real world review of S-Lines

[UCFskier]

Hey all

was super stoked to see S Lines at the most recent pro event. Has anyone gotten some time using them? Think its pretty cool that they are small batch, high level of quality control, and reasonably priced (less than half of the competition).

 

looking for your thoughts

THNX

[randy meny]

Skiing with S Line for about a month, great right out of the box.

[UWSkier]

I posted in another thread on this, but I took a couple sets to get used to my Competition (mid stretch) coming from a super stiff Radar mainline. I like a really stiff rope and will get the R3 next time I order, but now that I'm used to the Competition, I really dig it. Great rope at a great price. For reference, the Competition is less stretchy than a ML Optimized if you've used one of those.

[UCFskier]

honestly what has me thinking of switching is a buddy of mine got a knot in his new Masterline rope (which wont come out and likely has weakened the rope) Hes having to buy a new one at a cost of $200 (ouch)

this has me liking the idea of a much more cost effective solution

[Windsurfnut]

Using a S series and have a torn bicep tendon. Having some of the best skiing ever in recent years with this rope. Highly recommended.

Full disclosure, I'm a 32mph 15-28off skier.

[foxriverat]

@UCFskier Has your buddy tried wetting the knot wrapping a rag around it and pounding it with a hammer? That has always worked for me loosening a knot out of a ski rope

[LeonL]

Use soap in addition to wetting the knot, then pound it.

[foxriverat]

@LeonL Good call on the soap. I forgot about that.

[UCFskier]

@LeonL @foxriverat great thinking.... once his new S-Line shows up we will give that a go on his old rope. just incase he gets any fraying he will have his new rope on hand

[KRoundy]

Satisfied S-Lines customer here - and I have a few friends who have purchased them after I gave it rave reviews. Here's a thread you can review:

https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/26553/s-lines

[dbaconaz]

Solid, Great Ropes!! You will not be disappointed!!!

[GaryJanzig]

I have one Masterline slalom, and 3 Performance Pure ropes which are nearing the end of their life. Going to buy a new Masterline, and a pair of S lines in the future for sure to try them out.

 

[Fastguy888]

I love my S-Line. I was curios to know during the first sets at the Lake 38 Pro if adapting to the new ropes (first time in pro competition I think) was causing a bit of an adjustment period for the skiers. It looked like the skiers were getting a bit more slack and making more changes to Zero-Off than normal during Saturdays first round. Ultimately they figured it out with near world record scores for the weekend.

[LeonL]

@UCFskier the sooner you address the knot the better. Get on it now, no reason to wait. You can also use oil on the knot.

S-Lines....I'm very happy with mine.

[Andre]

Happy with my 2 new S-Lines.

As a testimony,i ski as bad as before,maybe even worst. :)

[slalom frog]

Purchased an S-Line R3 and have skied about 3 sets on it. It seemed a little stretchy the first set but I have not noticed anything since then. Quality seems good. Delivery was prompt. From my experience so far, it appears like a good product. Worth a try in my opinion.

[dbutcher]

I bought three new S-lines - a least stretch, a medium stretch, and a most stretch. All three measured on the short side before use. A couple of lengths of the line with the most stretch were out of tolerance short before use. After use, all lines and all loops measure in tolerance. I expected that the softest line would stretch the most with use, and it did . The medium stretch and the least stretch lines stretched less. All brands stretch some with the first several uses in my experience. My S-lines are all now in tolerance and have a good feel when skiing. I cannot discern a difference between the least stretch S-line and a standard Masterline. The medium stretch feels like Masterline's optimized line to me. Don't rely on me or anyone else when selecting a rope. You should experience them yourself. The S-lines are a great value to me.

[ghutch]

Buy one and try it... you won't be disappointed. Met the owner this weekend, a really good guy who's passionate about what he does. Its definitely a great rope and an even better price.

