2018 Denali c-65

[Bruce_Butterfield]

@CaleBurdick = Captain Obvious

:p

[lkb]

@Ed_Johnson the other big one is to slow down as little as possible before apex then do what you said. Not sure how that relates to skiing...anyway that's what I learned from the performance driving I've done.

[Ed_Johnson]

@lkb .... Love talking Race Cars vs Slalom. Being fortunate enough, over a vast period of years, to drive everything from L-88 GT1 Corvettes to Indycars, one of the most advanced techniques, that is inline with what you are talking about, was the technique of Trail Braking. Basically, when you are going into the turn, approaching the apex, you trail off the brakes while applying throttle, so as to be able to come off the apex with FULL throttle. This helped keep the car balanced and allowed you to maintain maximum traction. I believe the same holds true in Slalom. By feeding the handle out in the preturn, you are trail braking, keeping as much energy as possible, while allowing the ski to proceed on an outbound trajectory, thus gaining maximum width at the apex. You are then in a position to apply "Full Throttle" coming off the apex. Key is to shift weight into the turn to NOT allow ZO to know you are there until you have already gotten away with a proper amount of smear to set angle and are ahead of the ski to increase acceleration. Accelerating into load allows you to sustain so much more energy. Watching Adam Caldwell and Nate Smith are perfect examples of this. Having great equipment, such as the c-65, properly setup for the smear and acceleration is a real plus.

 

 

[AdamCord]

@adamhcaldwell showing how carrying speed can make it look slow. 38off 34mph:

 

[Than_Bogan]

I really want to Dislike that video...

[lkb]

@adamcord @adamcaldwell when do skis ship?

[Chef23]

@Than_Bogan that 38 by Caldwell looked easy why can't you do that?

[Than_Bogan]

@Chef23 Wondering the EXACT same thing...

 

Most probable explanation: I suck.

[AdamCord]

@lkb skis started shipping this week.

 

@Than_Bogan You don't have a c-65. Caldwell could barely run 22off before he got one.

[Mancy]

When do we get to see video of @wish on the new Denali?

[Bruce_Butterfield]

I just watched Cord stroke 38 - he tried to screw up 5 ball and the ski didn't let him. He proceeded to backside 2 ball at 39 in a 10mph tailwind and ended up inside 4 for 1st place in M2

 

Tbat ski works better than anything i've seen in a long time.

[ADFerrel]

I'm not sure it is relevant for anyone on this thread, but in case anyone is interested, the new Denali is awesome at slower speeds and longer line lengths too. I've had mine for about two weeks now and have a dozen sets under my belt. There was a bit of a learning curve for me going from my old ski to the Denali, but now that I've got a feel for it I'm extremely pleased with my decision!

 

Even at 15 and 22 off @ 36 mph, I can feel things that were described in last year's ski review posted on Ball of Spray. I'd say the review is very accurate to the way the ski tends to act for me. I think it will definitely help me take my skiing to the next level at a more rapid pace than my old ski. The customer service is awesome too. I'm not sure many ski companies would be willing to work with a skier at my level to help dial it in and ensure satisfaction after purchasing.

[Than_Bogan]

@ADFerrel There are way more people reading this thread than you think who are skiing around 36/-22, and WAY more than you think who aren't even near to that level yet!

 

Thanks for sharing! I'm excited the ski is working out well for you.

 

Note: Although last year's ski was certainly awesome, that was part of the internal 3.x series, and since then they have made a 4.x series (which I gather was educational), a 5.x series (I skied on one particular model and it is non-trivially better than the 3.x), and then several iterations of 6.x series before finally settling on this one.

Point being: While there is a lot of "DNA" in common, this ain't last years ski!

 

Meanwhile, my back is healing, and I am HOPING I'm going to have my own report on the ski later this season!

[skihart]

@AdamCord @adamhcaldwell what's the current wait time for a c-65 right now? Second question, I am right around 175lbs and am on a 66 Vapor currently. According to your charts I am right in between a 66 and a 67. I ski at 34 mph and occasionally get through 35. What size would you recommend?

