Slalom ski & bindings for 5 year old

[Skibabette]

My 5 year old son got up on a slalom ski (deep water start with a regular handle, nobody in the water with him) a couple weeks ago. We’d like to get him something more appropriately sized. The ski he was on was the one we used for his 10 year old cousin with adult sized feet. The biggest issue is probably the bindings. He’s a kids size 1 shoe and weighs about 45 lbs. Any suggestions?

[PacMan]

Wow! That's amazing! I don't have any advice as far as the bindings or ski but that's just incredible that he got up on 1 at 5 years old, that's how old I was when I learned 2 skis on the boom.

 

Good luck with your search.

[Intheday]

Plenty of brands do very small sizes. Our kids had radars lace up bindings and someone gave us a xs rubber binding. Trick skis had small D3 bindings. Plenty of options.

 

The advice was to get a 63 ski as when you ski slow speeds it will stay on top of the water. Then as the kids get older and speed increase the ski will still be suitable.

 

 

[blagrata]

I think the smallest real kid slalom ski out there is a 63". I got a radar for him. That will be great because they will be able to ski at 15 mph or less. I got my 8 year old a Wiley's rubber binding. They will build one for you as small as you need. I really liked the simplicity. A little binding lube to get into it... then you don't need to worry about laces being too tight or loose. My son has done great on them.

[escmanaze]

A couple years ago I bought the HO Blast Combo 59" setup. There were a couple really good things about this setup. It had the bar for brand new kids, but you no longer care about that. Also, it had a kit where you could add weights to the back to help the kids keep the tips pointed straight up while they are still in the water. You might not even care about that anymore. It was also able to have the boots upgraded to the "blaze" boots which are at least one small step better than the little rubber adjustable junkers. The small blaze boots were perfect for my kids foot from about age 5 to about age 9. A size 1 was definitely right in that range. The skis also had the v-bottom for good stability and a wide shape so you don't have to go fast. It seems to me like if you bought that combo set with that small binding and the weights and just had him use only the one ski, that would be a pretty good setup if your kid is still mostly just trying to ski pretty calmly behind the boat.

 

If he's trying to get aggressive though, you could look to a 63" freeride or even more aggressive would be a 63" TRA. Keep in mind, the TRA will be harder to get up on as the shape is fairly aggressive. If the kid isn't really solid and consistent with getting up, I wouldn't go TRA yet. Either one of these skis though, can only come with a size small (4-8) boot. Honestly though, unless your kid is going super crazy, that boot will lace up pretty decent around his foot and be alright. Waterski bindings don't have to fit perfect in order to work ok for less aggressive skiing.

[MBlohm]

O’Brien PRO TOUR slalom 58”

The best easy riding kid beginners slalom ski. We have it in our club. A friend from another clubs kid at an of 6 years old bought their own after trying ours. That little kid rocking the complete course on it in 19 and 21 mph.

[escmanaze]

@MBlohm I didn't know that ski existed. Looks pretty sweet. And the binding looks pretty good too. Say's there's a Jr. version. Hopefully its pretty small. Cool.

[Bdecker]

@Skibabette - I have (2) 59” skis that we have outgrown. One is the Protour mentioned above, which is basically a combo ski. Super stable, both my kids loved it but it runs out of gas quickly in the course.

The 2nd is an Obrien elite 59”. My oldest son was awesome on this ski and rode it for his first nationals. My youngest didn’t really take to it early enough to ride the elite. It’s a great turning little ski! I’m ready to part with either or both, as I just ordered a TRA for my 10 year old.

[MNshortliner]

You got to get some video of him

[Skibabette]

Here’s a link to his first slalom ride that we shared on Instagram.

[Stx22]

@Skibabette, our 5 year old son is just learning as well. Same size foot, but only 42 lbs. I separated and mounted a rear toe plate (O'brien Jr. X7 rear toe plate) on a an O'brien All-Star Trainers. I was able to mount the RTP right behind the adjustable binding - that's about as far as his legs will reach. We bought the combos not actually planning on him being behind the boat this summer, let alone on one ski, but he loves it. Probably a temporary solution, but he has two younger brothers.

 

[quinne]

@Skibabette my daughter is slaloming using the O'brien Jr. Vortex Combo set. It can be used for slalom or two ski, and has a removable bar if other kids want to try to learn. She got up on one super easy, deep water start, one handle, without assistance and can go in and out of the wake. The boots are adjustable for size and really easy to change. My daughter is a small 7 year old around 50lbs.

 

I know you're super proud. That's awesome!