Slalom for 8 yr old

[jedgell]

My son skied this past summer on two skis, and fortunately wants to slalom next year! What size ski is recommended for him? Obviously would like to buy something used if possible, just not seeing anything on SIA smaller than 63". On that note anyone have a jr ski you'd like to sell?

[DW]

Probably too long, I have to check exact size of the Icon Sonic C8 (either 62 or 63")

[Bruce_Butterfield]

@jedgell actually a 64" adult slalom is an excellent choice for an 8yo. If you have a pair of the jr wide shaped skis, one of those is the first choice. A single of those is good up to about 20mph or so. The 64" adult slalom is the second choice. Be sure to get one that is stable, like a Radar or D3.

 

More free advice here: https://www.ballofspray.com/home-page/tech/2598-the-future-of-our-sport-tips-to-addict-the-next-generation

[jedgell]

@Bruce_Butterfield thank you, great advice and article! I'll be re-reading that for the next few years.

[Jared]

I skied on a 62" Connelly Attack from ~11yo to 13 or 14, then jumped to a 67" when I hit my growth spurt.

 

I don't have a strong opinion, but I have a 9 year old and 7 year old. I'm hoping I can get them both into single starts within the next two years. I was probably planning on putting them on the same 62" for 1 year. Then jumping them to a newer / lighter weight ski, I think my dad has a 66" S1 in his garage, that I might be able to co-opt for pre-teens.

 

My thoughts are the first season or two are mostly about learning how to stand on the ski, so that it's touching the water as much as possible while you move around. And for the most part you can get away with a pretty big size range as long as you are teaching that.

[chrislandy]

We got a couple of year old Radar TRA 65" for mine (OK he was 10, buy quite light for his age). we had him on a 59" O'Brien kids ski and it was too short and too thin, tried the 61 which was a bit better, The 63" TRA would have been better for him, but the 65 came up and he'll grow into it by mid next year no doubt

 

What combo's have they been skiing on? a kid can easily run the course on an O'Brien junior combo mono, nice and forgiving too.

[LK_skier]

Once my boys could ski confidently I put them on a 65 - theoretically too big... but going as slow as we needed to for them to run the course in the early days the bigger size helped carry them. Ideally I would have dropped them down to probably a 63 once they increased speed but I didn't have the $$ to buy more skis so they've continued on them.

[jjackkrash]

The boy and his cousins went from 63" Radar TRA to 63.5" Vapor to 65" Vapor. You can pick up the 63.5" Vapors up for a lot cheaper than you might think if you shop the discount/left over outfits or call Darren Wily and see what he's got laying around. My belief is as soon as they can deep water start solidly they are ready for a Vapor. Get them so the they are on the very bottom or below the size chart so they have a little room to grow and can go slower boat speed at first.

[escmanaze]

My favorite is to start them on a HO Freeride. In my case it was a 63". Nice flat bottom helps with stability of getting up and staying up. Once they get a little skill, then move them over to a TRA.

 

And don't forget the deep V handle to also help them get up the first time(s).

 

And don't forget the tall tow point of a tower or pylon if you have access to one - even better learn off a boom if you have access.

 

All these things help them get up the first time. Once that hurdle is cleared - all other hurdles are easy.

[jedgell]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I do have a boom, which made learning on 2 easy, so will use that again for getting up on 1.

[drew]

Start them right! D3 Ion S 62.5" Junior... magical

[TFisher]

I have a 63" d3 nomad for 110 plus shipping. My son outgrew it.

[ToddL]

It isn't always intuitive, but young kids who are skiing very slow speeds need the support of more surface area than an adult equivalent. The bonus is that as the child grows and the speed increases, the same ski can remain viable for a longer period than expected.

 

 

[jjackkrash]

I just set my nephews up with a pair of 65" pro builds for next year (one for) $450. Check out the 63.5" for $350.

 

https://www.wakehouse.com/radar-water-skis/

 

https://www.wakehouse.com/products/radar-vapor-pro-build-water-ski-dayglow-2017.html

[wtrskr]

Agree with Todd L that the same ski can remain viable for longer than you'd expect. I've had 3 kids transition from 2 to 1 and progress up in speeds as they aged.

 

Their first ski they each used was a real old one we own that is short but with decent surface area. That seemed to work well for them just learning to get up on one.

 

Not too long after they each moved to a 63" TRA. I want to say that my oldest used that ski from around age 9 until finally reaching the top end of growing out of it this past year at age 14 (now at 34 mph when he free skis).

 

My 8 year old daughter who is very small for her age was even able to use the same '63 TRA. It is probably bigger than it should be for her size, but she seems to control it just fine.

[jedgell]

What have you used for bindings? With Radar the only readily avail option is the small Prime (size 5-8). My son has size 3-1/2, will this binding work well enough for a beginning slalom skier? Radar does have the smaller TRA binding, but it's not avail right now. I know that Wiley has smaller bindings, but I'm trying to keep my costs down and they're a bit more than the Radar options.

[ALPJr]

The Wiley’s standard slalom binding comes in x-small and xx-small. D3 Leverage Blackout comes in x-small.

 

[blagrata]

I second the wileys standard slalom binding. soft rubber. easy to get in and out. They go as small as you need. I like the simplicity of it... no messing with the tension of bungees. They will rebuild them for you as the kids foot gets bigger if you wish. I have just kept buying the next size because there is another kid that will use them.