What ski would be a good next step from my Monza?

[DangerBoy]

I'm not sure if I'm that interested in changing skis at the moment but I am thinking a little about it and curious to know what skis would be a good choice for me if I did decide to do that if anyone would care to take the time to make a suggestion.

 

Right now, I have an '06 67" Monza. I just do open water skiing. I'm just about to turn 57 and would rate myself as intermediate to advanced but I'd be in the lower end of advanced if I could be considered to be in that category. I ski hard whenever I ski, giving it my absolute all, never letting up until the arms and legs turn into noodles. I cut pretty hard and when I do a run, I probably do about 20 - 22 turns before stopping for a rest and then do maybe 15 - 18 more before I'm really bagged and toss the handle. I typically ski 31 - 33 mph depending on water conditions. and always at 22' off (to get the best spot on the wake). I tend to be a smoother carving type skier and what I mean by that is that I transition into turns a little earlier and carve through it turning hardest at the end vs the kind of skier who goes into a turn full on and then just cranks it right at the very end practically pulling the back end of the boat over 6". The picture shows me in one of my better offside turns.

 

I started to love the Monza after I moved the bindings up as far forward as they go on that ski (which is not as far forward as you can go on today's skis). I find the Monza really stable, forgiving and easy to turn. It also seems to handle a variety of water conditions fairly well.

 

The guys at the local ski shop seem to be pretty knowledgeable and they say either the Radar Senate Lithium or Vapor Lithium would be good choices because they're both fairly similar to the Monza at least in terms of their construction materials (PVC/Graphite). I also note that for 2019, Radar has a Senate Pro Built which would be a step up from the Lithium. Would any of these be good choices? As I only ski in the 31 - 33 mph range, I don't want a ski that only starts to come into its own at 34+ mph and I don't want one that's going to take a lot of adjustment to get used to.

 

Besides Radar, what HO or other skis might be a good fit for me?

 

 

 

[The_MS]

There is no replacement for your Monza. You will just have to try another ski. You will need to stay on somthing fast like a Vapor or KD

[Than_Bogan]

What is your motivation to change? Seems like you have the perfect ski for your application.

[shansen345]

Senate Lithium or Pro Build are great options. HO Omni Syndicate is also supposedly a killer ski for that speed.

Put your current bindings on your new ski and the adjustment period will likely be pretty short.

[DangerBoy]

Like I said in my OP, I'm not really sure if I do want to change but I am a little curious to know which of today's skis would be a good fit for me if something did ever happen to the Monza or if I did decide to go to something newer. Then there's always that curiosity about whether something with a newer design would help me take my skiing up another level the way the Monza did from my old ski. My old ski was pretty old though so it's not surprising my skiing improved several levels after I got the Monza dialed in and figured out. I wouldn't expect a new ski would be such a radical difference from the Monza the way the Monza was from my previous ski but the Monza is a few generations old now so I'm always curious to know if a new ski would be noticeably better and might help me improve a bit more. There are so many choices though and I figure there's got to be a few people in this forum who skied Monzas in the past and would have a good idea of what would be a good ski to move up to after that.

[andjules]

Others who know more about the Monza can chime in, but my instinct is that a Senate is not going to feel at all similar. Yes a Senate may have similar materials, and yes a Senate is what you'd typically recommend to an older guy skiing aggressively at slower speeds, but I think you'll find it rides way higher in the pre-turn/turn compared with a Monza and will feel radically different. It's a great ski, but I don't think it's a similar ski.

 

I don't have experience with it but you might want to check out the newer HO omni.

[BraceMaker]

Its funny because your decription of the ski seems very polarized compared to my opinions of it. Your description however of what you do makes me think there are a numver of skis for you to try, connelly v omnis senates. Go have fun!

[DangerBoy]

I did try my ski buddy's new '18 Senate Alloy this year and I found it harder to turn than my Monza. It felt like I had to push a lot harder on my back foot to get it around the turn compared to my Monza. To be fair though, I didn't get a chance to set the ski up the way I have my Monza set up. For example, he had the rear binding set straight and I prefer the rear binding to be canted so it's not exactly an Apples to Apples comparison and I did only ski on it the one time. I did like how the extra width under foot on the Senate made it easier to get up out of the water than it is with the Monza. Much less work. It sure didn't turn like the Monza though.

[MarkM]

I’ve got a 67.5 A2 available. That’s the Ski I went to after skiing my Monza.

[ALPJr]

One of my ski buddies went from a Monza to a 2014 HO Superlite TX and has done fantastic with it. I think the equivalent new HO is the Syndicate Omni.

[MDB1056]

Consider an S2. I went to that from an old CDX1 that I LOVED. Ski buddy rides a 2013 Strada which I've been impressed with too. Will be curious what you land on

[DangerBoy]

The HO Omni Syndicate looks intriguing. Can you mount regular bindings to it or do they have to be direct mount? Also, what year did they start making those and are there any differences in the years aside from graphics/aesthetics?

[Chef23]

You can but regular bindings in an Omni. I think they came out late last year. Not sure if there were any changes.

[DangerBoy]

If I could get a NOS 2015 HO CX Superlite for $140 USD plus minimal shipping, would that be worth a try? Would it be an improvement on my Monza?

[The_MS]

No

[BraceMaker]

@MS - don't like the CX superlite? I thought that was a pretty fun ski, just never could find one used. If I had found a Cx superlite 67" I might have got it instead of an Omni (would have for 140 clams!)

[The_MS]

If you go HO I would go with A3 or the orig V type.

