Jr slalom ski recommendations

[Littleskier2014]

Looking for a slalom ski for our 8 and 10 year old can rock. My 8 year old girl is 60 pounds. She is very solid on a slalom ski. Can run a slalom course. My son is about 90 pounds. He can get up on one and is improving on his slalom skills. Any recommendations? I’ve heard a Radar TRA 65 is a good bet but looking for other options as well. My daughter has very small feet and wears a size 1 shoe. Thanks!!

[WoodySkier]

My 11 year old son has a radar TRA and loves it, he’s learning to run the course in it.

[Horton]

TRA is hard to beat 

[jjackkrash]

63.5" Vapor if you can find one cheap enough.  And you can find them pretty cheap if you are patient and surf wakehouse.com and ski it again frequently.  

E.g.

https://www.ski-it-again.com/php/skiitagain.php?endless=summer&topic=Search&category=Slalom&postid=67415

[Skiphreak]

Big recommendation for the TRA w the TRA boot and rtp. My son is around 50lbs and short for his age (9) w a size 13 little kids foot, and he has no problem handling the 63’. The TRA front boot is also perfectly sized for him (which I had major concerns about). You may have to do a bit of mod on the rtp to get the feet closer together, but other than that, I’d say there’s a ton of room to grow. Great ski! 

[buechsr]

TRA is great but my kids picked up 3 passes virtually immediately when we switched to a substantially wider design at their slow course speeds.  One used an HO CX, the other I don't recall, but that got them through and up to their current short D3s once they could run 26.7/15.  If you're spending any time in the low 20s, I think wider is better than the TRA.  Once mine "re" tried the TRA after getting on their D3s, they didn't prefer it.  YMMV.  I think once the TRA is no longer "dragging", it really wakes up.  It's just that kids spend so much time going so slow learning the course, more surface area was helpful.  Not uncommon to see kids in tournaments riding VERY wide shaped skis.  

[Horton]

This is a hard subject. No one wants to spend thousands of dollars on skis for a 8 year old +/-

Because I have the luxury of a lot of gear I have been able to let Buford Danger try a number of skis.

When she was running 14 mph to 20 (+/-) I had her on a TRA. The folks at Radar were doing R&D for a kids ski and let us try a ski that was a 66" Vapor with a cut down tail. When Buford got that ski she immediately PBed. It was MUCH better for that speed. When she started running 23 mph (+/-) it seemed like that wide tail was making wake crossings harder so we want back to a TRA. She immediately improved again.  She ran 1/2 at 30 mph at Regionals last week on that same TRA. I think she will be on that ski for the foreseeable future. 

The point is that kids skis make a huge difference and if you can, you should try stuff. Unfortunately this project can be unintuitive and expensive. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For *&^% Sake pay attention of your kids bindings. Nothing pisses me off more than going to coach a Jr Clinic and finding a 4' tall kid with their feet 12" apart or in an adult binding. If you want your kids to ski you have to pay as much attention to their gear as your own. 

[MDB1056]

Agreed nobody wants to spend big at that age . My 11 yr old granddaughter is on a 64.5 A2 which has seen her progress tremendously from the earlier Obrien trainer. The A2 is a great older ski and one which does perform well at slower speeds, while also giving kid’s performance attributes of a modern ski. Stable and easy to turn and confidence building. She’s running 3 orange, 3 green at 23 (-15). A great ski for advancing and are around for low cost. 

Edited July 28, 2023 by MDB1056

[buechsr]

My .02 (again) as in 3 years I've gotten 3 kids from running no buoys to one now 34/22-28, one 32/22 and one 28/15, soft skis help a ton at their weight.  A2 sounds pretty stiff to me but if it works, so be it.  TRA always seemed quite stiff for a true course-beginning kid.  A lightweight ripper who could get it to flex in the turn?  Absolutely.  For what its worth, mine did great on my wife's butterknife due to its width AND soft flex in the turns.  For what its also worth, the HOs with the clean edge definitely helps the ski ride higher at slower speeds.  All this to say, it's complicated.  The rather large proportionate speed increases for their weights make it all the more challenging.

The MOST important kids equipment recommendation I have is to get a lightweight AND mid-weight rope.  I did not know they existed 3 years ago.  IT is a HUGE difference maker for them.  My "normal" rope was heavy enough to literally create slack at virtually all times for my 50 pounder.  They make a HUGE difference.  Again, HUGE!  lol

Edited August 7, 2023 by buechsr

[Shell]

@Littleskier2014 Brand new 63” Radar TRA for sale!

[Hallpass]

FWIW, my kid was always on the taller side (finally quit growing at 5'11"), but she had no problem with a TRA at speeds down

to 17 and 19 mph.  Maybe she was just strong.  I don't know.  I feel like the lighter ropes were helpful.

Edited July 28, 2023 by Hallpass
spelling

[Shell]

5mm and 8mm is a must for the kids, makes a huge difference, Scott from S-lines is the guy to see!

[Skiphreak]

Couldn’t agree more with the comments related to the Jr. rope. Huge difference maker. As @Shell stated, give your business to Scott S-Lines. Making great ropes! 

[nautique1228]

My kid is 4 almost 5 and I think he’s about ready to try a slalom. He’s still pretty small. 43” tall and only 40lbs. Im leaning towards the smaller TRA, but think it’s too big for him still. I got the 5mm rope for him and it made a big difference on his 2 skis. He’s getting mini course buoys on the right and the left boat guide. He’s having an absolute blast on the water. He loves to act like he’s on jumpers and stomp his skis around and jump the wake. 

[Horton]

@nautique1228 Choosing a kids ski is hard but mo one regrets buying the TRA.