[skialex]

I bought some for me and my friends, no complaints whatsoever… on the contrary, everyone love their rope. I tried both mid stretch and soft. Ended up with soft, but liked both, I just felt like the soft suits me better.!

[MI3Eventer]

First tournament in Michigan was held this weekend and exclusively used S-line ropes, R3 was used for slalom.

 

From a boat judge perspective loved using them especially with all line lengths being slide loops as I prefer those to the standards. For early season skiing there were some big scores posted especially considering how late we started skiing this year! Multiple PBs by younger skiers, M1-W1, and more seasoned skiers were scoring at or above their average. Hell I even surprised myself skiing 2 buoys under my PB.

[Michigan_skier_too]

I ski with Scott who makes the S-Line rope and I can assure you he leaves nothing to chance. And I think whatever is left in development of ski ropes this guy will do.

[BigSpray]

I have been skiing with an S Line R3 and never was really happy with it just stretched too much. Frankly it just sucked. Waist of 85.00. Tried a Z line and it was golden. Limited stretch felt connected at all times with the rope. Something I never felt with the S lines.

[34mph]

I’m on my second set of the SLine comp rope .. the rope looks fantastic … but wondering why I’m so sore that night , compare to prior ? Is the rope to soft ? To firm ? I’m coming of a 3 year ( 12 month use ) masterline progressive rope . What do you guys think ?

[LK_skier]

@dbutcher - what line length are you skiing at? I think the experience will be different depending if your trying it at long line vs shorter lengths?

[dave2ball]

@34mph S lines are soft Which causes them to stretch more. . Your 3 Y/O rope is dead. Any new rope will stretch more then you 3 Y/O rope. The S line comp will stretch more then a ML comp HO or Radar ropes from my experience with them. I have tried all 4 mentioned.

 

[Sedge]

Now that I have had a minute to get caught up after 3 straight tournament weekends and traveling. What an amazing start to the summer for us at S Lines.

Lake 38 was our first pro tournament and we saw a 1@43 done on our rope! I will have to check after this weekend but last I knew only the 2nd 41' ran so far this year in a tournament! Absolutely incredible along with several skiers getting into 41' off. The feedback was fantastic and we found some ways to make a good rope even better. Great place, to ski and everyone I met was awesome. Even went home with signed tournament bib for my son. He loved that.

 

BOS at Whitestone was great. Beautiful place, great people. Lots of awesome skiing and watched quite a few PB's get set. Great to watch some of the younger skiers improve and get into 39.5' off. @ghutch is was great meeting you there and awesome skiing! If you have not been to Whitestone I highly recommend it. There is nothing like it.

 

Meijer State Games was a great way to wrap things up and ski at my home lake. Always a fun 3 event tournament and got to meet some new people.

 

It has been an absolute pleasure getting to meet so many great people and help sponsor tournaments at all levels. People have been so amazing everywhere. The feedback has been awesome and we are going to keeping working on new things. Very excited for what we have coming down the line.

 

@34mph If you still have any questions after my last email please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

 

Thank you to everyone for the amazing support and feedback. We look forward to a great future and helping to grow this awesome sport!

 

 

Ski it up!

[UWSkier]

I have completely adjusted to my Competition rope and don't discern any real noticeable stretch anymore. I'm sure that's a combination of it being broken in and me being used to it.

[Dezthecorgi]

I purchased both the medium stretch (competition) and the least stretch (r series) and found myself enjoying the least stretch the most. I must say I love the price and the grey fleck color pattern is very stylish and unique!

[VONMAN]

I love my S-line R3 ski rope. And as for the no-stretch my ski partner who is a long distance Barefooter, came to ski with me but forgot his barefoot line. So I added a couple of fifteen sections to my R3 and he took two runs and was surprised that he couldn't feel any stretch at all. Even on the deep water start.

[LeonL]

Hey this may be a stupid question, and I'm surprised that the question never came to my mind previously. What changes are made to a rope to provide different stretch characteristics?

