HO Freeride Evo - Squirrly

[cletuspapa]

Folks

 

Just put my new ski (HO Freeride Evo) in the water yesterday. To say I was underwhelmed with how it ski's is an understatement. It felt squirrly - not very stable, didn't seem to want to stay on edge across the wake behind my boat - X-14DD) It turns when you get on it - I had to think about turning the ski - ie - leaning in didn't initiate the turn until I kind of forced the issue. I was at 12 off @ 28mph, not glass but not rough. It's a 67" Ski - I weigh ~190

 

Boot position for the front boot is dead center - the RTP is also centered. I would add the measurement from the tail but I'm not sure where to measure - to the boot tail or to where the screw is in the plate?

 

Overall it feels like I'm waaaay back on the ski - my buddy ski'd it as well and looking at his position on the ski it seemed like there was an awful lot of ski out of the water. This thing ski's like a sled and it way touchy at times. I feel like I wasted $300 - the Connolly HP (buddy's ski) I am used to ski's a ton better than this thing. I feel like it's boot position - but I can't tell.

 

Advice on figuring this out would be appreciated.

 

PC

[Than_Bogan]

Did you change bindings? All of your symptoms sound like "first day on the new bindings."

Binding changes take much longer to get fully accustomed to than ski changes, and can result in feeling like you have no clue where to stand on the ski.

[BraceMaker]

Middle hole means nothing. Essentially you want to measure from the back of the front binding to the tail of the ski as if the tail was against a wall and you were measuring from the wall to the boot. 28.5" according to https://www.hosports.com/pdf/ski-boot-chart-2017.pdf

[cletuspapa]

@BraceMaker I saw that on the HO web page - silly me didn't double check the measurement on center/center - as it turns out - cautionary tail.... I had to go the back set of holes in the ski to get to 28.5 back of boot to tail. That moves me back about 1.25-1.5" back on the ski - now I have to find someone who can pull me to see how that changes the ride of the ski.

 

Thanks - will report back

 

PC

[FOB69]

And feedback after changing the bindings?

[cletuspapa]

@FOB69 I changed the binding locations but still haven't been able to get out on it because I don't have a driver! The person who usually drives when I ski has been out of town! Hoping the hot weather in NC holds so I can give an update!

 

thanks!

[ToddL]

How deep the tail of the ski rides is impacted by many variables.

 

Speed is a major one. The slower that the ski is moving through the water, the deeper the tail will ride. What is your boat speed?

 

Skier weight distribution is another. A skier who has more of his or her center of mass above the rear boot or further back will cause the ski to ride tail deep. What is your stance like? Do you ski nice and tall (shoulders up, hips above feet) with less than 50% of your weight on your back foot?

 

Binding location and ski design (width at tail, bevels (edges), etc.) also factor in.

 

 

[cletuspapa]

I finally was able to get out on my ski before the super cold sets in. With the boots in the correct position based on HO's measurements, the ski still seemed somewhat unstable. On edge it's all good, turns quickly on the on side - off side turns seem interesting - straight line it still seems a little wiggly underfoot. 28MPH, 12 off.

 

Honestly it's better but hard to tell if it's fully consistent like my buddy's Connolly HP.

 

Why would the HP be more predicatable vs this one?

 

Cletus

[Clydesdale]

Don’t worry about going straight. Just keep it on edge. ?

[Frank_MA]

First, please note that the boot position is measured from the center line of the tail which is inclined inward. My weigth is arround 205 and i ski a 69 Omni and a 68 Pro and I had the 69 "and the 67" Freeride Evo last year for a couple sets. I drove 28 mph but this ski has so much lift that actually a 65 would be better for really good slalom skiing in the course. The Ski actually rides stable but it is hard to cross on edge bigger wake and decrease for the turn. So the ski doesent worked for me behind the Ski Nautiqe 200. With your weight the 65 size would be enough or you need to slow down the boat. It is a super Freeride ski but the 67 Omni is a much better ski for 28-32 course style skiing. Maybe the new Freeride Fusion wich is a actually a wider Onni workes better for this purpose.

[cletuspapa]

@Frank_MA

 

Thanks for the insight - the notion I had for measuring distance to the tail of the ski was from the back of the boot to a point that would be effectively the tail of the ski - ie - as if the ski were pushed against a wall. If the idea that you measure from the centerline of the ski (the indentation) this would move the boots even farther back.

 

Which is correct?

 

I'm currently ~190 (wet) and was skiing at 28mph behind my X14Direct Drive. I just don't understand how it seems to be unstable tracking down the lake in a straight line - ie - glide.... it just seems to be less forgiving which is silly because it IS a freeride ski!

 

Cletus

[jepski]

I purchased a new carbon Omni recently and called HO b/c I was confused over where to measure front binding to tail, as the tail has a bevel. They told me to measure from the top sheet of the ski - not the base to the rear of the boot shell or binding (not the mounting baseplate). I can’t comment on the Evo Freeride but I ski my Omni in open water and course, 15off 30.4 and 32.3 (open water) 28.6 (course) and it feels nothing like you are experiencing. It’s stable crossing wake, very predictable, fast and fun. It’s most at home on edge but skied flat it’s stable and tracks like it’s on rails. I’m 182# on a 67”.

[savaiusini]

@jepski not sure who you spoke to, but with the Omni, the top sheet blends at the bottom of the ski. For boot position, we always measure to the rear-most part of the ski. Hope this helps.

[cletuspapa]

Okie - so here's a plug - I hope it doesn't cross an imaginary line - I ordered this Ski from BoardCo in Utah. We just spoke - they suggested I try the Radar Katana - this ski's going back and with any luck it'll be warm enough in NC next weekend (or when the ski gets here) to try again. I did go with a 69" Katana rather than the 67 on the HO. Hopefully this solves the weird squirrliness.

 

Cletus

[jepski]

@savaiusini - I didn't catch the name, but I called on September 20th at 1:16pm Eastern 800-938-4646. Good training opportunity for your team as they said "HO always measures from the top sheet". Regardless......love the ski:) And @cletuspapa if an HO Omni is an option...I'd give it a try.

[savaiusini]

@jepski It's possible something is getting lost in translation. You got correct info if you were told to measure to end of the top sheet. On an Omni, the top sheet blends at the bottom due to the CleanEdge design. So again, if you measure to the rear-most part of the ski, you are measuring the end of the top sheet.

[BraceMaker]

The wall comment generally works.

[savaiusini]

@cletuspapa The EVO is not a conventional ski shape. It was designed to feel different from any other ski made today. Small bevels, shallow concave and wider profile make the EVO very well suited to lower boat speeds and larger wakes because it rides much higher in the water than a conventional ski. Some of the things you are describing are expected. Wide skis can have a tendency to feel squirrly if they are ridden faster than their intended range or sized too big for your weight. At 190 lbs, a 67" is plenty for speeds around 28mph, but it generates a lot of glide speed so you need to be patient (more so than a conventional ski) for it to settle down into the water and initiate your turn as the line comes tight. Sounds like this may be a moot point if you've returned the ski, so my apologies for not seeing this post sooner.

[cletuspapa]

@savaiusini Thanks for the input! All things being equal, I REALLY wanted to like this ski - while I have the HO I'm going to take it and the Radar ski out and ski them back to back and fiddle with speed as well. There's just something about the boat/speed/skier combo that didn't work for me. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the connolly HP I've been skiing all summer tracks totally differently - side by side comparison they appear to be about the same width.

 

thanks again!

 

Peter