I went to an A1 from the monza and it was easy.

The Monza is one of Eddie’s skis so maybe try Strada or even the RS1 if you can find

[DangerBoy]

@BraceMaker I thought I found a 67 CX Superlite that I could buy for $140 USD but the seller says it isn't a Superlite. The thing is, it looks exactly like a 2015 Superlite. Do the 2015 CX and CX Superlite look exactly the same? I'm checking back with the seller to see if the ski shown on the ad page is actually the one for sale...

[DangerBoy]

@MS You're recommending the original V-Type but not the VTR? Why? Is the V-Type user-friendly at 31 - 33 mph or is it a ski that has to go at least 34?

[blakeyates]

Go with the HO Omni or V type X (VTX). I have a VTX for sale but haven’t posted it yet, 67”.

[The_MS]

We have on both at our lake and the V-type looks a bit more stable to me. Looks like it turns pretty easy on both sides.

[RPT]

I skied on a Monza and had my PB with it first time in the course, needless to say I really liked that ski. Had two bad ankle sprains with the rubber bindings. Switch to a GOODE 9900 mid ride great ski but not for me,struggled with it. Went back to HO V type R and loved it immediately it felt like the Monza only better in every way!

[DangerBoy]

Found a smokin' hot deal on a new 2015 67" HO V-Type blem that I just couldn't pass up. Pulled the trigger. Really excited!! :p

[LakeboyWWK]

@DangerBoy how is the new V-Type, have you gotten any sets in on it? Interested in what you think of it with your new bindings compared to your previous setup. I'm thinking of upgrading my Approach Bindings to something more comfortable and possibly a rtp rather than double boot.

[DangerBoy]

@LakeboyWWK I haven't gotten the V-Type yet. I live in Canada. To take advantage of the free shipping on the deal I found on the V-type, I had it shipped to a border town in MT where a friend of mine will pick it up. He only comes up to visit his son in the city where I live about once every couple of months. Not sure when his next trip up will be but when he finally does, I'll finally get to unbox the ski. I doubt though that I'll be able to try it out until next spring, likely May. My new bindings, a set of NOS 2014 Connelly Talons, have arrived here though and they seem great. Really comfortable, quite a bit lighter than the Approaches and much better lateral stiffness.

 

Check out this thread to find out what other people who got in on the V-Type deal are reporting back on the V-Types:

 

https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/20306/anybody-looking-for-a-great-deal-on-a-nos-15-ho-syndicate-v-type-read-this

[Bobd]

@DangerBoy I would love to hear how you liked the HO versus the Monza this past year. My experience on the Monza is identical to yours - have the bindings all the way forward, but usually ski around 34. Its starting to break apart and screws coming loose and I need to replace bindings, so looking for alternatives.

[Garn]

I can't recommend the Syndicate Omni high enough! What a fantastic ski! I ski at 32 mph mostly and between 15 and 32 off. I've never been on a better ski. So effortless to ski. Easy on the body, Easy to get up on. Easy to maintain your outbown direction. Turns effortlessly. I first set my fin at factory recommended specs and haven't touched it since. I really think this ski is a game changer. I think you would love it.

[DangerBoy]

@Bobd It took a while to get used to the V-Type and it took trying a few settings to get the ski set up right for me but I'm now really starting to like the ski. I had some trouble at the beginning though with the stock settings being too mundane and not responsive enough, some other settings recommended by @savaiusini being too aggressive for my level of skiing and then finding perfection on some other settings recommended by @Horton. I didn't get that many runs on the ski with those final settings before my holidays ended so I can't wait for next year when I can spend more time with those settings to see how well I can do on the ski. Initial impressions are though that the ski is an improvement over the Monza and that I'll be able to take my skiing up another level or two with it.

 

I can't say enough good things about the Monza though. It was a great ski for me and helped me take my skiing up several levels in fairly short order. To be fair though, when I went to the Monza I was coming off an older HO Mach 1 so the Monza was light years ahead of my former ski. I would say the V-Type is a better ski than the Monza but going from the Monza to the V-Type is nowhere near as big a leap in technology and design as going from that old Mach 1 to the Monza was.

[MDB1056]

If you have a chance to ride a Connelly GTR it’s worth it. Fast, grips like a water magnet . I’m 63 yrs old and ski 34 @-32. Took a bit to dial it in but wow . The shorter the rope the better this thing skis . Was always an HO guy prior but I’m a believer.

[DangerBoy]

@MDB1056 I would love to try one. Until last year I had never skied on anything made by Connelly even though I've got a nice collection of gorgeous mahogany Hooks and Comps on the walls of my cabin. You have to understand that I was a victim of the oil price collapse which resulted in major unemployment in my province starting back in 2015 and I have not worked steady since then. For the last 4 years I've only been able to eke out a marginal existence so I've not been able to spend a lot of money on waterski equipment.

 

I managed to get an excellent deal on HO V-type ski and then with persistence and little luck I got a screaming deal on a pair of Connelly Talon bindings which I mounted on the new ski. Those bindings now represent the sum total of Connelly ski equipment I've ever skied on in over 40 years of water skiing. I have to say they're pretty nice bindings and I like them a lot. I've read so many good things about the GTR and I would really like to try one out but I don't know anyone who has one I could try and in truth I don't get to do a lot of water skiing every year. For me if I get even 4 weeks worth of skiing in during a full year, that's a good year. I wish I could do much more because I'm so in love with and so passionate about the sport but it's just not in the cards for me right now. Maybe someday.

[VONMAN]

@DangerBoy Any ski from 2018 to now.