[Sedge]

@LeonL definitely not a stupid question. A variety of things can affect or change the characteristics of a rope and its stretch/rebound amount. Removing outside variables such as water and air temp the focus being on the make up of the rope. Without giving away what we do, things such as how the braid of the rope is laid up, yarn tensile strength, yarn mass, how the yarn was extruded and if the yarn is twisted and how much twist along with gearing and tension on the machines all play a factor in this. For example our competition series and R3 series use different yarns and braids. When working on test ropes we tend to focus on one thing to see how that change affects the rope. Similar to dialing in your ski and messing with the fin or binding placement, just more variables. I hope that helped answer your question.

 

@Horton loves talking about this stuff with me haha

[MI3Eventer]

@Sedge when are you gonna have me try some new stuff?

[Sedge]

@MI3Eventer probably next week.

[Deanoski]

Bought a medium stretch Its a bungee going to stretch it over night. See if it helps

 

Probably should have got the stiff one

 

Other wise it will be a ,do you have a rope / rope if you know what I mean

 

5-11” 180

Currently on a M/L

[vtmecheng]

Had my first set on the medium stretch. It felt real soft the first 4 passes. By pass 8 it seemed to be a lot better. Guessing it takes a couple sets to get it to settle out. Visual quality is no question and I’m happy with the slip loops.

[Drago]

@Deanoski Which of the mL are you on and how old is it?

[S1Pitts]

I purchased a S Line Comp and to keep it real I held off on putting my new ML Optimized into service till I could ski them both on the same day.

Out of the box they both felt good with the S Line being a bit more softer feeling. I alternate back and forth between them to try and give them each equal ski time. So far I have noticed that the buoy count results are the same but I am not near as sore the following day when skiing the S line Comp. It still feels softer than the ML Opt so I figure I am a softer rope guy now regardless of brand.

[vtmecheng]

I went with the Comp because of wrist and shoulder issues. Figured I’d give something softer a try, see if it has an effect. We’ll see if that was smart being a long line skier, meaning more rope is there to stretch. Coming from a worn out proline is a poor comparison so a few more sets are needed to see what I think.

[Deanoski]

@Drago ml optima got it last July

 

 

 

 

[RAWSki]

@Deanoski comparing a year old rope to a brand new one? Give it some sets then check again We had members ski their year old ropes vs new ropes of both brands and everyone felt a a flex-spring effect in the new ropes.

[Drago]

Hard to believe something is more stretchy than the optimized....

[skialex]

I have skied the comp series and the s. And have compared each other and my opt2.

My s series (about 30 sets) has a give that I like. The opt2 (a year of use) has little less stretch and the competition series (about 10 sets) has less give than the opt2, more similar to the ML deluxe. Haven’t tried the stiffest s line, mostly because I feel that a little give is better for my longevity….

[UWSkier]

I would agree that the Optimized stretches more than the Competition. My first time using the Optimized, I just about fell over on my gate pull-out and turn-in.

[vtmecheng]

Got another set on the Comp version today. All my worries are gone, didn’t notice stretch and all was fine. I’m guessing it’s a combination of the rope settling in and me getting used to it. I like it so far. Definitely don’t judge by the first set.

[34mph]

I have about a month on the comp line and couple weeks on their new prototype 8 line .. Im really likingboth . It took a while to get use to the comp line because I was not use to a softer rope. After a couple sets into the week I find my self switching to the comp because of a little soreness . The prototype 8 I find is very similar feel to my non omptim

[34mph]

Sorry that didn’t post all the way

 

I have about a month on the comp line and couple weeks on their new prototype 8 line .. Im really liking both . It took a while to get use to the comp line because I was not use to a softer rope. After a couple sets into the week I find my self switching to the comp because of a little soreness . The prototype 8 I find is very similar feel to my non optimized ML . Hope this helps some guys out there. I would definitely try these guys ropes they are the real deal no question about it !