Thanks.

[AdamCord]

@skihart right now the lead time is only about a week.

 

The size really depends on your preference. Both will work well. If you are the kind of skier that likes a ski that sits deeper and you like to pull harder, you'll want the 66. If you're the kind of skier that likes to let the ski do more of the work and to carry speed, order a 67. Again either one will work well for you. Caldwell is 170 and I'm about 175, and we both jump back and forth between the 66 and 67 without missing a beat.

[skihart]

Okay that's not too bad!

I am probably more of skier that pulls too hard but am working on being the skier that carries more speed and lets the boat and ski do the work. I can dig myself into a hole pretty easily, especially if I don't focus on carrying the handle with me out to the buoy.

I am still think 66 would be better as 175 is probably a max weight for me during the winter.

 

[BraceMaker]

when is Denali launching a store credit card?

[MISkier]

I believe a skier from Clio, MI got around 6 ball at 39 off at 36 mph on his new Denali c-65 at a weeknight tournament last night.

 

I saw two c-65 on the dock last night. They look great. Very impressive.

[MattP]

@Triplett are you up to no good again?

[Triplett]

@mattp Absolutely. Hit 6, not even sure how, it was all a blur after turning 4. It was the best I have skied in a tournament since 2013, I think. Definitely best all year, even in practice!

 

The ski is awesome, everyone should buy one!

[MISkier]

@Triplett,

 

July of 2012 was last tournament 39.

[AdamCord]

great skiing @Triplett!!

 

I gotta say I'm pretty happy that we waited until after nationals to send you a c-65 ;)

[Triplett]

@MISkier Thanks, that was the year I came back from Jodis, crazy times.

 

@AdamCord just wants me to be level 10'd.

[gmut]

I was the boat judge. WOW! is probably the best description of that ski. Tight turns, no slack,no tip rise.......just WOW!! Oh! and @Triplett you skied pretty good too! Missed running 39 off by a whisker..grazed 6 ball and lost his balance.

[gmut]

@AdamCord @adamhcaldwell 68?....69?

[AdamCord]

@gmut we are a few weeks out from having 68s available. No plans for a 69

[JAS]

@AdanCord how much will a 68 support @ 34 mph

[AdamCord]

@JAS good question. We should have the first 68s built in a week or so and will get some testing done. Right now I'm guessing it will work well up to about 235lbs, but will confirm with testing.

[Than_Bogan]

@JAS While I have no real world anecdotes to prove it, I strongly suspect the c-65 can support folks bigger than usual, at least in terms of generating speed from lift. That signature massive tunnel is a whole lot of support up front!!

 

There might be more of a concern with balance, but then again the so called "kickpoint" (new to the c-65) is intended to make it automatic to stand in the right place.

 

If any bigger skier is in an experimental mood, give one a shot and report back!

[ISP6ball]

I'm 175 and can wear a 50lb backpack. Will this work?? :)

[mwetskier]

@ISP6ball -make that 50 lbs of weight that *floats*. just sayin.

[BraceMaker]

Or stick to really shallow ski lakes

[MISkier]

Hmmm. Who would have thunk it? Another tournament and another 5.5@-39 at 36 mph by the same skier. 2 times in the same week and there is still one more round to go today.

[Wish]

Set #1 in the books. Comments to come with a few more sets. Can say I have not really gotten this well stacked off of 135 (RFF) that early before. Usually it is more gradual or if things are out of sorts, some tip rise. It never got out of sorts and the ability to get stacked earlier was rather natural to the skis turning ability. Not sure how they did that...science I guess. Wife (driver extraordinaire) said smoother the usual.

 

P.S. It really is a beautiful ski. There is some almost 3 dementional pattern look that you can kinda see in the pic near my fingers that runs the whole ski. Very cool looking.

 

 

[slow]

I am loving watching videos of this ski. Tip is staying down and skiers are grabbing huge angle and speed without getting folded over the ski. Looks like it would awesome just to free ski on a glassy morning.

[Wish]

Pic is worth a thousand words. And the load is no more. Bottom pic..new Denali

.

