get back to skiing more consistently.

 

Summary: thanks to SkiJay for a great book.

[skialex]

This book is a very big step forward for the sport.

[keithh2oskier]

Just ordered my copy the other day and waiting for it. Looking forward to it.