Is your ON side turn better or your Off side is better

[Horton]

I have a theory that most skiers turn on side better than off side from the first time they run a pass until about the time they run 35 off and then it switches. Please read carefully before you vote.

[Than_Bogan]

My offside turn has been more reliable my entire life.

But every so often a miraculous onside turn does save a pass.

[scorban2]

Last year I would have voted that my on side was better, but I was coached and focused on my offside this year. Slowly it surpassed the on side.

[Fam-man]

15 and 22 off. Both turns are even, exit the off side by grabbing for the handle and breaking at the waist.

[6balls]

I can do too much with my onside and often over-do it. It's cool in a scramble cuz I can get some back...but if I'm ahead I'm more likely to screw up a pass on my onside. The offside is just reliable...though not as handy in a scramble.

[Wish]

Never thought of it as being a short line thing but pondering it now, I think you may be on to something. I also think @6balls may have a point as well. Seems my off side has been consistent as of late and the on side I tend to over ski at times and end up making the turn worse. But ya, off side has become my on side and it was never that way long ago. .

[RazorRoss3]

My onside turns sharper but my offside is more consistent.

[lpskier]

My on side turn is pretty much always the same. My off side turn is either better or it isn’t. In other words, if I have inconsistency, it’s on my off side, but when it’s on, it’s on.

[ozski]

As a lefty I have been dealing with an ordinary 2-4 offside turn for most of my skiing life - until recently. I've stopped trying to make changes at the ball and focused on what I'm doing through center line out of my onside which has been a game changer. My 2-4 turn has become a whole lot better as a result, the knock on effect is a better line into my onside and the need to relearn some timing. If there was money on the table I'm taking my onside turn every time, I don't think that will ever change. I look at Nate and Will and admire their incredible 2-4 turns, in my opinion the best in the business. The definition of better for me is at full throttle my onside is still my onside.. As an offside example right now I really like to watch JMac, it sort of validates what Horton is saying but I don't think there is any black and white on this issue.

[rockdog]

I cannot foresee an off side ever being better than my inside, but reading these results makes optimistic that it will at least improve quite a bit.

[sunvalleylaw]

Really at the start of tourney and more consistent course skiing and onside is better than off. I connect better back to the handle in a better stance more naturally and develop better cross course speed. But I have some good ideas from my work with Terry on how to improve that offside.

[h2onhk]

Off side has been much more consistent since I switched grip. RFF skier, left palm up. Every now and then I'll still kill and onside and lock stack right away sending me early to 3 or 5, but it's the consistency of 3 and 5 that keep me in the pass

[jhughes]

This definitely happened to me over the past couple seasons. Total switch where all of a sudden my on-side is where I lose space, get into trouble, mysteriously fall, etc. and the off-side has been something I have not had to focus on at all. Crazy. I feel like in my case it's that my off-side lean/stack/efficiency finally catches up to me by not providing sufficient angle/speed into 2/4 (onside) and leading to inconsistency there whereas I'm giving my off-side turn the best possible wake-to-ball chance.

 

That said, exactly as Than mentioned, it's the occasional miracle onside turn that saves passes that are going to hell in a handbasket.

[Horton]

the poll mostly matches my theory that for most skiers as they get better Off side becomes the easier side and On side become more of a puzzle. For me it is worse on skis that really rip Off side because I end up with too much load going into On side and then things really unravel.

[AdamCord]

My theory is that most people have a better 1-3-5 than 2-4 as they get better regardless of foot forward, because they get more practice on that side. Get out of the slalom course and that may change...?

[Horton]

@AdamCord Hmmmm yea that is another explanation.

[Razorskier1]

Been true for me for a long time. If I need a big turn in a pass I hope I’m going to 135 offside. Very co doesn’t I can do anything over there. Conversely, if I’m going to lose ground or make a pass ending mistake,

Always the on side.

[sunvalleylaw]

If @AdamCord is correct, then my better side should not switch and should remain 1,3,5/Onside, though hopefully I can even it out with practice. And based on my experience out of the course, as Adam also mentions, that should happen with more course practice. I feel much more comfortable with my offside out of the course. Hopefully as I get continued course experience, my offside will start to feel better there too. A lot of this year has been about getting used to seeing things in the water when I am turning, keeping my vision where it should be and skiing rather than looking and pointing, and getting used to some timing. At least at a rudimentary level.

 

 

[MISkier]

It's somewhat complicated to answer and, as frequently observed, the issues you have with either turn likely begin earlier than the turn itself.

 

My onside is better in that it will be the turn that gets me back into a pass that is failing. I will finish my onside turn with a much better angle than the finish of the offside turn and will usually be in good body position as well.

 

However, where my onside turn fails me is when my pull from my offside is with poor angle, poor body position, or both. I will pull too long or execute a feeble edge change that will send me narrow into the onside buoy. I'll slam the turn, crush into the ski, and lose speed that I needed to set myself up correctly for the next buoy. Unfortunately for me, this usually happens at one ball.

