My top ten most unusual ski (designs, constructions or appearance) ever list

[Horton]

Warp

Fischer

MasterCraft Radius

Goode FlexTail

O'Brien G5 (the one from the 1990s with the adjustable rocker)

O'Brien Quattro

O'Brien Elite

AM 33

Denali C-65

KD Platinum (the original with the wood core from 1990s

Goode WideRide

 

[Wish]

S2.. 1st time the bottom contour of a ski was messed with...steps.

 

HO Power Stix

 

Top pick has to be the G5. Could adjust the rocker of the front with slider plate and tail of ski with a torsion bar embedded into ski and then into fin block with a set screw. Removable tail plates for further adjustment of rocker torsionally??. Micro fin under feet to stop down course slide. Hour glass shape for front of ski...can you say Out The Front!!! Literally could adjust 5 different elements on that ski before you ever touched the fin or wing.

[Wish]

 

[thager]

Don't forgot the Torque Super Comp. Flag Top and Venturi tunnel.

[swc5150]

80's Jobe Carbon V is on my list.

 

I had one of those Obrien G5's back in the day. Worst ski ever for me! Ditched it for a Goode 9100. Best decision ever.

[Horton]

Jobe Carbon V! How could I forget?

[mwetskier]

two words:' funnel tunnel '.

designed by mike suyderhoud and manufactured by western wood it was one of the first modern skis to be patented.

[RAWSki]

My regular ski partner had one of the G5's back in the day. He actually skied quiet well on it and gained almost a whole pass over two years. Never adjusted the fin but did play with the rocker/flex now and then..... It weighed a ton!! Andy skied on a 'faux G5' for a couple years I believe. I was on an O'Brien Synergy SC (for Smooth Carve) 50% less weight than the G5. I believe they also offered a TC and ZC for different skiing styles, probably not worthy of the influential list but there were a lot of those O'Brien's on our lake in the 90's.

[RazorRoss3]

I skied an O'Brien Elite for 4.5 years, top to bottom it was really thin in the front with taller sides but an indented middle. One of the lightest skis I've held. It seemed to have a relatively small "sweet spot" though. In honesty I think I owe a lot of my body position and technique to that ski because it forced you to stand on the ski correctly because you'd be sitting in the lake if you weren't. The skis I've had since have certainly been more forgiving in that regard but I think I ski better on them because of my time on the Elite.

[BraceMaker]

Everything reflex assymetric

[KRoundy]

That Carbon V was wild. Not only was there the v-tail but it had "rails" that were part of the tunnel on the bottom of the ski. I skied it and actually thought it was a pretty good ski for the day.

[klindy]

I had a brand new Carbon V when it first came out. My only memory was being at ski school and struggling on it. At the end of the lake one set after scrambling like mad and skiing narrow enough to cut lose 2 buoys, I asked "any suggestions?" ... Without missing a beat Jack Travers replied "Try golf!"

 

By the end of the week I was on a new ski and skiing a LOT better! I still laugh about that!!

 

For those who don’t remember —-

 

 

[Nando]

@thager, you didn't mention the Torque fiberglass heel cup! Back in the day, the Taperflex Apex was radical. It was huge hit for a while, but its "stops on a dime" deceleration bit a lot of us who were on it- after enough out-the-fronts, I felt lucky to escape its clutches with only a couple of cracked ribs. If I'm not mistaken the yellow Maherajah shown by BLP in the "most influential" link had hollow ribbed construction- if not that ski, another that they made around that time had it- that was just weird, at least until the Warp arrived. The Maha also leaked...

[Orlando76]

For those of us who weren’t really skiers back in the day we need pics of these funky skis or it didn’t happen.

 

Like this photo that came up first when I googled Warp water ski.

 

[Horton]

What was that Fred Williams ski that had three tunnels and two tiny fins? We used to have contest at the ski school to see who could run passes on it. It always ended in some bizarre awful crash.

[Wayne]

What was the ski with the little blinking LED? Supposedly had a damping system and the LED lit up when it was “working”.

[BraceMaker]

@Wayne wasn't that just one of the Obrien skis - Siege G4? the "piezo dampening" system.

[thager]

@Nando Forgot all about the heal cup! @Orlando76 I've never been able to find a picture of the Torque Super Comp. I search EvilPay, CL and local garage sales often. I will stumble on a reasonable$ one in good condition someday I hope!