 

 

 

[ozski]

@Wish, what are we focusing on here? New ski looks slightly flatter but your body position at that instant is not what I would describe as ideal?

[Chef23]

I would say he has more lean away from the boat and his cm is more forward on the ski. I think it looks pretty good for a mortal.

[Ed_Johnson]

@Wish ... Nice work Brian, that's pretty amazing for an offside pull. You can tell by how flat the ski is and the amount of water being displaced, there is a lot of acceleration taking place here. I would take that lean over the top one any day.

 

[Wish]

@Ed_Johnson BINGO! Yes my form is not the best but look at the efficiency of the ski!! Trust me, my body possession is more of me going "holy $hit". And it looks like there is more load but there simply is not. It is like that do to the way it turns and what happens before that. And yes, never been that fast out of my off side...ever. I think Cale B. alluded to this affect in his video. It's something I'm happy to get used to. And it was pass # 2

[thager]

@Wish Bottom pic?

 

[ozski]

@slow you might disagree with me but @adamhcaldwell who builds these things saw the relevance of my question. I simply wanted to be clear on the point @Wish was making. You want to drop your hips behind your ankles and have it then please post video.

[slow]

Ozski i have know idea what your saying but i do enjoy watching this ski rip regardless of body position

[Wish]

@ozski you can drop whatever behind or in front of whatever. ;) But think about this. I did not have great form (in my opinion) with body position in the lower pic yet the ski is flat, extremely efficient, I have more lean, angle and speed with as little load as the pic above. The better question would be, which pic regardless of body position is getting me across course sooner, with more outbound speed off the second wake.? Like Ed said, I'll take the lower pic all day long and twice on Sunday. Makes me want to get back out there and see what it can do with my hips up a tad but obviously bad form isn't as big of a factor on this ski.

[ozski]

@Wish if the lower position is repeatable for you then great I would love to hear that its getting you however many extra buoys. Its pretty obvious its not the perfect stack so all I was after was some clarity around your choice of photo just so I could be clear on your point. Honestly I looked at the ski, the body position then the boat path which looks like it might have hurt you a little. Please post up some video of your skiing on the new stick, I would love to see how well your 1-3-5 is working on the c-65. And Chet has some interesting comments on form and speed in this video.

 

 

[Wish]

@ozski great info from Chet. What I mentioned initially about being connected sooner off the ball seems to fit right in with what Chet says regarding Joes vs Pros and how the diver feels it. A good thing for me as that has not happened before. As for repeatable... I'm a mortal. If I could repeat every body position that gives me an advantage I'd sign up for a Big Dawg :p . What I felt was something different worth mentioning outside of my mortal flaws. But seeing and feeling the ski do what it did dispite my flaws (and my wife's driving ...won't be showing her that pic) I'm impressed with the ski.

[Ed_Johnson]

Wish's bottom photo proves a point I have been making for years. That is that the ski does not "KNOW" if you are old school, new school, traditional, etc., it only responds to one thing, "WEIGHT SHIFT."

Coming off the apex, if the ski feels a forward weight shift in the direction of travel, it will accelerate, nose down, with max angle and efficiency. The c-65 seems to do this extremely well. I suspect the Adam's designed it to do so. Just take a look at their video's to prove this point.

Another skier who really gets forward on his offside is Will Asher. Years a go I had a chance to ask him about it. I told him, every time I get in a extreme forward position such as that, I feel like I will OTF, scares the hell out of me, and I stand up and ski away. I asked him if that ever happened to him and how does he deal with that. His answer was, "I just get forward and know the ski will come through and Catch Me."

 

WOW, I never forgot that answer and I'm still working on it. Maybe a 68" c-65 would help !!!

 

 

 

[Nando]

Of course, having Will Asher's core strength would be a huge benefit for mortals hoping to avoid the dreaded OTF...

[jipster43]

@AdamCord When will a 65" be available? At 125-130lbs I think the 66" will be too big for me.

 

Gracias!

[AdamCord]

@jipster43 65s are still a few weeks away.

 

For others who were asking, 68s are now available!