Good First Ski

[nzupancic]

Hello everyone,

I've been skiing during the summers for years, and am starting to learn to slalom. While I am comfortable getting up and staying up on one ski, my experience has been with old equipment and a boat with a wake too big to do any high speed crossings.

I am joining my university's water ski team/club with the hopes of learning to run the course. They have a modern boat and equipment, but the team slalom ski is still pretty outdated. I am considering purchasing a ski, and was looking for some input from people that are more familiar with the market and characteristics of slalom skis.

The HO Carbon Omni, as described by reviewers, seems like it would be perfect for me, but is out of my price range, and there aren't really any used units available. I am looking for something in the $350-$400 range that has similar characteristics. While surfing online, I've seen a lot of Syndicate A2s that would fall in that range with bindings. Would this be a good option? I am open to any suggestions and advice you may have!

 

Thanks,

Nick

[vtmecheng]

Omni is a new ski for this year so you won't find many used yet. You will have better luck finding a Radar Senate or Connelly Carbon V.

[Chef23]

I would look for some form of a Radar Senate which I think you can find in your price range.

 

The A2 is a narrower high end ski and if you are just starting to run the course more width would help.

 

Tho Omni would be good as well but it is a new model and would l8kely be hard to find at the price point you identified.

[JTW]

I’ve been doing a lot of coaching for beginners learning to run the course and we usually put them on an HO TX or similar crossover ski. The crossovers help a lot with stability at the slower speeds and longer line lengths but can just as easily be used at a competitive level as well.

[Sivota]

If you can take a step down from the carbon, a new HO Omni from Performance at $429.99 might be the way to go.

[BraceMaker]

Height weight and perhaps what team?

 

Some programs you may progress very quickly others you may have less actual course time than others.

 

http://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Slalom&postid=46796

 

Buy something and sell it next year, maybe a katana even.

[Chef23]

I have a Katana which I have only free skied on at this point but I could definitely run 32 mph on it. If you need to slow down to 26 or 28 mph to get started the Katana would be a great ski to learn on.

[BraceMaker]

When I started slaloming wide skis were things like the Connelly big daddy - they were these planks of PVC ski with aluminum top decks, about as stiff as a noodle that really couldn't turn and would stop dead in the water if you slowed the boat too much. As such I went through the typical riding a 68" world team obrien when I weighed 100 lbs, moving through mapple sieges, connelly concepts, Goode 9200, D3 Nomad and so forth.

 

I think now if you wanted only one ski to be on a while I'd do the Omni, but for the purposes of learning I would probably start with a butter knife or Katana - Depending on what team you'll be joining it might be behind an older boat with 6 people in it, you will probably like having the ski later on too.

[nzupancic]

Thanks for the advice all around! @BraceMaker I’m 5’ 10” 140 lbs. It’s the University of Michigan ski team. As I understand it, it sounds like I could ski as much as I want and just pay for gas as long as I have a driver and observer to tag along.

 

I’ve spent some time on ski it again and saw quite a few options in my price range for senates and Vs. I have my eye on a 2014 Senate C at the moment, if not the Connelly V BraceMaker linked. This brings me to a follow up question: how important is ski length for someone like me? According to the charts, a 65” ski would be ideal, but if I would go slightly longer, would it be an issue?

Thanks again for all of your help!

[BraceMaker]

@nzupancic - The length does matter quite a good bit, you are taller at 5'10" but very light.

 

Some skis you'd be 65" and some skis 66" have to check ski by ski and particularly the speed, for instance a ski like a connelly V you'd be in the 65 but a GT you really would want the 66 particularly when running slower. I sort of weighed out of the 66" ski as I reached the 175/180 range and now run 67's.

[nzupancic]

Glad I asked about the length, thanks again for the input. @TacticalSpeed messaged me this steal:

 

https://www.summitsports.com/connelly-v-67in-slalom-water-ski/462515P.html#dwvar_462515P_BindingSize=Medium&dwvar_462515P_SkiSize=67in

 

It's a 2016 Connelly V, brand new, for $270. I managed to get the last 65" (recommended length for my weight via Connelly) with medium bindings included. Couldn't turn it down at that price, especially with the included bindings that usually cost an extra hundred fifty bucks or more. From what I've read and researched, I think it'll end up being a perfect first ski for me. Thanks again to all of you for helping me reach this decision! I'm excited to hit the lake just as soon as it gets here.

[shansen345]

Check out Ski-It-Again for a used Radar Senate. Any flavor will do, but the Graphite is a nice balance of performance and affordability IMO. Wiley's also has some close-out deals sometimes.

[shansen345]

D3 Quest or X7 (kinda the same ski) might also be a good place to start if you find one for a good price. Very stable ski.

[Sethski]

@nzupancic I believe you chose the right Ski and got it at an amazing price! I hope it works well for you. If you need absolutely any help with the Ski or riding it, please feel free to email us at bookings@skiseth.com. Enjoy the new ride!