 

My offside can be good (not great) and it is only that way when I have completed a good onside turn and pull that has left me with tons of space before the offside buoy. But, the finish of my offside turn is where I will lose ground in a pass. It will be in two primary forms: poor angle out of the buoy or poor body position for the pull.

 

One thing that is true, though. I don't run 32 off unless I have a good offside turn, including my gate shot. I just lose too much on that side and can't compensate enough with the onside. So, I do believe that getting the offside turn to overshadow the onside in performance is key to advancing through 35 off and beyond. As I mentioned, if I have a good offside finish and good body position for the pull, my onside is then also likely to go much better. My best (and easiest) passes are when the offside turn is stellar, by comparison to its usual execution. I think the theory is valid.

[drewski32]

It's interesting to see that there are more people than I previously thought that are in a similar situation to me. I've struggled with my onside my entire career, mostly due to a pi$$ poor transition into 2/4/6 (RFF).

 

While it's not easy to slam an offside turn and make up space, I can pretty easily ride the line out to the buoy and finesse the ski back in on a tight, early line even if I'm in trouble. My bad transition into 2/4/6 is definitely what's holding me back from running more buoys. I get great one balls at -35, and even have gotten a decent one the few times I've made it to -38 in practice. The problem is I still can't control the line leaving the wakes into the other side.

[6balls]

Anyone else feel the onside is better when late...or at least not stupid early? If I'm really early into onside my eyes get big and I kill it...often over-do it.

 

I ran an opener some years back with a very high level boys III skier in the boat and he was like dude your onside is NUTS! I told him it looks cool and all...but it costs me passes as the line gets short all the time.

[jcamp]

My onside can get me into more trouble than my offside. But it can also be the proverbial hail mary that gets me back in a pass.

[BRY]

I get better turns off side with a cleaner finish. I miss more on the off side though when on the edge. I think that is due to being my being able to get away with really stupid s$!#t on my onside, just get the handle in, ski in front and hang on.

I'm lefty so three onside 1,3,5 and three offside 2,4,6. 6-ball on offside it definitely counts. I want to ski Adam's course where I can head for gates after 5.

Think it's more to do with onside pull (hips face toward boat) into offside so better pull, direction off wake, and edge change into offside. Onside turn has offside pull (hips away from boat) into it so pull position not as good. Offside just set up better which is more critical the shorter you go.

 

[MISkier]

@BRY, I agree with your statement:

 

"Think it's more to do with onside pull (hips face toward boat) into offside so better pull, direction off wake, and edge change into offside. Onside turn has offside pull (hips away from boat) into it so pull position not as good. Offside just set up better which is more critical the shorter you go."

 

My post was trying to say this as well.

[JackQ]

My offside 1,3,5 is much better than my on side, that wasn’t allways the case but after years of working in it, my offside 1st became as good as my onside and the exceeded it over time. If I could keep my weight more forward consistently, both sides would become equal. My hardes pass is 39 off.

[RazorRoss3]

The difference is if I have funky off side 1,3,5 I tend to break forward and have more than enough power to get my hips back under me, if I have a funky on side 2,4 I fall out the back of the ski and I’m in the water. When I ski a buoy correctly 2,4 turn sharper and keep moving better than 1,3,5 but if something goes wrong I ski away from my typical off side mistake while my typical on side mistake usually puts me in the water

[ScottScott]

I think the onside probably feels better, so its perceived as being better amugst us long liner/beginners. But as has been stated, I certainly have a tendency to over do the onside turn. When running late and having to pull longer into the onside turn, I can stop better in an attempt to make some kind of turn with too much speed. But, when I set up the offside correctly with good alignment during my onside cross, creating width etc, and can turn into a tight line, my offside is better....it just so rarely happens, more due to poor alignment during my onside cross than having a bad offside turn.

[VONMAN]

I always tune my ski's so my offside is equal to or a little better then my onside.

[jimbrake]

With zero off my onside has been consistently better than offside, but still has long-time flaws (shoulder rotation and pulling the handle in) that I seem to be finally addressing. With hand driving and PP, offside was definitely my best as I have always felt more comfortable standing on the inside of my front foot than outside. It's much more natural if you are an alpine ski racer. With ZO my offside has been more unpredictable and the location of many "why the hell did I just fall?" falls. You know what is fixing that side now? Same thing that is fixing my onside - staying level in the shoulders thru the edge change, out to the apex, and back to the handle. That fixes pretty much every damn ill I got.

[PatM]

I concentrate more on what I should be doing on my off side. My on side is a bit more automatic. So while when I am skiing well my off side can be really good, but I can bang a turn on my on side to save me when scrambling. Sometimes I may have a terrible 2 ball and think, 'ok just relax, get to 3 and turn', and then I'm back in the pass. Not the right way to ski, but the on side turn saves me in those situations. When I do have a good turn on my off side it usually feels great and looks great and I know it is a result of the emphasis on doing things correctly into that turn.