Denali C75 Mid Review

[Horton]

As stated many many times in the past - the goal of these reviews is to describe more than to judge. With that in mind I am totally stumped. I have NO IDEA what is going on under my feet when I ride the C75.

 

What I can say is that I am skiing the best of my life by a big margin. For the last 10 years I have run 38 in practice between 10 and 20 times a year. For the last month on the C75 I have run 38 at least once every practice set (except for one set where I was trying different fin settings). Sometimes I run it off the dock and sometimes it takes me 4 tries but either way this is a whole level above my skiing ever before.

 

[Than_Bogan]

As self-appointed leader of the peanut gallery, I demand more -39s!!

[Horton]

@Than_Bogan I ran 3 @ 39 off the dock yesterday with @ColeGiacopuzzi driving - he drives straight.

[DangerBoy]

@Horton Congrats on doing that. That ties your tournament PB right? What's your practice PB?

[Ed_Johnson]

@Horton ... What do you feel are it's main attributes, such as....acceleration off the ball ? turns on a dime ? fast cross course ? shuts down quicker ? large sweet spot ? feels really light ?

 

Probably gonna say, "Ya, it does all those things."....Has to be something that really stands out.

 

 

[Horton]

@Ed_Johnson One of the biggest things is that I can screw up and then often stay in the pass. As I ski on it more I am smoother and smoother at 32 and 35 but I make mistakes at 38 and seem to get away with so much. I suspect that in the end the key factor is going to be the way the ski makes speed into the wakes and then bleeds it back off at the ball.

[Ed_Johnson]

@Horton ...Thank you for the response. One last easy question. Do you feel you have to maintain a certain body position to get it to perform, such as a forward stack ??

 

As an example, when I tested the NRG and the EVO last year, the EVO was fastest by far but could only attain cross course angle with a good forward stack, where as the NRG allowed you to be all over the place and never punished you...Thanks !!

 

 

[thager]

No longer on the Denali due to my knee but what I noticed was the ski tip always stayed down saving time on recovery following a mistake.

[Horton]

@Ed_Johnson I don't know yet I think it's very forgiving but I think it's easier for me to be in position. Maybe?

[Cent]

Ed Johnson appreciated your comments on this he NRG. I have one in shipment.

[coach3]

@thager Did the C75 hurt your knee? Front? If so, did you go to another one that felt better?

[Horton]

Out of curiosity I had a friend of mine who runs about a pass less than I do try my C75. The question was would a skier who is not accustomed to trying a lot for skis be able to jump right on it and rip.

 

He said he had more space than expected but that the ski was a little bit of work. The ski turned very dependably for him but I am sure my settings are a little too aggressive. The conclusion was - Yes the ski is user friendly enough for anyone to ride and yes he wants to ride it more.

 

My settings are likely not perfect for him - I will have Cord cook some different settings before he tries it again.

[Than_Bogan]

I think I said a similar thing earlier, but in light of your 3 @ -39 I say again: As much as I truly expect this ski to be amazing, running 3 @ -39 is some damn good skiing no matter what you're standing on! Great work and keep it up!

[aspski]

Not sure if it had been mentioned earlier, but do you run every pass at 36?

[Horton]

34

[Than_Bogan]

@Horton is old. Younger than I am, but still old...

[Horton]

very old.

[AdamCord]

@Horton I’ll send you my fin adjustment flow chart.

 

Just kidding...try taking out a degree of wing angle.

[skidawg]

 

[Bruce_Butterfield]

You damn kids

[Ed_Johnson]

STAY OFF MY GRASS !!!

 

 

[acmx]

@Horton , you should let @Dirt ride it to see how others like it.

[thager]

@Horton Would never get it back from @dirt

[Dirt]

@Horton listen to @acmx not @thager

 

[Horton]

@dirt no

[PatM]

Wondering if anyone other than @Horton has received their ski yet?

[smilinjim]

Wondering that also, have my balance ready to go.

[wawaskr]

No one yet??

[phski]

I believe i'm in the first batch but no word on when they will ship

[AdamCord]

Hey guys sorry to those of you on the wait list who haven’t yet had a chance to order a ski. We got bogged down with me moving from the east coast to the west coast, and Caldwell running around like a mad man working, running Trophy Lakes, starting an Aquapark, breaking records, and building skis. Things are starting to calm down now for us so ski production is picking back up.

[Horton]

@AdamCord I have mine so it is cool.

[BlueSki]

@Horton, that may be the case for now, but then you will be testing something else while the rest of us ski ours.

[AdamCord]

I’ve got some tournaments coming up so it was time to try out the c75 at 36mph. This is my second set at 36, line length starts at 32off:

 

[Than_Bogan]

@Horton You may need to add an OMGWTF button.

 

For those too lazy to count, and at the risk of blowing Cord's attempt to be subtly understated, that video shows a lifetime practice PB of 3 @ -41. And is it just me or does he look like he can go a lot further?

 

(Btw, I busted out my stop-watch because -38 looked so damn slow, but it really was about 16 seconds...)

[Wish]

+1 for @Than_Bogan button idea. I had to watch this twice as I thought I did lose count. Ummmm ? didn't think he actually had a shot at catching Caldwell when his boat speed goes to 34mph next year. Not so sure now.

[UWSkier]

@Wish I did the same. Where's the "holy eff" button?

[wawaskr]

@AdamCord Are you skiing at Hilltop? Where on the west coast were you moving?

[Adam Caldwell]

Clearly his handle is long, boats weaving and times are slow. Who is this guy trying to fool?

[Wish]

@adamhcaldwell....be afraid ..be very afraid.

[ToddA]

@wawaskr yeah Matt, that is Hilltop. And, Gordon is one of the best driver's around! :)

[Horton]

long rope

[Drago]

You guys should get a room

[ghutch]

ok @Horton ... when is the review coming out with the "new" version?

[Horton]

@ghutch when I figure out what the hell it does and how to review it

[Wish]

@Horton best of luck with that.

[ghutch]

If you need help send it to me and I'll give it a rip for you. Although I do need a large. Skiing on the version before the final one, a Medium. Really like it. Can't wait to see what you think about it. I believe it is a game changer for sure.

[DangerBoy]

How hard can it be, @Horton? It's a slalom ski! The thing slides on top of the water when attached to a skier being pulled by a speedboat and it turns right or left depending on which way you lean on it. What more is there to it than that? ;)

[bogboy]

@AdamCord, great talking to you today Adam, and thanks for the skiing pointers. The ski sizing is really interesting. Small, medium, large,= same length, different widths. Great to see you ski into 41 off, the Denali looks really good. Maybe see you tomorrow, if your up there.

[mwfillmore]

@AdamCord when are you gonna be on my side of the states for work?

[phski]

@Horton throw all of us that are waiting for our ski a bone!!