[klindy]

@Orlando76 clearly she needs to vote “yes, I love those factory stickers” in the other thread!

[mikegile]

I was working at Wiley's when the Carbon V came out. It was the coolest!

 

I remember Paul Wiley's sarcastic sales pitch - "And after you are done skiing, you can pick up garbage with it!"

[lpskier]

Taperflex Double Tunnel

Northland Shark (groved bottom)

Cypress Gardens El Diablo (same)

 

But whenever I see a new idea, I like to ask myself: Is this the new Powerstix?

 

 

[lpskier]

@bananaron I don’t think the Warp gals have made it to The Villages just yet.

[lpskier]

@Wayne I believe that was the O’Brien Mapple Seige. Piezo electric dampening. 20 years ago?

[skiinxs]

@thager I have a Torque Super Comp with the fiberglass heel cup. I will look for a picture for you, but I think I posted one here a year or two ago.

[oldmanskier]

I am currently on a 2009 66" 9900 Wide Ride that Chet suggested for me back in 2009.

I have about 600 sets on it.

Being as I am 5' 7" tall and 210 pounds it is a great ski for me.

I can run 32 off at 32 MPH on a good day on this ski.

I run 28 off consistently on this ski.

The thing it does for me is it appears to turn no matter what kind of shape I am in coming into the buoy and is very stable. I really like this ski and dread the day it breaks down. I hope GOODE is still making some type of Wide Ride when I have to get a new ski.

I skied with Chet back in October (gave me the usual your to fat talk) and he said if I stayed the same size the GOODE WR is what he would recommend for me if they still make them. Just glad various ski company's are making skies for us guys that still want to ski but we are a bit on the heavy (fat) side. I like to refer to myself as Southern mom's describe there overweight boys. Oh he is not fat he is just HUSKEY boy.

oldmanskier

[Than_Bogan]

I assume the ski in that picture is also fake?

[skialex]

I thought the Warp I have was the one in the picture, what do you mean fake? :)

[Horton]

@Than_Bogan no that image is real. The guys at Warp hired models to walk around with the skis at Nationals one year. USAWS was pretty mad because Warp did not pay to be a vender at the event but got a lot of PR. Pretty funny really.

[thager]

@skiinxs I kind of remember that but didn't find it. Evil pay, google and CL have some later models with a different pattern but not the flag motif back about 1976 or so.

[Than_Bogan]

My sense of humor must be regional. It's not funny if I have to explain it, so I won't.

[skialex]

I think this time it was intercontinental!

[BraceMaker]

@Than_Bogan they're not imaginary.

[dchristman]

@thager pictures of the Torque you're talking about were posted in my thread here, remember?

[Jordan]

**I assume the ski in that picture is also fake?**

 

@Than_Bogan ....No but the implants are hollow! ;-)

[Jordan]

Lapoint Radius ...came in left foot fwd and right foot fwd models

[eleeski]

@BraceMaker They do spark the imagination though...

[mwetskier]

@Than_Bogan -the taller of the two warp girls reminds me of a ' carnac the magnificent ' joke johnny carson did one time where the answer was ' yasser arafat ', and the question was ' describe the sound made when dolly parton takes off her bra '.

[mikegile]

@dchristman great pics! Loved the Supercomp - best spray ever!

[thager]

@dchristman is I knew there was a thread but my search was fruitless?

[DaveD]

How could the Leeski be left off the list?

[liquid d]

If you were holding it in your hands, you wouldn't care if it was fake.

[BraceMaker]

@liquid d I've heard they have a cheap hollow feel that can take some getting used to. Something about how they manufacture them?

[Alvin_Neff]

Felt good to me!! All stock setup!

 

[liquid d]

What a great country!

[klindy]

She's a baller... even keeps the tail of the ski off the sidewalk by putting it on her toes!

[Horton]

I really love that ski

[thager]

What ski?

[Deep11]

I won ski races on a DTx which gives sone idea of my age !

 

[ALPJr]

My first slalom was a different design. It was standard thickness (top to bottom) wood under the feet and then tapered down to about half the thickness in the tip and tail sections. It was pretty too. Can't remember the name. Bought it new at 14yrs old at Western Auto in 1974. Traded it about a year later for a wood Obrien Competitor.

[thager]

Probably a wood Taperflex?